CLOUDFLARE AND JD PARTNER TO HELP GLOBAL COMPANIES EXPAND THEIR REACH THROUGH A SECURE, FAST, CONSISTENT PLATFORM INSIDE AND OUTSIDE CHINA

Strategic collaboration facilitates business for companies inside and outside of China, the world's largest online market

SAN FRANCISCO, April 29 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Cloudflare (NYSE: NET), the company with a mission to help build a better Internet, and JD Cloud & AI, the intelligent technology provider of JD.com, China’s largest retailer, today announced a strategic partnership to provide a faster and more secure Internet for global companies doing business in China, and for Chinese businesses reaching consumers globally. This collaboration joins Cloudflare’s integrated global cloud platform with JD Cloud & AI’s extensive China network, infrastructure, and services—offering a seamless experience for businesses looking to reach global audiences.

JD Cloud & AI is one of JD.com’s core business units, focused on technology services that build on its delivery and retail network. It delivers public, private and hybrid cloud services through more than 300 product offerings. Bringing together Cloudflare’s intelligent global platform with JD Cloud & AI’s robust infrastructure and services inside China will enable enterprises to seamlessly and securely deploy cloud-based firewall, distributed denial of service (DDoS) mitigation, content delivery, and DNS services worldwide—at the edge and without any need for hardware or on-premise boxes.

Today, Cloudflare’s global network spans 200 cities in more than 90 countries and regions, including 17 cities in mainland China—a market Cloudflare first entered in 2015. Over the next three years, this strategic collaboration will expand Cloudflare’s global availability across 150 additional data centers in mainland China, growing the company’s data centers in the region by 700 percent.

“Companies across the globe have had to re-think how they run their businesses and reach customers especially with the global pandemic that has impacted every market. Together, Cloudflare and JD Cloud & AI are partnering to give businesses even more opportunity to be secure, fast, and reliable with one integrated global network,” said Matthew Prince, co-founder and CEO, Cloudflare. “We’re minimizing the technical and logistical hurdles companies face when looking to do business in and out of China. I’m proud to partner with JD Cloud & AI to continue to offer tools to help businesses win in the Chinese market and the rest of the world.”

“I'm thrilled to establish this strategic collaboration with Cloudflare,” said Dr. Bowen Zhou, President of JD Cloud & AI. “Cloudflare’s mission of ‘helping to build a better Internet,’ closely aligns with JD Cloud & AI’s commitment to provide the best service possible to global partners. Leveraging JD.com’s rich experience across vast business scenarios, as well as its logistics and technological capabilities, we believe that this collaboration will provide valuable services that will transform how business is done for users inside and outside of China.”

Cloudflare offers a truly integrated global network, giving customers a secure, fast, and reliable experience for visitors inside and outside of China. Cloudflare customers can enable their China network within a few clicks, and without changing a single line of code. Once enabled, their visitors within China will be served from data centers inside of China, while visitors outside of China will still be served from the nearest Cloudflare data center—shaving off seconds of latency for their applications in China without any additional configuration changes.

As the world’s second largest market, China is important for global companies like Garmin. Headquartered in Switzerland, the company relies on a world-class experience for its customers around the world, including those in mainland China. “Before Cloudflare, our customers in China experienced a significant lag-time for updates to their wearable products,” said Aaron Dearinger, Edge Architect, Garmin International. “After becoming a Cloudflare customer, our devices updated much faster in China. This was an important enhancement to the user experience for our customers.”

China accounts for 21 percent of the 3.8 billion global Internet users—making it the largest online market today. Austin, Texas-based National Instruments Corporation, a producer of automated test equipment and virtual instrumentation software, has invested heavily in China for the last 20 years. “Approximately one-third of our Internet traffic originates from Asia and a majority of this traffic is from China,” said Robert Cope, IT Architect at National Instruments. “Having a highly secure experience inside of China, with all the performance benefits that Cloudflare brings, is a key reason why we chose Cloudflare. This has been especially beneficial since most of our origin servers are in Austin, Texas. We’re excited about Cloudflare’s continued growth in the China market and excited to see what’s next.”

To learn more about how your organization can be fast and more reliable in China, visit:

• Landing Page
• Blog Post

About Cloudflare

Cloudflare, Inc. (www.cloudflare.com / @cloudflare) is on a mission to help build a better Internet. Cloudflare’s platform protects and accelerates any Internet application online without adding hardware, installing software, or changing a line of code. Internet properties powered by Cloudflare have all web traffic routed through its intelligent global network, which gets smarter with every request. As a result, they see significant improvement in performance and a decrease in spam and other attacks. Cloudflare was named to Entrepreneur Magazine’s Top Company Cultures 2018 list and ranked among the World’s Most Innovative Companies by Fast Company in 2019. Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Cloudflare has offices in Austin, TX, Champaign, IL, New York, NY, San Jose, CA, Seattle, WA, Washington, D.C., Lisbon, London, Munich, Beijing, Singapore, and Sydney.

