AKWEL's 2020 first-half net earnings indicate €20.2 million

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 -- AKWEL, the automotive and HGV equipment and systems manufacturer specialising in fluid management and mechanisms, has published its 2020 half-yearly results.

According to a statement, the results show AKWEL’s net earnings at €20.2 million. (€1 = RM4.839)

In the first half of 2020, AKWEL posted a consolidated turnover of €387 million, down by 31.7 per cent when comparing published figures and by 31 per cent when taking exchange rates and scope as constants.

The current operating income was down by 48.2 per cent in the first half year, at €24.3 million. Against this backdrop of an exceptional crisis in the world automotive market and with only limited provision of public aid, the robustness of AKWEL’S business model and speed at which it is able to adapt enabled it to achieve positive results.

The reduction in working capital requirements in addition to the adaptation of the investment margins made it possible to generate a free cash flow of €51.5 million in the first half of 2020. On June 30, the Group had a positive net cash position of €7.7 million, with €157.8 million of available cash.

The upturn in activity seen at the beginning 2020 has continued for AKWEL, with a cumulative turnover achieved in July and August of €153.5 million, with the fall being limited to 4.6 per cent compared to the comparable months of 2019.

The Group is continuing to invest in order to meet new market requirements as a priority, particularly in clean vehicles and new hybrid, electrical or hydrogen engine systems.

-- BERNAMA

Six One Commodities LLC widens power, gas business to Europe

 KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 -- Six One Commodities LLC (61C) is expanding its power and gas business to Europe with the addition of a power team out of Berlin, led by Ingo Klause.

Klause has over two decades of experience in the CWE region for power trading. He worked for the Swedish utility Vattenfall as a lead trader and head of cross border trading and built successful trading strategies together with his team.

Six One Commodities US LLC (EU Trading) is an affiliate of Six One Commodities Global LLC and will be based in Berlin.

According to Klause in a statement, the team is well positioned to help 61C expand into Europe.

“A rapidly changing supply side will require strong analytical skills to navigate the implications for generation margins and location and time spreads across individual national power markets.

“Building, maintaining, and adjusting a comprehensive model will be critical when trying to capture these fundamental price shifts, and we are the team that can provide that capability,” he said.

Earlier in the year, 61C launched its LNG business in Asia by hiring an LNG team out of Singapore, led by Delia Proteasa to meet the region’s needs.

-- BERNAMA

UN turns 75: Yili Group, major global companies support renewed global cooperation

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 -- Yili Group chairman and president, Pan Gang recently demonstrated support for the Statement from Business Leaders for Renewed Global Cooperation.

According to a statement, the pledge was presented to United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres by Sanda Ojiambo, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) & Executive Director of the UN Global Compact.

Pan was invited as food industry entrepreneurs representative, along with over 200 CEOs of major global companies including Johnson & Johnson, Microsoft and Deloitte Global.

In conjunction with the UN's 75th anniversary, they support the UN call to jointly lead the world onto a more equitable, inclusive and sustainable path of development and to ‘unite in the business for a better world’.

Pan believes that cooperation for mutual benefit makes all parties stronger winners. And this is what Yili has been promoting all along.

Yili Group takes the initiative to implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals, promote indepth cooperation with global partners to jointly build a ‘global health ecosystem’ and endorse sustainable development with specific programmes.

In line with that, Yili will launch the ‘Global Health ecosystem Joint Initiative’ with its global partners DuPont, Chr Hansen, GEA and Roquette at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting.

-- BERNAMA

Hotel Nikko Changshu in China opens 2023

 KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 29 -- Okura Nikko Hotel Management Co Ltd, a subsidiary of Hotel Okura Co Ltd will open Hotel Nikko Changshu in 2023, which will be located at Changshu National New & Hi-Tech Zone in Changshu city.

The Changshu National New & Hi-Tech Zone is located about six kilometres south of the centre of Changshu, an area where the Changshu Municipal Government is focusing its development efforts, and is expected to become the driving force of Changshu's economy.

According to a statement, the company has contracted with Changshu Kuncheng Development Investment Co Ltd to manage the new property through its joint venture BTG Nikko International Hotel Management Co Ltd.

