Tag Archives: FIN

Zilliqa’s NFT ecosystem heats up as its latest collection ‘The Bear Market’ breaks the bullish $1m sale milestone in less than 24 hours.

SINGAPORE, Sept. 17, 2021 — Newest addition to Zilliqa’s non-fungible token (NFT) ecosystem, "The Bear Market", recently broke sales records for the public blockchain in just under 24 hours of going live. The NFT collection — cheekily coined "The Bear Market" — boasted over $1 million in sales, the highest of any NFT collection on the blockchain platform thus far.

The Bear Market is a collection of 10,000 programmatically-generated digital art pieces of bears that can be minted by users on the Zilliqa blockchain. Also known as generative NFTs, the collection was launched as a commemorative piece by Switcheo Labs in partnership with Zilliqa to celebrate the upcoming launch of the Zilswap NFT marketplace. The sale began on 15 September 2021 at 8AM UTC and is set to run for 48 hours. Within a day, more than half the available pieces were snatched up by the Zilliqa community.

Amrit Kummer, President at Zilliqa, said: "The recent NFT boom has made waves not just within the crypto realm, but is instead quickly becoming mainstream. This phenomenon is also gaining traction on Zilliqa, as its highly scalable nature allows for much lower network fees compared to incumbents like Ethereum. The strong showing from NFT launches such as The Bear Market has been supported by a wider audience that have been previously priced out."

Ivan Poon, co-founder of Switcheo Labs, said: "The support we’ve received from the Zilliqa community has been overwhelming. We could not have asked for a warmer reception, and we are committed to supporting Zilliqa users with critical infrastructure through upcoming projects such as the Zilswap NFT marketplace, cross-blockchain bridge and more".

One of the pertinent pillars of success for NFT collections is having an active community to support the project, and The Bear Market looks to be headed in the right direction. According to LunarCRUSH, a cryptocurrency social listening platform, Zilliqa topped the charts and took the spot for being the Coin of the Day on 15 September, the same day The Bear Market was launched. Zilliqa saw a 47.4% increase in social engagements with over 11 million engagements on social media, and a 68.2% increase in social mentions.

The Bear Market sale is still ongoing at https://thebear.market and can be purchased for 2,000 ZILs.

About The Bear Market NFT Collection

The Bear Market is a collection of 10,000 digital art pieces minted as NFTs on the Zilliqa blockchain. Each NFT in the collection has unique traits that are programmatically generated in a fair and random manner to form a final digital image. This collection was created by Switcheo Labs to commemorate the partnership with Zilliqa, as well as the upcoming launch of ZilSwap’s NFT marketplace.

About Zilliqa & ZilSwap

Zilliqa is a high-performance scalable public blockchain platform based in Singapore. ZilSwap is a fully on-chain decentralized application running on Zilliqa. ZilSwap acts as a core tenet of infrastructure on Zilliqa, allowing its users to perform critical actions such as the swapping of tokens and provision of liquidity.

Contact: Lynn Choy, Email: lynn.choy@switcheo.network, Phone: +6598564074

Financial Service Companies Look to Elevate Security by Partnering with Cloud Experts Offering Integrated Solutions

Solutions that break down data help FSIs build a more collaborative and successful business, finds Frost & Sullivan

LONDON, Sept. 15, 2021 — The surge in cloud adoption in the UK has caused a simultaneous increase in the incidence of cyberattacks. The financial service industry (FSI), one of the leading adopters of cloud and new digital technologies, has often been a target for cybersecurity threat actors due to the sensitive nature of its data. To survive the waves of increasingly sophisticated attacks, FSI businesses turn to third-party cloud experts with integrated solutions that can offer them deep and wide-ranging visibility into their networks and devices.

Frost & Sullivan’s latest white paper, Modernising Operations and Customer Interactions in the UK Financial Services Industry, analyzes the opportunities and challenges inherent in FSIs’ recent migration to the cloud. It explores how the right solution provider can ensure successful outcomes.

To download the complimentary white paper, please visit: http://frost.ly/64h

"FSI businesses need to work with partners that understand the industry’s requirement for secure, compliant solutions and provide the right tools for data storage and management. Such tools can help avert costly repatriation, security challenges, and keep costs manageable," said Roberta Gamble, Partner & Vice President at Frost & Sullivan. "Advanced cloud solution providers such as NetApp are ideally positioned to address FSIs’ direct needs, creating greater organizational visibility through a ‘single pane of glass’ offering."

"FSI is a heavily regulated industry with significant internal compliance, so any solution deployed must ensure these requirements are met, while still providing all the value of moving to the Cloud, such as greater agility, accelerated modernisation and the increased ability to innovate.  NetApp provides both solutions and expertise to thousands of FSIs looking to deploy a Hybrid, Multi-cloud environment," said Steve Rackham, Senior Solutions Engineering Manager – FSI at NetApp.

With the right security solution, FSIs can be sure that:

  • The data is fully protected yet fully accessible wherever it resides.
  • The full benefits of cloud are realized while limiting risks.
  • They are compliant with all industry regulations.
  • Data backup and recovery from the cloud are optimal.
  • The management of a multi-cloud environment will be easy.

About Frost & Sullivan

For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion.

Contact:
Jaylon Brinkley
Corporate Communications
P: 210.247.2481
E: jaylon.brinkley@frost.com
http://ww2.frost.com

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Tonik enters consumer lending with a game-changing 15-minute Quick Loan

MANILA, Philippines, Sept. 15, 2021 — Tonik, the Philippines’ first digital-only neobank, has launched a pioneering Quick Loan product on its platform. The launch of Quick Loan marks Tonik’s entry into the deeply underserved consumer lending market in the Philippines, in which it intends to establish itself as one of the market leaders. Tonik’s game-changing all-digital Quick Loan is designed to serve the vast unbanked and underbanked Filipino middle class with a quick and affordable bank credit proposition.

