SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — ColorTokens Inc. a leading innovator in cyber security, today announced the appointment of Elvis Jusic to Regional Director of Sales for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). Elvis brings a 20+ year history of success in the enterprise security industry, a customer-centric approach, and a focus on delivering differentiated value to protect customer data and assets.
Elvis Jusic joins the company with extensive sales and business development experience evidenced by his stellar successes at Oracle, Aruba Networks and Palo Alto Networks, where he served customers large and small through traditional and emerging channels. Throughout his long history of enterprise sales and as a passionate customer advocate, disruption has remained a consistent theme for Elvis. In his most recent role as National GM with Content Security, an Australian MSSP, Elvis led national sales teams to deliver marked year-on-year growth and recognition. Elvis will be responsible for driving growth across ColorTokens’ markets in the ANZ region.
"ColorTokens’ award-winning approach is giving enterprises the ability to visualize and secure 100 percent of their traffic, stretching well beyond the 20 percent of perimeter traffic most organizations are limited to," said Elvis Jusic, Regional Director of Sales for ANZ, at ColorTokens. "By leveraging the power of full visibility across locations, zero-disruption micro-segmentation and proactive endpoint protection through PCI DSS 4.0, ColorTokens is transforming the way enterprises can achieve a zero trust architecture – all while removing the complexity of deployment, with time-to-value and simplicity intrinsically woven into the ColorTokens Spectrum Platform. I’m excited to bring the benefits of ColorTokens disruptions to more ANZ enterprises."
Dr. Nitin Mehta, Founder and CEO of ColorTokens said: "ANZ has been an area of substantial growth and enormous potential for ColorTokens. We look forward to harnessing Elvis Jusic’s expertise and customer obsession to manage and support the continued growth and the demand for our solutions across the ANZ region."
About ColorTokens
ColorTokens Inc., a leader in cloud-delivered zero-trust security, empowers global enterprises with a proactive approach to securing cloud workloads, dynamic applications, endpoints, and users. Through its award-winning Spectrum Platform, ColorTokens delivers products and services that help businesses accurately assess and drastically improve their security posture. For more information, please visit www.colortokens.com.
Media Contact: Corinne Breuil ColorTokens +1-4083416030 [email protected]
Leading University in New Zealand Replaces Aging Infrastructure with Datrium’s Cloud-based Disaster Recovery and Converged Infrastructure Solutions
SUNNYVALE, Calif., June 10, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Datrium, the leader in cloud-native disaster recovery with ransomware protection, today announced that The University of Auckland in New Zealand has selected Datrium DVX and Datrium DRaaS with VMware Cloud on AWS solutions to modernize its infrastructure by leveraging the cloud and unifying compute, storage, backup and disaster recovery (DR). Challenged with aging infrastructure and an expensive and complex data center environment, the University’s infrastructure services team, supported by its Premier Partner, BEarena, an ASI Solutions company, chose Datrium for its cost-effective, easy-to-manage, VMware-centric solutions with built-in data resiliency and powerful DR capabilities. Datrium DRaaS with VMware Cloud on AWS offers flexible and scalable on-demand cloud DR with instant Recovery Time Objective (RTO), easy failover and failback without requiring VM conversions.
As New Zealand’s leading university, The University of Auckland manages two large-scale data centers that serve 40,000 students and over 5,000 staff with a core value of conserving, advancing and disseminating knowledge at a high standard through teaching, learning, research and creative work. As part of its digital transformation strategy, the infrastructure services team is embracing its agile operation model to deliver better outcomes to its users.
"As part of our digital transformation efforts, we’re modernizing critical infrastructure including our data centers to empower our IT team to work more efficiently," said Sanit Kumar, Infrastructure Services Portfolio Manager (ISPM) – Cloud, Network and Datacentre Services at The University of Auckland. "Datrium checked all our boxes. We were looking for a simplified solution that combines compute, storage, backup and disaster recovery, and aligns with VMware so we no longer require separate storage, VMware and backup teams. The power of Datrium’s converged approach and on-demand disaster recovery to VMware Cloud on AWS and instant RTO capability also brings our team major cost savings."
