PHANTOM BLADE: EXECUTIONERS GETS READY FOR THE 2ND CLOSED BETA TEST, SIGN-UP STARTING ON JULY 29

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HONG KONG, Aug 5 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Hong Kong Independent developer S-GAME announces the second Closed Beta test (CBT2) of its creation Phantom Blade: Executioners (PBEX) will commence on August 18, 2022. The sign-up window starts on July 29, and ends by August 11.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220729005178/en/

 

CBT2 covers PC, Android, and iOS (through TestFlight) with cross-platform play enabled. Android users will have access to microtransactions. All in-game currencies you’ve purchased and spent during closed beta tests will be refunded upon the game’s final release, twice as much.

”Kungfupunk”, a unique blend of kungfu action, steampunk machinery, and stylish art.

PBEX is an action game that highlights noir fantasy, skill-driven combat, and art style inspired by traditional Chinese painting. In CBT2, players will find four story chapters unfolding in over a hundred stages of diverse level design.

Three playable characters for different play styles

This time PBEX offers three playable characters, each representing a different play style.

First and foremost is Soul, the long-time protagonist in the Phantom Blade franchise. There are two advanced career paths, prioritizing dexterity and raw power respectively, adding more variables to the formula.

Mu Xiaokui is nimble. On top of her own attacks, she has two bodyguards ready to strike at her command. For advanced career paths, she can be enhanced in airborne skills or ground clashes

Then enters the Chord, a nameless “Instrument” of the Organization, also the only playable character with ranged attacks in CBT2. Her powers can be advanced in two ways, either crowd control or buff/healing.

Glorious 2D art with extra depth.

All stages in PBEX are now completely revamped with dynamic 2D, i.e. Chinese traditional scroll painting augmented with physical depth. The terrain is also enriched with environmental hazards, traps, hidden treasure, and branching paths to encourage exploration.

Animations are built in the same hybrid approach – 3D skeletal models for consistency, and fully hand-painted frames to bring fine details to life. The best of two worlds is brought together in a fluid, organic unity.

The world burns as the story continues.

PBEX’s story centers around “Sha-Chi Mod”, a body engineering technique that grants the subjects incredible power but makes them mentally unstable. It’s supposed to be rooted out, but apparently brought back because people actively seek power, especially in a place like the Phantom World. After the morbid lover, the cannibal monk, the vengeful mother, a new menace rises in the fourth story chapter, A Failure’s Redemption. Get ready for investigation. More mysteries await.

July 29, mark the date!

Sign up and secure your tester access before it’s all gone!

[About CBT2]

Sign-up window: July 29 12:00 – August 11 23:59 (UTC+8)

Testers needed: 50,000 (global total)

◆ 40,000 for Android and PC (combined)

◆ 10,000 for iOS (through TestFlight)

Sign-up page: https://bit.ly/3czxwfq

Follow Phantom Blade: Executioners on:

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/PBEXglobal/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/PBEX_global

Discord: https://discord.gg/enq353WFY4

Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/PBEX_Official/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHd2BZl5jKIck32WVjTg5Qg


View source version on businesswire.com: 
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Contact

Delia Zhang
SGame Studio Limited
Email: zhangting@s-game.com.cn
Phone: +86 15801445247

Source : S-GAME

BEST'S MARKET SEGMENT REPORT: AM BEST MAINTAINS STABLE OUTLOOK ON MALAYSIA'S NON-LIFE INSURANCE SEGMENT

SINGAPORE, Aug 4 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- AM Best is maintaining a stable market segment outlook on the Malaysian non-life insurance industry due to its underwriting discipline and the market’s recovery following the economic fallout from COVID-19.

The Best’s Market Segment Report, “Market Segment Outlook: Malaysia Non-Life Insurance,” states that non-life gross written premium rose by 4.0% to MYR 21.97 billion (USD 4.95 billion) in 2021, 44% of which was driven by the general takaful segment. The increase follows a contraction in non-life premiums in 2020 and was driven by a recovery in most lines of business, especially fire, engineering and the growing motor takaful segment. Over the near to medium term, AM Best expects the segment’s growth to be supported by the country’s economic recovery and increased insurance penetration. Whilst economic growth has rebounded with the lifting of prolonged COVID-19-related social and business restrictions, the increased adoption of digitalisation has improved the ease of policy subscriptions and is helping to raise insurance penetration.

Prospectively, key lines of business, in particular motor and fire insurance are expected to drive the growth of the non-life insurance segment. Following the end of movement restrictions and lock-downs, motor insurance business is likely to expand over the near term, supported by growing new vehicle sales."