View source version on businesswire.com:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200428005192/en/

Contact

Daniella Vallurupalli
press@cloudflare.com

Source : Cloudflare, Inc.

CoinEx, Singapore's Matrixport partner to provide over-the-counter service

KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 -- CoinEx, a professional cryptocurrency exchange service provider has announced new global strategic partnership with Matrixport, the one-stop digital asset financial service platform spun off from Bitmain, based in Singapore.

According to a statement, the partnership allows CoinEx’s users to access Martrixport's over-the-counter (OTC) service when they are in need of exchanging sizable fiat to crypto.

“CoinEx’s users around the world will benefit from this strategic partnership as the OTC service makes transfers between fiat and crypto more convenient,” said CoinEx founder and chief executive officer, Haipo Yang.

“Matrixport has the potential to become a key player in the industry and I look forward to a long-term partnership between us.”

In March, CoinEx integrated its first fiat onramp to the platform, and this collaboration represents another step forward to meet the needs of the market. More details at https://www.coinex.com/

-- BERNAMA

COVID-19: Ground Labs offers free Enterprise Recon NOW for 90 days

KUALA LUMPUR, April 23 -- Ground Labs, the global expert in data discovery has announced the availability of Enterprise Recon NOW, a free, limited standalone version of its industry-leading data discovery solution, Enterprise Recon.

As companies transition to remote business models in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, organisations spanning all sizes and sectors can now access Enterprise Recon NOW at no cost for 90 days.

Enterprise Recon NOW enables enhanced data discovery and risk management across a remote workforce, according to a statement.

“COVID-19 has forced organisations worldwide to transition towards a remote business model. In many cases, this is not only uncharted territory for an organisation, but its employees, as well, creating personal data being managed outside of normal policies and procedures,” said Ground Labs Chief Executive Officer, Nellie Manktelow.

“As the leaders in data discovery, it was important for us to offer support and a solution that can help with such a transition, as well as help mitigate the risks during these unprecedented times.”

Enterprise Recon NOW enables the ability to discover, remediate and monitor over 300 data types from a single platform specifically for remote workers, including full complimentary support.

More details at www.groundlabs.com.

-- BERNAMA

COVID-19: MedAire launches pre-flight passenger screening services

KUALA LUMPUR, April 24 -- MedAire, the world's leading provider of in-flight medical advice and assistance to commercial airlines has launched pre-flight COVID-19 passenger screening services, enhancing safety measures for air travel.

According to a statement, the screening is conducted by on-site medical professionals prior to check-in at the origin city, and consists of a questionnaire for contact history, and symptom screening including temperature.

This screening approach is considered the industry best practice today, and will evolve as additional options to screen, test or vaccinate become available.

MedAire is working with airline partners in a phased approach to develop solutions and, to date, the company has implemented screening programmes in locations including London, Lima, Hong Kong and Los Angeles.

This new service complements a well-proven medical advisory process MedAire already has in place with airlines to help manage passenger medical issues including pre-flight fitness to fly assessments, ground based medical assistance for in-flight medical issues and cabin crew medical training.

The service is an additional step to help mitigate the transmission of COVID-19 via air travel and help restore confidence in flying, for air travel today and in the future.

“Health screening, like security screening post 9-11, is likely to become the standard for air travel. MedAire is ready to support the air travel industry with solutions as their needs evolve,” said MedAire chief executive officer, Bill Dolny.

-- BERNAMA

Libya's biggest bank goes live on SmartStream reconciling payments solution

KUALA LUMPUR, April 21 -- SmartStream Technologies recently announced that Jumhouria Bank, Libya’s biggest bank, has successfully gone live on SmartStream’s solution for reconciliations of cash payments.

According to a statement, the first of a two-phase implementation is to consolidate and automate the reconciliation process across its 170 branches to deliver real-time operational control.

The SmartStream reconciliations solution is being rolled out to replace manual processes across Jumhouria Bank - ensuring greater visibility into cash, card, branch, central bank and payment transactions.

The financial Transaction Lifecycle Management solutions provider said it would provide the bank with new levels of automation and control over its transaction processing, facilitating regulatory compliance, straight through processing and improved customer service.

SmartStream’s SWIFT-certified, modular application addresses the reconciliation and exception management needs of institutions of all sizes.

It provides greater transaction management control whilst its flexible deployment options enable financial institutions and corporates to significantly reduce their time to market.

