RUSH GOLD SIGNS MAJOR PARTNERSHIP TO POWER GOLD PAYMENT SERVICES FOR MULTIPLE MOBILE NETWORK OPERATORS ACROSS 10 ASEAN COUNTRIES

SYDNEY, March 30 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Rush Gold Global (Rush Gold), the innovative fintech platform providing digital access to physical gold to retail and business markets, has signed an exciting new partnership with the Malaysian-based ZAFA Group Sdn. Bhd. to bring gold savings and payments to Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) across the ASEAN region.

Rush Gold’s agreement with Malaysian-based ZAFA Group Sdn. Bhd. will enable MNOs across the ten ASEAN nations to offer gold payment services using gold as a common currency. This telco-based model has enabled super-apps like m-Pesa to dominate large portions of Africa.

The Dnar.Cash super-app, developed by ZAFA’s subsidiary MVNX Alliance, opens a potential market of 650 million mobile users across the ASEAN region, enabling them to invest in gold, use it to pay for mobile top-up, pay zakat (tithing), and earn gold rewards and cashback.

“We looked at a number of digital gold companies,” said MVNX Director Aimi Aizal Bin Nasharuddin, “but only Rush Gold had the full complement of technical, security, outright asset ownership, and operational capabilities we need. The support of the Rush team has been excellent at every step of the way.”

“We built our platform to enable companies like ZAFA, as well as banks and loyalty programs, to quickly integrate gold into their offerings,” remarked Rush Gold Director Mark Pey. “Australia offers strict financial controls and property rights, world-class technology innovation, and is now the world’s largest producer of gold bullion, which we feel are our critical competitive advantages.”

MVNX has signed a launch partner in Malaysia, a provider of electricity and telco services with nine million customers, with distribution agreements in process across Thailand, The Philippines and Indonesia.

This partnership announcement is on the back of Rush Gold’s launch of its Rush Mastercard with EML through the major mobile wallets.

The ZAFA Group are a multi-national headquartered in Malaysia working in automotive manufacturing, telecom services, real estate, and private equity, and are an affiliate of the ASEAN Co-operative Organisation (ACO).

Rush Gold is a regulated gold-based payments platform enabling business and clients to save, gift, transfer and spend gold globally in real-time. Rush has customers across 13 countries including the US, China, India and the UAE. Find out more at https://rush.gold/.

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Contact

Mark Pey, Director
Rush Gold
mark.pey@rush.gold
+61 1800183424

Source: Rush Gold Global

--BERNAMA

ED&F MAN CAPITAL MARKETS APPOINTS JAMES CURLEY AS HEAD OF CAPITAL INTRODUCTIONS

 CHICAGO, March 31 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- ED&F Man Capital Markets, the global financial brokerage firm, today announces the appointment of James Curley as Senior Vice President and Head of Capital Introductions.

James has been instrumental in securing significant allocations for investment managers who offer unique performance drivers to investors.

In this newly-created role for ED&F Man Capital Markets, James will be responsible for the management of the Firm’s Capital Introductions process. His mission will be to help commodity trading advisers and foreign exchange focused investment managers around the globe to expand their networks, matching them with investor preferences and a variety of allocators such as fund of funds, endowments, insurance companies, single family offices and independent wealth managers.

This is in line with ED&F Man Capital Markets’ positioning at the heart of the capital markets ecosystem and its strategy to provide access to multiple exchanges and clearing houses across multiple jurisdictions, offering an unrivalled breadth of products and services: across futures and options, metals, fixed income, equities, energy and foreign exchange.

Christopher Smith, Founder and Global Chief Executive of ED&F Man Capital Markets, commented:

“James brings over 30 years of top tier experience, working with Hedge Funds and Commodity Trading Advisers around the globe. With his appointment, we are underlining our commitment to providing our clients with the highest standards of service. James’ expertise and ability to truly understand the needs of his clients are essential components in our Capital Introduction offering and we look forward to bringing the benefits of this experience to our clients.”

James Curley added:

“ED&F Man Capital Markets is one of the leading firms serving the Commodity Trading Advisor and Hedge Fund sectors. With over 12,000 clients representing over $4.2 billion in client assets on the Firm’s books, there exists significant opportunity to deliver value at scale. Against the backdrop of the pandemic, and the ongoing economic uncertainty and market volatility it entails, a robust Capital Introduction offering, designed to help navigate these choppy waters, is vital and offers significant benefits.”

-ends-

About ED&F Man Capital Markets

ED&F Man Capital Markets is a global financial brokerage business and the financial services division of ED&F Man. For more information, please visit www.edfmancapital.com.

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Contact

Emma Kane
SEC Newgate for ED&F Man Capital Markets
mcm@secnewgate.co.uk

Source : ED&F Man Capital Markets

AM BEST AFFIRMS CREDIT RATINGS OF SUN HUNG KAI PROPERTIES INSURANCE LIMITED

 HONG KONG, March 31 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a” of Sun Hung Kai Properties Insurance Limited (SHKPI) (Hong Kong). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect SHKPI’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.

