Tag Archives: TRA

PR Newswire

AirNet Announces Adoption of a Shareholder Rights Plan

Leave a comment

BEIJING, Aug. 13, 2020 — AirNet Technology Inc., formerly known as AirMedia Group Inc. ("AirNet" or the "Company") (Nasdaq: ANTE), an in-flight solution provider on connectivity, entertainment, and digital multimedia in China, today announced that its board of directors (the "Board") has adopted a shareholder rights plan. Pursuant to the plan, the Company will issue one right (a "Right") with respect to each outstanding ordinary share of the Company of a par value of US$0.001 each (the "Ordinary Shares"), held of record at the close of business on August 24, 2020.

The shareholder rights plan, which has a term of one year, is designed to guard against coercive or otherwise unfair takeover tactics to gain control or undue influence of the Company without offering a fair and adequate price and terms to shareholders of the Company. The plan does not prevent the Board from considering or accepting an offer to acquire the Company if the board believes that such action is fair, advisable and in the best interest of shareholders of the Company as a whole.

Each Right will initially entitle the registered holder to purchase one Ordinary Share at an exercise price of US$0.9 per Right, subject to adjustment. However, the Rights are not immediately exercisable and will become exercisable only upon the occurrence of certain events. More specifically, if a person or group acquires 15% or more of the outstanding Ordinary Shares while the shareholder rights plan remains in place, then the Rights will become exercisable by all Rights holders (except the acquiring person or group) for that number of Ordinary Shares having a then-current market value of twice the exercise price of a Right. However, by way of illustration, if a shareholder’s beneficial ownership of Ordinary Shares as of the time of this announcement of the shareholder rights plan is at or above the 15% threshold, that shareholder’s existing ownership percentage would be grandfathered, but the rights would become exercisable if at any time after this announcement the shareholder increases its ownership percentage by 1% or more without the prior approval of the Board. In addition, if after a person or group acquires 15% or more of the outstanding Ordinary Shares, the Company consolidates or merges or participates in a scheme of arrangement or statutory share exchange with any other entity or the Company sells or transfers more than 50% of its assets, operating income or cash flow, then each Right will entitle its holder to purchase, for the exercise price, that number of shares of the person engaging in the transaction having a then-current market value of twice the exercise price of a Right. The acquiring person will not be entitled to exercise these rights. The Board may redeem the Rights for US$0.001 per Right at any time before an event that causes the Rights to become exercisable.

Additional details about the shareholder rights plan will be contained in a Form 6-K to be filed by the Company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

About AirNet

Incorporated in 2007 and headquartered in Beijing, China, AirNet provides in-flight solutions to connectivity, entertainment and digital multimedia in China. Collaborating with its partners, AirNet empowers Chinese airlines with seamlessly immersive Internet connections through a network of satellites and land-based beacons, provides airline travelers with interactive entertainment and a coverage of breaking news, and furnishes corporate clients with advertisements tailored to the perceptions of the travelers. For more information, please visit http://ir.ihangmei.com.  

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of 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, and include, without limitation, statements regarding the development of the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the Company’s business operations. The Company 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 reports to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about the Company’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are based upon management’s current expectations and current market and operating conditions, and involve inherent risks and uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond the Company’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, but not limited to the following: its ability to achieve and maintain profitability; its ability to continuously improve its solutions and services enabling inflight connectivity; its ability to compete effectively against its competitors; the expected growth in consumer spending, average income levels and advertising spending levels; the growth of the inflight connectivity industry in China; and government policies affecting the inflight connectivity industry in China. 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. The Company 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.

Related Links :

http://ir.ihangmei.com

PR Newswire

Linking Hangzhou: Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, TV and Tourism Launches Live-Streamed International Roadshow

Leave a comment

HANGZHOU, China, Aug. 8, 2020 — On the afternoon of August 7, Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, TV and Tourism launches the "Linking Hangzhou" international roadshow online, in a bid to enhance the global influence of Hangzhou as a "new economy conference destination." While presenting a new chapter of the cosmopolitan metropolis, it also envisions the revival of Hangzhou’s cultural and tourism industries in the post-COVID-19 era. The event leverages live-streaming platforms and online video conferencing technology at home and abroad, and simultaneously promotes Hangzhou’s MICE resources to customers worldwide for the first time. It not only demonstrates the vitality of Hangzhou as a "new economic conference destination," but also showcases the infinite potential of Hangzhou, a historically and culturally famed city with ever-lasting charm, as it embraces the future. At the same time, the event also invites 37 Singaporean MICE customers to join Hangzhou-based enterprises in online business negotiations in an endeavor to promote the city’s new image and attract more international conferences.