-- BERNAMA

LeddarTech partners Ningbo Sunny Automotive Optech to create LiDAR solutions

KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 -- LeddarTech® has announced the addition of Ningbo Sunny Automotive Optech Co Ltd as a member of the Leddar™ Ecosystem, joining a team of other technology industry leaders.

This strategic collaboration recognises Sunny Automotive Optech as a market leader in technology that provides optical solutions that contribute toward LiDAR solutions for autonomous and intelligent applications.

As a strategic partner, Sunny Automotive Optech will collaborate with LeddarTech in creating LiDAR solutions for automotive and mobility applications. It will provide automotive grade optical design and industrialisation expertise for the optical subsystems as well as manufacturing services for optical elements and sub-assemblies.

The optical subsystems will include transmitter and receiver optics consisting of selected automotive-grade optical elements with a path to automotive qualification, testing and cost optimisation, according to a statement.

LeddarTech and Sunny Automotive Optech will initiate this collaboration on front and cocoon LiDAR optics designs, based on the LeddarEngine™. The LeddarEngine comprises the LeddarCore™ LCA3 system-on-chip and LeddarSP™ signal processing library.

LeddarTech is an industry leader providing the most versatile and scalable auto and mobility LiDAR platform. More details at https://leddartech.com.

-- BERNAMA

Biotalys' Scientific Advisory Board catalyses biocontrol solutions development

KUALA LUMPUR, April 20 -- Biotalys NV, a Food and Crop protection company, has formed its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) to provide scientific and technical advice, accelerating its unique biocontrol solutions development.

According to Belgium-based Biotalys in a statement, SAB comprises recognised industry experts and thought leaders, who will be accompanied by the company’s leadership team to make important decisions.

This follows the advance development of its lead, novel biofungicide, expected to enter the United States market in 2022.

The SAB will also provide an external scientific perspective to further develop and validate Biotalys’ unique discovery platform and multi-indication pipeline of novel, protein-based biocontrol solutions for applications in agriculture and the food industry.

The appointments to Biotalys’ SAB include Adrian Percy, PhD – SAB Chairman; Jacqui Campbell, PhD, MBA; Daniel Joo, PhD; and, Franz-Josef Placke, Doctor rerum naturalium, Pharmacist.

More details at www.biotalys.com

-- BERNAMA

Crown Bioscience announces C-suite leadership changes

KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 -- Crown Bioscience has appointed Jean-Pierre Wery, PhD as executive chairman of the board, effective immediately.

According to a statement by the drug discovery and development service company, Dr Wery will also serve as chief technology officer for JSR Life Sciences LLC.

In this new role, Dr Wery will lead the JSR Life Sciences companies’ collaborative efforts to identify strategic synergies and develop innovative technologies, platforms and tools for the drug and biomarker research communities.

This leadership change ensures enhanced collaboration between CrownBio and the JSR Life Sciences family of companies to expand their already significant life sciences footprint.

In the same statement, CrownBio also announced the appointment of Armin Spura, PhD to succeed Dr Wery as chief executive officer (CEO), effective April 1.

As CEO, Dr Spura will drive the global corporate strategy for CrownBio, further strengthening the company’s position at the forefront of preclinical research services across oncology, metabolic disease and inflammation.

-- BERNAMA

Tricor Group completes acquisition of Axcelasia's Malaysian operations

KUALA LUMPUR, April 17 -- Tricor Group (Tricor), Asia’s leading business expansion specialist and professional services provider has completed the sale and purchase agreement to acquire the Malaysia operations of Axcelasia Inc (the Transaction).

According to a statement, Axcelasia is an integrated professional services firm delivering Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) solutions, corporate, business and tax services.

It is an SGX listed company, has a staff of over 100 professionals and more than 1,000 client portfolios, consisting of public listed companies, private companies, government-linked entities and multinational corporations.

The firm is led by seasoned industry executives, including Group Chief Executive Officer, Ranjit Singh; Non-Executive Chairman Dr Veerinderjeet Singh; and, Deputy Executive Chairman, Datuk Peter Tang.

For Tricor, this Transaction represents the launch of a new regional GRC business focused on helping clients manage their increasingly complex regulatory and compliance responsibilities while operating in the emerging and maturing economies of the Asia Pacific region.

This investment by Tricor is the first step towards building an integrated suite of GRC solutions that deliver enhanced value by supporting deep advisory expertise with client-centric technology.

Additionally, Axcelasia's corporate services and business support services will merge into Tricor Malaysia, making Tricor one of Malaysia's largest providers of corporate services to international and Malaysian corporations.

