PROTEGRITY ANNOUNCES AVAILABILITY IN AWS MARKETPLACE

Protegrity Discover, Cloud Protect for Amazon Redshift, and Cloud Protect for Snowflake Now Available in AWS Marketplace to Support Customers’ Secure Journey to the Cloud

SALT LAKE CITY, May 28 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Protegrity, a global leader in data security, today announced the availability of three Protegrity products in AWS Marketplace: Protegrity Discover, Cloud Protect for Amazon Redshift, and Cloud Protect for Snowflake. With AWS Marketplace availability, Protegrity is making it easier than ever for customers to discover and protect their sensitive data in the cloud. Companies can embrace the cloud with confidence knowing that data will remain secure—no matter where it moves, how it is applied, or how it is stored in cloud systems. AWS Marketplace is a digital catalog with thousands of software listings from independent software vendors that make it easy to find, test, buy, and deploy software that runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

“The demand for advanced analytics is skyrocketing as enterprises fast-track their digital transformation initiatives,” said Protegrity President and CEO Rick Farnell. “With more companies embracing the cloud to achieve their digital transformation goals, Protegrity is evolving to meet the unique needs of our customers to ensure their sensitive data remains secure—regardless of where it resides. Our availability in AWS Marketplace is a significant milestone in simplifying and streamlining the delivery of Protegrity’s advanced data-protection capabilities and a big step toward supporting even more companies as they accelerate their journeys to the cloud.”

Seamlessly Discover, Classify, and Protect Sensitive Cloud Data

Businesses are quickly turning to the cloud to achieve faster business results and unlock new levels of analytics and AI sophistication. In fact, according to a Gartner report, end-user spending on public cloud services is projected to increase by more than 18 percent in 2021 to total $304.9 billion, up from $257.5 billion in 2020. Another recent Gartner research report found that the COVID-19 pandemic significantly accelerated the demand for cloud security, with cloud-security spending estimated to have increased 33 percent in 2020 over 2019.

To support more businesses on their cloud transformation journeys without compromising data security and privacy, Protegrity has made its sensitive data-discovery tool, Protegrity Discover, available in AWS Marketplace, in addition to two of its most popular data-protection connectors for Amazon Redshift and Snowflake:

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=40150

TOP LATIN AMERICAN BUSINESS SCHOOL NEWEST GMAC MEMBER

KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 (Bernama) -- The Graduate Management Admission Council™ (GMAC™) has announced that EGADE Business School at Tecnológico de Monterrey has become the Council’s latest member. 

Located in Mexico, the EGADE Business School is selected for its world-class programmes and international recognition in and beyond Latin America, adding great representation of the region to the global association that constitutes 229 top business schools worldwide.

“EGADE is committed to the exchange of ideas and best practices with our global peers, and GMAC membership provides a valuable platform for enhancing that exchange with GMAC member schools,” said EGADE Business School interim dean, Dr Osmar Zavaleta.

According to GMAC president and chief executive officer, Sangeet Chowfla, the Council values the global vision and holistic approach that EGADE Business School brings and looks forward to their contributions to the advancement of graduate management education.

Based on a statement, EGADE Business Schools is among a select group of institutions internationally to hold the ‘triple-crown’ of excellence from the three leading global accreditation systems for business education quality assessment and continuous improvement.

For the fourth consecutive year in 2021, EGADE Business School topped the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) ranking in Mexico and Latin America for its Full-Time MBA in Innovation & Entrepreneurship and Master in Finance programmes and appears for the first time as the regional leader for its recently introduced Masters in Management.

To be considered for membership in GMAC, a school must maintain a selective admissions process; offer a master’s programme in business administration, management subjects or equivalent; and demonstrate support of GMAC’s mission through the use of its products and services.

-- BERNAMA

NAPIER STRENGTHENS FOOTHOLD IN APAC VIA NEW OFFICE, SENIOR LEADERSHIP APPOINTMENTS

KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 (Bernama) -- Napier, provider of next-generation anti-financial crime compliance solutions, has continued its aggressive global expansion by opening a second APAC office within 10 months.

Adding a Kuala Lumpur presence to the Singapore base established last year, the London-headquartered company also announces senior leadership appointments to further strengthen its foothold in APAC.

According to a statement, Wall Street and Silicon Valley alumni, Robin Lee takes over as Head of APAC while Hwee Kun Ho, formerly of Salesforce, Refinitiv and Dow Jones, steps in as APAC Head of Sales.

Napier, which works with financial organisations worldwide to provide an AI-led platform for intelligent AML & trade compliance, doubled its annual revenue last year, adding a significant number of new clients to its platform globally. 

It continues to grow an impressive roster of clients in APAC, recently announcing significant deals with Australia Post and a number of other major financial institutions.