“Given the hardening of reinsurance rates for fire coverage in recent periods, primary insurers have been moderately increasing the pricing for fire,” said Susan Tan, financial analyst, AM Best. “Price increases for the fire line peaked in the fourth quarter of 2021 following the December flood event in Malaysia.” 

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BLACK & VEATCH JOINS AUSTRALIAN HYDROGEN COUNCIL, DEEPENS DECARBONIZATION COMMITMENT TO AUSTRALIA

Global infrastructure solutions leader joins leading Australian industry as country advances $1.4 billion plan to build a hydrogen industry


MELBOURNE, Australia, Aug 4 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Black & Veatch has joined the Australian Hydrogen Council (AHC) as part of its efforts to accelerate the global shift to zero emission energy and speed the development of a global hydrogen energy economy.

CEO of the AHC, Dr Fiona Simon, said one of the strengths of the AHC was the breadth and depth of its membership which included global firms like Black & Veatch.

“As a leading advocate in countries across the globe of decarbonisation through transitioning to hydrogen, Black & Veatch brings further knowledge and experience to our membership and we are delighted to have it onboard,” Dr Simon said.

“Hydrogen and ammonia will be critical factors in decarbonizing the world’s energy systems, supply chains and heavy industries. Robust collaboration between engineering leaders, such as Black & Veatch, and industry organizations, such as the Australian Hydrogen Council, will help realize Australia’s ambitions to supply green ammonia to the Asian and domestic markets,” said Mick Scrivens, Vice President, Director, Australia Pacific, Black & Veatch.

Hydrogen has the potential to reduce and replace reliance on fossil fuels for electricity generation as well as long duration energy storage, heating, transport, production of green chemicals and fertilizer. Additionally, hydrogen can be turned into green ammonia, which is produced using 100-percent carbon-free renewable energy.

Ammonia, a liquid chemical consisting of nitrogen and hydrogen, is more energy dense than pure hydrogen, incredibly stable and easily liquified for storage and shipment around the globe in the same fashion as LNG.

Ammonia then can be used in multiple energy-intensive industries to produce low-carbon electricity. It can also serve as an energy storage medium, be burned directly as a carbon-free, emissions-free energy source, or “cracked” to convert it back into hydrogen as an energy carrier.

Converting the world’s extensive LNG infrastructure – its LNG receiving terminals and storage facilities – will help facilitate the safe, efficient shipping of ammonia.

According to Black & Veatch’s 2022 Asia Electric Report, 73 percent of respondents believe that hydrogen will help meet carbon emissions goals beyond 10 years from now – more than any other technology.

Industry analysts anticipate that Australia will account for more than 10 percent of global carbon-free ammonia supply by 2035.

“Black & Veatch has an 80-year history working with hydrogen and ammonia production in multiple industries. With expertise in all stages of hydrogen infrastructure projects – from technical advisory services and design through operations – we continue to support global decarbonization programs, including those in Australia,” said Scrivens.

The AHC is the peak body for the hydrogen industry in Australia, with members from across the hydrogen value chain, including vehicle manufacturers, energy companies, infrastructure providers, research organisations and governments.

Editor’s Notes:

• Black & Veatch is a member of the Hydrogen Council, Center for Hydrogen Safety, the Fuel Cell Hydrogen & Energy Association, California Hydrogen Business Council and the Ammonia Energy Association.
• The Green Solutions (TGS) has appointed Black & Veatch to study the production and storage of green hydrogen in Vietnam utilizing solar or wind power supplied through the grid.
• Black & Veatch has been selected by Ireland’s Mercury Renewables to develop an outline design for its co-located onshore wind farm and hydrogen electrolysis plants.
• Black & Veatch was selected by Mitsubishi Power Americas and Magnum Development, co-developers of what will be the world’s largest industrial green hydrogen production and storage facility, to provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for the Advanced Clean Energy Storage project in Delta, Utah

About Black & Veatch
Black & Veatch is a 100-percent employee-owned global engineering, procurement, consulting and construction company with a more than 100-year track record of innovation in sustainable infrastructure. Since 1915, we have helped our clients improve the lives of people around the world by addressing the resilience and reliability of our most important infrastructure assets. Our revenues in 2021 exceeded US$3.3 billion. Follow us on www.bv.com and on social media.

