KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 -- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A+ (superior) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of ‘aa-’ of AIA New Zealand Limited (AIA New Zealand).
The company was formerly known as Sovereign Assurance Company Limited, according to a statement.
Concurrently, AM Best has withdrawn these ratings as the company has requested to no longer participate in AM Best’s interactive rating process.
The ratings reflect AIA New Zealand’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorised as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, favourable business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management.
AIA New Zealand also benefited from rating enhancement from its ultimate parent, AIA Group Limited (AIA).
The company has a track record of strong operating performance, with a five-year average return-on-equity ratio of 15 per cent (fiscal years 2014 to 2018). AM Best continues to view AIA New Zealand’s business profile as favourable.
It remains the largest life insurer in New Zealand, with its market share exceeding 25 per cent. Its ratings incorporate rating enhancement from AIA, one of the world’s largest life insurance groups.
AM Best is a global rating agency and information provider with unique focus on the insurance industry. More information at www.ambest.com.
-- BERNAMA
Thursday, 5 September 2019
Wednesday, 4 September 2019
GUNGHO ONLINE ENTERTAINMENT: THE BRAND-NEW CARD PACK "DAY OF NIGHTMARES" IN TEPPEN IS NOW AVAILABLE
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| GungHo Online Entertainment launched the brand-new card pack “DAY OF NIGHTMARES” in the ultimate card battle TEPPEN for smart devices. It is now on sale in Asia. The new card packs that outline the nightmare and conspiracy facing Raccoon City, featured the new hero Jill Valentine from Resident Evil, are now added. New abilities “Explore” and “Spillover” will expand your strategies and excitement. (Graphic: Business Wire) |
TOKYO, Sept 4 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- GungHo Online Entertainment Inc. (TOKYO:3765) announced that the brand-new card pack “DAY OF NIGHTMARES” is now on sale in the ultimate card battle TEPPEN for smart devices.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190903005989/en/
Ahead of the sale, the card intro trailer of “DAY OF NIGHTMARES” is available on the official website (https://teppenthegame.com). Enjoy and make good use for creating your decks.
The new card packs that outline the nightmare and conspiracy facing Raccoon City, featured the new hero Jill Valentine from Resident Evil, are now added. New abilities “Explore” and “Spillover” will expand your strategies and excitement.
TEPPEN Update Details: https://teppenthegame.com/en/update/2019/v110/
“DAY OF NIGHTMARES” CARD PV https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VujKJ1JWw0I
http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=35394
ACCUITY AND CHARTIS RESEARCH FIND ORGANISATIONS PRIORITISING ACCURACY OVER SPEED AS REGULATORY FINES REACH RECORD LEVELS
Overall confidence in technology innovation, especially with cloud, AI and robotic process automation, is outpacing regulation and allowing financial institutions to improve compliance.
LONDON & EVANSTON, Ill. & SINGAPORE, Sept 4 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Accuity, the leading provider of financial crime compliance, payments and Know Your Customer (KYC) solutions, and Chartis Research, the leading provider of research and analysis on risk technology markets, announced results of a study that revealed 66% of financial institutions face the significant challenge of achieving low false positive rates, putting unnecessary burden on their compliance departments and creating inefficiencies in their financial crime screening processes.
The study, ‘Benchmarking and Trends in Financial Crime Compliance Screening,’ found that financial institutions unanimously agreed that improving accuracy outweighed speed as transaction volumes keep increasing (almost 20% report screening over one million individual transactions each month) along with the high price of regulatory fines. This has pushed organisations to focus more on fine-tuning their systems to better guarantee compliance while reducing exposure to risk.
While the pace of regulatory change has slowed, the stakes for financial institutions are higher than ever. The past year has seen some of the largest ever fines for violating sanctions and gaps in the compliance screening process. Only two thirds of the way through 2019, fines issued by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) are already higher than any year prior, at almost $1.3 billion.
Sidhartha Dash, Research Director at Chartis, said: “Being accurate and transparent is paramount as pressure mounts, both from external regulators and internal policies and processes. It’s clear from the research that financial institutions must develop a clear strategy for their financial crime screening that leverages best of breed technology to boost the value of their systems and reduce false positives, thereby improving operational efficiency and reducing costs.”