Highlight 1: Hangzhou’s First Online International Promotion in the Post-COVID-19 Era

The "Linking Hangzhou" international roadshow is an exploratory measure of Hangzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, TV and Tourism, which for the first time live-streams its MICE promotion worldwide. Having adapted to the post-COVID-19 era, the bureau advertises Hangzhou’s strengths and resources as a new economy conference destination to the world through Dingtalk, BizConf Video and social network platforms such as Facebook and YouTube. With the help of digital technology, the bureau is dedicated to launching local cultural and tourism industries onto a new journey of quality and efficiency improvement.

By breaking through the physical limitations of face-to-face communication and building a scenario-rich conference ecosystem, the bureau is leveraging the treasure trove of with intelligent digital technology to expand the boundary of meetings. To top off last year’s "Hello Hangzhou", China’s first large-scale immersive conference visualized with the most cutting-edge technology, this "Linking Hangzhou" promotion transcends the barrier of space and time and visualizes simultaneous connection through intelligent conferencing system, convening MICE practitioners worldwide for closed-door business negotiations online. The innovative event not only achieves customized matchmaking between MICE suppliers and customers in a more efficient way, but also gives a shot in the arm for the recovery of the cultural and tourism industries and the development of MICE industry.

In addition, the promotion video Time to Meet Hangzhou, which premieres globally, showcases the diversity of Hangzhou from four dimensions: comfortable lifestyle, cultural experience, booming industries, and creativity. Following the video three MICE products, including the exploration of new economy industry, traditional cultural experience, vibrant teambuilding and Hangzhou locals’ lifestyle, are presented to feature Hangzhou’s new image as a thriving city with traditional Chinese charm and vitality in the post-COVID-19 era.

Highlight 2: Exploring Hangzhou with Singaporean Experience Officer

Frankson Lee, General Manager of InterContinental Hangzhou and a Singaporean, is featured in a short clip as the experience officer who joins four local MICE suppliers to explore exciting MICE venues in Hangzhou and brings a "Singaporean perspective of Hangzhou." By diving into the infinite charm of MICE industry, Frankson takes the audience on a thrilling trip to discover Hangzhou’s latest MICE products.

His trip includes the introduction to Zhe school of qin, an intangible cultural heritage that amasses thousands of years of traditional Chinese culture; canoeing, a delightful, recreational teambuilding activity; a visit to Alibaba, a corporate champion that embodies Hangzhou‘ achievements in digital economy; and a visit to Chenghuang Pavilion which abounds with Hangzhou’s beauty and cultural heritage. At the half-century-old West Lake Guqin Society, Frankson learns the essence of Chinese music from Xu Junyue, an inheritor of the Zhe school of qin, and talks about poetic lifestyle in the melody of the instrument. Guided by Alibaba Group PR expert Zhang Yuan, Frankson pays a visit to Alibaba’s headquarters to discover its innovative corporate culture and management philosophy, and the unique charm of an international enterprise and representative of China’s new economic industry. On the beautiful Xianghu Lake, he ventures on a low-carbon aquatic trip and is given a glimpse to the passion and vitality that Hangzhou will offer in the 2022 Asian Games. In Chenghuang Pavilion at the peak of Mountain Wu, he gives a go at diancha under the guidance of Xu Zhigao, an inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage from Song Dynasty, and peeks into the integration of the past and the present. Hangzhou, as a MICE destination, captures the imagination of its visitors with ever-growing charm.

Highlight 3: Bridging Supply and Demand for Recovery

The roadshow also features the online matchmaking of 37 Singapore-based quality MICE customers with 31 MICE service providers in Hangzhou for potential cooperation in the future.  While enhancing the connection of both sides, their dialog on supply and demand has paved the way for the development of cross-border MICE cooperation in the post-COVID-19 era.

Singapore-based customers such as Experia Events Pte. Ltd., a former organizer of the Singapore Airshow, M.I.C.E. Matters, a professional MICE company with projects in over 30 countries, and TLC Events Pte. Ltd., a front-running digital MICE company, along with the representatives of high-caliber enterprises and associations, such as Autodesk Asia, SiS Asia and Hemispheres Foundation, attend the event. During the one-hour business negotiation, they join Hangzhou-based MICE service providers in 3 rounds of interviews, which expands the international market of Hangzhou’s MICE industry and fuels the city’s new takeoff as an international conference destination with new business opportunities presented in real-time interaction.

 

PR Newswire

Announcing World Food Travel Market

Leave a comment

New online marketplace revolutionizes the culinary travel trade business

LONDON, Aug. 4, 2020 — Today the World Food Travel Association (WFTA) announced the launch of World Food Travel Market, the world’s first and only business-to-business marketplace for the culinary travel industry.

World Food Travel Market is a secure platform that connects trade buyers and sellers of culinary travel products. Buyers can search for culinary tour operators, culinary tourist guides, culinary attractions and similar products and services, based on criteria like location, specific keywords, hours of operation and more. Sellers can showcase their full range of capabilities, their extensive digital content libraries, their own blog articles, and all of their social media links including TripAdvisor. Every member’s microsite is available in up to 100 languages, allowing members to easily discover each other and do business together, no matter where they are located.

