Tag Archives: MLM

Tencent Music Entertainment Group Announces Strategic Partnership with CoMix Wave Films

Partnership brings to TME’s platforms the soundtracks of CoMix Wave Films Inc.’s popular animated works, including 5 Centimeters per Second and The Garden of Words

SHENZHEN, China, July 2, 2020 –Tencent Music Entertainment Group (TME) (NYSE:TME) has established a strategic partnership with CoMix Wave Films Inc. (CWF), a leading Japanese animated movie studio and distribution company known especially for the works of Makoto Shinkai and Jiro Tsunoda. Under this new partnership, the original soundtracks from 17 popular animated movies, including 5 Centimeters per Second and The Garden of Words, both directed by Makoto Shinkai, will go live on TME’s music platforms – QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music and WeSing.

As a leader in the Japanese anime sector, CWF has a strong lineup of works deeply loved around the world. Makoto Shinkai Studio, an emerging animation studio under CWF, has drawn the attention of Chinese animation fans for its capabilities in creating immersive experiences in each of its works, with Your Name and Weathering With You as two of the most successful, by leveraging the unique combination of refined visual effects and emotionally strong soundtracks.

CWF commented on the strategic partnership, "TME has over 800 million monthly active users across several leading Chinese digital music and entertainment platforms, each of which boasts a huge user base of young people that offers a great environment to provide a deeper understanding of Japanese culture as embodied by music. With years of experience and accumulated expertise in digital music, TME will help CWF accelerate its digital transformation. By leveraging TME’s proven capabilities in promotion and distribution of digital music and entertainment works, CWF expects to offer animated music fans a diversified lineup of content and experiences, unleashing the unlimited power of music." 

TME, a long-established player in the segment encompassing ACG (anime, comic and game) songs, selected leading global animation firm CWF as its strategic partner with the aim of addressing demand from fans for access to music specific to their preferences, while maximizing the value that can be derived from the various ACG music segments. TME plans to combine its strength in terms of music and entertainment with CWF’s strong production capabilities in anticipation of boosting the growth of the music IP industry.

As part of TME’s efforts to enhance its presence in the world of Japanese ACG music, the company signed a deal with Japanese music label Being in March 2020. With the partnership, TME obtained the music copyrights of popular animations owned by Being, including Detective Conan, Slam Dunk, Dragon Ball and Chibi Maruko-chan, immersing music fans in a wonderful world of animation accompanied by great music. 

By adding the Japanese ACG music collection to its portfolio, TME has expanded its footprint in content verticals and accelerated the build-out of an international content ecosystem. In recent years, TME has already entered into strategic cooperation agreements with famous overseas labels, including Sony Music, Warner Music Group, Universal Music Group, Being, Inc, Believe Digital, Stem Music, Roba Music Publishing, Hillsong and Twin Music.

Looking ahead, TME plans to work with CWF and other partners to build a global multicultural digital music and entertainment ecosystem and create a music partner-friendly environment as they co-create content for every conceivable musical genre. TME will continue pursuing its vision of increasing the value of musical content and further exploring the potential of the music industry by providing fans with engaging music and entertainment experiences while enhancing the connections between fans and content.

About Tencent Music Entertainment

Tencent Music Entertainment Group (NYSE: TME) is the leading online music entertainment platform in China, operating the country’s highly popular and innovative music apps: QQ Music, Kugou Music, Kuwo Music and WeSing. TME’s mission is to use technology to elevate the role of music in people’s lives by enabling them to create, enjoy, share and interact with music. TME’s platform comprises online music, online karaoke and music-centric live streaming services, enabling music fans to discover, listen, sing, watch, perform and socialize around music.

For more information, please visit https://www.tencentmusic.com/

Media Contact:
Edmond Lococo, ICR Inc.
Phone: +86-10-6583-7510
Email:
TME.PR@icrinc.com  

 

HEVC Advance Announces Royalty Rates to Remain at Current Levels

Caps will also remain unchanged for HEVC Advance Licensees in the program before 2021

BOSTON, July 2, 2020 — HEVC Advance, an independent licensing administrator, today announced that the current royalty rates offered by its HEVC/H.265 Pool License will remain unchanged for its next five-year term, beginning January 1, 2021, through December 31, 2025 (the “First Renewal Term”).

HEVC Advance also announced that the Category and Enterprise Caps will increase by 20% beginning on January 1, 2021, but those increases will be suspended through the end of the First Renewal Term for all Licensees in the program by December 31, 2020, and that remain in good-standing.

“We are very pleased that our Licensors have decided to maintain existing royalty rates and caps for those companies that are meeting their IP obligations,” said HEVC Advance CEO, Peter Moller.  “This decision of our Licensors is especially note-worthy considering the overwhelming success of the HEVC Advance pool in consolidating HEVC patent owners – with now 29 Licensors and ~11,000 essential patents as compared to our launch in 2016 with 6 Licensors and ~500 essential patents – all with no increase in royalty rates!”

HEVC Advance reminds any holders of HEVC Standard Essential Patents that are not yet Licensors in the HEVC Advance Pool that incentives in the form of increased patent points are still available for patents submitted and determined to be essential by December 31, 2020. For further information please contact HEVC Advance at licensing@hevcadvance.com.

About HEVC Advance
HEVC Advance is an independent licensing administrator company formed to lead the development, administration and management of an HEVC/H.265 patent pool for licensing essential patents. HEVC Advance provides a transparent and efficient licensing mechanism for HEVC patented technology. For more information about HEVC Advance, visit www.hevcadvance.com.

Contact: press@hevcadvance.com

Remote Graduations: Longer distance, more humanistic

BEIJING, June 30, 2020 — A news report by China.org.cn on China’s remote graduation under COVID-19:

 

 

Graduation season is drawing near. However, with COVID-19 still lurking, most Chinese universities are yet to resume to normal. This has caused substantial obstacles for both graduation ceremonies and graduates looking for a job.

To cope with the situation, Chinese universities have turned to seek remote solutions. Universities in Shanghai, for instance, have held livestream lectures on social media platforms, and shared employment guidelines, as well as tips for interviewing. Recruitment introductions and job interviews have also moved online. Likewise, a university in Zhengzhou, Henan province held a VR exhibition for its design-majored graduates, making the exhibition accessible to more people. What’s more, the university opened a special channel for companies, so that recruiting teams could contact graduates for interviews after watching the exhibition.

Remote exhibitions and interviews have broken the limits of time and space. Some novel ideas are also used in graduation ceremonies.

Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, for example, has shown its humanistic side in this respect.

The university combined robots and livestreaming in their commencement ceremony. The robots each carried a screen, allowing graduates to witness and even experience the rituals of the whole ceremony from home. Since the graduates were not able to attend, these measures to some extent made it up for them.

The reasons behind this are worth considering. Indeed, the epidemic will eventually be over, and all walks of life will resume to normal. But to each individual student, graduation is an irreplaceable memory in life. A commencement ceremony is supposed to fulfill the students’ sense of ritual. Therefore, Chinese universities didn’t want these temporary challenges to disappoint graduates, and did whatever they could to give the graduates a proper conclusion of their college life. A student from the university said that he had found it to be an interesting experience.

With such facilitating measures, this graduation season is bound to be a special one for graduates.