The report confirms that financial institutions that take advantage of technology advances – such as cloud technology, shared services, third party data provisions, AI and robotic process automation – will operate at maximum efficiency and better identify possible matches against sanctions and politically exposed persons (PEP) lists. According to the respondents in the report, sanctions (89%) and PEP (82%) screening were the most cited uses, and “the areas with the most intense regulatory oversight and most severe punishments.”
David Loeser, Senior Director of Product Strategy at Accuity, said: “With the increase of instant and faster payments, the volume of transactions needing to be screened is rising significantly. The survey confirms accuracy remains pivotal to avoiding millions or even billions of dollars in fines; however, raising the bar on speed will be the competitive advantage that enables forward-thinking global firms to stay ahead of the market. The only way for institutions to reduce their exposure to risk, while meeting more demanding service levels, is to put in place a comprehensive, best-of-breed compliance solution that is effective, efficient, and explainable to regulators.”
Additional findings in the report included:
LONDON & EVANSTON, Ill. & SINGAPORE, Sept 4 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Accuity, the leading provider of financial crime compliance, payments and Know Your Customer (KYC) solutions, and Chartis Research, the leading provider of research and analysis on risk technology markets, announced results of a study that revealed 66% of financial institutions face the significant challenge of achieving low false positive rates, putting unnecessary burden on their compliance departments and creating inefficiencies in their financial crime screening processes.
The study, ‘Benchmarking and Trends in Financial Crime Compliance Screening,’ found that financial institutions unanimously agreed that improving accuracy outweighed speed as transaction volumes keep increasing (almost 20% report screening over one million individual transactions each month) along with the high price of regulatory fines. This has pushed organisations to focus more on fine-tuning their systems to better guarantee compliance while reducing exposure to risk.
While the pace of regulatory change has slowed, the stakes for financial institutions are higher than ever. The past year has seen some of the largest ever fines for violating sanctions and gaps in the compliance screening process. Only two thirds of the way through 2019, fines issued by the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) are already higher than any year prior, at almost $1.3 billion.
Sidhartha Dash, Research Director at Chartis, said: “Being accurate and transparent is paramount as pressure mounts, both from external regulators and internal policies and processes. It’s clear from the research that financial institutions must develop a clear strategy for their financial crime screening that leverages best of breed technology to boost the value of their systems and reduce false positives, thereby improving operational efficiency and reducing costs.”
The report confirms that financial institutions that take advantage of technology advances – such as cloud technology, shared services, third party data provisions, AI and robotic process automation – will operate at maximum efficiency and better identify possible matches against sanctions and politically exposed persons (PEP) lists. According to the respondents in the report, sanctions (89%) and PEP (82%) screening were the most cited uses, and “the areas with the most intense regulatory oversight and most severe punishments.”
David Loeser, Senior Director of Product Strategy at Accuity, said: “With the increase of instant and faster payments, the volume of transactions needing to be screened is rising significantly. The survey confirms accuracy remains pivotal to avoiding millions or even billions of dollars in fines; however, raising the bar on speed will be the competitive advantage that enables forward-thinking global firms to stay ahead of the market. The only way for institutions to reduce their exposure to risk, while meeting more demanding service levels, is to put in place a comprehensive, best-of-breed compliance solution that is effective, efficient, and explainable to regulators.”
Additional findings in the report included:
- False positives remain high. More than a third of respondents only identify one true positive match for every 100 entities flagged.
- Operational and resources constraints (33%) are the most common challenges in improving compliance organisations, with technology and data constraints cited second (29.5%).
- Over half the financial institutions surveyed (54%) claim to screen all domestic transactions, with a further 34% screening domestic transfers over a given threshold.
- Confidence is high (43%) that technological advances will continue to outpace industry regulations.
- Uptick in advanced analytics and AI is likely to be slower because of the difficulty of explaining their results to regulators.
- An improvement in accurate financial crime screening will also provide benefits in KYC, credit risk and customer lifecycle management.
Chartis Research surveyed 109 senior compliance professionals from financial institutions around the globe, asking them to describe the current state of the market for financial crime screening solutions.