-- BERNAMA

MYPINPAD ENABLES SECURE PAYMENTS ON BOTH ANDROID AND IOS DEVICES

Leading mobile security expert achieves software only PCI SSC SPoC approval for Android devices LONDON, April 16 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- MYPINPAD (“MPP”), the global leader in secure personal authentication for payment solutions, has achieved Payment Card Industry (PCI) Security Standards Council (SSC) certification for its Android software-based PIN entry on a Commercial off-the-shelf (SPoC) solution –the first software only Android SPoC solution that does not rely on any hardware-based security. This makes the company the first to achieve a software only SPoC accreditation to enable secure payments on both Android and iOS devices. The bar is set very high to meet PCI’s SPoC requirements, and MYPINPAD’s solution has succeeded in passing them, enabling it to now work on any Android device operating v8.0 and above. Mobile devices running the Android operating system hold 87 per cent share of the global market, creating an expansion at scale for the deployment and adoption of MYPINPAD’s PIN on Mobile Solution MPP mPOS. The news comes shortly after MYPINPAD became one of the world’s first companies to achieve SPoC certification for iOS. With both PCI accredited software only SPoC certifications, MYPINPAD is set to deploy its secure and accessible solution globally in all major continents this year, enabling everyday smartphones and tablets to replace traditional Point of Sale terminals and PIN entry mPOS devices. Now that PCI SSC SPoC approval has been obtained for both Android and iOS operating systems, MYPINPAD is already working to achieve PCI certification for Contactless Payments on Commercial-off-the-shelf devices (CPoC). Our goal is to drive mobile device acceptance exponentially from 100 million currently to over 400 million by 2024. Newly appointed CEO at MYPINPAD, Colin Greene, commented: “We’re leading this complex field of mobile security, so we’re incredibly proud to be the first company to have achieved a software only SPoC certification for both Android and iOS. To get to this point has been the product of seven years of innovation and hard work, and we are really looking forward to now deploying our technology together with our key partners. “With Android and iOS operating systems occupying virtually all of the smart device global market share, we can now move forward with the expansion, at scale of mobile device use for PIN entry. This is a great example of how innovative tech solutions can help level the global playing field when it comes to payment services. We also look forward to unveiling our CPoC accredited solution later this year – watch this space.” MYPINPAD’s solution is easily integrated into third party applications and delivered ‘as-a-Service’. It significantly reduces cost across the entire face-to-face payment value chain by meeting PCI security standards through software updates alone. This relieves pain-points for the smallest retailers while also serving larger retailers by freeing them from maintaining and replacing aging hardware-centric POS estates. Please visit www.mypinpad.com to discover more about this transformational technology. http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=37174

MHPS J-SERIES GAS TURBINE FLEET ACHIEVES ONE MILLION COMMERCIAL OPERATING HOURS

^{LAKE MARY, Fla., April 15, 2020 — Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems’ (MHPS) J-Series gas turbine installed fleet today reached one million hours of commercial operation. Shown: MHPS M501JAC rotor at Takasago Works. (Photo: Business Wire)}
 

• ​Achieves World Record Reliability of 99.5%
• Latest Enhancement Is the Largest, Most Fuel Efficient Gas Turbine in Operation Anywhere in the World
• 30% Renewable Hydrogen Capable, with 100% Capability in Development

LAKE MARY, Fla., April 16 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems’ (MHPS) J-Series gas turbine installed fleet today reached one million hours of commercial operation, nearly double that of similar sized gas turbines from competitors. This gas turbine series — the company’s largest and most advanced — leads the industry with reliable, efficient power generation and flexibility to meet rigid new standards for reduced carbon emissions. Introduced in 2011, the J-Series delivers an industry-leading overall reliability of 99.5% and an efficiency greater than 64%.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200415005220/en/

Forty-three J-Series gas turbines are in commercial operation, and total ordered capacity exceeds 25 GW globally. One hundred units have been technically selected in Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico, Peru, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United States.

Donald Schubert, Principal at SHL Consulting LLC and former Senior Vice President of Marshes Global Power Practice, said, “MHPS continues to embrace proven technology throughout their gas turbine fleet. The insurability of the operating units remains at an all-time high for MHPS large frame machines.”

In many parts of the world, the J-Series gas turbine frequently replaces retired coal-fired power generation or is installed as an alternative to coal-fired power generation. Compared to the same size coal-fired power plants, one million J-Series operating hours has resulted in CO₂ emissions reduction of 270 million tons. This is equivalent to CO₂ emissions from 1,346,918 railcars of coal burned.

Ken Kawai, President and CEO of MHPS said, “As we reflect on the important milestone of achieving one million operating hours with our J-Series gas turbine, we know the most important part of that accomplishment is that we ran all those hours with 99.5% reliability. It all started with T-Point, our own combined cycle power plant in Takasago, Japan. Our extreme reliability is not by good luck. It is because we test the durability and reliability of every new technological advancement for 8,000 hours before shipping it to our customers. We have now built a second T-Point, T-Point 2, where our latest advancement, the cutting-edge air-cooled 60 Hz JAC, has just synced to the grid and achieved full load. Step-by-step, we have developed the largest, most reliable and most fuel-efficient gas turbine in the world.”