The Hotel Nikko Changshu will offer 288 guest rooms, each with a standard area of about 40 m², including 14 suite rooms, on 22 floors above ground and two underground floors.

It will also feature a full range of facilities, including a Japanese teppanyaki restaurant, a Chinese restaurant, all-day dining and banqueting facilities, as well as a fitness centre and indoor pool.

Hotel Nikko Changshu will be the fifth property of Okura Nikko Hotels to open in Jiangsu Province in China, following the opening of Hotel Nikko Wuxi (2010), Suzhou Qingshan Hotel (2010), Hotel Nikko Suzhou (2015) and Hotel Nikko Taizhou (2016).

More details at www.okura-nikko.com.

-- BERNAMA

AIRTRUNK'S NEW 300 MW TOKYO DATA CENTRE IS SET TO BE THE LARGEST IN APAC (EXCLUDING CHINA)

 SYDNEY, Australia and TOKYO, Sept 29 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- AirTrunk, a hyperscale data centre specialist, today announced it would be entering into the biggest data centre market in Asia (excluding China) with a plan to construct a new 300+ megawatt (MW) hyperscale data centre campus in Inzai, Tokyo. The initial ~60 MW phase of the campus is targeted to open in late 2021 to support anchor customer demand.

Set to be one of the largest independent data centres in Asia, AirTrunk TOK1 will be scalable to over 300 MW, allowing public cloud customers the ability to scale rapidly to support their growing capacity requirements in Japan. The data centre is the company’s sixth in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, bringing its platform to a total capacity of more than 750 MW across five tier one markets.

Founder and CEO of AirTrunk, Robin Khuda, said Japan is poised for a huge acceleration to the cloud.

“Japan is a highly developed market with strong international connectivity, underpinning its position as a technology and data centre hub in Asia. The rapid increase of cloud adoption in Japan will be enabled by critical infrastructure, including hyperscale data centres like TOK1.”

“TOK1 is part of our ongoing commitment to deliver secure, reliable, scalable, and cost-effective infrastructure for our cloud customers in key Asia-Pacific markets. We’re ensuring operational excellence and a consistent experience for our customers across our data centre platform,” said Mr Khuda.

AirTrunk’s Head of Japan, Nori Matsushita, said that the local Japanese team will leverage AirTrunk’s global data centre expertise and regional standards gained from its hyperscale data centre developments in Sydney, Melbourne, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

“AirTrunk’s unique construction methodologies, safety track record, and commitment to providing an efficient and sustainable digital ecosystem will be key to our success in Japan. We look forward to working with our partners to deliver this enormous data centre in Inzai.”

Japanese construction conglomerate, Daiwa House, has been appointed as the general contractor and will also take a stake in the project. Their local expertise, relationships, and strong construction credentials will be an asset to the development.

The data centre will bring several benefits to the local economy including substantial investment and hundreds of jobs during construction and on-going operations.

TOK1 will include seven buildings set across more than 13 hectares of land. Strategically located in Inzai’s data centre hub, the carrier neutral data centre will provide strong international and domestic connectivity with multiple fibre paths to the campus. Critically, AirTrunk has secured high voltage power to the site, with dedicated 66kV substations to power the data centre. AirTrunk’s efficient design will result in an ultra-low power usage effectiveness (PUE) of 1.15, delivering significant energy efficiency.

Earlier this year, a consortium led by Macquarie Asia Infrastructure Fund 2 (MAIF2), a Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets-managed infrastructure fund, and including Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments), acquired an 88 per cent stake in AirTrunk, valuing the company at more than $A3 billion and providing necessary capital and expertise to further realise AirTrunk’s expansion plans across APAC.

TOK1 is the newest addition to AirTrunk’s growing hyperscale data centre platform, which includes facilities in Sydney West (130 MW), Sydney North (110 MW), Melbourne (130 MW), Singapore (60 MW) and Hong Kong (20 MW).

About AirTrunk 

AirTrunk is a best-in-class hyperscale data centre specialist creating a platform for cloud, content and large enterprise customers across the Asia-Pacific region. The company develops and operates data centre campuses with industry leading reliability, technology innovation and energy efficiency. AirTrunk’s unique capabilities, designs and construction methodologies allow it to provide customers with a scalable and sustainable data centre solution at a significantly lower build and operating cost than the market. 