Napier was also recently recognised with a prestigious award win for Best AML/CTF Solution in the Regulation Asia Awards for Excellence 2020.

Napier also has presence in the UK, USA, Australia and Dubai. It aims to continue its growth in 2021 and recently appointed former HSBC Group COO and BCG Global Banking Chair, Andy Maguire, to its Advisory Board.

-- BERNAMA

PATHWAY CLOSES ON $400 MILLION CUSTOM FOF FOR ASIA-BASED INVESTOR

IRVINE, Calif., May 28 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Pathway is pleased to announce that is has closed on a $400 million customized fund of funds for an Asia-based institutional investor. The fund will seek to build a diversified portfolio of primary fund investments and co-investments in both the small and middle markets globally. The fund represents a continuation of Pathway’s successful 30-year history of investing in private markets, which totals more than $95 billion in commitments. To date, Pathway has developed more than 95 customized solutions for our clients across private equity, private credit, and infrastructure mandates.

About Pathway Capital Management

Pathway is a private market portfolio solutions provider with over $75 billion of assets under management from private equity, private credit, and infrastructure mandates. Formed in 1991, Pathway creates and manages single- and multi-investor programs for institutional investors worldwide, investing in various private market strategies through primaries, secondaries, co-investments, and direct credit investments.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=40144

COLCORONA STUDY RESULTS PUBLISHED IN THE LANCET RESPIRATORY MEDICINE

KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 (Bernama) -- The Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) has announced that the COLCORONA study results have been published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. 

The article is entitled, Colchicine for community-treated patients with COVID-19 (COLCORONA): a phase 3, randomised, double-blinded, adaptive, placebo-controlled, multicentre trial.

Based on a statement, Colchicine is an inexpensive and readily available anti-inflammatory drug. Orally administered, it is currently prescribed to treat gout, Familial Mediterranean Fever and pericarditis.

It has concluded that, given the lack of oral therapies available to prevent COVID-19 complications among non-hospitalised patients and the observed benefit of colchicine in patients with a PCR-confirmed diagnosis of COVID-19, this anti-inflammatory drug could be considered as a treatment for those at risk of complications.

“Our study showed that colchicine could be used to reduce the risk of complications for some patients with COVID-19,” said Director of the MHI Research Centre, Dr Jean-Claude Tardif, who is also Professor at the Faculty of Medicine of the Université de Montréal and Principal Investigator of COLCORONA.

COLCORONA (NCT04322682) is a randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, home-based clinical trial, conducted in Canada, the United States, Europe, South America and South Africa. 

The study included 4,488 non-hospitalised patients over 40 years of age with COVID-19 at the time of inclusion, with at least one identified risk factor for COVID-19 complications.

Patients were randomised to receive colchicine (0.5 mg twice daily for three days and once daily after) or placebo for 30 days.

-- BERNAMA

FORTER DOUBLES REVENUE IN LAST 12 MONTHS; RAISES $300M FOR A $3B VALUATION

Driven by the Recent Imperatives of Rapid Digital Transformation, The Largest Retailers Around the Globe Are Now Relying on Forter’s Real-Time Frictionless Fraud & Abuse Prevention Platform to Fuel Growth

NEW YORK, May 28 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Forter, the leader in e-commerce fraud prevention, today announced it has raised $300 million in Series F funding led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from Third Point Ventures and Adage Capital Management. Existing investors also participated including Bessemer Venture Partners, Sequoia Capital, March Capital, NewView Capital, Salesforce Ventures and Scale Venture Partners.

The announcement comes six months after the company completed its $125 million Series E round, almost tripling the valuation to $3 billion, and making Forter the most valuable privately held company ever in the fraud prevention industry. Forter will use the additional funding to continue expanding its global ecosystem of trust, enabling retailers, e-commerce platforms, issuing banks and payment providers to fight fraud together, boosting confidence and improving shopper experience across the entire purchasing journey. Over the last 12 months, Forter has:

• Doubled the size of its global network of merchants to exceed $250 billion in annual online transactions while protecting more than a billion shoppers globally;
• Grown revenue by more than 100%;
• Added leading global brands as customers including Farfetch, ASOS, SHEIN and Prime Trust.
• As part of the company's continued expansion, Forter has more than tripled the number of employees within the APAC region and will keep growing its team in Singapore.

“We have set a new standard for trust in commerce. Forter’s platform brings together merchants, banks and payment providers to dramatically improve authorization rates, eliminate false declines and allow consumers to shop with greater convenience and enjoy a more personalized, secure experience,” said Michael Reitblat, CEO and co-founder, Forter. “This transforms fraud prevention into a growth and revenue enablement engine for the entire consortium of participating merchants, ensuring our customers can attract, convert and retain the best shoppers. The funding will enable us to accelerate our growth trajectory by investing in talent, technology and continued global expansion.”