China is able to make these efforts due to the proficient use of technology. The epidemic has presented challenges to all walks of life. But, remote communication tools and online-to-offline coordination – such as VR, live streams – have helped the social life to move on in an orderly and efficient way in the past few months. As China seeks to build “new infrastructure” featuring new technologies, such utilization attempts have been playing pioneering roles. Hopefully, when the epidemic is over, these technologies will still be valued in various fields, injecting vitality into people’s lives.

China Mosaic
http://www.china.org.cn/video/node_7230027.htm

Remote Graduations: Longer distance, more humanistic
http://www.china.org.cn/video/2020-06/30/content_76221641.htm

 

Tencent Games Unveils New Games and Partnership at Annual Conference

More than 40 new game products and game updates, as well as fan favorite franchises, were unveiled for next level interactive entertainment experiences.

SHENZHEN, China, June 28, 2020 — Tencent Games, the world-leading game development, publishing and operation platform, unveiled a new chapter in innovative gameplay and quality games with a roadmap of more than 40 game product updates, including new self-developed and licensed games with fan favorite intellectual property (IP). The announcement made at the Tencent Games Annual Conference held online this year, demonstrates Tencent’s leadership role in adapting famous global franchises for cross-platform games.

The event, with the theme “Spark More!”, featured the introduction of Tencent Games’ new self-developed games and collaborations with world-renowned IP owners, global game publishers and developers to offer new and exciting gaming experiences to players.

Tencent Senior Vice President Steven Ma opened the conference, revealing that Tencent Games’ strategy will revolve around three core elements – Technology, Gameplay and Storylines – that will drive the future evolution of the game industry.

Steven Ma, Senior Vice President of Tencent
Steven Ma, Senior Vice President of Tencent

 

“Globally, the popularity of new technologies is accelerating, the innovation cycle of gameplay is shortening, and the creation of story IP is also becoming richer,” Ma said. “The game industry is at the stage for a new generation of exciting possibilities. There is no better time than now to seize the opportunity, nurture our imaginations, explore new boundaries of creativity, and bring new values to the game community.” Tencent has a global collaboration network that provides technical resources and solutions for more than 100 game companies and studios around the world to develop new games.

People are the most valuable resource for the industry. Tencent has established cooperation with some of the top universities in the world to develop a pipeline of top tier talent that will power the industry’s future growth. Tencent’s Firework Plan, which is initiated by Tencent Institute of Games, strives to develop talent and incubate creativity for the industry.

At the Annual Conference today, Tencent Games announced several new partnerships and new game titles with popular game IP franchises, including:  

  • Unnamed Metal Slug mobile game Tencent Games’ TiMi Studios announced a new partnership with SNK CORPORATION to develop a new yet-to-be-named mobile game, for the classic arcade franchise Metal Slug. The game will offer a faithful rendition of Metal Slug’s classic arcade shoot ’em up play on the go and in players’ hands. A trailer for the upcoming game was released on the same day. The partnership follows in the footsteps of TiMi’s global development efforts on Call of Duty: Mobile and Arena of Valor, both of which have reached massive audiences worldwide.
  • Mobile Dungeon&Fighter – Dungeon&Fighter IP is a world-famous entertainment franchises, Mobile Dungeon&Fighter is developed by NEOPLE INC. and published by Tencent Games in China. The new Dungeon&Fighter mobile title will be built on the franchise’s iconic 2D arcade-style side-scrolling action gameplay, deep immersive multiplayer role-playing game (RPG) elements and continuously evolving storyline. Optimized for mobile devices, Mobile Dungeon&Fighter delivers the fast, fun and action-packed gameplay experience synonymous with the beloved franchise.

Tencent Games also released SYN, a tech demo of open world first person shooting (FPS) game marketed for PC and console games. The demo is developed by Tencent Games’ Lightspeed and Quantum Studios, leveraging Epic Games’ strand based hair system to push forward state of the art real time graphics in a cyberpunk style world with an intriguing universe and striking visuals.

About Tencent Games
Tencent Games is the world leading global platform for game development, publishing and operations, as well as the operator of the largest online game community in China. It is dedicated to offering engaging, high-quality, interactive entertainment experiences for all players. Tencent Games currently offers more than 140 self-developed and licensed games across 200 countries and regions, which provides hundreds of millions of users with cross-platform interactive entertainment experiences. Honor of Kings, PUBG MOBILE and League of Legends are some of the most popular titles around the world. We are committed to exploring the full potential of games, leveraging the rich IP resources within Tencent, spanning literature, anime, film, and television, to create high-quality interactive entertainment experiences.

 

58.com Reports First Quarter 2020 Unaudited Financial Results

BEIJING, June 26, 2020 — 58.com Inc. (NYSE: WUBA) ("58.com" or the "Company"), China’s largest online classifieds marketplace, today reported its unaudited financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2020.

First Quarter 2020 Highlights

  • Total revenues were RMB2,560.3 million (US$361.4 million[1]), a 15.5% decrease from RMB3,028.3 million in the same quarter of 2019.
  • Total number of paying business users[2] was approximately 2.7 million in the first quarter of 2020, a 20.7% decrease from the same quarter of 2019.
  • Gross margin was 87.9% compared with 90.2% in the same quarter of 2019.
  • Loss from operations was RMB55.8 million (US$7.9 million), compared with income from operations of RMB281.3 million in the same quarter of 2019.
  • Non-GAAP income from operations[3] was RMB144.0 million (US$20.3 million), a 69.0% decrease from RMB465.1 million in the same quarter of 2019.
  • Net income attributable to 58.com Inc. ordinary shareholders was RMB1,638.6 million (US$231.3 million), a 134.7% increase from RMB698.2 million in the same quarter of 2019. This includes a net gain picked up from 58 Home of RMB2,683.2 million.
  • Non-GAAP net income attributable to 58.com Inc. ordinary shareholders [4] was RMB2,243.6 million (US$316.7 million), a 414.7% increase from RMB435.9 million in the same quarter of 2019. This includes a net gain picked up from 58 Home of RMB2,683.2 million.
  • Basic and diluted earnings per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders were RMB10.95 (US$1.54) and RMB10.82 (US$1.53), respectively, representing 132.6% and 132.6% increases from RMB4.71 and RMB4.65, respectively, in the same quarter of 2019. One ADS represents two Class A ordinary shares.
  • Non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ADS[5] attributable to ordinary shareholders were RMB14.99 (US$2.12) and RMB14.81 (US$2.09), respectively, representing 410.0% and 410.1% increases from RMB2.94 and RMB2.90, respectively, in the same quarter of 2019.

First Quarter 2020 Financial Results

Revenues

Total revenues were RMB2,560.3 million (US$361.4 million), representing a decrease of 15.5% from RMB3,028.3 million in the same quarter of 2019.

Membership revenues were RMB815.6 million (US$115.1 million), a decrease of 16.9% from RMB982.0 million in the same quarter of 2019.

Online marketing services revenues were RMB1,595.4 million (US$225.2 million), a decrease of 17.8% from RMB1,940.9 million in the same quarter of 2019.