AirTrunk is a private company that is well capitalised to fund its development of data centres across Asia Pacific. For more information on AirTrunk, visit https://www.airtrunk.com/ 

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/83a089e1-4f4f-462e-8362-ed145f8f601f

Media contact

Katya Ginsberg
katya@bastioneffect.com
+61 405 073 304

Ted Mitchell   
ted@bastioneffect.com
+61 400 104 738 

SOURCE : AirTrunk Operating Pty Ltd

KYRIBA APPOINTS CFO HAMZA BENAMAR AND CMO THOMAS BUTTA

Executive Appointments Further Kyriba’s Ambitions to Innovate Value for the Modern CFO

SAN DIEGO, Sept 25 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Kyriba®, the global leader of cloud finance and IT solutions, today announced it has appointed Hamza Benamar as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Thomas Butta as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO). The executive appointments accelerate Kyriba’s efforts to embed Active Liquidity Management within the office of the CFO and its IT partners.

“Hamza and Thomas have delivered financial, operational and transformative, category-defining programs for some of the most innovative, global SaaS companies. Most recently, Hamza operationalized a high-growth enterprise for Wolters Kluwer and helped execute a $5.1B acquisition of SunGard by FIS, and Thomas positioned SignalFx as the leader in real-time cloud performance monitoring, which culminated in a $1.05B acquisition by Splunk,” said Jean-Luc Robert, Chairman and CEO of Kyriba. “Their expertise will be critical in helping Kyriba enhance its position as trusted guide to global finance and IT teams needing to extract value from new ways to actively manage liquidity.”

“I have been working directly with CFOs and business leaders for years. Kyriba’s world-class team has revolutionized treasury and financial management solutions, which have proven to be especially critical during these challenging times for multinational corporations,” said Hamza Benamar, CFO of Kyriba. “I look forward to leveraging my decade-long fintech experience and track record of finance leadership in Fortune 500 technology companies to accelerate Kyriba’s growth and help position the company as the leader of Active Liquidity Management.”

Benamar has engineered and executed double-digit growth for innovative global organizations for the past 25 years. With 12 years of international experience in Europe, Asia and Latin America, Hamza has driven financial performance, assessed risk and spearheaded transactions, acquisitions and divestitures for industry-leading public and private companies, including Amgen, Wolters Kluwer and SunGard.

“Kyriba has pioneered the new market space of Active Liquidity Management, which is fundamental to managing risk, fostering growth and optimizing costs, especially in times of disruption and volatility,” said Thomas Butta, CMO of Kyriba. “Kyriba has the rare opportunity to be seen as vital to the strategic interests of our customers and partners. I look forward to shaping and elevating this hugely strategic, real-time, value-creation opportunity for the office of the contemporary CFO and its IT partners.”

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=38239

NTT Com demonstration test to link GAIA-X platform and SDPF based on Data Trust®

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 -- NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com) will collaborate with the International Data Spaces Association in a demonstration test beginning Oct 1, as the first phase of contributing to the development of a secure, global data-management platform.

According to a statement, the platform assures interoperability between data platforms built and managed in countries worldwide.

The test environment for sharing highly confidential data securely will include IDS Connectors, the core technology of GAIA-X, a federated data infrastructure for Europe, and NTT Com’s Things Cloud® IoT platform and Smart Data Platform (SDPF), the later incorporating Data Trust® policies.

In the demonstration, a test environment will be built to test various cases of international data sharing, such as remote monitoring of machines overseas to verify the practicality and operability of data sharing.

Initially, in collaboration with the NTT Software Innovation Center, IDS Connector and SDPF will be deployed in a test environment in Japan to test system interoperability and the management of specific data-usage rights.

Thereafter, NTT Com will proceed with further verification and testing by applying the current test’s findings in a test operation environment, aiming to verify the interoperability of various hardware and software using the IDS Connector.

The new global data management platform will be jointly developed by Japanese and overseas companies and organisations.

The ICT solutions and international communications business within the NTT Group, NTT Com aims to contribute to the realisation of a smart world by developing and providing a platform for broad sharing and usage of data in wide-ranging fields worldwide.

More details at www.ntt.com.