“Forter allows us to focus on serving our customers and take advantage of the encouraging travel recovery in the United States,” said Matthew Tynan, CFO, Priceline. “The company’s automated, real-time solution has significantly increased approval rates while substantially reducing chargebacks, allowing us to attract and retain the best customers across all retail channels, without the fear of fraud.”

While Forter has benefited tremendously from the industry trend towards digital transformation that resulted from pandemic effects, Forter’s unprecedented growth has also been driven by product innovation and new partnerships with leaders across banking, payments and e-commerce. Earlier this year, Forter partnered with Capital One to launch Trusted Authorization, one of the first solutions enabling merchants to increase authorization rates and decrease false declines by sharing Forter’s fraud insights with issuing banks to make more informed decisions. Forter also launched its Fraud Prevention Platform for Payment Service Providers (PSPs), announcing deals with FreedomPay, Nuvei, and most recently Flutterwave to increase approval rates and offer the best fraud prevention to more than a million merchants globally.

“With the unprecedented rate of digital transformation and the fierce competition in creating the slickest user experience, superior fraud prevention plays an ever more critical role in e-commerce revenue growth,” said John Curtius, Partner at Tiger Global Management. “After we talked with dozens of customers of every relevant solution in this space, it was very clear to us that Forter is the leader in performance and scale.”

Additional Supporting Quotes

“As a longtime investor, it’s been incredible to see Forter’s ascent,” said Ravi Viswanathan, NewView Capital. “It’s a testament to the leadership team’s vision and execution in allowing merchants to provide the seamless experiences customers expect and to be able to accept as many transactions as possible, while still accurately identifying and blocking fraud.”

About Forter

Forter is the leader in e-commerce fraud prevention, processing over $250 billion in online commerce transactions and protecting more than a billion consumers globally from credit card fraud, account takeover, identity theft and more. The company’s identity-based fraud prevention solution detects fraudulent activity in real-time, throughout all online consumer experiences.

Forter’s integrated fraud prevention platform is powered by its rapidly growing global network, underpinned by predictive fraud research and modelling, and the ability for customers to tailor the platform for their specific needs. As a result, Forter is trusted as the sole or primary risk mitigation engine by Fortune 500 companies including Farfetch, Sephora, Nordstrom, Instacart, Adobe and Priceline to deliver exceptional accuracy, a smoother user experience and elevated sales at a much lower cost.

Forter has raised more than $500M of capital from top-tier VCs including Sequoia, Bessemer Venture Partners, NewView Capital, Tiger Global Management, Scale Venture Partners, March Capital and Salesforce Ventures.

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=40140

SEA ELECTRIC STRENGTHENS WORLDWIDE PRESENCE AT BRISBANE TRUCK SHOW

KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 (Bernama) -- The recent Brisbane Truck Show at Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, South Brisbane, Australia, held a significant presence for global automotive technology company, SEA Electric.

The company has showcased the first-ever public appearance of a full range of operational-ready electric trucks utilising proprietary SEA-Drive® power systems, new SEA Electric branding, and the announcement of senior global leadership taking its helm throughout the Asia Pacific region.

According to a statement, the appointment of Bill Gillespie, president of Asia Pacific, and promotion of Glen Walker to vice president of Asia Pacific, bring a wealth of international transport industry and electric vehicle expertise to the region during a time of growth for SEA Electric worldwide.

Following a recent US$42 million investment, SEA Electric brings electrification solutions and opportunities to nearly every corner of the globe, and in the United States it has added further assembly capacity, creating the current potential for approximately 60,000 units per annum. (US$1 = RM4.143)

According to SEA Electric President and Founder Tony Fairweather, SEA Electric has not only created a low-cost delivery solution, but equally meaningful it has developed a medium voltage/lightweight power system with performance outcomes that exceed the internal combustion engine equivalent.

The North American market, which recently became the new home for SEA Electric’s California-based headquarters, has the largest capability for upfitting capacity at 60,000 units annually.

The addition of a Des Moines Technical Center and planned offices in Chicago, Brooklyn, and Miami before August this year represents SEA Electric’s commitment to the market.

The Brisbane Truck Show highlighted five new SEA-Electric-branded truck models, including the launch of the SEA 300-45 EV and the SEA 300-85 EV. Both models are fully ADR compliant and assembled in Melbourne for Australian distribution.

While SEA Electric’s roots originate in Australia, along with various manufacturing and technology capabilities, the company’s North American growth brings a business model that can be replicated in Europe, as well.

-- BERNAMA

WHR GROUP UNVEILS EMPLOYEE RELOCATION BENCHMARK RESULTS

KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 (Bernama) -- WHR Group Inc (WHR), a leader in the global employee relocation industry, has conducted a Global Mobility Benchmark study surveying some of the largest US companies from a variety of industries.