  • Mass Market Appeal. Tonik’s Quick Loan doesn’t require the client to have a prior credit history or a pre-existing bank account at another bank, relying instead on world-class alternative credit scoring technologies for credit decision.
  • Rapid Application and Credit Decision. The Quick Loan offers a market-leading rapid application path of under 15 minutes, based on an upload of only one ID and the latest pay slip. The credit decision is typically made within minutes through proprietary AI-driven underwriting.
  • Instant Disbursement. Once approved, the funds are instantly credited to the client’s Tonik Account. From there, the funds can be withdrawn through OTC partners Cebuana and MLhuillier, moved to client’s other bank or e-wallet account, or paid out through an ATM or merchant payment using the Tonik Debit Card.
  • Affordable and Convenient Repayment. By availing of up to 24 months loan duration, Quick Loan clients can comfortably spread up to P 50,000 of total loan principal across their monthly budgets. The clients can also set their own preferred monthly repayment dates, as well as save time and reduce their interest rate by linking their salary payroll ATM card.

Tonik enters consumer lending with a game-changing 15-minute Quick Loan
Tonik enters consumer lending with a game-changing 15-minute Quick Loan

"Traditional banks require the applicant to have credit history to approve a loan while 80%+ of the Filipinos don’t have any credit history. As a result, the Filipino consumers are forced to borrow from friends and family or from payday loan providers at very high interest. This damages their long-term financial stability and undermines their future, and we think this is unfair. We estimate that there is USD 100 billion of potential market for consumer loans in the Philippines, which is currently 90% unserved. Our plan is to change this balance and make affordable loans accessible for majority of Filipinos," said Greg Krasnov, CEO and Founder of Tonik.

"We have already attracted close to USD 80 million of consumer deposits since our launch six months ago. This has validated our ability to rapidly scale our resources for lending, and therefore enables us to grow our loan book fast and without any reliance on third party wholesale funding. So, the Quick Loan is only the first in a range of all-digital consumer lending products that we will introduce over the coming months. Our plan is to use advanced digital technology to help solve financial inclusion in the country," said Krasnov.

Tonik is supervised by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) through its own digital bank license, and deposits are insured by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC).  Its unique cloud-based solution is powered by global financial technology leaders such as Mastercard, Amazon Web Services, and Finastra.

Learn more about Quick Loan and other updates from Tonik via https://tonikbank.com.

About Tonik

Tonik is the first digital-only neobank in the Philippines, providing a full stack of Loan, Deposit, and Payment products to consumers on a highly secure digital banking platform. The neobank operates on the basis of its own bank license issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Tonik is led by a team of retail finance veterans who have previously built and scaled multiple retail banks and fintechs across the global emerging markets.  It is backed by top international venture capital funds.  Tonik operates out of hubs in Singapore (HQ), Manila, Chennai, and Kyiv.  

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https://tonikbank.com

Zoloz Receives 2021 IDC FinTech Rankings Real Results Award for its Work Supporting Financial Inclusion Using e-KYC Technology


SINGAPORE, Sept. 14, 2021 — Zoloz, an electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) technology provider, has received the 2021 IDC FinTech Rankings Real Results Award for its work enabling users of bKash, Bangladesh’s largest mobile financial service provider, to open digital wallet accounts remotely using biometrics. Zoloz was the winner of the Digital Trust & Stewardship category and tied as overall winner of the Real Results Awards.

Now in their seventh year, the IDC FinTech Rankings Real Results Awards recognize global IT providers that have enabled genuine, measurable, and future-enabling change in the global financial services industry. These providers supply the technological backbone of the financial services industry, an industry in which IDC Financial Insights forecasts IT spending worldwide to be USD 590 billion by 2025.

"2020 proved to be a year that tested the industry’s ability to stay resilient in the face of challenges on multiple fronts. This year’s IDC FinTech Rankings Real Results program describes examples of financial institutions and technology providers partnering to overcome those challenges in real, substantive ways," said Jerry Silva, vice president at IDC Financial Insights. "IDC congratulates the vendors that stepped up to the demands of an unusual year of disruption and helped financial organizations get back to the business of innovation."

"We are honored to be a winner of the 2021 IDC FinTech Rankings Real Results Awards," said Chen Jidong, the general manager of Zoloz. "With innovative technologies like AI, risk management and biometrics, Zoloz’s e-KYC solution significantly increases financial inclusion for underbanked communities in remote identification areas by allowing financial institutions to complete due diligence processes without the need for physical verification."

Almost half of Bangladeshi adults were unbanked just a few years ago due to a lack of a trusted ID verification system. Zoloz’s integration of e-KYC technology allowed previously unbanked families to verify their identity with ease. On average, it reduced the user process from several days to just 3 minutes and increased the verification success rate from 65% to over 90%.

Zoloz’s fully automated e-KYC solution has helped bKash onboard over 23 million e-wallet users in Bangladesh, taking the country one step closer to its goal of total financial inclusion by 2024. Amid the outbreak of COVID-19, Zoloz’s e-KYC solution helped the government of Bangladesh efficiently distribute aid via bKash to over 5 million families who lost their primary source of income due to the pandemic.

"Zoloz’s bKash project is an exemplary case of how innovation has responded to the business need with effective and measurable results. The inclusive finance aspect of it will have profound impact of how digitally enabled financial services can be expanded to those underdeveloped markets in need," said Eric Fei Gao, director of IDC Financial Insights.

So far, Zoloz’s e-KYC technology has been selected for use in e-wallets including GCash in the Philippines, TnGD in Malaysia, Dana in Indonesia, TrueMoney in Thailand and banks including Mandiri Bank in Indonesia and Maybank in Malaysia, having served more than 100 million users in total across the world.

About Zoloz

Zoloz combines industry-leading technologies including advanced biometrics, spoof detection, Optical Character Recognition and risk management to provide a comprehensive electronic Know Your Customer (e-KYC) technology solution that protects, connects and enhances user identity. Its technology meets the most stringent international standard for biometric and privacy protections technologies.