XIANG HE CAPITAL CLOSES SECOND US DOLLAR VENTURE FUND AT $425 MILLION
BEIJING, Sept 4 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Xiang He Capital, the China TMT focused venture capital firm founded by former Baidu executives Mr. Hesong Tang and Ms. Maggie Yang, has recently closed its second USD-denominated venture fund at the increased hard cap of $425 million.
The Fund was well oversubscribed, exceeding the $350 million target and with demand beyond the hard cap. LP support came from existing and new investors from across the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, representing global consultants, leading university endowments, foundations, family offices, pensions, and fund-of-funds.
Continuing its strategy from Fund I, Xiang He invests in high-growth internet and tech-enabled businesses in China, identifying and investing at an inflection point where companies have operational traction but have not yet scaled to the growth stage of investment. Xiang He’s comprehensive and analytical approach and strategic vision are highly recognized by entrepreneurs and have been instrumental in winning competitive deals in China’s VC space. The Fund has closed four deals to date, in sectors spanning e-commerce, online education, enterprise services and AI.
“I am delighted at the strong support we have received from existing and new institutional investors around the world, reflecting our collaborative and strategic approach to partnering with management teams and investors, and the longevity and strength of our team that has worked together since our time at Baidu. We have been able to source some interesting early investments in the fund and believe the coming cycle offers exciting opportunities for China’s TMT market and a more normalized valuation environment for this vintage,” Hesong said.
Founded in 2016 by Mr. Hesong Tang and Ms. Maggie Yang, Xiang He Capital is a venture capital firm targeting early and growth stage investments in the TMT industry in China with a particular focus on internet, enterprise services, and AI/Big Data. Xiang He Capital currently manages two USD funds and one RMB fund, with over $1 billion under management.
Before starting Xiang He, Mr. Tang was Baidu’s VP of Corporate Development, overseeing strategic investments and M&A, and Ms. Yang was Baidu’s Executive Director of Corporate Development. Together, they led a series of landmark deals at Baidu, such as iQiyi, Qunar, PPS, 91 Wireless and Kuaishou, and, more latterly, at Xiang He Capital have invested in companies such as iQiyi, Yunmanman (currently known as Manbang), Huolala, Zuoyebang and VIPKID, which have all had a significant impact on China's TMT industry. Mr. Tang and Ms. Yang are supported by a senior investment team with backgrounds in corporate development at Baidu, as well as other leading internet companies and VC funds. http://www.xianghecap.com/weben/index.php
Lazard acted as financial advisor and exclusive placement agent.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190903005719/en/
Contact
For media inquiries, please contact Wei Li at pr@xianghecap.com or wli@xianghecap.com.
Source: Xiang He Capital
--BERNAMA
The Fund was well oversubscribed, exceeding the $350 million target and with demand beyond the hard cap. LP support came from existing and new investors from across the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific, representing global consultants, leading university endowments, foundations, family offices, pensions, and fund-of-funds.
Continuing its strategy from Fund I, Xiang He invests in high-growth internet and tech-enabled businesses in China, identifying and investing at an inflection point where companies have operational traction but have not yet scaled to the growth stage of investment. Xiang He’s comprehensive and analytical approach and strategic vision are highly recognized by entrepreneurs and have been instrumental in winning competitive deals in China’s VC space. The Fund has closed four deals to date, in sectors spanning e-commerce, online education, enterprise services and AI.
“I am delighted at the strong support we have received from existing and new institutional investors around the world, reflecting our collaborative and strategic approach to partnering with management teams and investors, and the longevity and strength of our team that has worked together since our time at Baidu. We have been able to source some interesting early investments in the fund and believe the coming cycle offers exciting opportunities for China’s TMT market and a more normalized valuation environment for this vintage,” Hesong said.
Founded in 2016 by Mr. Hesong Tang and Ms. Maggie Yang, Xiang He Capital is a venture capital firm targeting early and growth stage investments in the TMT industry in China with a particular focus on internet, enterprise services, and AI/Big Data. Xiang He Capital currently manages two USD funds and one RMB fund, with over $1 billion under management.