The decreases were mainly due to the adverse impact from the outbreak of COVID-19. To control the spread of COVID-19, the PRC government implemented a series of strict measures, including travel restrictions, quarantines, and a temporary shutdown of businesses which resulted in a decrease in activity level among paying business users. In particular, paying business users that require in-person meetings to conduct their business, including those in the secondary housing and rental real estate sector, used auto dealers, local service providers, and recruiters, have been adversely and materially affected by these interruptions and delayed business resumption. The Company’s revenues are generated primarily from these paying business users, most of whom are small and medium-sized local businesses, and the outbreak of COVID-19 and subsequent prevention and control measures have adversely affected their business operations and financial conditions in the first quarter of 2020. As a result, the Company’s revenues during the first quarter of 2020 declined significantly when compared with the same period in 2019.

Cost of Revenues

Cost of revenues was RMB309.3 million (US$43.7 million), an increase of 4.2% from RMB296.9 million in the same quarter of 2019.

The year-over-year increase was primarily driven by increases in the costs associated with "Premium Home Services" (到家精选), enhanced services that focus on partnering with high quality providers to further standardize their service quality and integrate service protection plans while establishing closed-loop transactions through the Company’s platforms, and an increase in the costs of goods sold and services provided on the Zhuan Zhuan platform which were partially offset by a decrease in traffic acquisition cost paid to advertising union partners.

Gross Profit and Gross Margin

Gross profit was RMB2,251.0 million (US$317.7 million), a decrease of 17.6% from RMB2,731.4 million during the same quarter of 2019.

Gross margin was 87.9% in the first quarter of 2020, compared with 90.2% during the same quarter of 2019.

Operating Expenses

Operating expenses were RMB2,306.8 million (US$325.6 million), a decrease of 5.8% from RMB2,450.1 million in the same quarter of 2019.

Sales and marketing expenses in the first quarter of 2020 were RMB1,577.5 million (US$222.7 million), a decrease of 12.0% from RMB1,793.0 million in the same quarter of 2019.

Within sales and marketing expenses, advertising expenses in the first quarter of 2020 were RMB712.2 million (US$100.5 million), a decrease of 19.7% from RMB886.5 million in the same quarter of 2019 as a result of the spread of COVID-19 which caused a decrease in advertising activities.

Non-advertising sales and marketing expenses in the first quarter of 2020 were RMB865.3 million (US$122.1 million), a decrease of 4.5% from RMB906.5 million in the same quarter of 2019.

Non-advertising sales and marketing expenses include salaries and benefits, commissions and share-based compensation expenses for the Company’s sales, sales support, customer service, marketing dealer management personnel, online and offline promotional expenses, and other operating expenses that are associated with sales and marketing activities.

Research and development expenses in the first quarter of 2020 were RMB497.0 million (US$70.1 million), essentially flat with RMB495.0 million in the same quarter of 2019.

General and administrative expenses in the first quarter of 2020 were RMB232.4 million (US$32.8 million), an increase of 43.3% from RMB162.2 million in the same quarter of 2019. The increase was mainly due to the adoption of the current expected credit losses methodology in estimating allowances for credit losses in the first quarter of 2020.

Income/(Loss) from Operations

Loss from operations was RMB55.8 million (US$7.9 million) in the first quarter of 2020, compared with income from operations of RMB281.3 million in the same quarter of 2019.

Operating margin, defined as income/(loss) from operations divided by total revenues, was negative 2.2% in the first quarter of 2020, compared with 9.3% in the same quarter of 2019.

Non-GAAP income from operations was RMB144.0 million (US$20.3 million) in the first quarter of 2020, a decrease of 69.0% from RMB465.1 million in the same quarter of 2019.

Non-GAAP operating margin, defined as non-GAAP income from operations divided by total revenues, was 5.6% in the first quarter of 2020, compared with 15.4% in the same quarter of 2019.

Other Income/(Expenses), net

Net other income in the first quarter of 2020 was RMB1,680.7 million (US$237.2 million), compared with net other income of RMB554.3 million in the same quarter of 2019.

Net other income in the first quarter of 2020 was primarily comprised of a RMB2,654.8 million gain in share of results of equity investees and RMB30.9 million in tax refunds and other government subsidies, offset by RMB1,054.3 million in a net investment loss.

Share of results of equity investees in the first quarter of 2020 was mainly attributed to RMB2,683.2 million net gain pick-up from 58 Home, which was mainly due to the Company’s proportionate share of one-time non-cash gain recognized by 58 Home for its deconsolidation of 58 Daojia Limited, a majority owned subsidiary of 58 Home, which was partially offset by the Company’s proportionate share of net loss attributable to 58 Home’s ordinary shareholders. 58 Home lost its control over 58 Daojia Limited and started to deconsolidate its financial statements when 58 Daojia Limited completed its Series B round of equity financing in February 2020, as certain Series B investors have substantive participating rights in the operational decision making of 58 Daojia Limited.

Net investment loss mainly included RMB683.3 million in impairment losses in long-term investments and RMB446.1 million losses in change in fair value of long-term investments and investments in convertible notes as the market value of certain fair value measured investments suffered downward adjustments in the first quarter of 2020.

There would have been net other expenses of RMB1,002.5 million (US$141.5 million) in the first quarter of 2020 if the RMB2,683.2 million net gain picked up from 58 Home was excluded.

Net Income Attributable to 58.com Inc. Ordinary Shareholders

Net income attributable to 58.com Inc. ordinary shareholders was RMB1,638.6 million (US$231.3 million) in the first quarter of 2020, an increase of 134.7% from RMB698.2 million in the same quarter of 2019. Excluding the RMB2,683.2 million net gain picked up from 58 Home, net loss attributable to 58.com Inc. ordinary shareholders in the first quarter of 2020 was RMB1,044.5 million (US$147.4 million).

Net margin, defined as net income attributable to 58.com Inc. ordinary shareholders divided by total revenues, was 64.0% in the first quarter of 2020, compared with 23.1% in the same quarter of 2019. Excluding the net gain picked up from 58 Home, net margin in the first quarter of 2020 was negative 40.8%.

Non-GAAP net income attributable to 58.com Inc. ordinary shareholders was RMB2,243.6 million (US$316.7 million) in the first quarter of 2020, an increase of 414.7% from RMB435.9 million in the same quarter of 2019. Excluding the net gain picked up from 58 Home, non-GAAP net loss attributable to 58.com Inc. ordinary shareholders in the first quarter of 2020 was RMB439.6 million (US$62.0 million).

Non-GAAP net margin, defined as non-GAAP net income attributable to 58.com Inc. ordinary shareholders divided by total revenues, was 87.6% in the first quarter of 2020, compared with 14.4% in the same quarter of 2019. Excluding the net gain picked up from 58 Home, non-GAAP net margin in the first quarter of 2020 was negative 17.2%.

Basic and Diluted Earnings per ADS

Basic and diluted earnings per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders in the first quarter of 2020 were RMB10.95 (US$1.54) and RMB10.82 (US$1.53), respectively, representing 132.6% and 132.6% increases from RMB4.71 and RMB4.65, respectively, in the same quarter of 2019.

Non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ADS attributable to ordinary shareholders in the first quarter of 2020 were RMB14.99 (US$2.12) and RMB14.81 (US$2.09), respectively, representing 410.0% and 410.1% increases from RMB2.94 and RMB2.90, respectively, in the same quarter of 2019.