The University of Auckland was introduced to Datrium technology by BEarena, an ASI Solutions company. BEarena and ASI Solutions have applied their market-leading hyperconverged experience to Datrium technology to help their customers reduce cost, simplify management and move to a hybrid cloud model.
"Rather than provide the University a like-for-like replacement, we scoured the market for the best solution to achieve their business objectives. Ultimately, Datrium helped the University collapse three infrastructure silos into a single cross-functional team that uses automated management so they can focus on strategic priorities," said Country Manager Lloyd Vickery. "Datrium has exceeded our expectations in every area—blazing performance, dramatic total cost of ownership improvements, world-class support, consolidated management—and the list goes on. I couldn’t be happier with Datrium and more proud that we are supporting The University of Auckland in continuing its achievements as a world-leading university."
BEarena and ASI Solutions are the first Datrium DRaaS Select resellers to achieve the highest level of partnership in the region. As Datrium’s first partner in ANZ and exclusive DRaaS Select partners and resellers, BEarena and ASI Solutions deliver significant cost savings, advanced operational intelligence, faster deployment times and simplified DR solutions to their customers. Lloyd Vickery is also the first Datrium DVX Certified Deployment professional in the world; achieving this distinction entails the completion of a rigorous curriculum and passing a certification test. BEarena and ASI Solutions customers benefit from working with highly skilled professionals in the deployment of Datrium to ensure they receive the fastest ROI and best customer experience.
Nathan Lowe, Managing Director of ASI Solutions added, "ASI Solutions is extremely excited to be working with Datrium. An innovative company that is transforming data lifecycle management through a single powerful platform delivering speed, agility and efficiency, Datrium allows our customers to focus on strategic initiatives."
Datrium DRaaS with VMware Cloud on AWS is a new approach to DR and offers a cloud-native design, built-in backup, instant RTO, continuous compliance and an on-demand pay-as-you-go model. Datrium DRaaS allows organizations to make the cloud their DR site at a fraction of the cost of a second data center. When combined with Datrium DVX software, organizations get the fastest recovery time and simplified data management capabilities.
"Given the enormous rise in ransomware attacks and other disasters, a modern approach to DR is critical. However, it doesn’t need to be an expensive, complicated and unreliable process," said Datrium CEO Tim Page. "With our on-demand cloud resources, The University of Auckland will be able to recover from a disaster quickly while keeping cloud costs low. We look forward to helping the University transition to cloud DR and supporting its on-premises infrastructure requirements."
Join Datrium and The University of Auckland for a webinar on June 30, at 1pm PDT to learn more.
About Datrium Datrium, the leader in cloud-native disaster recovery with ransomware protection, automates data protection against modern threats and enables enterprises to pay for DR when they need it. Datrium Disaster Recovery as a Service with VMware Cloud on AWS (DRaaS) is an easy-to-use SaaS solution that delivers the industry’s first instant RTO cloud DR from backups on AWS S3 and protects all VMware workloads in the cloud and on-premises. Secure by design with always-on encryption, Datrium’s DR with built-in cloud backup is transforming the DR market, empowering enterprises to create their own failproof, on-demand data centers in the public cloud where they only pay for recovery when disaster strikes or for testing. Until now, DR has been a complicated and brittle manual process that needs to interact with many disparate components in the data center. The advent of the cloud has made it possible for Datrium to convert this complex process into a simple-to-use, fully automated SaaS application that delivers 10x more cost-efficient DR. By converging primary, backup, disaster recovery, mobility and encryption into a single multicloud platform called Automatrix™, Datrium maintains fast performance at any scale and enables frictionless data portability between public clouds and on-premises data centers. Data services are consistent across clouds and resource orchestration is automated so applications run at peak performance with increased system resilience and reduced data recovery windows. Liberated from managing data infrastructure, IT teams can drive more strategic initiatives for their businesses and application users can get back to productivity faster. Trusted by global enterprises including eMeter – A Siemens Business, vPay® and Stearns, Datrium is DR done right.™
IXCloud Records, Stores and Analyzes Interactions Without Physical or Virtual Servers
BOCA RATON, Fla., June 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Numonix, a developer of a versatile interaction recording solution for Unified Communication platforms, today announced the launch of IXCloud for Microsoft Teams, one of the first Microsoft Azure-based, fully managed cloud compliance recording services. Uniquely activated as a fully managed service, IXCloud records, stores and analyzes interactions without requiring physical or virtual servers, thereby enabling instant and elastic scalability to support business growth.