Before starting Xiang He, Mr. Tang was Baidu’s VP of Corporate Development, overseeing strategic investments and M&A, and Ms. Yang was Baidu’s Executive Director of Corporate Development. Together, they led a series of landmark deals at Baidu, such as iQiyi, Qunar, PPS, 91 Wireless and Kuaishou, and, more latterly, at Xiang He Capital have invested in companies such as iQiyi, Yunmanman (currently known as Manbang), Huolala, Zuoyebang and VIPKID, which have all had a significant impact on China's TMT industry. Mr. Tang and Ms. Yang are supported by a senior investment team with backgrounds in corporate development at Baidu, as well as other leading internet companies and VC funds. http://www.xianghecap.com/weben/index.php
Lazard acted as financial advisor and exclusive placement agent.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190903005719/en/
Contact
For media inquiries, please contact Wei Li at pr@xianghecap.com or wli@xianghecap.com.
Source: Xiang He Capital
--BERNAMA
Outbrain integration with Google Display & Video 360 strengthens programmatic offerings
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 -- Outbrain, the world’s leading discovery and native advertising feed for the open web has launched its integration with Google’s Demand-Side Platform, Display & Video 360 to strengthen programmatic offerings.
The collaboration is to give marketers greater ability to capitalise on the benefits of Outbrain’s unique native inventory at scale, according to a statement.
“Display & Video 360 gives our customers efficient access to buy Outbrain’s premium native inventory, further heightening our investment in both the programmatic space and innovative native solutions for marketers,” said Outbrain senior vice-president (Strategy), Gilad de Vries.
“Our platform and offerings are constantly evolving to cater to the needs of modern advertisers and publishers, and our continued investments in unique deals and inventory packaging are a direct reflection of that,” added de Vries.
By connecting with Display & Video 360 through BidSwitch, Outbrain gives buyers a more efficient and direct route to provide consumers with premium ad experiences at scale.
Since acquiring Zemanta in 2017, Outbrain has continued its efforts to expand its programmatic offerings so that marketers are able to enjoy full flexibility in their buying strategies, across Outbrain’s premium inventory.
More information at https://www.outbrain.com.
-- BERNAMA
Taconic Biosciences participates in second Rodent Research Reference mission to ISS
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 -- Taconic Biosciences, a global leader in providing genetically engineered animal model solutions has participated in the second Rodent Research Reference mission to the International Space Station (ISS).
This project represents a direct collaboration between ISS National Lab, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Bioserve Space Technologies with support from the Leidos Corporation, and Taconic.
“Scientists will gain a better understanding of the physiological, cellular, and molecular responses to this variable, helping to solve an ongoing problem of identifying the right disease models to drive new drug discovery,” said Taconic vice-president (scientific services), Dr John Couse.
ISS and Taconic solicited requests for proposals in March this year, seeking scientists who would like to access the specimens from this mission, according to a statement.
On July 27, the SpaceX Falcon rocket launched the Dragon spacecraft carrying 40 Taconic C57BL/6NTac mice to the ISS for the second Rodent Research Reference mission (RRR-2).
Researchers can now compare results from the two strains to gain insight as to which provides the best translational data, enhancing the ability to predict clinical success of future therapies.
The Dragon spacecraft and the mice returned to earth on Aug 29. Once the mice are safely transported to the lab, specimens will be collected and distributed to participating researchers.
-- BERNAMA
-- BERNAMA
SNOMED International releases Global Patient Set, at no cost
KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 -- SNOMED International, a not-for-profit organisation that owns and develops SNOMED CT has released the Global Patient Set (GPS), a managed collection of existing reference sets, available to any user at no cost.
The GPS offers clinical content across dentistry, renal, family & general practice and nursing areas, and includes IHE, DICOM and HL7 International Patient Summary (IPS) domains and activities.
“The GPS is a step towards increased clinical information sharing across borders, bridging the interoperability divide through the use of structured terminology,” said SNOMED International's general assembly chair, Lies van Gennip.
The GPS can support the nascent use of clinical terminology within a developing health system, the sharing of patient summary information across borders with existing SNOMED International Member countries or affiliates.
Offered under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License, the GPS is available to any interested party by visiting SNOMED International’s GPS information page.
The GPS will be updated and released annually to reflect changes to the underlying terminology, including concept inactivations and additions. More information at http://www.snomed.org.
-- BERNAMA
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