Cash Flow

Net cash used in operating activities was RMB379.4 million (US$53.6 million) in the first quarter of 2020, compared to net cash provided by operating activities of RMB564.9 million in the same quarter of 2019.

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Term Deposits, Restricted Cash and Short-term Investments 

As of March 31, 2020, the Company had cash and cash equivalents, term deposits, restricted cash and short-term investments of RMB12,547.3 million (US$1,770.9 million).

Shares Outstanding

As of March 31, 2020, the Company had a total of 299,728,769 ordinary shares (including 254,496,649 Class A and 45,232,120 Class B ordinary shares) issued and outstanding.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures     

To supplement the financial measures prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP, this press release presents non-GAAP income/(loss) from operations, non-GAAP operating margin, non-GAAP net income/(loss) attributable to 58.com Inc. ordinary shareholders, non-GAAP net margin and non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings/(loss) per share and per ADS by excluding share-based compensation expenses, amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, change in fair value of long-term investments and investments in convertible notes, share-based compensation expenses included in share of results of equity investees, income tax effects of above GAAP to non-GAAP reconciling items. The Company believes these non-GAAP financial measures are important to help investors understand the Company’s operating and financial performance, compare business trends among different reporting periods on a consistent basis and assess the Company’s core operating results, as they exclude certain expenses/gains that are not expected to result in cash payments/receipts. The use of the above non-GAAP financial measures has certain limitations. Share-based compensation expenses, amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, non-cash gain or loss and income tax effects resulting from GAAP to non-GAAP reconciling items have been and will continue to be incurred in the future and are not reflected in the presentation of the non-GAAP financial measures, but should be considered in the overall evaluation of the Company’s results. The Company compensates for these limitations by providing the relevant disclosure of its share-based compensation expenses, amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, change in fair value of long-term investments and investments in convertible notes, share-based compensation expenses included in share of results of equity investees, income tax effects of above GAAP to non-GAAP reconciling items, all of which should be considered when evaluating the Company’s performance. These non-GAAP financial measures should be considered in addition to financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP, but should not be considered a substitute for, or superior to, financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Reconciliation of each of these non-GAAP financial measures to the most directly comparable GAAP financial measure is set forth at the end of this release.

[1] This press release contains translations of certain Renminbi (RMB) amounts into U.S. dollars (US$) solely for the convenience of the readers. Unless otherwise specified, all translations of Renminbi amounts into US$ amounts in this press release are made at RMB7.0851 to US$1.00, which was the U.S. dollars middle rate announced by the PRC State Administration of Foreign Exchange on March 31, 2020. The percentages stated in this press release are calculated based on the Renminbi amounts. On June 24, 2020, such exchange rate was RMB7.0555 to US$1.00.

[2] Paying business users refer to users who are identified as business users with unique identity information such as business licenses or personal identification information and who used the Company’s subscription-based membership services or purchased at least one type of online marketing services in a given period. One paying business user can open up several paying user accounts on one or multiple online platforms. The number and the percentage calculation does not include paying business users on Ganji as the Company stopped selling stand-alone Ganji subscription-based membership services in 2018 or earlier in all of its content categories.

[3] Non-GAAP income from operations is defined as income from operations excluding share-based compensation expenses and amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions. See "Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results" at the end of this press release.

[4] Non-GAAP net income attributable to 58.com Inc. ordinary shareholders is defined as net income attributable to 58.com Inc. ordinary shareholders excluding share-based compensation expenses, amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions, change in fair value of long-term investments and investments in convertible notes, share-based compensation expenses included in share of results of equity investees, and income tax effects of GAAP to non-GAAP reconciling items. See "Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results" at the end of this press release. 

[5] Non-GAAP basic and diluted earnings per ADS is defined as non-GAAP net income attributable to 58.com Inc. ordinary shareholders divided by weighted average number of basic and diluted ADSs.

About 58.com Inc.

58.com Inc. (NYSE: WUBA) operates China’s largest online classifieds marketplace, as measured by monthly unique visitors on both its www.58.com website and mobile applications. The Company’s online marketplace enables local business users and consumer users to connect, share information and conduct business. 58.com’s broad, in-depth and high quality local information, combined with its easy-to-use website and mobile applications, has made it a trusted marketplace for consumers. 58.com’s strong brand recognition, large and growing user base, merchant network and massive database of local information create a powerful network effect. For more information on 58.com, please visit http://www.58.com.

Safe Harbor Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the "safe harbor" provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "will," "expects," "anticipates," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," "confident" and similar statements. 58.com 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 58.com’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: 58.com’s goals and strategies; its future business development, financial condition and results of operations; its ability to retain and grow its user base and network of local merchants for its online marketplace; the growth of, and trends in, the markets for its services in China; the outbreak of COVID-19 or other health epidemics in China or globally; the demand for and market acceptance of its brand and services; competition in its industry in China; its ability to maintain the network infrastructure necessary to operate its website and mobile applications; relevant government policies and regulations relating to the corporate structure, business and industry; and its ability to protect its users’ information and adequately address privacy concerns. 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 58.com does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

For more information, please contact:

58.com Inc.
ir@58.com

Christensen

In China
Mr. Christian Arnell
Phone: +86-10-5900-1548
E-mail: carnell@christensenir.com

In US
Ms. Linda Bergkamp
Phone: +1-480-614-3004
Email: lbergkamp@ChristensenIR.com

 

58.com Inc.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

(in thousands, except share and per share data, unless otherwise)

As of

December 31, 2019

March 31, 2020

March 31, 2020

RMB

RMB

US$

ASSETS

Current assets:

Cash and cash equivalents…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

5,293,206

4,876,057

688,213

Restricted cash-current……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

477,099

538,724

76,036

Term deposits……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

70,000

70,000

9,880

Short-term investments……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

8,414,348

7,062,554

996,818

Accounts receivable, net……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

1,209,251

1,105,326

156,007

Prepayments and other current assets……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2,326,920

2,830,994

399,570

Total current assets………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

17,790,824

16,483,655

2,326,524

Non-current assets:

Property and equipment, net………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

1,305,793

1,285,024

181,369

Intangible assets, net…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

886,565

840,901

118,686

Right-of-use assets, net………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

275,459

253,408

35,766

Land use rights, net……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

3,532

3,512

496

Goodwill………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

15,874,220

15,874,220

2,240,508

Long-term investments……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

6,086,511

8,249,490

1,164,343

Investments in convertible notes…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

669,715

817,270

115,351

Long-term prepayments and other non-current assets……………………………………………………………………………………………..