Findings shed light on how companies have changed their employee relocation policies, even during 2020 and a pandemic, according to a statement.

Respondents included corporate staff working in HR, mobility management; talent management; and benefits and compensation departments.

Findings include relocation benefits are still going strong even with the COVID-19 pandemic; 85 per cent of companies offer some type of home sale benefit to transferees; and, 67 per cent of respondents have experienced a talent shortage but include their mobility programme in candidate recruitment strategies.

Over 57 per cent surveyed have an international relocation programme, and 88 per cent have expatriate or international permanent transfer policies.

In addition, more than 50 per cent found immigration laws to be the most challenging part of international relocations with Africa and Asia reported as the most challenging.

Meanwhile, temporary housing; destination services and settling in; household goods; Visa and immigration assistance; and tax assistance are considered core benefits for international transfers and assignments.

Of the 68.5 per cent offering destination closing costs, 76.5 per cent do not cap this benefit, even though capping the support is a way to control organisational costs.

More details at http://www.whrg.com.

-- BERNAMA

TACONIC BIOSCIENCES LAUNCHES TRUIMPORT™ IMPORTATION SOLUTION

 Rodent Models Originating in China Can Be Imported Into Virtually Any Academic Vivarium Without Quarantine


RENSSELAER, N.Y., May 28 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Taconic Biosciences, a global leader in providing drug discovery animal model solutions, announces a significant enhancement to the Taconic-Cyagen Model Generation Alliance allowing seamless importation of new genetically engineered models originating in China under the TruIMPORT™ umbrella.

Researchers at non-profit institutions play a critical role in drug discovery; however, outsourcing animal model generation can be cost prohibitive or a logistical challenge. Hurdles in accessing animal model resources can impede important research. Potential solutions to this problem have traditionally come with trade-offs. Depending on the country of origin, cost effective options can require a lengthy quarantine of the animals or additional breeding to ensure animals meet the required health standards for entry into the institution’s animal facility. These additional steps can cost the researcher both time and money.

Originally launched in 2018, the Taconic-Cyagen Model Generation Alliance (the Alliance) for academic and non-profit researchers leverages the talents of two industry-leading companies to create a solution uniquely tailored for non-profit research institutions. Taconic Biosciences has over 65 years of rodent model experience and Cyagen Biosciences is a China-based leader in model generation efficiency and a competitive cost structure. Since its inception, the Alliance has become a recognized leader in providing model generation services to academics and non-profit researchers. TruIMPORT™ represents an important evolution in this service offering. It allows animal models from China to be imported into United States and European animal facilities while complying with existing vivarium requirements. Providing a set of choices, TruIMPORT™ allows customers to access efficient model generation with several pricing options depending on desired delivery timeline, health standard, and cohort size.

“Our main goal is to solve problems for our customers,” shared Dr. John Couse, vice president of scientific services for Taconic. “While the Alliance has provided efficient model generation for years, importation concerns were a barrier for many customers. By creating multiple options under the TruIMPORT™ umbrella, customers can now import rodent models from China without quarantine regardless of the requirements of their vivarium.”

The TruIMPORT™ portfolio consists of three importation options: RapidRELAY™, RapidCHECK™, and RapidEXPANSION™. Customers can compare product specifications here to determine which represents the right combination of timeline, health standards, and deliverables to meet their needs.

About Taconic Biosciences, Inc.

Taconic Biosciences is a fully-licensed, global leader in genetically engineered rodent models and services. Founded in 1952, Taconic provides the best animal solutions so that customers can acquire, custom-generate, breed, precondition, test, and distribute valuable research models worldwide. Specialists in genetically engineered mouse and rat models, microbiome, immuno-oncology mouse models, and integrated model generation and colony management services, Taconic operates three service laboratories and six breeding facilities in the U.S. and Europe, maintains distributor relationships in Asia and has global shipping capabilities to provide animal models almost anywhere in the world.

About Cyagen Biosciences, Inc.

Cyagen Biosciences is a leading provider of comprehensive genetically engineered rodent model services. Cyagen utilizes a highly efficient process, including its proprietary AI technology, to design and deliver novel genetically engineered models with precision and competitive pricing. The Cyagen Transgenic Animal Center (CTAC) in China is a state-of-the-art, specific-pathogen free (SPF) barrier facility, which is both AAALAC accredited and OLAW assured. Cyagen has additional locations in the United States, Japan, and China. Since Cyagen’s founding in 2005, we have delivered over 78,400 animal models to researchers worldwide and have been cited in over 4,700 publications.

Media Contact:

Kelly Owen Grover

Director of Marketing Communications

518-478-6095

kelly.grover@taconic.com 

SOURCE : Taconic Biosciences

NIPPON EXPRESS GLOBAL WEBSITE AVAILABLE IN 14 LANGUAGES NEXT MONTH

KUALA LUMPUR, May 27 (Bernama) -- Nippon Express Co Ltd has been multilingualising its global website, accommodating 14 languages by next month.