To learn more, please visit: https://www.zoloz.com/

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Aligning Advanced SPM Solutions with Business Objectives Creates High-performing Sales Teams

SPM solutions can aid enterprises in streamlining and improving sales performance, directly impacting the bottom line, finds Frost & Sullivan

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Sept. 14, 2021 — The twin tasks of tracking the performance of sales representatives and ensuring accurate compensation have become more challenging than usual due to remote working. In this scenario, technologies that offer transparent sales performance management (SPM) can be game-changers. Novel SPM software solutions that leverage AI and machine learning to enable administrator and design, executive and finance, and payee and manager functions can directly influence bottom lines.

Frost & Sullivan’s latest Executive Brief, SPM/ICM Solution Providers — "What Their Clients Are Saying About Them!" discusses the value of SPM solution capabilities and how solution providers can leverage them to best meet their client’s needs. It also explores the productivity gains and pitfalls to avoid when deploying sales technologies.

To download the complimentary Executive Brief, please visit: http://frost.ly/61j.

"Having a top-tier SPM platform is important, but it is even more important to analyze the organization’s unique business processes and needs before purchasing and implementing any SPM solution," said John Ruggles, Senior Vice President and Americas Regional Leader, Frost & Sullivan. "Working with a specialist in the field that can guide the organization through the entire process—from selection to implementation to training—can make all the difference in sales success, both internally and externally."

"We work closely with our clients to understand their challenges and goals, and ultimately help develop strategies for optimizing their SPM programs," noted Robert Blohm, Senior Partner at OpenSymmetry. "Our proprietary model helps clients understand where they can make improvements through the use of technology and/or processes to better align their SPM programs with their sales goals."

Some additional benefits of partnering with an SPM expert include:

  • Identifying specific sales platform needs and determining the framework that can be best integrated into the organization.
  • Receiving guidance through the research and vendor selection process and implementing the best-fit tools.
  • Aligning both core and advanced SPM platforms and functional capabilities with the organization’s existing infrastructures and tools.
  • Gaining access to the best technology and actionable insights.
  • Achieving greater operational efficiencies and better sales results.

About Frost & Sullivan
For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion.

Media Contact:
Priya George,
Corporate Communications, Frost & Sullivan
E: priyag@frost.com

http://ww2.frost.com

About OpenSymmetry
OpenSymmetry enables clients to achieve greater operational efficiency and get better sales results.  OpenSymmetry is a global consulting company specializing in the planning, implementation, and optimization of industry leading technology suppliers of sales performance management solutions.

Media Contact:
Christina Mennen
Marketing Director, OpenSymmetry
E: christina.mennen@opensymmetry.com

www.opensymmetry.com 

 

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ATFX Connect Continues to Report Strong Volume Growth in 2021

SHANGHAI, Sept. 13, 2021 — ATFX Connect, the institutional arm of ATFX, focusing on Hedge Funds, Family Offices, B2B, Asset Managers, HNW’s, and spread betting accounts has reported positive trend growth for its trading volumes for Q1 2021 and Q2 2021.

ATFX Connect, announced that its volumes between Q1 2021 and Q2 2021 have seen quarterly growth of over 30%. In addition to this, ATFX Connect continues to expand its institutional business and market share by offering clients a broad range of financial instruments.

ATFX Connect supports institutional clients by providing them with Direct Market access to liquidity from T1 bank and non-bank providers in Spot FX, Precious Metals and CFDs. In addition, the flexible infrastructure enables ATFX to manage aggregation, pricing and allows integration with any third-party platform.

ATFX Connect’s Agency business has recently added to its global liquidity offering with the introduction of a server located in NY4. In addition to our current LD4 server, ATFX clients are now able to access a broader and deeper pool of liquidity during both the London afternoon and US trading session until market close.

The additional server has seen ATFX partner with a number of new LPs who have a strong presence during US trading hours. The support of these relationships has helped ATFX attract several new global clients who have trading desks covering the NYK session and has also resulted in a healthy increase in volumes from our existing clients wishing to trade with ATFX outside of London hours. As with our current offering in LD4, ATFX’s technology allows us to tailor our aggregated price streams from both servers to meet the requirements of each client helping them to execute business within a competitive and consistent pricing environment.

ATFX continues to expand its team and recently hired Steve Whittet, a well-known and highly respected figure in the FX Market. Steve’s hire is another signal for ATFX Connect’s ambition to expand its geographical footprint across Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and enhance its product offering. Additionally, ATFX Connect continues to search for new team members to speed up its growth in other territories.

ATFX Connect

Back in 2019, ATFX stepped into the Institutional arena to launch its Multi-Access platform ATFX Connect. The management’s vision was to expand the broker’s global presence and provide award-winning liquidity and customer service to the institutional community. With the focus on the professional investor, the ATFX Connect platform is designed to provide an efficient automated trading venue that delivers tailored liquidity solutions to Hedge Funds, Asset Managers, Brokers, Private Banks, and other financial institutions.

ATFX

ATFX is an award-winning FX/CFD broker with a global presence offering customer support in over 15 languages. With over 200 tradable financial assets, including forex, cryptocurrency, precious metals, energy, indices, and shares traded as CFDs, ATFX is regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) in Cyprus, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) in Mauritius, and the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.

Fusion NFT™ – a new way of investing in art and collectibles?

SINGAPORE, Sept. 12, 2021 — Not so long ago, digital artists whose artworks were posted all over social media, were frustrated that they were not earning much income from their works irrespective of the number of likes, comments and shares they got.  On the other hand, art connoisseurs/collectors have been limited in how they can trade their art pieces as auction houses where predominantly the only avenue for them to sell their collections. 

With the usage of blockchain technology, NFTs (non-fungible tokens) has completely changed how art and collectibles can be bought and sold. Through NFTs, artists now have a new way to monetise their art, collectors can access a more diversified range of collectibles and investors can have access a wider pool of buyers.