Recent innovations to the J-Series target further reductions in carbon emissions. Last month the company received an order from the Intermountain Power Agency, in Delta, Utah, for two JAC gas turbines capable of using up to 30% renewable hydrogen fuel. Eventually, these turbines will be capable of using 100% renewable hydrogen fuel. The 30% hydrogen system will reduce carbon emissions by more than 75% compared to the same size coal-fired power plant, and the 100% hydrogen system will eliminate carbon emissions entirely. MHPS is also developing grid-scale renewable hydrogen production and storage through the Advanced Clean Energy Storage (ACES) project in Delta, Utah.

Paul Browning, President and CEO of MHPS Americas and newly appointed Chief Regional Officer for Europe, Africa and the Middle East, said, “Going forward, every gas turbine MHPS sells globally will have renewable hydrogen fuel capability. This allows our customers to purchase a natural gas power plant today, and convert it over time into a renewable energy storage facility. This gives plant operators flexibility now and into the future to choose what mix of natural gas power generation and renewable energy storage best meets the needs of their electrical grids. We are providing the power generation and storage solutions that enable our customers to combat climate change and advance human prosperity. This is a Change in Power.”

About Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas, Inc.
Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas, Inc. (MHPS Americas), headquartered in Lake Mary, Florida, employs more than 2,000 power generation and energy storage experts and professionals. Our employees are focused on empowering customers to affordably and reliably combat climate change while also advancing human prosperity. MHPS Americas’ expertise includes natural gas, steam, aero-derivative, geothermal, and distributed renewable power generation technologies and services, along with renewable hydrogen and battery energy storage systems, environmental control systems solutions, and digital solutions enabling autonomous operations and maintenance of power assets throughout North and South America. MHPS Americas is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS), a joint venture between Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. and Hitachi, Ltd. integrating their operations in power generation systems.
Learn more about MHPS by visiting www.changeinpower.com. 

View source version on businesswire.com:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200415005220/en/

Contact

Sharon Prater
+1 407-688-6200
Sharon.Prater@amer.mhps.com

Source : Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Americas, Inc.

Teledyne DALSA introduces newest thermal cameras ideal for non-contact fever screening

KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 -- Teledyne DALSA, a Teledyne Technologies company and global leader in digital imaging technology has introduced its latest family of LWIR cameras, the Calibir™ GXM series.

Using Teledyne DALSA’s own VGA 17um microbolometer technology, Calibir GXM cameras offer exceptional infrared imaging performance, with great sensitivity, outstanding dynamic range for wide temperature coverage and factory-calibrated radiometric performance.

According to a statement, Calibir delivers accurate, repeatable results for critical applications like detecting elevated skin temperature in fever screening.

The Calibir GXM640 features both shutter and shutterless operation and rapid image output on power up while delivering uniform response over the entire operating temperature range, making it ideal for thermal imaging applications requiring uninterrupted image acquisition.

Teledyne DALSA’s own microbolometer offers improved Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD) and the updated calibration includes customised gain correction on a per lens basis to offer even better image performance and response uniformity.

These new and higher performing models will be useful for machine vision, where synchronisation is required in an active inspection system, and in defence and security applications requiring low NETD and networked cameras.

More details on www.teledynedalsa.com/mv.

-- BERNAMA

Covid-19: Fusionex supports SMEs via innovative solutions built on Google Cloud

KUALA LUMPUR, April 14 -- Fusionex is undertaking efforts to aid and support Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) adapt their businesses to face the new reality that emerged as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to a statement by the leading multi-award-winning data technology specialist, it will assist SMEs via innovative, cutting-edge solutions built on Google Cloud Platform technologies.

This Fusionex and Google driven initiative will allow SMEs to take advantage of Fusionex’s Big Data Analytics and Artificial Intelligence to manage market changes, solve operational challenges and sustain core business processes during this time of uncertainty.

As a result, SMEs will be able to keep their operations afloat via intelligent automation, gain better insights to make smarter and more holistic decisions and capitalise on the positives of working remotely.

In doing so, SME owners will have the tools needed to adjust to the current state of affairs as the new normal and sustain their businesses until things get better.

As a Google Cloud Services Partner, Fusionex offers training programmes and consulting services for SMEs, enabling them to build on their competencies around Google Cloud Platform to advance and improve their business.