As of March, the website is capable of accommodating 12 languages - English, Chinese (simplified), Arabic, Italian, Indonesian, Dutch, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Bengali, Portuguese and Malay.

According to a statement, by next month, German and French language will be added.

Nippon Express is striving to achieve the long-term vision of becoming a logistics company with a strong presence in the global market stipulated in the ‘Nippon Express Group Business Plan 2023 -- Dynamic Growth’. 

Its global website has heretofore only been available in English, but multilingualisation efforts are underway to make the website more convenient for non-English-speaking users and to allow for better communication with a broader range of global customers.

The company will continue enhancing its website and other owned media to make them more convenient for users even as it works to further expand its services.

More details at https://www.nipponexpress.com 

-- BERNAMA

ASIA PACIFIC E-COMMERCE SALES FORECASTED REACHING US$2 TRILLION BY 2025

KUALA LUMPUR, May 25 (Bernama) -- Asia Pacific’s e-commerce sales are expected to nearly double by 2025, reaching US$2 trillion, according to global market research company Euromonitor International. (US$1 = RM4.140)

The region is predicted to see the highest retailing sales growth in 2020-2025, following Latin America, with digitalisation, connectivity and demographics representing the key drivers in the region’s shift into an innovation hub post-pandemic.

In this year’s whitepaper, ‘Top 100 Retailers in Asia 2021’, Euromonitor looks at how the APAC region’s world-class mobile connectivity enables digital transformation and is supported by extremely tech-savvy consumer segments in the region.

According to a statement, last year businesses receiving online orders recorded 37.6 per cent growth and will reach 44 per cent by 2025.

As the retail landscape becomes more competitive with players fighting to stay relevant in the digital space, localising the shopping journey to individual markets and personalising the retail experience to various customer segments in Asia Pacific will be essential.

Euromonitor International senior research analyst, Deepika Chandrasekar said: “As consumers connect and shop online more than ever, an increasing number of brands are expected to tap into social media to virtually engage and build trust with consumers in addition to serving as retailtainment.”

-- BERNAMA

ANUNTA WINNER OF VMWARE 2021 APJ PARTNER DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION AWARD

KUALA LUMPUR, May 24 (Bernama) -- Anunta has been named the APJ winner of the Partner Digital Transformation Award, part of the 2021 VMware Partner Achievement Awards programme.

Based on a statement, the award recognises Anunta for delivering VMware solutions that help customers move to modern, cloud-centric architectures and advancing their digital transformation journey.

The award acknowledges Anunta’s exceptional innovations in designing end-user focused Desktop as a Service (DaaS) offerings for the customers globally.

“VMware is proud to see Anunta honoured in the Digital Transformation category, and we are thrilled to see their continued commitment to providing complete solutions that result in exceptional customer outcomes,” said VMware Vice President, Partner & Commercial Organization (APJ), Uma Thana Balasingam.

Meanwhile, according to Anunta Tech Chief Executive Officer and Deputy Managing Director, Sivakumar Ramamurthy, the company is committed to driving technological innovation by establishing digital and workplace transformation and assisting customers with adopting cloud-based technologies.

“We are the leading VMware partner for digital transformation and provide our customers with customised DaaS offerings to help them transform their end-user environment into a highly flexible, secure and cost-effective one,” he said.

The 2021 VMware Partner Achievement Awards recognises regional and Global Alliance level winners in the Partner Digital Transformation, Partner Innovation, Partner Lifecycle Services, Partner Value and Partner Social Impact categories.

The programme was conducted in partnership with IDC, which helped review and evaluate award submissions against the criteria for each category.

-- BERNAMA

GLAMHIVE’S DIGITAL SPRING STYLE AND BEAUTY SUMMIT GOES DIGITAL ON MAY 22

KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 (Bernama) -- With life opening back up in the US and abroad, Glamhive’s Digital Spring Style and Beauty Summit on May 22 will be the final 100 per cent digital summit.

Based on a statement, Glamhive will launch all future events as a hybrid physical-digital experience.

The Spring Summit will be the company’s fifth global digital experience and once again bring together industry professionals and beauty and style enthusiasts to discuss spring style, skincare in the colder months, getting started in the fashion business and much more.

The all-day, ticketed event will feature 19 panels with 66-plus speakers. 

Among topics that will be covered by the all-star speaker line-up are Who Made This? How Sustainably Sourced Products Empower Women With Every Purchase; Style 411: Inside the World of Styling; The Red Carpet Report; and, Brand Building for Creatives & Entrepreneurs.

During the Who Made This? How Sustainably Sourced Products Empower Women With Every Purchase panel, Chief Marketing Officer for Mary Kay Inc, Sheryl Adkins-Green, will host a discussion on the origin of the items inside each of closets — and how to better know the innovators behind the fashion styles. 