The idea for World Food Travel Market came from members of the World Food Travel Association’s own community, who sought new and creative ways to connect in a marketplace focused specifically on the food and beverage tourism industry. "Our industry really needed a way to connect directly with other like professionals – in a way that was not previously available," said World Food Travel Market member Juan Jose Munozcano, owner of Madrid Experience, a food and wine tour operator in Spain. "The Market is exactly what I was looking for as a business owner."

"There has never been an easier way for the food and beverage tourism industry to connect and do business," said World Food Travel Market founder Erik Wolf. "And because World Food Travel Market exclusively serves the food and beverage tourism trade, members are not distracted by irrelevant content or businesses."

World Food Travel Market is the right tool at the right time in the current economic climate to help the world’s food and beverage travel trade companies to do business better. Businesses can get started today at WorldFoodTravelMarket.com.

World Food Travel Market was created by the World Food Travel Association, the world’s leading authority on food and beverage tourism.

ABOUT THE WORLD FOOD TRAVEL ASSOCIATION (WFTA)

The WFTA is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 2001 by its current executive director Erik Wolf. It is recognised as the world’s leading authority on food/ culinary/ gastronomy tourism. The WFTA’s mission is to preserve and promote culinary cultures through hospitality and travel. Every year, the organisation serves almost 200,000 professionals in 150+ countries. For more information, visit www.WorldFoodTravel.org.

Media Contact:  Erik Wolf (+44) 7827 582 554  help@worldfoodtravel.org

Logo – https://techent.tv/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/announcing-world-food-travel-market.jpg

Related Links :

https://worldfoodtravel.org/

http://www.worldfoodtravel.org

PR Newswire

Go-Yunnan launches on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube

Leave a comment

KUNMING, China, July 24, 2020 — On July 20, 2020, Go-Yunnan formally established a presence on the world’s three key social networks, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, finalizing the integration of a number of services and features and providing a venue where anyone interested in visiting or touring Yunnan can gain a better perspective on what the province in southwestern China has to offer. The platform also provides real-time updates and sharing of information on cultural exchanges as well as other activities and events taking place across the province.

 

The Go-Yunnan platform is designed to provide localized tourism services to travelers from abroad before, during and following their visit. 

The Go-Yunnan platform features both a downloadable app as well as a website. The app is segmented into modules for Destination, Guide, Explore, Me, Lives, Translator and More. In the Destination module, the interested visitor can find information on 411 places of interest in 16 prefectures and cities across the province, The Lives modules comes loaded with live streaming of 1,400 Yunnan’s most captivating locales. Together with Itineraries, Essentials, Transport and Weather, those characteristic functions are aiming at assisting the prospective travelers in pre-trip planning. In addition to the Translator, Exchange and other practical features, the Guide module provides route recommendations alongside spoken guided tours for some of the more popular attractions. All in all, the app is expected to make the prospective visit all the more rewarding for overseas visitors. Most appealing for all travelers from abroad, the app comes with a one-click Complaint button that can be accessed during the course of the journey or stay within the province in the event of finding oneself lost or in a confusing situation or needing to file a complaint due to bad service. The Go-Yunnan website, an extension to the app, acts as an international information platform for anyone planning a visit to the province.

https://www.ybsjyyn.com/en/
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tengyun.intl.yyn
https://apps.apple.com/app/id1484293598

As one of the most practical features, the Exchange function provides immediate exchange rate conversion between the yuan and 14 commonly used currencies, making it easy for travelers to understand what everything costs. The Essentials module lists practical information including the contact and location information of the nearest consulates, as well as current and updated information on visas, time zones, climate, money, water, electrical current adaptors and safety, assuring stress-free preparation for a smooth and enjoyable journey for anyone planning to spend time in Yunnan.

In the latest version update, the Transport function added train and bus time query feature with more than 100 train and 1000 bus lines within Yunnan Province. The Festivals and Activities section gives you a glimpse of Yunnan’s colorful ethnic culture through 18 activities of 20 related ethnic groups.

Follow the Go-Yunnan social platform Twitter, YouTube, Facebook to learn more about and gain access to real time travel information on Yunnan province.

 
PR Newswire

Xsight Systems and Bayanat Engineering Qatar Partner to Deploy RunWize™ FOD Detection Solution at Hamad International Airport

Leave a comment

DOHA, Qatar, July 17, 2020 — Hamad International Airport (HIA), awarded Bayanat Engineering Qatar the deployment of Xsight Systems’ RunWize™ Foreign Object & Debris (FOD) detection system. HIA is currently ranked as the third best airport in the world by Skytrax World Airport Awards 2020 and serves as Qatar Airways’ international hub.