-- BERNAMA

AM BEST DOWNGRADES ISSUER CREDIT RATING OF PT ASURANSI JASA INDONESIA (PERSERO)

SINGAPORE, April 10 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- AM Best has downgraded the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) to “bbb” from “bbb+” and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of B++ (Good) for PT Asuransi Jasa Indonesia (Persero) (Jasindo) (Indonesia). The outlook of the Long-Term ICR has been revised to stable from negative, whilst the outlook of the FSR remains stable.

The Credit Ratings (ratings) reflect Jasindo’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorises as strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The downgrade of the Long-Term ICR reflects a revision in AM Best’s assessment of Jasindo’s operating performance to adequate from strong, following a trend of deteriorating financial results, driven mainly by a decline in underwriting profitability over recent years.

The company reported combined ratio of 106.5% in 2018 whilst unaudited 2019 results indicated a close to technical breakeven position. At these levels, underwriting performance showed a marked decline as compared with the five-year average combined ratio of 89.0% between 2013 and 2017. The decline was attributable largely to a higher combined ratio in Jasindo’s growing retail portfolio, mainly in the credit insurance class. In addition, earnings were impacted by large premium reserve increases, which were made in 2018 to better reflect the earnings pattern of the portfolio. The assessment also factored in the minor shortfall in premium liabilities held as of year-end 2019. Prospectively, key lines of business within the retail segment could face continued pressures as a result of an economic slowdown.

AM Best views investment income arising from currency market movements to be volatile, although Jasindo has historically benefited from overall profitability. Following the company’s revised accounting treatment to exclude unrealised gains or losses arising from foreign exchange from the income statement, AM Best expects prospective operating income to show greater stability, albeit at a lower level. Although the company has put in place measures that include improving expense efficiencies and risk selection, in part through a focus on the quality of distribution and other business partners, these actions have not proven sufficient to return the company to its former profitability levels. Overall operating performance remained below prior expectations of the management and AM Best.

Jasindo’s balance sheet strength assessment is underpinned by its strongest level of risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). AM Best views the low capital requirements arising from Jasindo’s use of underwriting leverage, and exposure to equity investments to be supportive of the assessment. However, AM Best is of the view that the high reinsurance usage subjects the company’s capital position and cash flow to heightened sensitivity as a result of any reinsurance disputes and credit risk of these counterparties. Whilst not viewed to put immediate pressure on the balance sheet assessment, negative cash flows have been observed over recent periods, and consequently, the company has implemented tighter measures around managing account receivables with its partners to receive faster claim recoveries. In addition, the company’s balance sheet is exposed to significant reinsurance assets that are of lower credit quality based on international standards.

AM Best views Jasindo’s business profile as neutral. The company continues to maintain a sizeable share of Indonesia’s non-life insurance market. Jasindo has reduced its product risk exposure gradually by growing retail lines of business. Bahana Business Development Indonesia (BPUI), which is wholly owned by the Government of Indonesia, was approved to become the holding company of a number of Indonesian state-owned insurers, including Jasindo. The upcoming change of intermediate ownership structure, without a change of ultimate parent, is not viewed as material. AM Best views financial weakness or capital extraction at the holding company level to be unlikely over the medium term, with the expectation that the regulator would limit such potential actions to protect policyholders’ security.

Ratings are communicated to rated entities prior to publication. Unless stated otherwise, the ratings were not amended subsequent to that communication.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best’s Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best’s Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2020 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: 
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200409005651/en/

Contact

Chris Lim
Financial Analyst
+65 6303 5018
chris.lim@ambest.com

Christopher Sharkey
Manager, Public Relations
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159
christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Doniella Pliss
Director, Analytics
+65 6303 5024
doniella.pliss@ambest.com

Jim Peavy
Director, Public Relations
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5644
james.peavy@ambest.com

Source : AM Best

Export potential in Lao PDR, Myanmar found in new forms of trade

KUALA LUMPUR, April 10 -- The use of non-equity modes (NEMs) of production has been increasing in both Lao PDR and Myanmar, as demonstrated in exports from these countries as new forms of trade.

For example, an estimated US$274 million in electrical machinery and US$132 million in garments from Lao PDR, and an estimated US$1 billion in garments, over 70 per cent of total garment exports from Myanmar are via NEM. (US$1 = RM4.30)

This is according to new findings by the ASEAN-Japan Centre on NEMs in their reports, ‘Non-Equity Modes of Trade in ASEAN: Lao People’s Democratic Republic’ and ‘Non-Equity Modes of Trade in ASEAN: Myanmar’.

According to a statement, both country firms are in the infancy stage of participation in NEMs, using subcontracting, management contracts and franchising, among others.

NEM firms face a significant challenge. Transnational corporations (TNCs) can easily terminate their contracts, particularly if the quality of services or goods supplied does not meet their competitive standards or when more competitive suppliers emerge in other countries.