While there has been news with respect to the growing interests in NFTs, this strong interest was also seen during the recent inaugural Coinllectibles™️ Fusion NFT™️ on OKEx NFT marketplace.  Within the first day of the launch, an investor paid US$100,000 (28ETH) for the Coinllectibles™️ Fusion NFT™️ Item #001 – a pair of heritage ceramics, which was almost twice the item’s valuation price.  The investor immediately placed the piece out in the secondary market and resold it at 150,000 USDT, successfully making a US$50,000 profit. The new owner then resold the iconic piece for 250,000 USDT and made a profit of about US$100,000. The collectible is currently on sale for sale for 289,000 USDT (https://www.okex.com/defi/nft/markets/detail?id=29978). As a whole, all the Fusion NFT™️ were sold out during the launch and Coinllectibles™️ saw a total sales turnover of more than US$600,000 during the first 4 days. 

Observing this development, Joseph Morton from Equity.Guru commented that this could be a "game of greater fool hot potato" (https://equity.guru/2021/09/10/this-week-in-crypto-standard-regulation-edition/). While that may be the case for regular NFTs, this article takes a look at how different Fusion NFT™️ is and how Coinllectibles™️, a fully owned subsidiary of Cosmos Group Holdings Inc. (OTC: COSG), aims to add value to the collectibles market.

1.         Fusion NFTs™️ – Buyers get both the digital tokens and the physical collectible

NFTs are characterised by its feature of tokenizing items with unique blockchain-based ID tags.  Unlike regular NFTs, where buyers only get a digital asset, buyers of Fusion NFTs™️ get both the digital non-fungible tokens as well as the physical art piece.  In this way, Fusion NFT™️  buyers not only get to buy and sell the digital non-fungible tokens online, they are also able to enjoy the items in the real world. 

2.         Ownership security and provenance

To make the buying and selling of Fusion NFTs™️ secure, Coinllectibles™️ has incorporated state-of-the-art 3D imaging technology to authenticate as well as provide provenance for the collectibles. This is akin to using the facial recognition function to unlock a handphone, the 3D image that is contained within the NFT will be able to authenticate ownership as well as whether the item is genuine. As added security, Coinllectibles™️ also embeds microchips to the collectible items.  Apart from all these technological protection, Fusion NFTs™️ also consists of robust documentation to provide owners with legal protection as well. All these are put together to holistically protect the interest of stakeholders, that will ultimately lead to a more secured buying/selling experience online. 

3.         More than art and collectibles collection

Beyond the buying and selling of NFTs, Coinllectibles™️ aim to bring greater enjoyment to our Fusion NFT™️ owners.  Firstly, Fusion NFTs™️ owners will get to decide between taking possession of the physical collectibles or putting the items up on exhibit in the world’s first gallery for Fusion NFTs™️ at K11 MUSEA in Hong Kong. Secondly, Coinllectibles™️ is exploring the possibility of working with game producers so that Fusion NFT™️ owners will also get to enjoy the items in an online environment. While some of these initiatives are still work-in-progress, Coinllectibles™️ believes that all these additional benefits help differentiate Fusion NFTs™️ from the rest.

In conclusion, not only are NFTs attracting the attention from artists and collectors, investors are also eyeing the extensive market opportunity of this crypto art and collectibles trade. Based on Statista, the total number of NFT from Apr 2021 to Aug 2021 was more than 263,000 – which approximates to 1 NFT sold each minute. All these showcase the immense potential and profitability of NFTs being traded in the primary and secondary market.  We are still in the early days. While it is anyone’s guess how the NFT market will become, the prospects for now is extremely bright.

To keep up with the launch of Fusion NFTs™️ projects and news, please visit www.Coinllectibles.Art or join the Coinllectibles Telegram Channel at https://t.me/Coinllectibles.

About Cosmos Group Holdings Inc.

Cosmos Group Holdings Inc. (OTC: COSG) was formerly a television network and multimedia information and distribution company focused on serving the homeland security and emergency preparedness industry. The group’s future will focus in the development of blockchain NFT technologies and platforms to facilitate the global trading of arts and collectibles.

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 Inter Planetary File System (IPFS) – (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™️.

UnionBank Applauded by Frost & Sullivan for Elevating the Customer Experience with Its Mobile Banking Solution

UnionBank combines the power of 5G and artificial intelligence to anticipate customer preferences and behaviors

SINGAPORE, Sept. 9, 2021 — Based on its recent analysis of the Philippines mobile banking experience market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes UnionBank of the Philippines with the 2021 Excellence in Customer Experience for advancing mobile banking technology in the Philippines. The bank has proved its ability to innovate consistently and ensure a seamless customer experience.

UnionBank became the first in the country to leverage 5G technology to launch the smart branch with Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled services. The bank’s highly customizable system, self-service options, and robot assistant have elevated the quality of customer interactions. This commitment to continuous, data-driven innovation has helped the bank enhance service delivery along the entire customer journey.
UnionBank became the first in the country to leverage 5G technology to launch the smart branch with Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled services. The bank’s highly customizable system, self-service options, and robot assistant have elevated the quality of customer interactions. This commitment to continuous, data-driven innovation has helped the bank enhance service delivery along the entire customer journey.

"UnionBank became the first publicly listed traditional bank to receive a digital banking license from the Philippines’ central bank," said Edurra Talib, Senior Research Analyst, Customer Analytics. "It has embarked upon a digitalization drive to extend ePayment services to 70% of its customers by 2023 as the demand for digital services gets louder."

UnionBank became the first in the country to leverage 5G technology to launch the smart branch with Internet of Things (IoT)-enabled services. The bank’s highly customizable system, self-service options, and robot assistant have elevated the quality of customer interactions. This commitment to continuous, data-driven innovation has helped the bank enhance service delivery along the entire customer journey.