Xsight Systems’ sensors deployed along the runway
Xsight Systems’ sensors deployed along the runway

Xsight Systems, the leading global provider of advanced runway safety solutions, have partnered with Bayanat Engineering Qatar, a leading airport systems integrator in the Gulf and North Africa, to deliver an intelligent Runway Debris Monitoring System (RDMS) at HIA, part of the airport’s plan to elevate its safety measures and acquire the latest and most advanced runway technologies. RunWize™ will be implemented on the airport’s two parallel runways, one of them being one of the longest in the world at 4,850 meters in length.

Xsight Systems RunWize™ solution provides real-time, automated FOD detection, location, identification and classification, chosen and defined by HIA as a Tier 1 system to take a major part in the airport’s robust eco-system harmonized with other critical interfaces at HIA. This will ensure full runway coverage and ascription capabilities for guaranteed runway safety and operational efficiency during take-off and landing by using sophisticated image and radar processing algorithms based on Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Ioannis Metsovitis, Senior Vice President of Operations at HIA, stated: “HIA champions the adoption of cutting-edge technologies to ensure operational efficiency. The Runway Debris Monitoring System is one of such intelligent safety solution implemented at our airport to accelerate our digital transformation. HIA partners with the world’s leading technology experts to implement the latest innovations and intelligent solutions to ensure the highest levels of passenger experience and safety.”

Yaniv Mendelson, VP Sales of Xsight Systems Inc., said: “We are proud to have Xsight’s RunWize™ recognized as a critical and integral part of HIA’s advanced eco-system to fully integrate and complement other critical systems. This prime function of the RunWize™ within HIA serves as an evidence to the importance the airport attributes to improving safety and efficiency during the take-off and landing operation.”

Hasan Ezzeddine, General Manager at BEQ: “As one of the prime partners for HIA, we supply latest advanced technologies and the installation and maintenance to upgrade existing capabilities of the aviation sector towards achieving the supreme operation performance. We ensure the availability of the leading product for our customer with outstanding end-to-end execution. Our commitment is to the deliver the outstanding service to provide and improve leading safety standards.”

About Xsight Systems

Founded in 2005 Xsight Systems developed advanced runway hazard detection solutions with nearly 1,100 sensors deployed on runways worldwide. Xsight’s proprietary solution RunWize™ provides an automatic and continuous detection to minimize the damages to aircrafts caused by hazards, allowing safer and more efficient runway operations.

Xsight Systems commercially installed in Boston Logan International Airport and Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in addition, Xsight systems is deployed in Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport and Beijing Capital International Airport and Beijing Daxing International Airport in China. Xsight Systems exceeds and complies with regulatory requirements worldwide (ICAO, FAA, CAAC, EASA), while also providing tools to comply with the upcoming Global Reporting Format (GRF) set by ICAO. www.xsightsys.com

About Bayanat Engineering Qatar

BEQ is a key player in the aviation sector in Middle East and North Africa having delivered over 1,000 projects in its 20 years of dedicated airport solutions expertise in several airports. BEQ is specialized in Air Traffic Management, Airside and Terminal systems, with the deployment and integration of a wide range of complex solutions attending the needs of airport authorities, air navigation service providers, civil aviation authorities, and military and defense. qatar.bayanatengineering.com

About Hamad International Airport

HIA, the gateway to Qatar and the World.

Positioned at the edge of the Arabian Gulf, Hamad International Airport’s tranquil waterside setting provides a perfect backdrop for its stylish architectural elements, underpinned by advanced airport systems in line with its “Smart Airport” vision. Operating 24/7, the airport features two runways, a state-of-the-art air traffic control tower and currently processes 30 million passengers per year and 360,000 aircraft per year. With over 40,000 square meters of combined retail, food and beverage facilities, unmatched spa facilities and a collection of unique art pieces from internationally acclaimed artists, HIA is a destination on its own, designed for the modern traveler.

HIA is undertaking an expansion to meet the growing demand for air travel and enhance its position as the preferred gateway for travel. It will deliver on the promise of the “airport-of-the-future” by enhancing the multi-dimensional offerings by integrating a refreshing environment of lush greenery with contemporary retail and dining concepts among other leisure attractions and facilities under one expansive terminal.

HIA’s commercial and operational functions are managed by MATAR, the Qatar Company for Airports Management and Operation and a corporate subsidiary of Qatar Airways Group.

HIA is classified as a five-star airport by Skytrax and currently holds the “Third Best Airport in the World,” “Best Airport in the Middle East” and “Best Staff Service in the Middle East” titles.

For more information, visit HIA’s website www.dohahamadairport.com and follow the airport’s latest news on HIA’s social media channels: Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.

For HIA corporate images, please click here.