The governments should assist in the development of NEM capabilities, so that local firms can take advantage of appropriate TNC-driven economic synergies as competition forces TNCs to make continuous improvements in the quality and pricing of suppliers.

In addition, in upgrading the labour force and improving investment conditions, the governments should strengthen the basic infrastructure and the science, technology and innovation infrastructure.

 Both governments should consider implementing and strengthening the regulatory framework for NEM firms to enable NEM firms to export, expand their employment and upgrade technologically.

More details at https://www.asean.or.jp/en/trade-info/nem_papers/

-- BERNAMA

Global cosmetic tubes market size worth around US$3.4 billion by 2026

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 -- The global cosmetic tubes market size is poised to be worth around US$3.4 billion by 2026, with anticipation a CAGR will grow around 4.6 per cent, in terms of revenue during the forecast period 2019 to 2026. (US$1 = RM4.35)

According to a statement, Acumen Research and Consulting recently published a report on ‘Cosmetic Tubes Market Size, Share, Growth Opportunities, Revenue and Forecast, 2019 - 2026’.

The key contributors to the growth are accelerated urbanisation and increasing consumer disposable incomes.

Urbanisation was responsible for improving disposable incomes and sensitising the supply of various cosmetics products, thus providing a range of opportunities for players in the industry and increasing demand for cosmetic tubes.

Plastic material type segment is the largest market share due to its advantages and in turn, plastics are commonly used in producing cosmetic tubes. It is expected that this segment will lead the global market with a strong market share over the next few years and rise in a healthy CAGR amid the forecast period.

In Asia-Pacific, the demand for cosmetic tubing is expected to grow significantly. This is attributed largely to the emergence of countries such as China and Japan of a large customer base in the cosmetics market.

Owing to the vast number of players, the cosmetic tubes industry is extremely competitive. In turn, creativity (design, technologies and implementation) and collaborations will have sustainable competitive edge.

 Therefore, new entrants are equally likely to reach the market and increase competition further. As a result, a strong strategic approach marked by investment, mergers and acquisitions and a high demand on R&D was established for the industry incumbents.

-- BERNAMA

Dataiku 7 enhances integration with Microsoft 365 for real-time AI collaboration

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 -- Dataiku has released Dataiku 7, bringing further integration with Microsoft 365 services including Microsoft Teams, SharePoint and OneDrive.

According to a statement by Dataiku, one of the world’s leading Enterprise AI and machine learning platforms, this enables customers using Teams to directly track and share changes made to their AI projects.

Available on the Microsoft Azure Marketplace, Dataiku 7 delivers efficiency-driving features for technical profiles to work on machine learning projects including an enhanced Git integration, a dedicated EDA interface for statistical analysis and row-level explainability to promote white-box AI.

“Dataiku understands that organisations need to leverage information from multiple sources and create actionable insights to democratise AI projects across their business,” said Dataiku chief executive officer, Florian Douetteau.

“Our latest integrations with Microsoft signify a major step toward expanding our platform to provide customers with Enterprise AI that is highly scalable, collaborative and explainable.”

-- BERNAMA

iClick noted in China's rising Internet usage, advertising opportunities publication

KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 -- iClick Interactive Asia Group, an independent online marketing and enterprise data solutions provider has announced its placement in an editorial published by NetworkNewsWire.

According to a statement, iClick Interactive Asia Group is riding a rising tsunami of Internet usage in China, as the general population steadily increases its standard of living and China surpasses the West in Internet usage.

In 2008, Internet users in the country numbered 298 million; by 2019-first half, that number had reached 854 million — nearly tripled in just over a decade. And that growth is expected to continue.

It is a sign of the power of this market — and iClick’s ability to leverage that power — that iClick has seen over 30 per cent year-on-year growth.

The company is not only expanding into an existing market but reaching into previously non-existent online market segments. For iClick, success has come from a growth strategy founded on two pillars - marketing solutions and enterprise SaaS solutions.

View the full publication, ‘Digital Advertising and Enterprise SaaS Present Tremendous Opportunities as Online Marketing Soars in China’ at http://nnw.fm/93Hyy

-- BERNAMA

CHESTERTON INTRODUCES MODULAR CARTRIDGE SEALS BUILT ON THE AXIUS(TM) PLATFORM FOR INCREASED FLEXIBILITY AND CONTROL

GROVELAND, MA., Apr. 7, 2020, Medianet International-AsiaNet/ -- 

New Seals Provide In-Field Scalability for a Wide Range of Sealing Applications

A.W. Chesterton Company launches new single and double cartridge seals built on its new AXIUS(TM) modular seal platform. These modular seals enable customers to make quick seal face and feature changes around a standard seal base to meet varying applications quickly and economically.