469,592

803,450

113,400

Total non-current assets…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

25,571,387

28,127,275

3,969,919

Total assets……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

43,362,211

44,610,930

6,296,443

LIABILITIES, MEZZANINE EQUITY AND
SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY

Current liabilities:

Accounts payable………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

1,042,697

1,387,244

195,797

Deferred revenues……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

2,154,920

1,691,080

238,681

Customer advances…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

1,986,108

1,970,655

278,141

Taxes payable……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

698,104

362,025

51,097

Salary and welfare payable………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

753,267

560,843

79,158

Operating lease liabilities, current…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

137,310

114,304

16,133

Accrued expenses and other current liabilities………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

1,053,007

1,082,811

152,829

Total current liabilities……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

7,825,413

7,168,962

1,011,836

Non-current liabilities:

Deferred tax liabilities…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

389,719

324,514

45,802

Operating lease liabilities, non-current…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

138,554

157,195

22,187

Total non-current liabilities………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

528,273

481,709

67,989

Total liabilities…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

8,353,686

7,650,671

1,079,825

Mezzanine equity:

Mezzanine classified noncontrolling interests…………………………………………………………

3,668,876

3,815,512

538,526

Total mezzanine equity…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

3,668,876

3,815,512

538,526

Shareholders’ equity:

58.com Inc. shareholders’ equity:

Ordinary shares (US$0.00001 par value, 4,800,000,000 Class A and
    200,000,000 Class B shares authorized, 254,045,293 Class A and
    45,232,120 Class B shares issued and outstanding as of December 31,
    2019 and 254,496,649 Class A and 45,232,120 Class B shares issued
   
and outstanding as of March 31, 2020, respectively)

 

 

 

19

 

 

 

19

 

 

 

3

Additional paid-in capital…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

21,942,829

22,026,581

3,108,860

Retained earnings………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

8,892,773

10,529,706

1,486,176

Accumulated other comprehensive income…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

95,903

178,710

25,223

Total 58.com Inc. shareholders’ equity……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

30,931,524

32,735,016

4,620,262

Noncontrolling interests…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..

408,125

409,731

57,830

Total shareholders’ equity……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

31,339,649

33,144,747

4,678,092

Total liabilities, mezzanine equity and shareholders’ equity

43,362,211

44,610,930

6,296,443

 

58.com Inc.

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS

(in thousands, except share, per share and per ADS data, unless otherwise noted)

For the Three Months Ended

March 31,

2019

December 31,

2019

March 31,

2020

March 31,

2020

RMB

RMB

RMB

US$

Revenues:

Membership……………………………………………………………………………..

982,028

1,112,362

815,624

115,118

Online marketing services…………………………………………………………

1,940,900

2,713,807

1,595,421

225,180

E-commerce services………………………………………………………………..

28,023

53,722

8,744

1,234

Other revenues………………………………………………………………………….

77,302

275,643

140,553

19,838

Total revenues……………………………………………………………………………..

3,028,253

4,155,534

2,560,342

361,370

Cost of revenues(1)………………………………………………………………………..

(296,851)

(565,985)

(309,344)

(43,661)

Gross profit………………………………………………………………………………….

2,731,402

3,589,549

2,250,998

317,709

Operating expenses(1):

Sales and marketing expenses(2)……………………………………………….

(1,792,950)

(2,023,502)

(1,577,510)

(222,652)

Research and development expenses……………………………………….

(494,977)

(560,746)

(496,970)

(70,143)

General and administrative expenses……………………………………….

(162,168)

(264,172)

(232,361)

(32,796)

Total operating expenses…………………………………………………………….

(2,450,095)

(2,848,420)

(2,306,841)

(325,591)

Income/(loss) from operations……………………………………………………

281,307

741,129

(55,843)

(7,882)

Other income/(expenses):

Interest income, net…………………………………………………………………..

8,462

27,841

31,783

4,486

Investment income/(loss), net…………………………………………………..

544,570

1,924,195

(1,054,274)

(148,802)

Share of results of equity investees…………………………………………..

(10,571)

9,806

2,654,755

374,695

Foreign currency exchange gain/(loss), net……………………………….

2,949

(8,601)

9,900

1,397

Others, net…………………………………………………………………………………

8,928

134,871

38,488

5,432

Income before tax………………………………………………………………………..

835,645

2,829,241

1,624,809

229,326

Income tax benefit/(expenses)…………………………………………………

(106,109)

(158,122)

75,700

10,684

Net income……………………………………………………………………………………

729,536

2,671,119

1,700,509

240,010

Net loss attributable to noncontrolling interests………………………..

2,314

4,075

4,069

574

Net income attributable to 58.com Inc.………………………………………

731,850

2,675,194

1,704,578

240,584

Deemed dividend to mezzanine classified
noncontrolling interests……………………………………………………………………………………..

(33,700)

 

(65,428)

(65,955)

(9,309)

Net income attributable to 58.com Inc. ordinary
shareholders
..

698,150

2,609,766

1,638,623

231,275

Net earnings per ordinary share attributable to
ordinary shareholders – basic……………………………………………………………………….

2.35

8.72

5.47

0.77

Net earnings per ordinary share attributable to
ordinary shareholders – diluted…………………………………………………………………….

2.33

8.64

5.41

0.76

Net earnings per ADS attributable to ordinary
shareholders – basic (1 ADS represents 2 Class A
ordinary shares)……………………………….

4.71

17.45

10.95

1.54

Net earnings per ADS attributable to ordinary
shareholders – diluted (1 ADS represents 2 Class A
ordinary shares)……………………………….

4.65

17.28

10.82

1.53

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in
computing basic earnings per share………………………………………………………………..

296,690,552

 

 

299,155,358

299,427,404

299,427,404

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in
computing diluted earnings per share……………………………………………………………..

300,250,567

 

302,001,274

302,932,654

302,932,654

 

Note:

(1)  Share–based compensation expenses were allocated in cost of revenues and operating expenses as follows:

Cost of revenues……………………………………………………………………….

1,833

2,895

3,322

469

Sales and marketing expenses……………………………………………………..

28,520

31,612

29,909

4,221

Research and development expenses……………………………………………

51,220

62,520

65,681

9,270

General and administrative expenses……………………………………………

51,732

61,935

59,567

8,407

(2)  Amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions were allocated in operating expenses as follows:

Sales and marketing expenses………………………………………………..

42,954

43,087

42,954

6,063

Research and development expenses……………………………………….

11,997

12,015

2,433

343

(3)  Breakdown of sales and marketing expenses was as follows:

Advertising expenses……………………………………………………………

886,470

865,144

712,239

100,526

Non-advertising sales and marketing expenses…………………………

906,480

1,158,358

865,271

122,126

 

58.com Inc.

Reconciliation of GAAP and Non-GAAP Results

(in thousands, except share, ADS, per share and per ADS data, unless otherwise noted)

For the Three Months Ended

March 31,

2019

December 31,

2019

March 31,

2020

March 31,

2020

RMB

RMB

RMB

US$

GAAP income/(loss) from operations…………………………………………

281,307

741,129

(55,843)

(7,882)

Share-based compensation expenses[6]………………………………………

128,875

154,244

154,451

21,799

        Amortization of intangible assets resulting from
        business acquisitions………………………………………………………………………………..

 

54,951

 

55,102

 

45,387

 

6,406

Non-GAAP income from operations…………………………………………..

465,133

950,475

143,995

20,323

GAAP net income attributable to 58.com Inc.…………………………….

698,150

2,609,766

1,638,623

231,275

Share-based compensation expenses………………………………………..

128,875

154,244

154,451

21,799

        Amortization of intangible assets resulting from
        business acquisitions………………………………………………………………………………..

 

54,951

 

55,102

 

45,387

 

6,406

Change in fair value of long-term investments and
investments in convertible notes[7]…………………………………………………………………..

(508,950)

2,258,544

446,081

62,960

        Share-based compensation expenses included in share
        of results of equity investees…………………………………………………………………….

 

9

 

 

        Income tax effects of GAAP to non-GAAP reconciling
        items[8]…..