Photo – https://techent.tv/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/xsight-systems-and-bayanat-engineering-qatar-partner-to-deploy-runwize-fod-detection-solution-at-hamad-international-airport.jpg

Contact Information:

Xsight Systems:
Yaniv Mendelson
marketing@xsightsys.com

Hamad International Airport:
Marketing and Corporate Communications Department
hiamedia@hamadairport.com.qa

Related Links :

Home
PR Newswire

“@Beautiful Zhejiang” Video Contest Ready To Launch

Leave a comment

HANGZHOU, China, July 15, 2020 — Organized by Information Office of Zhejiang Provincial Government and Zhejiang International Channel (ZTV-World), “@Beautiful Zhejiang” Global Short Video Contest is now ready to launch. The contest is seeking short videos no longer than 5 minutes from both home and abroad to show the beautiful landscape, culture, and modernization of the province.

The poster of this contest
The poster of this contest

 

The award-winning works will be displayed across the world. Award-winners will automatically get premium membership of Blueberry Video Bloggers’ Alliance @Beautiful Zhejiang, a platform for works exhibition and insight sharing, and be offered priority access to follow-up media events and plenty of resources.

The Contest includes Comprehensive Awards and Individual Awards. The former includes 5 first prizes, 10 second prizes, 15 third prizes, and 30 honorable mentions; the latter includes 1 award for each of the Best Creativity, Best Videography, Best Editing, Best Animation Design, and the Most Popular Work, and several Special Awards for International Collaboration and Excellent Groups.

All works submitted shall reflect the contest’s theme and reveal the historical achievements made in Zhejiang in terms of economy, culture, society and ecology, especially the impressive progress concerning the development of a moderately prosperous society in an all-round way. Videos can be filmed anywhere around the globe, but elements about Zhejiang are required.

The works should deliver positive energy and can be in the form of a documentary, interview or talk show within 5 minutes. Videos can be filmed in any language, but English or bilingual (Chinese and English) subtitles are required.

Qualified works will be posted online across a wide range of media platforms, including the Wechat, Weibo, Douyin, YouTube, Facebook and Tik-Tok accounts operated by Zhejiang International Channel (ZTV-World) along with Zhejiang Government’s English portal website, In Zhejiang (an English social web service run by Zhejiang Daily), Beautiful Zhejiang Douyin account, Tianmu Video, and overseas collaborative media. Netizens can vote and give likes to their favorite works. The impressions and likes on each platform will be referred to in later review.

The final results will be announced online in mid-September, and an online award ceremony, delivery of certificates and rewards will be held. Excellent works will also be recommended to attend other domestic short video contests.

  • Registration

Individuals, groups, or institutions can register for the contest as follows:

1. Online registration: Email the works and the registration form (see Appendix) to ztvworld@163.com on or before August 31, 2020 with the subject “Videographer- Works Title – Short Video Contest”.

2. Registration by post: Post your works and registration forms in CD or USB Flash Drive to Zhejiang International Channel (ZTV-World) before August 31, 2020 (address: Xinxiangli Building, 2-1 Macheng Road, Xihu District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang 310005, China);

 
PR Newswire

SpaceTravel to partner with UnionPay, The Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia & Bali Tourism Promotion Board to Bolster Bali Tourism Industry through launch of BUBU App

Leave a comment

Unlocking Post Covid Tourism Potential Through Digital Transformation

BALI, Indonesia, July 10, 2020 — SpaceTravel, UnionPay International, and the Bali Tourism Promotion Board, supported by the Embassy of the Republic of Indonesia in Singapore, yesterday officially kicked off their partnership to offer BUBU, a lifestyle app for tourists in Bali. Singapore-based startup, SpaceTravel, will develop this app as this partnership hopes to embrace digitisation to bolster the Bali tourism industry through its recovery.

This partnership was announced at a webinar yesterday "Digitisation to Unlock Tourism Potential Post-Covid". The event was attended by His Excellency Ngurah Swajaya, the Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Singapore, Mr. Muhammad Neil El Himam, Director for Application & Governance of Digital Economy – Ministry of Tourism and Economy Creative of the Republic of Indonesia, Dr. Putu Saroyini, Vice-Chair Bali Tourism Promotion Board, Mr. Wenhui Yang, General Manager, UnionPay International (UPI) Southeast Asia, Mr .Ping Teck Huat, CEO of SpaceTravel Pte Ltd, and other distinguished guests.  

BUBU is an all in one application that allows tourists to Bali to navigate, book accommodation, transport and look for merchant offers, whilst giving merchants the ability to gain insights about and reward consumers when they spend.

In his opening address, Ambassador Ngurah said that since the pandemic Covid-19, the government has developed and rolled out a comprehensive strategy for the development of the Indonesian Tourism in line with the Cleanliness, Health, and Safety (CHS) protocol.

"The plan to reopen is gradual and emphasizes the importance of developing confident, safety, and quality tourism. Reopening borders has been discussed in the ASEAN context," he said.