“We have an opportunity every day to make choices that help protect our environment. And it’s important to know about the people and products that are making a difference,” said Adkins-Green.

The speakers are celebrity stylists, makeup artists, and image-makers who work with the biggest names in Hollywood and beyond, including Kristen Stewart, Angelina Jolie, Matthew McConaughey and Emily Blunt.

The summit, which was sponsored by Mary Kay Inc and its Mary Kay Global Design Studio, offers tickets at US$149 for an all-day ticket. (US$1 = RM4.139)

More information at https://www.glamhive.com/live 

-- BERNAMA

DATASTAX, NETAPP TO DELIVER FULL LIFECYCLE MANAGEMENT FOR CLOUD NATIVE DATA

KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 (Bernama) -- DataStax recently announced a collaboration with NetApp, delivering full lifecycle management for cloud native data in its DataStax Enterprise database as well as open source Apache Cassandra clusters.

As part of this partnership, the two companies have worked together to integrate the NetApp Astra data management service for Kubernetes workloads with DataStax Enterprise and Cassandra to provide a single pane of glass management for Cassandra data in modern containerised environments.

DataStax Enterprise is a massively scalable, highly available, cloud-native database built on Apache Cassandra - an open source, scale-out database that runs across multiple cloud instances and locations. 

NetApp Astra is a fully managed service for enterprises to manage, protect, and move their data-rich containerised workloads running on Kubernetes. 

Based on a statement, the DataStax and NetApp solution is available immediately.

With the tested and certified DataStax and NetApp solution, enterprises can automate the implementation of Cassandra clusters as well as simplify operations and lifecycle management processes around applications, data and container images on Kubernetes.

The DataStax and NetApp integration provides faster time to value when delivering business applications via automatic storage provisioning and storage class setup processes.

It also improved application unit and system testing efficiency with cloning and migration of application clusters.

In addition, the integration offers seamless portability and migration for Cassandra clusters, supporting enterprise companies with moving Kubernetes workloads and data between cloud locations.

-- BERNAMA

HKTB ROLLS OUT ‘ARTS IN HONG KONG’ CAMPAIGN PROMOTING MAJOR EVENTS

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (Bernama) -- This month, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has rolled out the ‘Arts in Hong Kong’ campaign to promote a series of major events, in both physical and digital format, organised by fair organisers and cultural institutions around town.

This ensures audiences can reconnect with arts and the vitality of Hong Kong, whether here in person or abroad, according to a statement.

As the world cautiously looks to resume international travel and bring back events, it is fitting that art is a driving force to make this happen, with Hong Kong paving the way in the hope of safely staging large-scale events again.

After an absence of more than two years because of the pandemic, Art Basel is officially scheduled to take place from May 21 to 23 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) with over 100 galleries from Asia, Europe and the Americas having confirmed participation.

In addition, Art Central will run concurrently at the HKCEC for the first time, and is free to attend with registration. The annual French May will continue to offer cultural entertainment, with over 100 events running until June 30.

To ensure all fair participants have a stress-free experience, best-practice health and safety protocols will be followed, including mask-wearing, timed entry, reduced capacity, wider aisles and regular cleaning.

In addition to Art Basel, which will launch a new digital initiative, ‘Art Basel Live: Hong Kong’, in parallel with the physical show to amplify its international visibility, fairs that have adopted the hybrid format include Art Central and Yim Tin Tsai Arts Festival 2021.

While Hong Kong Arts Festival’s PLUS programme is featuring a diverse line-up of online and in-venue experiences, the soon-to-be-opened West Kowloon Cultural District’s M+ museum is offering online movie screenings on demand.

Actively contributing to Hong Kong’s art revival, the HKTB created a dedicated campaign website, (www.discoverhongkong.com/Arts), a one-stop platform providing essential information on ‘Arts in Hong Kong’ and introducing online showcases, art itineraries, among others.

-- BERNAMA

Asuransi Jasindo Credit Ratings placed under review with negative implications - AM Best

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 -- AM Best has placed under review with negative implications the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of ‘bbb’ (Good) of PT Asuransi Jasa Indonesia (Asuransi Jasindo) Indonesia.

This Credit Rating (rating) action follows significant deterioration in Asuransi Jasindo’s underwriting performance emanating from the company’s credit insurance business.

Whilst the company’s 2020 audited financial statements have yet to be finalised, summarised regulatory filings for 2020 and for the first quarter of 2021 indicate marked deterioration in operating performance, as well as reserve strengthening and capital erosion, which led to a significant fall in the company’s local regulatory solvency ratio.

As of March 31, the company’s solvency ratio was only marginally above the minimum regulatory requirement, according to a statement from the global credit rating agency.