"We are excited to be one of the first providers in the world to offer a fully managed compliance recording solution for Microsoft Teams. Our IXCloud for Microsoft Teams solution empowers enterprises, small- to medium-sized businesses, system integrators, hosted providers and carriers to record all types of calling, meeting and chat scenarios for Teams," said Avi Margolin, CEO and CTO of Numonix. "In addition, through our Azure-based IXCloud, we are providing a differentiated, fully managed compliance recording service."
"Whether working on-site or remotely, companies in regulated industries are required to automatically record all communications by regulated employees. With IXCloud for Microsoft Teams, Numonix allows companies to do that, whether those interactions occur within or outside of Teams, while also being able to archive and analyze them," said Mike Ammerlaan, Director of Microsoft 365 Ecosystem marketing at Microsoft Corp.
IXCloud for Microsoft Teams features many benefits, including:
Fully managed, native Azure Software-as-a-Service
Ability to natively record audio, video and screensharing
Participation in the Microsoft Teams Compliance Recording certification program
Zero hardware or software footprint
No server management or maintenance required within your organization
GDPR, MiFID II, HIPAA compliance with built-in recording notifications and 256bit encryption
Securely stored data in your choice of more than 15 Azure datacenter regions, helping compliance with data sovereignty requirements
Ability to instantly scale to support business growth
IXCloud for Microsoft Teams is a new-generation, cloud-based interaction recording solution developed by Numonix, the innovator in capture technologies. Built on the runtime service fabric of Azure, IXCloud empowers users to record with integrity, providing instant hyper-scale, security and compliance plus the benefits of Data Sovereignty. Taking interaction capture into the future, IXCloud redefines versatility, providing the ability to record, store and analyze interactions in the cloud. Its API framework also enables application development.
About Numonix
Numonix offers the industry’s most versatile cloud and premise-based interaction recording solutions for Microsoft® Teams, Skype® for Business, SIPREC, and most unified communications and PBX systems, giving business users and service provides versatility in how they record, centrally store and access to their interactions. With full omnichannel recording of voice, video, chat, screen and screen sharing, Numonix empowers organizations to improve regulatory compliance, resolve disputes and enhance the customer experience by granting safeguarded access to their recordings and agent/customer data. Numonix RECITE® interaction recording solution gives users an on-premise solution with extensive customization options, while Numonix IXCloud delivers the ultimate cloud-based communication capture platform built on the runtime service fabric of Azure and requiring no physical or virtual servers. Numonix is based in Boca Raton, Fla. Visit www.NumonixRecording.com
Numonix PR Contact: Teri Sawyer, T&Co. PR +1-714-801-1687 Numonix Press
STOCKHOLM, June 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The new report from TCO Development, the organization behind the global sustainability certification for IT products TCO Certified, explains how everyone who buys and uses IT products can implement circular and more sustainable practices.
New report with 33 expert tips on circular IT management
"Circular solutions are already available. We now need to use them," says Clare Hobby, Global Purchaser Engagement Director at TCO Development.
The report, Impacts and Insights: Circular IT Management in Practice, sets out how the circular economy helps solve many of the most pressing sustainability challenges linked to IT products. Today’s linear consumption causes substantial carbon dioxide emissions. Natural resources are being rapidly exhausted and vast amounts of hazardous e-waste piles up, with more than 50 million metric tonnes being discarded every year, of which only 20% is being responsibly taken care of. The circular economy can help us reduce the pressure we’re putting on the planet.