Following him, Mr. Neil El Himam shared with attendees several marketing strategies which tapped on digitisation to increase quality tourist visits to Indonesia in the future. This included Indonesia Care, which taps on VR, Big Data, and blockchain to promote virtual, seamless tourism to future tourists to Bali.

"While we don’t hope to replace the in person experience, tourists can now preview what they will be seeing on the trip before they embark on it," he remarked.

Similarly, Dr. Putu Saroyini stressed the use of mobile applications to engage the Chinese tourist market, which accounted for close to 20 percent of the country’s 18,000 daily visitors pre-Covid. Dr. Putu highlighted that the BUBU App taps on the human desire to gain rewards for their actions, which will encourage them to spend while travelling.

"This gamification feature will promote a higher user engagement, which I believe will make it the ideal choice for travellers when they come to Bali," she said.

This was a sentiment echoed by Mr. Ping, who urged offline businesses to be quick in adopting digitisation to reach out to potential tourists while observing safety.

"With the help of local tourism boards and UnionPay, we are able to engage these merchants directly and connect them with potential customers in a contactless and hygienic way," he said.

Mr. Wenhui Yang, General Manager of UPI Southeast Asia further added, "We are pleased to be part of this partnership, to bring more value to our Cardholders, merchant acquirers, and Bali merchants alike.

"This app makes it easier for tourists to not only find their way around Bali, but to easily find and pay for exciting merchant offers when visiting the famed island of the Gods," he said.

In Bali, the province’s success in fighting COVID-19 has resulted in the Indonesian government expressing interest in reopening its door on 11 September 2020. This has caused much excitement for industry players, who see this as an opportunity for business recovery and even growth.

UnionPay is accepted at almost all merchants in Bali now, and in many parts of Indonesia. UnionPay serves the world’s largest Card base of over 8 billion and is one of the fastest growing international payment networks, now accepted in 179 countries and regions.

SpaceTravel also plans to conduct other webinars like best practices for businesses to stay connected to consumers during this challenging time, dialogues with local businesses on how they pivoted to ensure the proper roll-out of the COVID-19 safe distancing measures, and training on tools across the Facebook platform.

Technical support for BUBU is provided by Huawei Cloud.

Related Links :

http://www.unionpayintl.com

PR Newswire

XAG Drones Tested, Add Sweet Spot for South Africa’s Sugar Crisis

Leave a comment

PIETERMARITZBURG, South Africa, July 6, 2020 — Drones, with specialty spraying technology, was deployed for a recent sugarcane ripening trail in South Africa, showing an evident increase in the amount of sugar extracted from these canes. This might signal a potential improvement in profit margin for the cane growers, who have been incurring loss from the country’s ailing sugar industry. 

XAG P Series drone on the work of sugarcane ripening in South Africa
XAG P Series drone on the work of sugarcane ripening in South Africa

 

Primarily grown in tropical and subtropical regions, sugarcane is the type of perennial, high-value cash crop that serve as juicy fruit as well as the major feedstock for sugar production. South Africa ranks the world’s top 15 sugar producing countries that provide cost-effective, high-quality sugar products. However, due to a series of interweaving threats, mainly the influx of cheap imports and the imposition of sugar tax, South Africa’s $833 million sugar industry has been struggling to stay competitive in the global market. Crop-spraying drones, meanwhile, gently tap in and get prepared to give a new lease of life to this industry.

Drones outperform to reap recoverable value

This June, in Seafield Farm, located at the Midlands South region of KwaZulu-Natal, a new round of sugarcane harvest arrived. What made this harvest season special was that a commercial ripening trial was conducted for the first time to compare the efficacy of drone and helicopter. Ripening refers to the process of applying chemical ripener to enhance the content of sucrose in the sugarcane plants usually six to nine weeks before harvest. The ripening application has been widely adopted as a routine management that proves to effectively improve cane quality and sugar yield.

In this trial, different fields of the Seafield Farm were selected, each of which divided into two areas between 1 to 5 hectares assigned to different ripener applications. The drone used was XAG P20, which carried a custom spraying attachment and 12-litre smart liquid tank designed in a modular fashion. It followed the pre-set flight route, operated at a fixed height 2 to 3 metres above the crops, and sprayed accurately into the target fields. Results show that the traditional manned helicopter was considerably outperformed by XAG drone in both cane yield and quality of the harvested crops.

The areas ripened with drones had a small, yet significant 1% increase in recoverable value (RV), compared to those ripened with helicopter. In South Africa, RV is the accepted measure of the amount of sugar recovered from every ton of cane crushed in the mills.

“This means a lot to us. With higher sugar extracted from every tons of sugarcane, we get paid higher and my farms become more profitable,” said Kim Hein, the licensed operator of XAG drone as well as cane grower who has been testing the feasibility of drone spraying solution in sugarcane cultivation.