The ratings have been placed under review with negative implications to reflect uncertainty surrounding the latest financial position of the company, pending finalisation of the audited 2020 financial statements.

The under-review status also reflects the need for AM Best to consider timeliness and effectiveness of planned remedial actions further, as well as their impact on prospective balance sheet strength and operating performance fundamentals.

AM Best will also need to evaluate any action taken to address recently observed governance and control deficiencies in respect of underwriting risk and capital management.

The ratings will remain under review until AM Best can assess the impact of recent developments on the company’s credit rating fundamentals, including balance sheet strength, operating performance and enterprise risk management.

More details at www.ambest.com.

-- BERNAMA

Grab management team to present at 7 virtual investor conferences

KUALA LUMPUR, May 19 -- Grab Holdings Inc (Grab) has announced that its management team is scheduled to present at several virtual investor conferences.

On May 24 (US), Grab President Ming Maa and Chief Financial Officer Peter Oey will present in a ‘Fireside Chat’ at the J.P. Morgan Global Technology, Media & Telecoms Conference.

Both will also present at the Morgan Stanley ASEAN BEST Conference Singapore on June 29 (Asia).

On the other hand, its Chief Executive Officer, Anthony Tan will make a keynote speech at the Goldman Sachs TechNet Conference Asia Pacific 2021 on May 25 (Asia).

Apart from hosting one-on-one meetings at the Barclays High Yield Bond & Syndicated Loan Conference on May 25 (US), Oey will present in a ‘Fireside Chat’ at the Citi Pan-Asia Regional Investor Conference on June 1 (Asia) and at the Evercore ISI Technology, Media, and Telecom Conference on June 7 (US).

Lastly, on June 24 (Asia), Grab Financial Group Head of Investment & New Business Philip Chew will present at the Macquarie Technology Summit. 

According to the Southeast Asia’s leading superapp in a statement, attendance is by invitation only for clients of each respective firm.

A replay of certain presentations and fireside sessions will be made available on Grab’s Investor Relations site at www.grab.com/investors

-- BERNAMA

POLYPLASTICS OFFERS DESIGN TECHNIQUES AND KNOW-HOW TO REDUCE NOISE IN POM HELICAL GEARS

TOKYO, May 20, 2021 /Kyodo JBN-AsiaNet/ --

Polyplastics Co., Ltd., a leading global supplier of engineering thermoplastics, offers a range of design tips and techniques to help manufacturers reduce noise in helical gears made of polyoxymethylene (POM). Polyplastics is a leading global manufacturer of POM, under the DURACON (R) tradename, for diverse markets, including gears.

Image:
https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/prwfile/release/M100475/202104234116/_prw_PI1fl_F2r77Ylo.gif


Among the design findings, it is generally believed that the tilt of the gear axis is an important consideration and its elimination will have a positive impact on noise issues. Polyplastics tried to verify that assumption, and actually focused on the skewed shaft angle (offset error). The company learned that noise does not necessarily worsen when the axis tilts.

Instead, Polyplastics found that noise issues arise when changing the center distance, depending on whether there is a skewed shaft angle. Polyplastics examined the impact of the center distance for helical gears with a skewed shaft angle of 0 deg. Noise levels are lowest in the area where an increase in the center distance is between 0 and 0.6 mm, and then flattens out. On the other hand, noise increases beyond 0.6 mm because the transverse contact ratio is less than 1.0.

Polyplastics notes that helical gears have a phenomenon called an overlap ratio. The total contact ratio is the sum of a transverse contact ratio and an overlap ratio, and theoretically the total contact ratio must be 1.0 or higher for rotation at constant speed on the driven side. A transverse contact ratio less than 1 means that the length of the path of contact is less than one pitch. In other words, there is a space in which teeth do not touch within the space of one pitch. Findings show that helical gears will have a total contact ratio of 1 or higher and will keep operating at constant speed without noise issues.


http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=40080

Vortexa announces Chairman appointment, new investor

 

KUALA LUMPUR, May 17 -- Vortexa, the energy and shipping Analytics platform, has announced the appointment of former Goldman Sachs Global Head of Commodities, Jacques Gabillon as the new Chairman.

According to a statement, Gabillon takes over from Etienne Amic, Vortexa Co-Founder, former Head of European Energy at JP Morgan and current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of VAKT Global.

Vortexa Founder and CEO, Fabio Kuhn, said: “On behalf of the entire Vortexa team, I would like to thank Etienne for his immeasurable contributions to our development since inception and wish him all the best in his new ventures, especially VAKT.”

“It is also a great honour for us to welcome Jacques as our new Chairman; he is an incredible partner who already added massive value to Vortexa as a Board member over the last year. Now, as the Chair of our Board, Jacques is even better positioned to work more closely with our leadership team as Vortexa continues to accelerate its growth.”