As a pioneer of circular procurement, Aalborg municipality has seen the effects of acting with greater circularity.
"The amount of CO2 we can save by keeping IT products longer surprised me. Using laptops for another three years will save emissions equivalent to heating and powering all municipality buildings for a year," says Birgitte Krebs Schleemann, project manager for sustainability procurement at Aalborg municipality.
The circular transition is a paradigm shift that will require both big and small changes. In the report, experts in the frontline of circularity and IT share 33 concrete tips.
"We want to go beyond theory — this report provides practical help for those who want to take the next step," says Clare Hobby.
Some of the tips:
Use your IT-products longer — it’s the single most important thing you can do to save natural resources and cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Work to gradually implement circular practices, such as take-back programs.
Think circular when you’re purchasing IT products. Use circular criteria.
Give your IT products a second life by reselling them.
Acknowledge that circularity is a team effort and no one can do it alone. Both internal and external cooperation is key!
TCO Certified is the world-leading sustainability certification for IT products. Our comprehensive criteria are designed to drive social and environmental responsibility throughout the product life cycle. Covering 11 product categories, compliance is independently verified, both pre and post certification.
BENGALURU, India and LONDON and ATLANTA, June 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Microland today announced its inclusion in PTC Inc’s elite list of Global System Integrators and Management Consultants, an ecosystem of digital transformation experts and industrial innovation thought leaders. This recognition is a validation of Microland’s resolute focus on cross-industry digital transformation.
"Microland’s strategic relationship with PTC has enabled us to accelerate the Industry 4.0 digital transformation journey of our clients. Leveraging PTC’s ThingWorx® platform, we have built smart, connected, and integrated Industrial IoT solutions for several of our clients. Our IT-OT integration expertise, along with PTC’s industrial automation suite, power our Industrial IoT solutions to drive higher efficiencies, increase productivity, enhance experiences and reduce operational risks," says Manjanath Nayak, Senior Vice President – Head of Global Industrial IoT Business, Microland.
Microland’s IIoT business has enabled several enterprises to pursue an accelerated path to realise industrial process transformation. Microland’s offerings under the IIoT service line include: 3-Step Accelerator (PoC led solutions), Integrated Smart Factory, Industrial Monitoring, Connected Enterprises and Managed Services.
Microland has been working with PTC since 2017. Over the last three years the PTC-Microland collaboration has seen significant momentum with several jointly developed solutions deployed across multiple customer engagements.
"Microland has demonstrated innovative thinking in solution development around our platform and have been proven in the most challenging of client engagements," says Rajkiran Chakkalongara, Senior Director & Head, IOT/AR Business, PTC, India.
Microland’s industrial and software engineers, working alongside solution consultants, deliver ambitious IIoT system thinking and innovation, using analytics and artificial intelligence to drive predictable operations and unlock new opportunities. The focus is to enable enterprises to solve complex industrial challenges through IIoT system thinking and rapid prototyping to achieve a steady stream of quick wins with minimum investment.
Ravi Asrani, SVP, Global System Integrators & Management Consulting, PTC added, "PTC values Microland’s system integration capability across industry sectors and its ability to deliver high-value business outcomes. Together, we can address the transformation promises that IIoT presents for the world."
The success of this partnership spans multiple geographies and industry verticals — one example being a successful implementation of smart manufacturing for TRL Krosaki Refractories, one of the largest refractory manufacturers in India.
Kumar Heramba Narayan Naik, CIO, TRL Krosaki, said, "We have embarked upon a program of modernising our manufacturing facilities leveraging Industrial IoT solutions with a primary objective of improving refractory brick quality.
Microland has been instrumental in the success of this modernization program. With an outcome driven approach, Microland helped us develop the business case and demonstrated strong system integration expertise across IT, OT and Analytics. They led the program of implementing PTC ThingWorx® resulting in real time operational visibility, digital workflows and asset performance tracking resulting in quicker decision making, reduced breakdowns and efficient workforce."