-- BERNAMA

‘A’ Financial Strength Rating for Taiping Reinsurance Company Limited, subsidiary - AM Best

 KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 28 -- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings of ‘a’ of Taiping Reinsurance Company Limited (TPRe) Hong Kong.

The global credit rating agency also affirmed TPRe’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Taiping Reinsurance (China) Company Ltd (TPRe China) China.

According to a statement, the outlook of these ratings is stable.

The ratings of TPRe reflect its balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorised as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

The ratings also acknowledge the continued implicit and explicit support given by TPRe’s parent company, China Taiping Insurance Holdings Company Limited, in terms of capital, investment, risk oversight and shared operational resources.

TPRe’s risk-adjusted capitalisation remained at the strongest level as of year-end 2019, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio.

Meanwhile, the ratings of TPRe China reflect its strategic importance to TPRe, as well as its high level of integration with, and the explicit support received from TPRe.

The subsidiary has delivered robust non-life premium growth over the past five years, and commenced assuming life reinsurance business last year.

Going forward, AM Best expects TPRe China to remain a key contributor to TPRe’s consolidated financials. More details on the ratings at www.ambest.com

-- BERNAMA

NUVIA secures US$240 million Series B funding round

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 25 -- NUVIA, a leading-edge silicon design company has closed its Series B funding round, raising US$240 million as it accelerates plans to deliver industry leading CPU performance to the data centre. (US$1 = RM4.166)

The funding round was led by Mithril Capital in partnership with Sehat Sutardja and Weili Dai (founders of Marvell Technology Group), funds and accounts managed by BlackRock, Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC, and Temasek.

This includes additional participation from Atlantic Bridge, Redline Capital, Capricorn Investment Group, Dell Technologies Capital, Mayfield, Nepenthe LLC and WRVI Capital.

“We’re very fortunate to have an incredible group of investors behind us as we close Series B and take the next steps in our vision to redefine performance, energy efficiency, scalability, compute density and total cost of ownership within the data centre, said NUVIA Chief Executive Officer, Gerard Williams III.

According to a statement, the closure of NUVIA’s Series B round builds on a US$53 million Series A round, raised in November 2019.

Headquartered in Santa Clara, NUVIA is building a leading-edge SoC and CPU core, codenamed ‘Orion’ and ‘Phoenix’, that are designed to deliver industry leading performance on real cloud workloads.

More details at www.nuviainc.com.

-- BERNAMA

FROST & SULLIVAN NAMES VONAGE ASIA-PACIFIC COMMUNICATIONS PLATFORM AS A SERVICE (CPAAS) PROVIDER OF THE YEAR FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR

HOLMDEL, N.J., Sept 23 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- For the second year in a row, Frost & Sullivan has named Vonage (Nasdaq: VG), a global leader in cloud communications helping businesses accelerate their digital transformation, as the Asia-Pacific Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) Provider of the Year. Vonage was recognized for the Vonage Communications Platform, which allows for the integration of fully programmable APIs into existing products, workflows and systems and from which the Company’s unified communications and contact center solutions are built. The Vonage Platform provides businesses worldwide with the power and flexibility to integrate multiple communications channels − video, voice, chat, messaging, email and verification − into their applications, products, and workflows to create new paradigms in their industries. Vonage was selected as Provider of the Year using Frost & Sullivan's proprietary, measurement-based methodology derived from extensive primary and secondary research including in-depth interviews, analysis, and industry benchmarking. “Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) is emerging as a key enabler for organizations aiming for integrated, feature-rich business communications applications. Staying true to its roots as a technology disruptor, Vonage offers scalable platforms for developers and businesses seeking unified communications, collaboration, and contact center solutions through programmable communications application programming interfaces (APIs) in the same stack and framework,” said Sherrel Roche, Industry Principal ICT Practice, Frost & Sullivan. Roche continued, “The company is reinventing how organizations use communications solutions to collaborate and engage with their customers through the development of feature-rich APIs that seamlessly integrate with an organization’s applications, products and workflows. Leveraging a strong community of developers, partner ecosystem, technology adoption that adapts to market needs, and vertical-specific use cases have been critical to Vonage’s success in the Asia-Pacific market.” "We are honored to be recognized by Frost & Sullivan for the second consecutive year, which is a testament to our continued leadership, innovation and growth within the industry and especially in the Asia-Pacific region,” said Omar Javaid, President of Vonage’s API Platform Group. "This award highlights our continued commitment to providing flexible business communications solutions that empower companies to build the unique experiences and disruptive solutions they need to stay connected to employees and customers from anywhere, through whichever channel they choose.” With an ever-growing network of more than one million registered developers, the Vonage Communications Platform makes it easy for businesses to use APIs to disrupt their industries, and enable the type of business continuity, remote work, and remote delivery of services that is so essential in today's environment. Through its partners, Vonage’s platform is at the center of many notable transformational projects in the APAC region, and a de facto for startups. To find out more about Vonage, visit www.vonage.com. http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=38209