Under the RV Cane Payment System since 2000, the South African farmers are remunerated for their harvested sugarcane based on recoverable value. As RV% generally falls within 9% to 14%, the more than 1% increase is a relatively satisfactory progress for sugarcane growers to obtain a greater return on investment. This smallest breakthrough could mean a great deal to individual farmers facing an ailing sugar industry.

The recent two years have seen a considerable drop in the market price of RV, which means that farmers are payed less for the sugarcane of the same recoverable value. This is largely attributed to the flood of low-priced sugar import and the introduction of tax on sugar-sweetened drinks (or health promotion levy) that brings down the demand for local sugar.

Small-scale growers being the early adopters

Despite the market chaos of the sugar industry, South Africa has granted the legal take-off of agricultural drones last year which could innovatively transform the labour-intensive farming ecosystem. Kim Hein, the man behind the Seafield Farm ripening trial, has purchased agricultural drones from XAG to tend its self-owned 200ha sugarcane field as well as those of his farmer counterparts.

“Drone, imagery, and smart agriculture system can help us solve many environmental and labour problems,” Hein said. Drones with precision spraying ability can address the increasing pressure to use less chemical, while reducing labour usage to tackle the rising labour cost that is disproportionate to the quality of work done. As the advantages of drone technology start to shine through, there has been a growing acceptance of drone-based treatment by cane farmers, who has been dealing with difficulties to manage this specialty crop.

Sugarcane plants can reach 3 to 7 metres high, that ground equipment such as tractors are inapplicable. Manual option with knapsack sprayer can expose field workers directly to the chemicals. This leaves manned aerial approaches, such as helicopter and airplane, to be used for sugarcane ripening over the past 20 years.

According to Heim, helicopter spraying can treat large areas very quickly, but the downside of it was that most sugarcane fields are quite small in size. According to South Africa Sugar Association (SASA), small-scale farmers constitute 90% of the nation’s 22,949 registered sugarcane growers, predominantly located in two provinces namely Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal. They form the backbone of the sugar industry value chain.

“We usually end up with problem with the helicopter company which offer a minimum spray of 50 hectares a day, but we only want to do 2 to 3 hectares a week. This does not allow any flexibility in the ripening process which means the outcome might fail,” explained by Hein. Large airplane and helicopter can only be subject to blanket spray, which means they work on huge areas at a time that does not match well with farmers’ harvesting schedule.

Instead, the drones that Hein uses are designed by XAG to facilitate precision application in agriculture. They can smoothly operate on various terrains, no matter steep slopes or irregular-shaped plots, which are common places where most South African sugarcane plants are grown. Owing to real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning and the special atomised nozzles, XAG drones can spray more precisely and evenly on target areas without affecting the neighbouring fields not yet ready for ripening. This help cut down the use of chemicals by 30% and converse agricultural water by 90%.

Get ready for the Sugar Master Plan

The introduction of precision drones into farming complements government’s determination to rejuvenate the sugar industry. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has announced the Sugar Masterplan this June that marks a major milestone in efforts to ensure the health and longevity of the industry.

The sugar industry makes important contributions to South Africa’s economic activities and rural employment. Its direct and indirect employment is estimated at 435,000 jobs, as well as representing over 11% of the total agricultural workforce. However, based on the SASA statistics, the annual sugar production has declined by 25% over the past 20 years, while the number of sugarcane farmers experienced a decline by 60% along with a reduction by 45% in sugar industry-related jobs.

The Sugar Masterplan aims to reverse this industry downtrend and protect tens of thousands of livelihoods in rural areas. As SA Cane Growers’ Association chairperson Rex Talmage introduced, the warmly welcomed plan includes the actions to enhance import protection, diversify sugar by-product production (i.e. biofuel) and support small-scale cane farmers, which would increase demand in the local market.

Amid the industry reconstruction, smart agriculture technology such as drones could play a new role in the upstream part of the sugar value chain. Through generating higher recoverable value, reducing labour costs, and minimising the use of chemicals, drones could help to guarantee sustainable supply of sugarcane and improve the profitability of small-scale growers.

When talking about his future plan, Kim Hein expressed positive attitudes towards the scale-up of smart agtech. “The number of tasks that can be done with drones have growing. We are now testing new applications to treat sugarcane crops at different stages in ways we could never image in the past.” In South Africa, sugarcane is harvested in an 18 to-24-month rotation, when agricultural drones can apply throughout the period from field mapping, fertilisation, controlling diseases, weeds, and pests, to ripening.

About XAG

Founded in 2007, XAG is a world-leading agriculture technology company with 13 years of technical experience in unmanned aerial system (UAS) and seven years of practical experience in innovative field applications. Up to 30 April 2020, XAG has over 51,000 agricultural drones in operation, having empowered 8 million farmers with precision crop protection services on 28 million hectares of farmland. With a global mission to advancing agriculture, XAG is devoted to building digital farming infrastructure, developing precision farming equipment, such as robots, drones, AI and IoT, and creating smart agriculture ecosystem.