The first mechanical seals offered on the AXIUS platform are:
- Chesterton 1810 Heavy Duty Modular Single Cartridge Seal – A reliable,  plant-wide seal that has performance and reliability enhancing add-on capabilities. The 1810 has environmental control options such as multi-port flushing and quench & drain.

Photo:
https://chestertonrotating.chesterton.com/en-us/ChestertonImages/1810-cutaway.png

- Chesterton 2810 Heavy Duty Modular Double Cartridge Seal – The 2810 delivers advanced emissions control and safety. It features a "Diffuser Sleeve," an  optimized barrier-buffer channel which improves fluid flow to and from the seal's support system and enhances temperature regulation to extend seal face life. This feature was developed with extensive research using state of art technologies including CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and FEA (Finite Element Analysis)

Photo:
https://chestertonrotating.chesterton.com/en-us/ChestertonImages/2810-cutaway.png
 
"These modular seals represent a whole new level of flexibility for customers to act quickly in agile and fast-changing environments," says Thiru  Veeraraghavan, Vice President of Engineering and Innovation. "They are suited for plant-wide use and have the flexibility to be configured for increasingly demanding conditions providing greater reliability and value to all seal users."

Serving the industrial world for over 135 years, the A.W. Chesterton Company has developed a number of game-changing sealing solutions, including the first commercial split seal. The 1810 and 2810 are the first seals to be offered on the new AXIUS modular platform, with more capabilities and other seals to be offered in the near future.

Photo:
https://chestertonrotating.chesterton.com/en-us/ChestertonImages/axius-banner-hero.jpg

About A.W. Chesterton Company
Operating in over 100 countries around the world, Chesterton is recognized as a leading provider of knowledge backed solutions and expert service for Rotary, Stationary, and Fluid Power equipment supported by a comprehensive line of industrial fluid sealing solutions, high performance protective coatings, and specialty industrial lubrication/MRO products.

SOURCE: Chesterton Customseal

HCL TECHNOLOGIES COVID-19 STATUS UPDATE

NOIDA, India, April 2 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- HCL Technologies Ltd (HCL) has been monitoring the Covid-19 outbreak since late January and had invoked its Business Continuity Plan and Risk Management Framework quite early to minimize the impact on its employees and clients. The situation arising out of this outbreak and its rapid spread across the world is unprecedented and is extremely dynamic. The economic impact is visible with varying degrees of intensity across multiple countries where we operate.

HCL has had a well-defined and structured pandemic policy in place which is resilient, pragmatic and accords paramount importance to employee safety & health and client commitments. We are actively engaged with our clients and have executed the client-specific and HCL internal operations-centric Business Continuity Plan that ensures continuity in delivering to our client and employee commitments. HCL is constantly reviewing the situation at hand with utmost priority and fully complying with all government advisories and recommendations. Given the extended nature of this situation, we have looked at ensuring that we put in medium-term sustainable measures in place to ensure continuity of all our operations and client deliverables. We have been successful in achieving this as of today. A large number of our clients have expressed their deep appreciation of our efforts and speed at which we have been able to achieve the current state.

As of today, 76% of our India-based employees and 92% of our employees in other geographies are enabled to work from home. In certain geographies, a limited set of our employees are working from our offices, wherever it is permissible by the government and local authorities. It is noteworthy that we have not witnessed any outages or major disruption in operations with this newer format of work from home delivery. We would like to use this opportunity to thank our clients, industry bodies and government officials who have been very supportive in our efforts so far.

Likely Impact on business

While the impact on this quarter’s numbers is yet to be quantified, we don’t expect it to be significant. Our exposure to the more impacted verticals are not significant. Booking during this quarter has largely been on track as significant part of closures happened in January.

Our business model is a healthy mix of recurring product revenues, managed services and discretionary spend led professional services. From a vertical perspective, our exposure to verticals like Oil & Gas, Travel & Hospitality, High-End Retail is in single digits.

We recognize our investments in risk management systems and processes over the last several years are helping us to minimize the short-term impact and to be adequately prepared for the medium term, if it gets worse. We are also confident our business model will help us to emerge stronger in the longer term as it has been built for resilience during tough times.

Our wishes of safety and best of health to everyone out there and we hope and pray for the earliest end to the crisis. Keep a safe distance.

View source version on businesswire.com: 
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200330005242/en/

Contact

For further details, please contact:
HCL Technologies
Ravi Kathuria
Ravi.Kathuria@hcl.com

Anne Coyle, US
Anne.coyle@hcl.com

Elka Ghudial, Europe
Elka.ghudial@hcl.com

Devneeta Pahuja, India and APAC
Devneeta.p@hcl.com

Source : HCL Technologies Ltd