About Microland
Microland’s delivery of digital and "Making Digital Happen" allows technology to do more and intrude less. We make it easier for enterprises to adopt nextGen Digital infrastructure. We enable this using our expertise in Cloud and Data Centers, Networks, Digital Workplace, Cybersecurity and Industrial IoT–ensuring the embrace of brilliance is predictable, reliable, and stable.
In the COVID impacted world, Microland is making digital happen for enterprises with a laser focus on services that are more relevant to our clients and prospects than ever before:
Modern Workplace Services: Enabling working-from-home via VDI, desktop-as-a-service, unified end point management and collaboration tools roll-out & adoption
Network Services: Supporting the "new normal" of working by designing, deploying and scaling network infrastructure including Software defined LAN & WAN rollouts
Cloud Services: Accelerating the digital transformation journey by enabling hybrid cloud deployment to support critical workloads and ensuring business continuity
Smart Security Operations Center: 24x 7 Operations center monitoring of all points along a digital journey ensuring that clients are covered in their pursuit to support a world in transition
Industrial Safety Services: Establishing robust connectivity channels with remote production assets and environmental parameters to improve safety of operations and reduce risks and exposure
Incorporated in 1989 and headquartered in Bengaluru, India, Microland has more than 4,500 digital specialists across offices and delivery centers in Asia, Australia, Europe, Middle East and North America.
SANTA CLARA, Calif., June 8, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Agora, Inc. today announced that it has filed a registration statement on Form F-1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the proposed initial public offering of its Class A common stock.
Per the F-1 filing, Agora maintains dual headquarters in Shanghai, China and Santa Clara, California, as well as presence in other countries.
The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering have not yet been determined. Agora has applied to list its Class A common stock on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the ticker symbol "API". Morgan Stanley and BofA Securities are acting as the lead bookrunning managers for the proposed offering.
The proposed offering will be made only by means of a prospectus. A copy of the preliminary prospectus is publicly available on the EDGAR website.
A registration statement relating to the proposed sale of these securities has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time the registration statement becomes effective. This release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the 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 Agora
Agora is the leading video, voice and live interactive streaming platform. Our mission is to make real-time engagement ubiquitous, allowing everyone to interact with anyone, anytime and anywhere. Our video, voice and live interactive video SDKs help developers deliver rich in-app experience—including embedded voice and video chat, real-time recording, interactive live streaming, and real-time messaging—for users across gaming, social, education, entertainment, and enterprise apps.
HANGZHOU, China, June 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES) ("NetEase" or "the Company") today announced the pricing of the Global Offering of 171,480,000 new ordinary shares (the "Offer Shares" or "Shares") which comprises an International Offering and a Hong Kong Public Offering. The final offer price for both the International Offering and the Hong Kong Public Offering (the "Offer Price") has been set at HK$123 per Share. Based on the ratio of 25 ordinary shares per Nasdaq-listed American depositary share ("ADS"), the Offer Price translates to approximately US$397 per ADS. The Company has set the abovementioned offer price by taking into consideration, among other factors, the closing price of the ADSs on June 4, 2020 (the latest trading day before pricing). Subject to approval from The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the "SEHK"), the Shares are expected to begin trading on the Main Board of the SEHK on June 11, 2020 under the stock code "9999." The Global Offering is expected to close on the same day, subject to customary closing conditions.
The gross proceeds to the Company from the Global Offering, before deducting underwriting fees and the offering expenses, are expected to be approximately HK$21,092 million. In addition, the Company has granted the international underwriters an over-allotment option, exercisable from June 5, 2020 until 30 days thereafter, to require the Company to issue up to an additional 25,722,000 new Shares at the Offer Price.
The Company plans to use the net proceeds from the Offering for globalization strategies and opportunities, fueling continued pursuit of innovation, and general corporate purposes.
CICC, Credit Suisse and J.P. Morgan (in alphabetical order) are the joint sponsors and joint global coordinators for the proposed Offering.