NetSfere unveils most advanced product update on messaging platform

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 23 -- NetSfere, an award-winning secure enterprise mobile messaging service and platform has announced its most advanced product update with the launch of encrypted group video and voice calling and real-time collaboration for mobile and desktop.

The new features are designed to enhance team collaboration and drive workplace productivity through more contextual, seamless communications experience with voice, video and text messaging, while allowing the enterprise to maintain control and regulatory compliance.

“By adding new collaboration options to NetSfere’s platform offerings, we are now able to provide enterprises with the tools they need to optimise their workforce to be more productive without compromising on security,” said President and Chief Executive Officer, Anurag Lal in a statement.

NetSfere’s new secure collaboration features include group video calling and real-time collaboration. The group video calling enables instant video communication that takes place within an existing group conversation, ensuring all participants understand the full context of the discussion prior to joining the meeting.

Meanwhile, conference calling moves to the next level of productivity with the new real-time collaboration for mobile and desktop. With a single tap, participants of a group video call are able to instantly share their screen to collaborate on internal documents and materials including images and videos.

NetSfere is a secure enterprise messaging service and platform from Infinite Convergence Solutions, Inc. For details, visit www.NetSfere.com.

-- BERNAMA

AM BEST AFFIRMS CREDIT RATINGS OF CO-OPERATIVE LIFE LIMITED

 SINGAPORE, Sept 25 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bbb+” of Co-operative Life Limited (Co-op Life) (New Zealand). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Co-op Life’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorises as adequate, as well as its strong operating performance, limited business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. In addition, the ratings factor in a neutral impact from the company’s ultimate ownership by The Co-operative Bank Limited (Co-op Bank).

Co-op Life’s balance sheet strength assessment is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR), which remains at the strongest level as of fiscal year-end 2020. This reflects the company’s low underwriting leverage, moderate reliance on third-party reinsurance and conservative investment strategy. Offsetting balance sheet factors include the company’s small absolute capital base, which increases the sensitivity of capital adequacy to shock events, as well as to changes in future performance, dividend payouts and the size of intangible assets.

Co-op Life has a track record of strong operating performance, with the company having reported a five-year average return-on-equity ratio of 28.6% (fiscal-years 2016-2020). Profitability continues to be driven by the strong underwriting performance of its in-force life business, coupled with low single-digit but stable investment returns. Prospectively, AM Best expects that the company’s steady revenue growth and robust pricing strategy, coupled with a stable stream of investment income, will help maintain strong operating performance over the medium term.

Co-op Life is a small-sized life insurer in New Zealand, focused mainly on the provision of term life and loan protection insurance products to customers of its parent, Co-op Bank. Although Co-op Life benefits from distributing its products through its parent’s banking network, the company maintains a relatively low penetration rate among the bank’s customer base. Co-op Life’s limited business profile assessment is largely a result of its small-scale of operations, as well as its limited product and geographic diversification. The company has a market share of less than 1% in New Zealand’s life insurance industry, based on 2020 gross written premiums. Prospectively, Co-op Life’s top line may be challenged over the medium term due to policy cancellations and weaker sales as a result of the economic downturn related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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/20200924005601/en/

Contact

Sin Yee Chuah
Financial Analyst
+65 6303 5022
sinyee.chuah@ambest.com

Alex Rafferty, ACA
Associate Director, Analytics
+44 20 7397 0312
alex.rafferty@ambest.com

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

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

Source : AM Best