View source version on businesswire.com: 
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Contact

Media Contact Information:
EMILY CHIA | +65 6335 6623 P | +65 9875 8907 M | Chialp@bv.com
24-HOUR MEDIA HOTLINE | +1 855-999-5991

Source : Black & Veatch

DRUVA INTRODUCES INDUSTRY’S MOST COMPREHENSIVE DATA RESILIENCY GUARANTEE

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 4 (Bernama) -- Druva Inc has introduced the industry’s most comprehensive data resiliency guarantee, and the only programme backed by the reliability, security and availability of the Druva Data Resiliency Cloud.

“Ransomware protection alone isn’t enough to satisfy the pressures, challenges and speed of modern businesses,” said Druva’s Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Jaspreet Singh, in a statement.

“Protecting data from outside attackers should be table stakes at this point but most vendors are simply unable to make stronger commitments given the limitations of their business models.

“In contrast, our SaaS model offers complete control over the various technology functions and the ability for our team to manage the entire customer experience.”

The Druva Data Resiliency Guarantee, made possible by Druva’s leading SaaS-based data protection solution and best-in-class service level agreements (SLAs), provides up to US$10 million in coverage and guarantees the security, immutability and availability of customers’ data. (US$1 = RM4.453)

In adopting the Druva Data Resiliency Cloud, customers can now gain even more confidence that they are protected against a wide variety of data loss and downtime events across five key risk categories: cyber, human, application, operation and environmental.

Druva enables cyber, data and operational resilience for every organisation with the Data Resiliency Cloud, the industry’s first and only at-scale SaaS solution.

Druva is trusted by thousands of enterprises, including 60 of the Fortune 500, to make data more resilient and accelerate their journey to cloud.

-- BERNAMA

AM BEST ANNOUNCES APPOINTMENT OF ROB CURTIS TO ITS ASIA-PACIFIC OPERATIONS

 SINGAPORE, Aug 3 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- AM Best is pleased to announce Rob Curtis as managing director of market development for the Asia-Pacific region.

Curtis, who has 34 years of experience working in the insurance and reinsurance markets, will be based in Singapore and report to Andrea Keenan, executive vice president and chief strategy officer. The appointment was effective 1 July 2022.

Prior to joining AM Best, Curtis was the head of the major groups and technical expert teams at Hong Kong’s Insurance Authority (IA), responsible for the development of Hong Kong’s new group-wide supervision and macro-prudential frameworks. Additionally, he was the chair of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) working group on group-wide supervision during his time at the regulatory body. Prior to the IA, Rob was KPMG’s global regulatory lead for insurance while concurrently heading up the Asia-Pacific (ASPAC) insurance risk and regulatory practice.

“We are excited to have Rob join our teams in Asia given his extensive experience in those markets,” said Keenan. “Together, we look forward to developing AM Best’s profile further in major Asia-Pacific markets.”

Curtis also will serve as co-CEO of A.M. Best Asia-Pacific (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. He holds advanced degrees in the areas of financial services and management, and is a distinguished fellow of the IAIS and an honorary fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries. He can be reached at robert.curtis@ambest.com.

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 © 2022 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

View source version on businesswire.com: 
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Contact

Edem Kuenyehia
Director, Market Development
& Communications
+44 20 7397 0280
edem.kuenyehia@ambest.com

Jeff Mango
Managing Director,
Strategy & Communications
+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5204
jeffrey.mango@ambest.com

Source : AM Best

ZENAS BIOPHARMA OBTAINS IND APPROVAL IN CHINA FOR PHASE 1/2 STUDY OF ZB001 FOR THE TREATMENT OF THYROID EYE DISEASE

WALTHAM, Mass and SHANGHAI, China, Aug 1 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zenas BioPharma, a global biopharmaceutical company committed to becoming a leader in the development and commercialization of immune-based therapies for patients in need around the world, announced that it has received approval of its Investigational New Drug (IND) application from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) of China for the initiation of a Phase 1/2 clinical study of ZB001 for the treatment of Thyroid Eye Disease (TED). The main objective of the Phase 1/2 is to evaluate the safety, tolerability, pharmacokinetics, and preliminary efficacy of ZB001.

TED is a debilitating vision-threatening autoimmune disease that causes inflammation and fibrosis within the orbit of the eye. With no approved therapies for TED patients in China, treatment options are limited and often involve high doses of steroids associated with serious side effects or surgical intervention. ZB001 is a differentiated humanized monoclonal antibody targeting insulin-like growth factor 1 receptor (IGF-1R) intended for the treatment of TED.