The International Offering is being made only by means of a prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus included in an automatic shelf registration statement on Form F-3 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on May 29, 2020, which automatically became effective upon filing. The registration statement on Form F-3 and the preliminary prospectus supplement dated June 1, 2010 are available at the SEC website at: http://www.sec.gov. The final prospectus supplement will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website at: http://www.sec.gov. When available, copies of the final prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to the offering may also be obtained from China International Capital Corporation Hong Kong Securities Limited, Email: [email protected], Credit Suisse (Hong Kong) Limited, Email: [email protected], or J.P. Morgan Securities (Asia Pacific) Limited, Email: [email protected].
This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer or an invitation to buy any securities, nor shall there be any offer or sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction. This press release does not constitute a prospectus (including as defined under the laws of Hong Kong) and potential investors should read the prospectus of the Company for detailed information about the Company and the proposed offering, before deciding whether or not to invest in the Company. This press release has not been reviewed or approved by the SEHK or the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong.
The price of the Shares of the Company may be stabilized in accordance with the Securities and Futures (Price Stabilization) Rules. The details of the intended stabilization and how it will be regulated under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Chapter 571 of the laws of Hong Kong) have been contained in the prospectus of the Company dated June 2, 2020.
About NetEase, Inc.
As a leading internet technology company based in China, NetEase, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTES) is dedicated to providing premium online services centered around innovative and diverse content, community, communication and commerce. NetEase develops and operates some of China’s most popular mobile and PC-client games. In more recent years, NetEase has expanded into international markets including Japan and North America. In addition to its self-developed game content, NetEase partners with other leading game developers, such as Blizzard Entertainment and Mojang AB (a Microsoft subsidiary), to operate globally renowned games in China. NetEase’s other innovative service offerings include the intelligent learning services of its majority-controlled subsidiary, Youdao (NYSE: DAO); music streaming through its leading NetEase Cloud Music business; and its private label e-commerce platform, Yanxuan. For more information, please visit: http://ir.netease.com/.
Safe Harbor Statement
This press release contains forward-looking statements. These statements are 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," "potential," "continue," "ongoing," "targets," "guidance" and similar statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the offering and listing, the use of proceeds and the Company’s strategies and goals, are or contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. There can be no guarantee that the offering and listing will be completed as planned, or that the expected benefits from the offering and listing will be achieved. You should consider the risk factors included in the registration statement (including any documents incorporated by reference), prospectus and prospectus supplements that have been or will be filed with the SEC and the prospectus registered in Hong Kong. All information provided in this press release is as of the date of this press release and are based on assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable as of this date, and the Company does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.
Contact for Investors: Margaret Shi NetEase, Inc. [email protected] Tel: (+86) 571-8985-3378
BEIJING, June 6, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — Fang Holdings Limited (NYSE: SFUN) ("Fang" or the "Company"), a leading real estate Internet portal in China, today announced that the ratio of American depositary shares ("ADSs") representing its Class A ordinary shares is being amended from one (1) ADS representing one (1) Class A ordinary share to one (1) ADS representing ten (10) Class A ordinary shares, mainly in preparation for the pending spin-off of its internet businesses.
There will be no change to Fang’s Class A ordinary shares. Furthermore, no physical action by ADS holders will be required to effect the ratio change, as the change will be effected on the books of the depositary. The effect of the ratio change on the ADS trading price on New York Stock Exchange is expected to take place at the open of business on June 19, 2020 (U.S. Eastern Time). Any fractional ADSs will be sold and the net proceeds from the sale of fractional ADSs will be distributed to the holders entitled thereto.
As a result of the change in the ADS ratio, the ADS price is expected to increase proportionally, although Fang can give no assurance that the ADS price after the change in the ADS ratio will be equal to or greater than ten times the ADS price before the change.
About Fang
Fang operates a leading real estate Internet portal in China in terms of the number of page views and visitors to its websites. Through its websites, Fang provides primarily marketing, listing, leads generation and financial services for China’s fast-growing real estate and home furnishing and improvement sectors. Its user-friendly websites support active online communities and networks of users seeking information on, and other value-added services for, the real estate and home furnishing and improvement sectors in China. Fang currently maintains approximately 74 offices to focus on local market needs and its website and database contains real estate related content covering 665 cities in China. For more information about Fang, please visit http://ir.fang.com.