"Overall, UnionBank’s one-stop mobile app hub for the enterprise customer segment has helped it accelerate technology adoption among customers and established it as a company offering a differentiated customer experience," noted Talib.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the bank that demonstrates outstanding performance for branches, specifically ATM ambiance and online experience. The recipient has employed the customer experience framework of process, space, and people in its digitization process, bridging offline with online to deliver a seamless customer experience.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

About Frost & Sullivan

For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders, and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion.

Contact:

Kala Mani S.
Best Practices Awards Branding – Asia-Pacific
Email: kala.manis@frost.com

About UnionBank

Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) is a publicly listed universal bank that distinguishes itself through superior technology, unique sales and service culture, and centralized backroom operations. It has consistently been recognized as one of Asia’s leading companies, ranking among the country’s top universal banks in terms of profitability and efficiency. 

Throughout its years of existence, UnionBank has always been among the first to embrace technological innovations to empower its customers into the future of banking.

Determined to be an enabler of the Philippines’ bid to be a G20 country by 2050, UnionBank stands firm in its promise to power the future of banking through "Tech-Up Pilipinas" to best serve the growing needs of Filipinos everywhere, while pioneering innovations for a better world. 

 

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CooTek Announces Second Quarter 2021 Unaudited Results

SHANGHAI, Sept. 8, 2021 — CooTek (Cayman) Inc. (NYSE: CTK) ("CooTek" or the "Company"), a global mobile internet company, today reported unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021.

Second Quarter 2021 Highlights

  • Net revenues were US$83.2 million, a decrease of 34% from US$126.4 million during the same period last year due to the continuous restructuring of portfolio products.
  • Gross profit was US$74.4 million, a decrease of 38% from US$120.7 million during the same period last year.
  • Gross profit margin was 89.4%, compared with 95.5% during the same period last year.
  • Net income was US$0.3 million, compared with net loss of US$12.4 million last quarter, and net income of US$3.1 million during the same period last year.
  • Adjusted net income[1] (Non-GAAP) was US$1.1 million, compared with adjusted net loss (Non-GAAP) US$11.1 million last quarter, and adjusted net income (Non-GAAP) of US$4.5 million during the same period last year.
  • The Company’s Portfolio Products[2] contributed approximately 99% of total revenues, with a focus on three main categories: online literature, mobile games and scenario-based content apps.

June 2021 Operational Highlights

  • Average daily active users ("DAUs") of the Company’s portfolio products were 23.5 million, a decrease of 2% from 23.9 million in June 2020. Monthly active users ("MAUs") of the Company’s portfolio products were 70.0 million, a decrease of 16% from 83.5 million in June 2020.
  • Average DAUs of the Company’s online literature products were 6.7 million, a decrease of 17% from 8.1 million in June 2020. MAUs of the Company’s online literature products were 18.1 million, a decrease of 36% from 28.4 million in June 2020. The average daily reading time[3] of our online literature product in the Chinese market, Fengdu Novel’s users was approximately 153 minutes in June 2021, which continued to grow steadily compared with 148 minutes in March 2021.
  • Average DAUs of the Company’s TouchPal Smart Input were 109.6 million. MAUs of the Company’s TouchPal Smart Input were 144.1 million.

"We are pleased to return to profitability while keeping a positive quarter-over-quarter revenue growth in the second quarter of 2021," commented Mr. Karl Zhang, CooTek’s Chairman. "We remain committed to our content-focused strategy by continuously enhancing our product portfolio and optimizing our product features. We are encouraged by the solid implementation of the business plan driven by our online literature and mobile games products. With enriching and high-quality content incubation, Fengdu Novel has been expanding the exclusive content distribution and IP business. The revenues from the IP business of Fengdu Novel recorded 194% quarter-over-quarter growth. In addition, our mobile games portfolio has been further strengthened both in the domestic and overseas markets. We have strived to ride on the strong performance of Catwalk Beauty, our globally top-ranking casual game, to form a competitive product pipeline. As a special note, for the second half of 2021, we can expect such pipeline with more than 15 games in the domestic market and more than 20 games in the overseas market under the smooth combination of our internal development and external cooperation."

Mr. Robert Cui, CooTek’s CFO further commented, "As focusing on upgrading our business model, we have been optimizing the balance between our marketing and monetization strategies which resulted in the achievement of group-level profitability in the second quarter of 2021. We will further expand the scale of our product portfolio, improve our user experience and user stickiness and enhance our monetization capabilities. We are confident in delivering a robust and stable long-term growth."

(in millions)

Portfolio Products

Portfolio Products

Including: Online literature

DAUs

MAUs

DAUs

MAUs

Jun’ 19

27.6

65.1

0.3

1.6

Sep’ 19

23.9

67.5

2.0

11.0

Dec’ 19

24.7

74.6

4.8

19.3

Mar’ 20

25.2

89.2

7.3

29.1

Jun’ 20

23.9

83.5

8.1

28.4

Sep’ 20

27.7

94.8

10.0

29.5

Dec’ 20

27.8

85.8

10.2

29.5

Mar’ 21

20.3

58.6

7.5

20.1

Jun’ 21

23.5

70.0

6.7

18.1

Second Quarter 2021 Financial Results

Net Revenues

(in US$ thousands, except percentage)

2Q 2021

1Q 2021

2Q 2020

QoQ % Change

YoY % Change

Mobile Advertising Revenues

82,078

80,408

125,774

2%

(35)%

Other Revenues

1,139

1,144

622

0%

83%

Total Net Revenues

83,217

81,552

126,396

2%

(34)%

Net revenues were US$83.2 million, a decrease of 34% from US$126.4 million during the second quarter of 2020 and an increase of 2% from US$81.6 million during the last quarter. The decrease compared with the same quarter of 2020 was primarily due to a decrease in mobile advertising revenues.