SHKPI’s balance sheet strength is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). As the company’s investment portfolio consists of higher risk assets including non-investment grade bonds and unlisted equities, SHKPI’s risk-adjusted capitalisation is exposed to considerable market and credit risks. However, AM Best considers the company’s capital buffers sufficient to absorb the risks associated with those investments. In addition, the company’s balance sheet strength also benefits from good quality of capital, strong liquidity and a well-diversified reinsurance panel that comprises reinsurers with good financial standing.

SHKPI’s operating performance has been consistently strong over the past five years, supported by a five-year average return on equity of 18% (2016-2020), driven mainly by positive investment income and strong underwriting results. Although the company experienced some contraction in written premium during the fiscal year ended 30 June 2020, underwriting results remained strong with an average five-year combined ratio of 69% (2016-2020). The company’s retained loss experience has limited volatility due to its low retention and good quality of reinsurance programme.

SHKPI is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited (SHKP), one of the largest property development and investment conglomerates in Hong Kong. SHKPI maintains a small albeit profitable presence in Hong Kong’s general insurance market focusing on employees’ compensation insurance. As a member of the SHKP group, SHKPI benefits from opportunities to underwrite large volumes of business directly from its group and related parties, which allows it to maintain a low acquisition cost structure.

The stable outlooks reflect AM Best’s expectation that SHKPI will maintain its strong operating performance, supported by a continued profitable underwriting portfolio, low acquisition cost structure and positive investment returns. Negative rating actions could occur if there is significant deterioration in SHKPI’s risk-adjusted capitalisation or operating performance.

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 London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2021 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Contact

Maggie Wu
Financial Analyst
+852 2827 3421
maggie.wu@ambest.com

James Chan
Associate Director, Analytics
+852 2827 3418
james.chan@ambest.com

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

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

Source : AM Best

STELLANTIS, ENGIE EPS UNVEIL NEW ENTITY, FREE2MOVE ESOLUTIONS

KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 (Bernama) -- Stellantis and Engie EPS have announced the composition of the Board of Directors and corporate name of the new entity, Free2Move eSolutions.

According to a statement, this is a major step as they move towards the completion of their Joint Venture as announced on Jan 26.

Free2Move eSolutions will support and ease the transition to electric mobility by offering innovative and tailor-made electric solutions for both private and business actors of the value chain.

The scope of Free2Move eSolutions activities will range from charging infrastructures (installation, servicing and operations), public and home charging subscriptions with monthly fee, to battery lifecycle management and advanced energy services.

The joint venture between Stellantis and Engie EPS will simplify the access to e-mobility and will complement Free2Move current portfolio, with a new set of offers 100 per cent dedicated to electric mobility.

The new company is founded at global level and supported by a team with great skills and specific knowledge, to design, develop, produce, distribute and sell simple, innovative electric mobility solutions across Europe, with potential and a plan for future international extension.

Free2Move eSolutions Board of Directors will comprise six members, subject to closing of the transaction.

Among others, Roberto Di Stefano, representing Stellantis, will be the Chief Executive Officer; and, Carlalberto Guglielminotti, hailing from Engie EPS and Young Global Leader 2020 of the World Economic Forum, will be Chairman.

Having obtained all antitrust clearances, completion of the joint venture is expected to occur in this second quarter.

-- BERNAMA

MALAYSIA NON-LIFE INSURERS MAINTAIN UNDERWRITING DISCIPLINE AMID MARKET CHALLENGES - AM BEST REPORT

KUALA LUMPUR, March 30 (Bernama) -- Although Malaysia’s non-life insurance industry is likely to have contracted in 2020 amid the COVID-19-fuelled economic disruptions, the health and medical insurance segment is experiencing growth driven by greater demand. 

According to a new AM Best report, the Southeast Asia country’s non-life insurers have reported good overall profitability and maintained solid solvency positions.

In its Best’s Market Segment Report, ‘Malaysia Non-Life Insurers Maintain Underwriting Discipline Amid Market Challenges’, AM Best states that industry’s gross premiums are expected to have fallen by more than one per cent in 2020, according to a statement.

In fact, during the first six months of 2020, premiums dropped by approximately 3.5 per cent compared with the same prior-year period, with motor insurance having experienced the steepest fall, by more than seven per cent, due to stalled new vehicle production and a slowdown in automobile sales during the pandemic environment.

Similar to trends observed in many other Southeast Asia markets, the pandemic has raised awareness for health and medical insurance; consequently, premiums grew by approximately three per cent in first-half 2020, compared with the same period in the previous year.

According to the report, Malaysia’s non-life segment is underpinned by robust capital adequacy, as well as a track record of consistent underwriting profitability, despite increased competition arising from the phased liberalisation in recent years of the country’s largest non-life product lines: motor and fire insurance.

Although the non-life insurance penetration rate in the country — 1.4 per cent in 2019 — lagged behind that of Thailand and Singapore, it is higher than most of its emerging Southeast Asia peers.

AM Best is of the opinion that the government’s phased liberalisation, coupled with the disruption borne by COVID-19, has helped to accelerate the digital transformation of Malaysia’s non-life insurance segment.

Although Malaysia’s non-life companies have remained resilient while grappling with the impact of the ongoing pandemic and other market challenges, AM Best expects a gradual thinning of underwriting and operating performance margins over the medium term. 

More details at www.ambest.com.

-- BERNAMA