Safe Harbor Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements are 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," "is expected to," "anticipates," "aim," "future," "intends," "plans," "believes," "are likely to," "estimates," "may," "should" and similar expressions. Such statements are based upon management’s current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and relate to events that involve known or unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond Fang’s control, which may cause its actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the impact of Fang’s business development strategies and the impact of current and future government policies affecting China’s real estate market. Further information regarding these and other risks, uncertainties or factors is included in Fang’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Fang does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required under law.
BEIJING, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — A video story presented by China.org.cn on China’s Tibetan people out of poverty by planting precious Rhodiola:
 
In 2015, Bama Chho Dzong, a resident of Tibet’s Shannanluo village, learned that a small, flowering plant-Rhodiola could help impoverished residents of the autonomous region improve their lives.
Rhodiola is a genus of precious perennial plants that are used in traditional Chinese medicine. After China’s Tibet began accepting tourists, demand increased sharply.
In 2015, Shanghai Inoherb Cosmetics Co., Ltd., the Tibet Academy of Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Sciences and the Qizheng Tibetan Medicine Group established Rhodiola cultivation bases, which made it possible for impoverished people like Bama to return to their hometown and begin working there. During the past three years, three Rhodiola cultivation bases were established.
The first Rhodiola cultivation base was established in Luo village and 60,000 Rhodiola seedlings were planted in 2016. Members of 48 households in the area began engaging in irrigation, weed and pest control, and pruning work at the site.
The second Rhodiola cultivation base was established in Suozhu township, Naidong district and 20,000 Rhodiola seedlings were planted in 2018. The staff compared seedlings that grew from seeds with those that were the results of seed culture projects, grew the plants in various soil environments and have continued to explore various cultivation techniques.
In 2019, the third Rhodiola cultivation base was established in the Shigatse Red River Valley National Agricultural Science and Technology Demonstration Zone and a model involving "gardens + enterprises + farmers and herders" was created and implemented.
The plants that the bases grow currently have a survival rate of more than 80 percent. The results that have been achieved have motivated more and more people to participate in the cultivation of plants used in TCM and the management of the bases. Inoherb pays a management fee based on the survival rate that is attained and bonuses are awarded for high rates which helps to stimulate impoverished people’s intrinsic motivation to escape from poverty.
"We have been growing Rhodiola plants for three years. Our hard work has paid off and our cultivation techniques have been improving. Rhodiola cultivation benefits Tibet’s residents, so more and more people are becoming interested in participating in the industry. We also hope that our techniques can be further promoted," said Bama Dorje YudonYuthok, Rhodiola tissue culture expert from Tibet Academy of Agricultural and Animal Husbandry Sciences.
BEIJING, June 5, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — A news report by China.org.cn:
One emerging lesson from the coronavirus epidemic, in China as well as in the rest of the world, is that while everyone may be affected, those who are already vulnerable are those who are likely to be more severely impacted. People who are already vulnerable have in fact less capacity to cope with the impact of such infection: they have limited access to social services, medical or social protection, and have less capacity to cope economically with the consequences of an outbreak.
A poverty alleviation official helps an impoverished farmer sell ducks amid COVID-19 pandemic in Qinji village, Anhui province.
I. Why caring about the smallholders
The smallholder farmers are most vulnerable group in China. Smallholder farmers, farmers with less than 2-3 ha of land, represent a significant share of the rural population: approximately 230-250 million people. In most cases, poor rural households are smallholders – and, in most cases, smallholders are poor or ‘close-to-poor’ households.
To appreciate how the new coronavirus epidemic has impacted smallholders, we need to look at their main sources of livelihoods. Smallholders depend on the production and sale of agricultural products – although this source of income represent a decreasing share of their income, probably something between 10-20 percent. Increasingly, they depend on informal or seasonal on- and off-farm employment, and – more and more – on the remittances from family members engaged in urban employment (which contribute to an estimated 44 percent of their income).