Mobile advertising revenues were US$82.1 million, a decrease of 35% from US$125.8 million during the second quarter of 2020 and an increase of 2% from US$80.4 million during the last quarter. The decrease compared with the same quarter of 2020 was primarily due to the continuous restructuring of portfolio products.

Our portfolio products focus on three categories: online literature, scenario-based content apps and mobile games. Mobile games accounted for approximately 55%, online literature accounted for approximately 37%, and scenario-based content apps accounted for approximately 7% in the second quarter of 2021.

Cost and Operating Expenses

2Q 2021

1Q 2021

2Q 2020

(in US$ thousands, except percentage)

US$

% of revenue

US$

% of revenue

US$

% of revenue

QoQ %
Change

YoY %

Change

Cost of revenues

8,801

10%

8,866

11%

5,691

5%

(1)%

55%

Sales and marketing

59,787

72%

70,736

87%

105,999

84%

(15)%

(44)%

Research and development

9,709

12%

9,037

11%

8,103

6%

7%

20%

General and administrative

4,879

6%

5,557

7%

4,136

3%

(12)%

18%

Other operating income, net

(1,459)

(2)%

(802)

(1)%

(446)

(0)%

82%

227%

Total Cost and Expenses

81,717

98%

93,394

115%

123,483

98%

(13)%

(34)%

Share-based compensation expenses by function

Cost of revenues

54

0.1%

79

0.1%

71

0.1%

(32)%

(24)%

Sales and marketing

14

0.0%

41

0.1%

61

0.0%

(66)%

(77)%

Research and development

456

0.5%

646

0.8%

862

0.7%

(29)%

(47)%

General and administrative

317

0.4%

538

0.6%

430

0.3%

(41)%

(26)%

Total share-based compensation expenses

841

1.0%

1,304

1.6%

1,424

1.1%

(36)%

(41)%

Cost of revenues was US$8.8 million, a 55% increase from US$5.7 million during the same period last year, and a decrease of 1% from US$8.9 million during the last quarter. The year-over-year increase was primarily due to an increase in content costs we paid to our signed authors and third-party content providers for the publishing and licensing of relevant online literature works and an increase in salary and payroll expenses associated with staff.

Gross profit was US$74.4 million, a decrease of 38% from US$120.7 million during the same period last year, and an increase of 2% from US$72.7 million last quarter. Gross profit margin was 89.4%, compared with 95.5% in the same period last year and 89.1% last quarter.

Sales and marketing expenses were US$59.8 million, a decrease of 44% from US$106.0 million during the same period last year, and a decrease of 15% from US$70.7 million last quarter. As a percentage of total revenues, sales and marketing expenses accounted for 72%, compared with 84% during the same period last year, and 87% last quarter. The sequential and year-over-year decrease in sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of total net revenues was primarily due to the continuous transition of the strategy in relation to the acquisition of new users and the retention of existing users which resulted in the reduction of the user acquisition costs.

Research and development expenses were US$9.7 million, an increase of 20% from US$8.1 million during the same period last year and an increase of 7% from US$9.0 million last quarter. The sequential and year-over-year increase was primarily due to an increase in salary and payroll expenses associated with technology R&D staff, and was partially offset by decline in share-based compensation expenses. As a percentage of total net revenues, research and development expenses accounted for 12%, compared with 6% during the same period last year and 11% last quarter.

General and administrative expenses were US$4.9 million, an increase of 18% from US$4.1 million during the same period last year and a decrease of 12% from US$5.6 million last quarter. The sequential decrease was mainly due to a decrease in share-based compensation and third-party outsourcing fee, and was partially offset by a rise in professional service fee. The year-over-year increase was mainly due to an increase in salary and payroll expenses associated with G&A staff, professional service fee and third-party outsourcing fee, and was partially offset by decline in share-based compensation. As a percentage of total net revenues, general and administrative expenses accounted for 6%, compared with 3% during the same period last year and 7% during last quarter.

Other operating income, net was US$1.5 million, compared with US$0.4 million during the same period last year and US$0.8 million last quarter. The other operating income mainly included government subsidy received.

Net income was US$0.3 million, compared with net income of US$3.1 million during the same period last year and a net loss of US$12.4 million last quarter.

Adjusted net income was US$1.1 million, compared with adjusted net income of US$4.5 million in the same period last year and adjusted net loss of US$11.1 million last quarter. The achievement of profitability compared with the adjusted net loss last quarter was mainly due to the decrease in sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of total revenue driven by the continuous transition of the strategy in relation to the acquisition of new users and the retention of existing users.

(in US$ thousands, except percentage)

2Q 2021

1Q 2021

2Q 2020

QoQ % Change

YoY % Change

Net Income (Loss)

264

(12,398)

3,119

(102)%

(92)%

Add: Share-based Compensation related to share

options and restricted share units

 

841

 

1,304

1,424

 

(36)%

 

(41)%

Adjusted Net Income (Loss) (Non-GAAP)

1,105

(11,094)

4,543

(110)%

(76)%

For the quarter ended June 30, 2021, basic and diluted net income per ADS were US$0.004 and US$0.004, and basic and diluted adjusted net income (Non-GAAP) per ADS were US$0.02 and US$0.02, respectively.

Balance Sheet and Cash Flows

As of June 30, 2021, cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash were US$39.0million, compared with US$56.1 million as of March 31, 2021. As of June 30, 2021, restricted cash were US$3.3 million, mainly consisting of amount of US$3.1 million held in the Company’s bank account as guarantee deposit for loan facility provided by the bank. As of March 31, 2021, the long-term restricted cash was US$21.5 million held in the Company’s bank accounts which were frozen by a local authority in connection with an ongoing investigation related to an alleged illegal act of certain customers. As of June 30, 2021, the relevant bank accounts have been unfrozen.

Net cash outflow from operating activities during the second quarter of 2021 was US$17.5 million, compared with net cash inflow from operating activities of US$5.4 million for the same period in 2020 and net cash outflow from operating activities of US$23.0 million during the last quarter. Cash outflow from operating activities during the second quarter of 2021 was mainly due to the decrease in accounts payable driven primarily by the decrease of our user acquisition costs.