 

Related Links :

http://www.xa.com

PR Newswire

Trip.com Group Announces Completion of the Put Right Offer for Its 1.99% Convertible Senior Notes due 2025

Leave a comment

SHANGHAI, June 30, 2020 — Trip.com Group Limited (Nasdaq: TCOM) (“Trip.com Group” or the “Company”), a leading provider of online travel and related services, including accommodation reservation, transportation ticketing, packaged tours and in-destination services, corporate travel management, and other travel-related services, today announced that it has completed its previously announced put right offer relating to its 1.99% Convertible Senior Notes due 2025 (CUSIP No. 22943F AH3) (the “Notes”). The put right offer expired at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on Monday, June 29, 2020. Based on information from The Bank of New York Mellon as the paying agent for the Notes, US$395,240,000 aggregate principal amount of the Notes were validly surrendered and not withdrawn prior to the expiration of the put right offer. The aggregate purchase price of these Notes was US$395,240,000. The Company has accepted all of the surrendered Notes for repurchase and has forwarded cash in payment of the same to the paying agent for distribution to the applicable holders. Following the settlement of repurchase of these Notes, the total number of ordinary shares of the Company on a fully diluted basis will be reduced by 0.9 million shares.

Materials filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) will be available electronically without charge at the SEC’s website, http://www.sec.gov. Documents filed with the SEC may also be obtained without charge at the Company’s website, http://investors.trip.com.

About Trip.com Group Limited

Trip.com Group Limited (Nasdaq: TCOM) is a leading one-stop travel service provider consisting of Trip.com, Ctrip, Skyscanner, and Qunar. Across its platforms, Trip.com Group enables local partners and travelers around the world to make informed and cost-effective bookings for travel products and services, through aggregation of comprehensive travel-related information and resources, and an advanced transaction platform consisting of mobile apps, Internet websites, and 24/7 customer service centers. Founded in 1999 and listed on Nasdaq in 2003, Trip.com Group has become one of the largest travel companies in the world in terms of gross merchandise value.

Related Links :

https://www.ctrip.com/

PR Newswire

Tuniu Has Regained Compliance with Nasdaq’s Minimum Bid Price Requirement

Leave a comment

NANJING, China, June 29, 2020 — Tuniu Corporation (Nasdaq:TOUR) (“Tuniu” or the “Company”), a leading online leisure travel company in China, today announced that it received a notification letter (the “Compliance Notice”) from the Listing Qualifications Department of the Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. (“Nasdaq”) dated June 26, 2020, indicating that the Company has regained compliance with the Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(a)(1) (the “Minimum Bid Price Requirement”) and the matter is closed.

On May 18, 2020, Tuniu received a notification letter (the Deficiency Notice”) from the Nasdaq indicating that the closing bid price for the Company’s American depositary shares (the “ADSs”), each representing three Class A ordinary shares of the Company, was below the minimum bid price of $1.00 required for continued listing under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5450(a)(1) for 30 consecutive business days. According to the Deficiency Notice, if at any time during the tolling period or 180 day compliance period, the closing bid price of the Company’s security is at least $1.00 for a minimum of ten consecutive business days, the Nasdaq will provide the Company written confirmation of compliance and the matter will be closed. According to the Compliance Notice, the closing bid price of the Company’s ADSs has been at $1.00 per ADS or greater for 10 consecutive business days from June 12 through June 25, 2020, and the Company has regained compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement and the matter is closed.

About Tuniu

Tuniu (Nasdaq:TOUR) is a leading online leisure travel company in China that offers a large selection of packaged tours, including organized and self-guided tours, as well as travel-related services for leisure travelers through its website tuniu.com and mobile platform. Tuniu covers over 420 departing cities throughout China and all popular destinations worldwide. Tuniu provides one-stop leisure travel solutions and a compelling customer experience through its online platform and offline service network, including a dedicated team of professional customer service representatives, 24/7 call centers, extensive networks of offline retail stores and self-operated local tour operators. For more information, please visit http://ir.tuniu.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements made under the “safe harbor” provisions of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “confident” and similar statements. Tuniu 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 Tuniu’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 are not limited to the following: Tuniu’s goals and strategies; the growth of the online leisure travel market in China; the demand for Tuniu’s products and services; its relationships with customers and travel suppliers; the Company’s ability to offer competitive travel products and services; Tuniu’s future business development, results of operations and financial condition; competition in the online travel industry in China; relevant government policies and regulations relating to the Company’s structure, business and industry; the impact of the COVID-19 on Tuniu’s business operations, the travel industry and the economy of China and elsewhere generally; and the general economic and business condition in China and elsewhere. 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 Tuniu does not undertake any obligation to update such information, except as required under applicable law.