II. The impact of movement restrictions on employment, production, and sales
All the three smallholders’ main sources of livelihoods have been severely disrupted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Lockdown and movement restrictions had in fact an impact on employment, particularly for migrant work. Assuming, conservatively, that 75 percent of rural migrants were confined to their villages during the two-month lockdown,a group of researchers from the Rural Education Action Program at Stanford University suggested that possibly 200 million rural individuals have not been working during the lockdown period. If, as reported by Reuters, only 2.3 million people received unemployed benefits so far, the number of workers who have not received a salary for at least two months is extremely high.
Similarly, lockdown and movement (and transportation) restrictions had an impact on the production and sales of agricultural products. Movement and transportation restrictions affected the delivery of agricultural inputs: seeds, fertilizers, animal feed. According to a survey conducted by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) in five provinces, this had an impact on spring plowing and spring sowing, and a significant impact on livestock production, since livestock production cycles are short. Movement and transport restrictions also had an impact on farmers’ ability to access markets, affecting the sale of fresh products (fruits and vegetables) and livestock in particular, and had an impact on the agricultural supply chains. Almost 70 percent of the cooperatives interviewed by CAAS reported an impact on sales, and 63 percent on the various stages of the supply chain: purchasing materials, processing, transport, and storage.
III. The resulted impact on income, food security and nutrition
Overall, the main impact of the measures implemented to contain the impact of COVID-19 had an impact on income. According to CAAS estimates, farmers are expected a decrease in income between 10-40 percent. 80 percent of the surveyed farmers by CAAS expected more than 20 percent income decrease. Interestingly, the observed impact on the non-poor (but probably close to the poverty line) was higher than on the poor, possibly because the poor had access to some form of social protection that the non-poor were not eligible to. This makes the non-poor but close-to-poverty households further vulnerable, and at risk of falling into poverty.
The immediate impact of the reduction in income was a reduction in expenditures. According to a survey conducted by the Rural Education Action Program in seven provinces, the experienced reduction in income led to a reduction in expenditures for food consumption. Particularly, it was observed a reduction in the "quality" of the purchased food:frommore nutritious but more expensive food, to low-cost staple food. The immediate implication is that, despite food availability and food prices have overall remained stable during the period of the crisis (although many households reported an increase in food prices), reduced purchasing capacity because of falling income may lead to periods of food insecurity and malnutrition among vulnerable rural households.
The impact of the reduction of income on savings and assets has not yet been analysed – but it isplausible to hypothesize that poor households might have sold their assets and eroded their savings to cope with the crisis, making them more vulnerable.
IV. Key messages
First, while the effect of the measures implemented to contain the Covid-19 hit everyone (the whole economy has contracted by 6.8 percent in the first quarter, according to the National Bureau of Statistics), the impact on smallholders (and particularly on those that are either poor or above but close to the poverty line) seems higher because they are already vulnerable.
Second, with a gradual pick-up of the economy and a gradual "return to normality," the short-term impact of COVID-19 may be contained and absorbed. In fact, what may likely happen is that fewer people may escape poverty than would have in the absence of the outbreak.
However, the longer-term impact may be greater: a large share of the population may have become more vulnerable and at risk of falling (or falling back) into poverty in the event of a new shock – be it a new outbreak, an unexpected drop in commodity prices, or a poor harvest due to unfavorable weather events.
This is no surprise. The Government is aware that one of the main challenges in the years after 2020 will be to reduce vulnerabilities and avoid that people fall (or fall back) into poverty.
IFAD will continue to support China’s strategic focus on rural areas and rural people as an integral part of its rural revitalization strategy. Fostering rural communities that are increasingly resilient to shocks will be one of the main areas of cooperation.
Matteo Marchisio is the Country Director and IFAD Representative (China, Republic of Korea, and DPRK) and Head of East Asia Regional Hub and South-South Cooperation Center.
Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn and Chinagate.cn.