Net cash outflow from financing activities during the second quarter of 2021 was US$0.1 million, compared with net cash inflow from financing activities of US$3.1 million for the same period in 2020 and net cash inflow from financing activities of US$30.2 million during the last quarter. Cash inflow from financing activities during the first quarter of 2021 was mainly due to the Company issued a convertible note for a principal amount of US$10.0 million and received net proceeds of US$8.9 million from this issuance on January 19, 2021, and the Company issued a convertible note for a principal amount of US$20.0 million and received net proceeds of US$ 18.2 million from this issuance on March 19, 2021.

Share Repurchase Plan

On May 18, 2020, the Company announced a share repurchase program (the "2020 Program") whereby the Company is authorized to repurchase its class A ordinary shares in the form of ADSs with an aggregate value of up to US$20.0 million during the 12-month period starting from May 18, 2020. As of June 30, 2021, the Company had used an aggregate of US$6.0 million to repurchase 1.4 million ADSs under the 2020 Program and recorded as treasury stock. The 2020 Program was terminated on May 17, 2021.

Conference Call and Webcast

CooTek’s management team will host a conference call at 8:00 AM U.S. Eastern Time on September 8, 2021 (8:00 PM Beijing Time on the same day), following the results announcement.

The dial-in details for the live conference call are:

United States:

866-548-4713

Hong Kong:

800-961-105

Mainland China:

4001-209-101

International:

1-323-794-2093

Passcode:

7805619

Please dial in 15 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin. When prompted, ask to be connected to the CooTek (Cayman) Inc. call.

A live webcast and archive of the conference call will be available on the Investor Relations section of CooTek’s website at https://ir.cootek.com/.

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.

Non-GAAP Financial Measure

To supplement the unaudited consolidated financial information prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America ("GAAP"), the Company uses non-GAAP financial measure of adjusted net loss that is adjusted from results based on GAAP to exclude the impact of share-based compensation, and Adjusted EBITDA that is net loss excluding interest income and expense, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, and share-based compensation. The measure should be considered in addition to results prepared in accordance with GAAP, but should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, GAAP results.

The Company believes that the non-GAAP measure help identify underlying financial and business trends relating to the Company’s results of operations that could otherwise be distorted by the effect of certain expenses that the Company include in loss from operations and net loss. By making the Company’s financial results comparable period over period, the Company believes adjusted net loss and Adjusted EBITDA provides useful information to better understand the Company’s historical business operations and future prospects and allows for greater visibility with respect to key metrics used by the management in financial and operational decision-making. In order to mitigate these limitations, the Company has provided specific information regarding the GAAP amounts excluded from the non-GAAP measure. The table at the bottom of this press release includes details on the reconciliation between GAAP financial measure that is most directly comparable to the non-GAAP financial measure the Company has presented.

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

 

 

 

CooTek (Cayman) Inc.

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations

(in thousands, except for share and per share data)

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended

June 30,

March 31,

June 30,

June 30,

2020

2021

2021

2020

2021

US$

US$

US$

US$

US$

Net revenues

126,396

81,552

83,217

233,409

164,769

Cost of revenues

(5,691)

(8,866)

(8,801)

(10,273)

(17,667)

Gross Profit

120,705

72,686

74,416

223,136

147,102

Operating expenses:

Sales and marketing expenses

(105,999)

(70,736)

(59,787)

(208,435)

(130,523)

Research and development expenses

(8,103)

(9,037)

(9,709)

(14,950)

(18,746)

General and administrative expenses

(4,136)

(5,557)

(4,879)

(7,437)

(10,436)

Other operating income, net

446

802

1,459

836

2,261

Total operating expenses

(117,792)

(84,528)

(72,916)

(229,986)

(157,444)

Income (loss) from operations

2,913

(11,842)

1,500

(6,850)

(10,342)

Interest income (expense), net

211

(313)

(1,336)

234

(1,649)

Foreign exchange (loss) gain, net

(2)

(243)

19

(224)

Fair value change of derivatives

85

85

Income (loss) before income taxes

3,122

(12,398)

268

(6,616)

(12,130)

Income tax expense

(3)

(3)

Share of loss in equity method investment

(4)

(4)

Net income (loss)

3,119

(12,398)

264

(6,619)

(12,134)

Net income (loss) per ordinary share

Basic

0.001

(0.004)

0.0001

(0.002)

(0.004)

Diluted

0.001

(0.004)

0.0001

(0.002)

(0.004)

Weighted average shares used in calculating
    net income (loss) per ordinary share

Basic

3,084,894,043

3,136,585,226

3,238,319,836

3,094,780,922

3,187,723,620

Diluted

3,222,716,303

3,136,585,226

3,279,417,127

3,094,780,922

3,187,723,620

Non-GAAP Financial Data

Adjusted Net Income (Loss)

4,543

(11,094)

1,105

(4,254)

(9,989)

Adjusted EBITDA

5,123

(9,924)

3,428

(2,945)

(6,496)

 

 

 

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets 

(in thousands, except for share and per share data)

As of

March 31, 
2021

June 30, 
2021

US$

US$

ASSETS

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents

31,413

35,667

Restricted cash

3,238

3,293

Short-term investment

50

50

Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of US$1,126 as of  
  March 31, 2021 and US$1,180 as of June 30, 2021, respectively

27,425

31,451

Prepaid expenses and other current assets

9,293

8,966

Total current assets

71,419

79,427

Long term restricted cash

21,476

Property and equipment, net

4,916

4,100

Intangible assets, net

360

326

Operating lease right-of-use assets[4]