 

62,878

 

(200,057)

 

(40,949)

 

(5,780)

Non-GAAP net income attributable to 58.com Inc.…………………….

435,913

4,877,599

2,243,593

316,660

GAAP operating margin……………………………………………………………..

9.3%

17.8%

(2.2)%

(2.2)%

    Share-based compensation expenses………………………………………..

4.3%

3.7%

6.0%

6.0%

        Amortization of intangible assets resulting from
        business acquisitions………………………………………………………………………………..

 

1.8%

 

1.4%

 

1.8%

 

1.8%

Non-GAAP operating margin……………………………………………………..

15.4%

22.9%

5.6%

5.6%

GAAP net margin…………………………………………………………………………

23.1%

62.8%

64.0%

64.0%

    Share-based compensation expenses………………………………………..

4.3%

3.7%

6.0%

6.0%

        Amortization of intangible assets resulting from
        business acquisitions………………………………………………………………………………..

1.8%

1.4%

1.8%

1.8%

        Change in fair value of long-term investments and
        investments in convertible notes……………………………………………………………………

(16.8)%

54.4%

17.4%

17.4%

        Share-based compensation expenses included in share
        of results of equity investees…………………………………………………………………….

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

        Income tax effects of GAAP to non-GAAP reconciling
        items……

2.0%

(4.9)%

(1.6)%

(1.6)%

Non-GAAP net margin…………………………………………………………………

14.4%

117.4%

87.6%

87.6%

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in
computing non-GAAP basic earnings per share………………………..

296,690,552

 

299,155,358

299,427,404

299,427,404

Weighted average number of ordinary shares used in
computing non-GAAP diluted earnings per share……………………..

300,250,567

 

302,001,274

302,932,654

302,932,654

Weighted average number of ADS used in computing
non-GAAP basic earnings per ADS…………………………………………………..

148,345,276

149,577,679

149,713,702

149,713,702

Weighted average number of ADS used in computing
non-GAAP diluted earnings per ADS………………………………………………..

150,125,284

151,000,637

151,466,327

151,466,327

Non-GAAP net earnings per ordinary share
attributable to ordinary shareholders – basic…………………………………………………….

1.47

16.30

7.49

1.06

Non-GAAP net earnings per ordinary share
attributable to ordinary shareholders – diluted………………………………………………….

1.45

16.15

7.41

1.05

Non-GAAP net earnings per ADS attributable to
ordinary shareholders – basic……………………………………………………………………

2.94

32.61

14.99

2.12

Non-GAAP net earnings per ADS attributable to
ordinary shareholders – diluted…………………………………………………………………

2.90

32.30

14.81

2.09

 

[6] Since the third quarter of 2017, certain share-based awards with redemption features granted to the Company’s employees were expected to be settled in cash and were classified as liabilities. The share-based compensation expenses recognized for this type of awards amounted to RMB4.4 million, RMB4.7 million and RMB4.0 million for the first and fourth quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020, respectively, which were excluded from the GAAP to non-GAAP reconciliation accordingly.

[7] The purpose of this reconciliation is to exclude the unrealized gain or loss relating to changes in fair value of long-term investments and investments in convertible notes. The amount of realization of any previously recognized unrealized gain or loss in a given period is also included in this line item so that the non-GAAP net income would only include cumulative realized gain or loss.

[8] This is to exclude the income tax effects related to amortization of intangible assets resulting from business acquisitions and change in fair value of long-term investments and investments in convertible notes. Other GAAP to non-GAAP reconciling items have no income tax effect.

 

Related Links :

http://www.58.com

The Fourth World Intelligence Congress Kicked Off Online in Tianjin


TIANJIN, China, June 26, 2020 — On the afternoon of June 23, the Fourth World Intelligence Congress kicked off in Media Theater, Tianjin. Wan Gang, Vice Chairman of CPPCC and Chairman of China Association for Science and Technology (CAST), attended the online opening ceremony. CPC Tianjin Committee Secretary Li Hongzhong addressed the congress. Li Xiaohong, President of the Chinese Academy of Engineering (CAE), congratulated the congress through video. Huai Jinpeng, Executive Vice Chairman of CAST, Zhang Guoqing, Mayor of Tianjin attended the meeting. Park Won Soon, Mayor of Seoul, Republic of Korea, delivered a speech via video. The congress was presided over by Gong Ke, Chairman of the World Federation of Engineering Organizations. 58.6 million people watched the cloud opening ceremony and theme summit at the same time on 40 live streaming websites and platforms, and the total number of views reached 392 million.

Venue of the Fourth World Intelligence Congress
Venue of the Fourth World Intelligence Congress

Wan Gang pointed out that the congress is a high-end platform for artificial intelligence communication jointly created by Tianjin and CAST. We will open up big data, apply blockchain and innovate in cloud services during the pandemic prevention and control; promote the development of new industries, further drive the intelligent process and digitization of the entire industry chain, and continuously boost the close combination of artificial intelligence with real economy; create a new platform for employment, build an open source sharing platform, and forge the "Sci-Tech Innovation China" brand; continuously deepen basic research, build a world-class artificial intelligence development platform and industrial ecosystem; and promote international cooperation in the field of artificial intelligence.

Li Hongzhong said that Tianjin comprehensively promotes the strategic layout of the new generation artificial intelligence industry, and intelligent technology is becoming the core driving force for high-quality development in the city. Tianjin will take the initiative to embrace the new era of intelligence, push forward the construction of a pioneer city in the fourth industrial revolution, build itself into an innovative city in intelligent technology, an energization city of the intelligent industry, and an ecological city of intelligent development, continuously optimize its business environment, and strengthen cooperation in intelligence fields with various parties from home and abroad.

According to Li Xiaohong, Tianjin has embarked on a new way of innovation-driven development with the intelligence technology industry as the lead, and Tianjin Intelligent Port shows a promising future.

Park Won Soon said that this year is a crucial year for the construction of 5G networks in Tianjin. He hoped Seoul and Tianjin will strengthen communications and share experience on the construction of intelligence industrial infrastructures.

At the theme summit, representatives from the global intelligence technology industry and academia delivered speeches on site or via video accesses. Among them include Gao Wenjiu, academician of CAE, Ma Huateng, Chairman of the Board of Tencent, Max Tegmark, tenured professor at the MIT Department of Physics, Yang Yuanqing, Chairman of Lenovo Group, Yang Xu, Global Vice President of Intel Corporation, Edmund Phelps, laureate of Nobel Economics Award, Wang Jian, Chairman of the Technical Committee of Alibaba Group, and Raj Reddy, foreign academician at CAE and winner of Turing Award.

Themed on Intelligence New Era: Innovation, Energization and Ecology, the Fourth World Intelligence Congress applied the modes of "meetings, exhibitions, contests and intelligence experience" to hold six cloud events namely, cloud promotion, cloud release, cloud bilateral talk, cloud intelligence experience, cloud intelligence technology exhibition, world intelligent driving challenge contest, "Fifth Space" intelligent safety competition, Tianjin "Haihe Talents" Entrepreneurial Competition, as well as 13 cloud parallel forums, cloud and on-site contract signing activities.