“We are proud that the IND application for ZB001 was approved by the NMPA about two months following its submission, highlighting our team’s unique ability to efficiently execute on our development programs,” said Hua Mu, MD, PhD, Chief Executive Officer at Zenas. “We are excited to work with leading clinical experts in China to accelerate the development of ZB001 to address the significant unmet clinical need in thyroid eye disease.”

Zenas BioPharma licensed the exclusive rights to develop, manufacture and commercialize ZB001 (Viridian VRDN-001) and other compounds targeting IGF-1R in non-oncology indications in the greater China area from Viridian Therapeutics, Inc. (Viridian) in October 2020. After submitting an IND for VRDN-001 to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in October 2021, Viridian initiated a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in December 2021 to evaluate proof of concept in TED patients in North America and released encouraging interim healthy volunteer data suggesting robust activity with excellent safety and tolerability of the candidate product. 

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WEJO JOINS MONET CONSORTIUM TO FURTHER INTERNATIONAL MOBILITY INNOVATION

 Wejo becomes one of a growing list of companies to join the Consortium in a united front for mobility innovation

MANCHESTER, England, Aug 1 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Wejo, a global leader in Smart Mobility for Good™ and cloud and software solutions for connected, electric, and autonomous vehicles, today announced it has joined the MONET Consortium, an organization actively promoting collaboration and innovation for mobility services in Japan. As part of the MONET Consortium, Wejo will have the opportunity to work with companies selected from the hundreds of diverse and industry-leading members to drive forward mobility innovation and the mobility-as-a-service (MaaS) market, which could be worth $61 billion in 2030, according to Yano Research Institute.

Bringing its groundbreaking solutions to the table, Wejo will provide new perspectives and ideas to the collective conversation while extending its influence in Japan which has the 3rd largest economy in the world and a high level of urbanization, making it naturally incentivized to develop smart mobility innovations. Japan, according to Statista’s “Automobile Sector in Japan” report, also produces 8.1 million vehicles per year, which aligns with Wejo’s aim to make a more globalized impact with its connected vehicle data and Smart Mobility for Good™ technology.

“With the anticipated growth of MaaS offerings in Japan, we see the potential for a nearly three-billion-dollar addressable market by 2030 for Wejo Smart Mobility for Good products and services,” said Richard Barlow, founder and CEO at Wejo. “We’re honored to be a part of the MONET Consortium and be part of the conversations that will help accelerate mobility innovation in Japan.”

Founded in March 2019 by MONET Technologies, Inc., a jointly sponsored venture between SoftBank Corp., Toyota Motor Corporation and other mobility-focused companies, it includes organizations from a wide range of industries such as construction, finance, education, and real estate. With this assortment of member companies, the MONET Consortium takes advantage of a diversity of thought that can enhance and better serve the mobility technology used by governments and businesses today, as well as those being developed for the governments and businesses of the future. Through MaaS business development in anticipation of autonomous solutions, the MONET Consortium aims to drive next-generation mobility services, address social issues in mobility, and create mobility values.

Wejo’s role in the MONET Consortium will be to offer expert input for the betterment of the mobility ecosystem. In return for its contributions, Wejo hopes to draw valuable insights from fellow member companies to craft a more holistic suite of data analytics products so that they can better address the needs of potential customers.

To learn more about the MONET Consortium, visit https://consortium.monet-technologies.com/.

About Wejo

Wejo Group Limited is a global leader in cloud and software analytics for connected, electric, and autonomous vehicles, revolutionizing the way we live, work and travel by transforming and interpreting historic and real-time vehicle data. Wejo enables Smart Mobility for Good^TM smarter mobility by organizing trillions of data points collected from approximately 13 million vehicles and 76.7 billion journeys to date, across multiple brands, makes and models, and then standardizing and enhancing those streams of data on a vast scale. Wejo partners with ethical, like-minded companies and organizations to turn that data into insights that unlock value for consumers. With the most comprehensive and trusted data, information and intelligence, Wejo is creating a smarter, safer, more sustainable world for all. Founded in 2014, Wejo employs more than 300 people and has offices in Manchester, UK and in regions where Wejo does business around the world. For more information, visit: www.wejo.com or connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. For more information, please follow this link:
https://www.wejo.com/forward-looking-statements

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Contact

Media:
Ben Hohmann, Wejo
ben.hohmann@wejo.com

Danielle Montana, Peppercomm on behalf of Wejo
dmontana@peppercomm.com

Investors:
Tahmin Clarke, Wejo
tahmin.clarke@wejo.com

Source : Wejo Group Limited