2,177

1,818

Long-term investments

304

620

Other non-current assets

1,015

1,211

TOTAL ASSETS

101,667

87,502

LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

Current liabilities

Accounts payable

63,819

50,245

Short-term borrowings

15,028

15,162

Accrued salary and benefits

5,389

6,555

Operating lease liabilities, current[4]

1,486

1,322

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities

9,697

6,685

Convertible notes

16,547

16,243

Derivative liabilities

1,662

1,577

Deferred revenue

3,114

3,086

Total current liabilities

116,742

100,875

Other non-current liabilities

425

391

Operating lease liabilities, non-current3

688

231

TOTAL LIABILITIES

117,855

101,497

 

 

 

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (continued):

(in thousands, except for share and per share data)

As of

March 31, 
2021

June 30, 
2021

US$

US$

Shareholders’ Deficit:

Ordinary shares

33

33

Treasury shares

(5,132)

(5,229)

Additional paid-in capital

203,836

206,159

Accumulated deficit

(213,363)

(213,099)

Accumulated other comprehensive loss

(1,562)

(1,859)

Total Shareholders’ Deficit

(16,188)

(13,995)

TOTAL LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ DEFICIT

101,667

87,502

 

 

 

Unaudited Condensed Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

 (in thousands, except for share and per share data)

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended 

 June 30,

March 31,

June 30, 

June 30,

2020

2021

2021

2020

2021

US$

US$

US$

US$

US$

Net cash provided by (used in)
     operating activities

5,402

(22,974)

(17,540)

20,362

(40,514)

Net cash used in investing activities

(13,859)

(359)

(565)

(14,628)

(924)

Net cash provided by (used in) 
      financing activities

3,100

30,150

(135)

(754)

30,015

Net (decrease) increase in cash and 
      cash equivalents

(5,357)

6,817

(18,240)

4,980

(11,423)

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted 
      cash at beginning of period

70,026

49,622

56,127

59,966

49,622

Effect of exchange rate changes on 
      cash and cash equivalents

252

(312)

1,073

(25)

761

Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted
      cash at end of period

64,921

56,127

38,960

64,921

38,960

 

 

 

Reconciliations of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results

(in thousands, except for share and per share data)

Three Months Ended

Six Months Ended 

 June 30,

 March 31,

June 30, 

June 30,

2020

2021

2021

2020

2021

 US$

US$

US$

 US$

US$

Net Income (Loss)

3,119

(12,398)

264

(6,619)

(12,134)

Add:

Share-based compensation related to share options and
   restricted share units

1,424

1,304

841

2,365

2,145

Adjusted Net Income (Loss) (Non-GAAP)*

4,543

(11,094)

1,105

(4,254)

(9,989)

Add:

Interest (income) expense, net

(211)

313

1,336

(234)

1,649

Income taxes

3

3

Depreciation and amortization

788

857

987

1,540

1,844

Adjusted EBITDA (Non-GAAP)*

5,123

(9,924)

3,428

(2,945)

(6,496)

* The tax impact to the non-GAAP adjustments is zero.

 

 

 

[1] "Adjusted net income" (Non-GAAP) is a non-GAAP measure, which is defined as net loss excluding share-based compensation related to share options and restricted share units. For further information, please see "Non-GAAP Financial Measures" and "Reconciliations of GAAP and non-GAAP results" at the bottom of this release.

[2] "Portfolio Products" is to the mobile applications that we develop and provide to our users and business partners, which exclude TouchPal Smart Input and TouchPal Phonebook.

[3] "Average daily reading time" for any day is calculated by dividing (i) the sum of time spent on reading books on our Fengdu Novel for such day, by (ii) the number of Fengdu Novel users who spent time on reading books for such day. The average daily reading time for any month is calculated by dividing (i) the sum of average daily reading time for each day in such month, by (ii) the number of days in such month.

[4] On January 1, 2021, the Company adopted ASC 842, the new lease standard, using the modified retrospective method.

 

Related Links :

https://ir.cootek.com/

TradeUP Acquisition Corp. Announces the Separate Trading of its Common Stock and Warrants, Commencing September 7, 2021


NEW YORK, Sept. 3, 2021 — TradeUP Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: UPTDU) ("TradeUP Acquisition" or the "Company") announced today that, commencing September 7, 2021, holders of the Units (the "Units") sold in the Company’s initial public offering ("IPO") and the over-allotment of 4,430,000 Units may elect to separately trade the shares of common stock and warrants included in the Units. Any Units not separated will continue to trade on the NASDAQ Capital Market ("NASDAQ") under the symbol "UPTDU". Any underlying common stock and warrants that are separated will trade on the NASDAQ under the symbols "UPTD" and "UPTDW," respectively. No fractional warrants will be issued upon separation of the Units and only whole warrants will trade. Holders of Units will need to have their brokers contact the Company’s transfer agent, VStock Transfer, LLC, in order to separate the holders’ Units into common stock and warrants.

The Units were initially offered by the Company in an underwritten offering. US Tiger Securities, Inc. acted as the lead book running manager in the offering. EF Hutton, division of Benchmark Investments, LLC and R.F. Lafferty & Co., Inc. acted as joint book running managers. R.F. Lafferty & Co., Inc. also acted as a qualified independent underwriter.

A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") and became effective on July 14, 2021. The offering was made only by means of a prospectus, copies of which may be obtained, when available, by contacting US Tiger Securities, Inc., 437 Madison Avenue, 27th Floor, New York, New York 10022; email: IB@ustigersecurities.com. Copies of the registration statement can be accessed through the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

About TradeUP Acquisition Corp.

TradeUP Acquisition Corp. is a newly organized blank check company incorporated as a Delaware corporation formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with one or more businesses. The Company’s efforts to identify a prospective target business will not be limited to a particular industry or geographic region, although the Company intends to focus a search for a target business in the technology industry.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release may include "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. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this press release are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, risks and changes in circumstances, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the "Risk Factors" section of the Company’s registration statement, as amended from time to time, and prospectus for the offering filed with the SEC. The Company expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based.