Photo: https://techent.tv/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/the-fourth-world-intelligence-congress-kicked-off-online-in-tianjin-3.jpg  
Photo: https://techent.tv/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/the-fourth-world-intelligence-congress-kicked-off-online-in-tianjin.jpg  
Logo: https://techent.tv/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/the-fourth-world-intelligence-congress-kicked-off-online-in-tianjin-2.jpg

Contact:Cui Kejia
Tel:0086-400-019-0516, Mobile: 0086-15120084132
Email:wic@wicongress.org

Night view of Tianjin, host city of the 4th WIC
Night view of Tianjin, host city of the 4th WIC

 

iQIYI Announces Winners of its iCartoonFace Challenge, the First Large-scale Cartoon Character Recognition Competition in China

World-leading iCartoonFace datasets drive intelligent recognition technology

BEIJING, June 25, 2020 — iQIYI Inc. (NASDAQ: IQ) ("iQIYI" or the "Company"), an innovative market-leading online entertainment service in China, today announced the winners of its iCartoonFace Challenge (the "Challenge"), the first large-scale cartoon character recognition competition in China. The team from Southeast University won the Challenge with a MAP (Mean Average Precision) of 0.9291 in the cartoon character detection track and the teams from Zhejiang University and Sun Yat-sen University jointly claimed the title of Best Algorithm in the cartoon character recognition track with a Rank1 accuracy of 92.4697%.

The Challenge, held in partnership with the 29th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence (IJCAI) and the 17th Pacific Rim International Conference on Artificial Intelligence (PRICAI), was held over a period of two months, attracting a total of 481 participating teams from top universities and leading technology firms in China. Contestants included Peking University, Fudan University, Zhejiang University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, as well as renowned companies such as Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu, JD.com and SenseTime.

While human facial recognition technology is becoming increasingly sophisticated and mature, cartoon character recognition is still in its infancy. Cartoon characters are far more complicated and diverse than human faces in terms of both color and texture. Other challenges include the fact that cartoon characters from the same content or universe could be highly similar in appearance, but characters from different universes may vastly contrast. Due to the complexity of this dataset, cartoon character recognition poses far more challenges than human facial recognition.

Currently, most of the existing cartoon datasets for recognition suffer from issues such as lack of data volume or noisy data. During the Challenge, iQIYI offered contestants access to the largest known manually tagged datasets in the world for cartoon detection and recognition that contains over 5,000 cartoon characters and more than 400,000 high-quality and authentic images.

iQIYI is committed to researching cutting-edge technologies and exploring their applications in entertainment. iQIYI has in the past two years successfully held two video-based multimodal biometric recognition challenges which helped significantly improve the accuracy of multimodal recognition technology. Currently, cartoon character recognition has been applied to multiple innovative businesses and features of iQIYI’s. For example, AIWorks can automatically collect cartoon character content to generate a mixed-cut video based on a specific theme; and a feature known as Qiguan (AI Radar) allows users to identify the cartoon characters in an animated show or movie.

Through the iCartoonFace Challenge held in partnership with IJCAI and PRICAI, iQIYI has achieved further breakthroughs in the field of cartoon detection and recognition, promoted the development of cartoon character recognition technology, enabled a deep integration of technology and content that could lead to more usage scenarios, thereby advancing the ongoing evolution of intelligent detection and recognition technology.

About iQIYI, Inc.
iQIYI, Inc. is an innovative market-leading online entertainment service in China. Its corporate DNA combines creative talent with technology, fostering an environment for continuous innovation and the production of blockbuster content. iQIYI’s platform features highly popular original content, as well as a comprehensive library of other professionally-produced content, partner-generated content and user generated content. The Company distinguishes itself in the online entertainment industry by its leading technology platform powered by advanced AI, big data analytics and other core proprietary technologies. iQIYI attracts a massive user base with tremendous user engagement, and has developed a diversified monetization model including membership services, online advertising services, content distribution, live broadcasting, online games, IP licensing, online literature and e-commerce.

 

Related Links :

http://www.iqiyi.com

Leading walkie talkie service provider launches a high priority dedicated push-to-talk (PTT) service on Singapore’s largest LTE network

Enterprise customers will benefit from a truly integrated One Vendor solution; full turnkey support on firmware, handset, application and network for complete peace of mind.

SINGAPORE, June 25, 2020 — GRID Communications announced the launch of GRIDTalk, a new PTT service plan that provides high priority dedicated service on Singapore’s largest telco network.

High priority dedicated PTT service on Singapore’s largest LTE network
High priority dedicated PTT service on Singapore’s largest LTE network

GRIDTalk is the only PTT solution with a high priority dedicated service on Singapore’s largest 4G LTE network within a fully compatible ecosystem that is not offered by any Push-to-Talk service provider in Singapore currently. It is a custom built PTT service that takes into consideration the full end-to-end PTT performance in the form of a secured and advanced work tool.

GRIDTalk brings together core benefits such as dedicated network access, 256 AES security encryption, unlimited private/group calls/PTT alerts and enterprise cost control over tariff cost management with a dedicated handset. Additional add-ons such as GRID Dispatcher, Cross Enterprise and remote security features are also available for businesses in a growing PTT market with increasingly more complex needs.

What are the Key Features in GRIDTalk?

  • Unlimited Private Calls
  • Unlimited PTT Alerts
  • Unlimited Group Calls
  • Emergency Call
  • Ad hoc Group
  • Call History & Replay (24 hours)
  • Chat & File Attachment
  • Priority Network Access for Push-to-Talk

About GRID Communications

GRID Communications Pte Ltd (GRID) is the leading public telecommunications Push-To-Talk (walkie talkie) network operator in Singapore.

GRID Communications is a joint venture incorporated in December 2000 between Singtel and ST Telemedia each owning 50% equity stake in the company. IMDA has granted GRID Communications the license to provide facilities-based operations (FBO) under Section 5 of the Telecommunications Act (Chapter 323) since 1 November 2000.

GRID has established itself as a dominant and reliable business partner to major companies, serving over 2000 large, medium and small enterprises.

GRID currently provides superior outdoor coverage with several hundred base stations deployed island-wide and has invested heavily in providing in-building coverage to major commercial centres and strategic buildings, such as Singapore Expo, Suntec City, Singapore Changi Airport, Port Authority of Singapore, Sentosa, Ngee Ann City and several others, within Singapore.

GRIDTalk will become the only PTT solution with a high priority dedicated service on Singapore’s largest 4G LTE network within a fully compatible ecosystem that is not offered by any Push-to-Talk service provider in Singapore currently.

Our customers come from a wide distribution of government ministries, statutory boards and private industries. It includes the public safety and emergency agencies as well as business users in the private sector which includes construction, logistics, transport, courier, distribution, field services, security, exhibition organisers, seaports, banking and finance, airports, integrated resorts, hospitality and utility companies. For customers in the Oil and Gas industry, we provide them Intrinsic Safe handsets to facilitate safe communication within this harsh operating environment.

For more information, please visit our website at grid.net.sg
or our LinkedIn page at linkedin.com/company/grid-communications-limited

Photo – https://photos.prnasia.com/prnh/20200624/2840071-1?lang=0

AfterShip Makes Shipping Software Free to Support E-Commerce Shipping Needs

Postmen, AfterShip’s global shipping API, allows companies to streamline and automate their e-commerce shipping process at scale

HONG KONG, June 24, 2020 — AfterShip, the leading shipping and tracking platform for online retailers, today announced the company is making Postmen, its e-commerce shipping API, completely free with no limit on shipping volumes. Postmen is a scalable shipping solution that allows e-commerce companies to automate and optimize their shipping processes with 60 couriers worldwide.

Because of COVID-19, businesses around the world have had to temporarily close their brick and mortar stores, forcing them to rapidly adjust operations. The shift away from in-person retail has led to unprecedented demand for e-commerce shipments, and many companies have needed to scale and adapt to a very different retail environment. AfterShip’s simple Postmen API helps companies of all sizes mitigate this challenge and reduce costs by seamlessly integrating courier selection, cost and delivery time estimates, and the printing of shipping labels into their existing shipping infrastructure at no added cost to the shipper. Since February 2020, AfterShip has seen an 85% increase in shipping volume, instead of the typical decrease in volume that occurs in the months after the holiday retail season.

“Many retailers and fulfillment providers are trying to simultaneously scale their shipping operations and manage costs as a result of safe-distancing requirements and other economic impacts of COVID-19,” said Andrew Chan, co-founder at AfterShip. “A user-friendly, efficient shipping tool is critical for survival both now and as we look ahead to an unpredictable future. Postmen offers an easy, free solution to quickly scale shipping processes to meet the heightened demand for e-commerce.”

With Postmen, shippers — whether they are a small, local retailer or a large fulfillment center — can quickly choose the best shipping and courier options and estimate delivery times and costs for each courier. The API is easy for developers to integrate into a retailer’s shipping operation and integrates with businesses’ existing shipping accounts so they can continue applying discounted rates they’ve negotiated with couriers. With the API, developers can integrate their shipping process with any courier Postmen supports, shortening their usual integration time — which can be months per courier — to two weeks for all couriers supported by Postmen. AfterShip’s integration with USPS provides customers access to a discounted USPS shipping rate, eliminating the need to negotiate with the courier.

Once a business chooses its preferred shipping method, Postmen generates and prints shipping and prepaid return labels in a PDF format. The labels are certified by couriers, and companies can print them in any desired size. Postmen can generate multiple labels using CSV upload to speed up the shipping process.

“Our postal shipping lead time used to be 7-14 days, but COVID-19 caused that lead time to balloon to as much as 60+ days. At the same time, our postal costs rose by almost 100%,” said Steven Suh, the co-founder of Floship, a global order fulfillment solutions provider for e-commerce businesses. “For our business to survive the pandemic, we need to offer express shipping with major carriers, and Postmen allows us to do so. Rather than building our own carrier integrations, we can go through Postmen’s catalog of existing carrier integrations and get express shipping up and running within 2-3 days. Without Postmen, we’d need to hire 3 additional full-time developers to manage and maintain our shipping process. Postmen has been a huge time-saver for us and has helped accelerate offering new and better solutions for our clients.”

AfterShip is committed to helping businesses grow and scale their shipping processes. Postmen is available for free to all interested companies. Learn more about the shipping API here

About AfterShip
AfterShip (aftership.com) is a shipment tracking platform for online retailers, supporting more than 683 couriers worldwide. AfterShip helps over 100,000 retailers improve their post-purchase experience by providing a branded tracking page and sending proactive delivery updates. AfterShip has 2 other products – Postmen (postmen.com) and Returns Center (returnscenter.com). Postmen provides a simple shipping application and API for retailers to ship easily with any couriers worldwide at the lowest shipping rates. AfterShip Returns Center enables retailers to provide a self-service returns experience to their customers. AfterShip partners with major shopping cart solutions, including Shopify, Magento, Squarespace, BigCommerce. AfterShip, headquartered in Hong Kong, has 130 employees globally. AfterShip was the winner of the 2011 Global Startup Battle and 2011 Hong Kong Startup Weekend.

Media Contact
Kate Riley
aftership@inkhouse.com

KAIST Forum Envisions Education in the Post-COVID Era

Global leaders including the CEOs of Minerva and Coursera to join the KAIST online forum to discuss how to facilitate inclusive educational environment amidst the ever-growing digital disparities

DAEJEON, South Korea, June 22, 2020 — An international forum hosted by the KAIST Global Strategy Institute will examine how the disruptions caused by the global pandemic will impact the future of education. Global leaders will reflect on ways to better facilitate inclusive educational environments and mitigate the digital divide, especially in an era where non-contact environments are so critical.

KAIST Forum Envisions Education in the Post-Covid Era
KAIST Forum Envisions Education in the Post-Covid Era

The online forum to be held on June 24 from 09:00 am KST will livestream on YouTube, Naver TV and KTV. This is the second forum hosted by the GSI following its inaugural forum in April.

Minerva School’s CEO Ben Nelson and Coursera CEO Jeff Maggioncalda will be among the 15 speakers who will share their insights on the new transformations in the education sector.

The digital transformation of higher education will be the key topic every speaker will highlight to predict the future education in the post-COVID era. According to UNESCO and UNICEF, 1.6 billion students from 192 countries, which account for 91 percent of the student population in the world, have experienced educational disruptions in the past four months. Approximately 29 percent of the youth worldwide, around 346 million individuals, are not online.

KAIST President Sung-Chul Shin’s opening remarks will stress that technological breakthroughs should be used to benefit us all and the private and public sectors should collaborate to facilitate an inclusive educational environment.

Ben Nelson believes that global universities are at the point of inflection for making tough choices to reform higher education. He will introduce what will affect the decision-making procedure for investing in the digital transformation and the best recipe for building a successful remote learning environment.

Dr. Paul Kim, CTO and Assistant Dean of Stanford Graduate School of Education, will analyze the ramifications brought about by COVID-19 among both advanced countries and developing countries, and propose an optimal educational model for developing countries.

Phil Baty, Chief Knowledge Officer at Times Higher Education, will present the key survey results the Times Higher Education made with approximately 200 university presidents on how higher education will adapt in the years to come.

As for innovation in higher education, Vice President at Microsoft Anthony Salcito and Professor Tae Eog Lee from the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering at KAIST will discuss the education innovation solutions they are currently working on and how their projects will continue to develop.

National University of Singapore President Gan Eng Chye will also opine on how education could be more accessible. He will share what is exacerbating educational inequity and how to ensure an inclusive learning environment.

The second session will cover how to cope with the digital inequity.

Director General at the Ministry of Science and ICT Sang Wook Kang will explain the unavoidable online transition that is required to address the educational disruptions. He will also share his ideas on how this crisis can be leveraged to advance the educational environment.

Meanwhile, Rebecca Winthrop, senior fellow and co-director for universal education at Brooking Institution, and Sooinn Lee, CEO and Creative Lead of Enuma, will present on how to reduce the educational disparity during the un-contact era.

Director Joung-Ho Kim at the GSI, who is the organizer of the forum, said that KAIST has been the forerunner in the educational innovation. He hopes that this online forum will provide meaningful momentum to reshape the future of education by addressing the challenges and disruptions this pandemic has caused.

KAIST
http://www.kaist.ac.kr

Press Contact:

Younghye Cho
kaistpr@kaist.ac.kr
younghyecho@kaist.ac.kr

Related Links :

http://www.kaist.ac.kr