Gabillon has over 30 years of experience in the commodities industry working for leading institutions covering commodities, derivatives, structured finance and principal investing globally.

His expertise includes major acquisitions, divestments and structured finance transactions across the full spectrum of the commodities industry.

Since Vortexa’s US$19 million Series B earlier this year, and following up on the company’s continued success, Energy Innovation Capital, one of the most experienced and proven groups of investors in energy technology has become an investor in Vortexa. (US$1 = RM4.134)

Notion Capital, who led the Series A round, has also taken the opportunity to increase its participation in the company.

“We are very excited to welcome Energy Innovation Capital as a new investor at Vortexa. Their energy industry expertise and international network will be invaluable to us in the next phase of our growth journey,” added Kuhn.

-- BERNAMA

QUANT LEGALTECH RELEASES FREE COMPLIANCE TOOLKITS FOR FUND MANAGERS AND TRUST COMPANIES

SINGAPORE, May 19, 2021/PTI-AsiaNet/ --


Quant LegalTech announced the release of a free cloud-based version of 4 of Compliance Toolkits issued by Monetary Authority of Singapore ("MAS"). The Toolkits selected for digitization were issued for Licensed and Registered Fund Managers, Venture Capital Fund Managers and Licensed Trust Companies. The Toolkits can be found at https://quantlegaltech.com/sg

The Toolkit is available on the company's cloud-based Complius(TM) platform and provides a DIY on-boarding capability where users can distribute, execute and track compliance activities throughout their organizations.

John Matheson, Quant LegalTech's Co-Founder explained the initiative.

"We noticed that institutions were aware of the Toolkits but had difficulty implementing them. Their main challenge was that a majority of the activities were "event-based", meaning that nothing had to be done unless a particular event triggered an obligation to report to MAS. To simplify this, we associated events into common attributes and built a reminder system so that compliance owners would learn to identify the events that trigger notifications".

The Digitized Toolkits are aimed at small offices who typically don't have a full-time compliance officer and are looking for automation tools to stay on top of their obligations. Although the Toolkits are free for the first 12 months. One of the main advantages of using compliance automation is that compliance practices are habit forming and once they become engrained, institutions become stronger.

Matheson added that his company was attracted by challenge in digitizing the Compliance Toolkits.

"Singapore FI's have hundreds of compliance obligations to meet and yet MAS has zeroed in on a small fraction of that data-set and then were careful to point out that their list is not exhaustive. This suggested to us that the solution had to be comprehensive while taking a minimal amount of time to deploy".

About Us

Quant LegalTech is a legal-technology company with a singular vision to build innovative, user-friendly legal-tech solutions for corporate governance, risk and compliance.

Complius(TM) has been engineered in-house with easy-to-use interfaces, customizable dashboards, and cloud-based solutions which have coalesced to enable the next generation of legal services.

Contact:
Manjunath PR
Manjunath.pangalai.rathnakaar@quantlegaltech.com

SOURCE: Quant LegalTech

http://mrem.bernama.com/viewsm.php?idm=40067

CYBERAGENT CAPITAL SECURES LATEST ROUND FUNDRAISING

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (Bernama) -- CyberAgent Capital Inc, a member company of the Tokyo-based CyberAgent Inc group, has announced the closing of its ‘CA Startups Internet Fund 3rd’, raising a total of six billion yen (US$55.5 million). (US$1 = RM4.141)

CyberAgent Capital is a venture capital firm based across eight countries and 10 cities, mainly in Asia, leading global innovation jointly with startups.

Since its founding in 2006, the firm has been constantly pursuing global innovation. It invests in Internet-related enterprises that are led by entrepreneurs with excellent management and leadership capabilities and are determined to expand their business globally and have high growth potential.

With its vast experience in the Internet business, the company provides incubation expertise and unique business network to accelerate the global expansion of startups, according to a statement.

CyberAgent Capital's targeted areas of investment are mainly startups in early stages, such as seed. It has invested in more than 350 companies, with 50 of them listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.

The company has invested in startups globally, including Tokopedia Inc (Indonesia), Fangduoduo Inc (China), Tiki Inc and CleverAds Inc (Vietnam), and Kakao Corp. (South Korea).

Meanwhile in Japan, CyberAgent Capital has invested in companies such as Crowdworks Inc, Spacemarket Inc, VisasQ Inc, Kaizen platform Inc, and Retty Inc.

With its latest fundraising, CyberAgent Capital aims to further accelerate its global startup investment and support the startup incubation ecosystem.

More details at https://www.cyberagentcapital.com/en/

-- BERNAMA

SIGHTCALL SECURES US$42 MILLION FUNDING TO EXPAND VISUAL ASSISTANCE MARKET WITH AR, AI

 

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (Bernama) -- SightCall, the world’s leading augmented reality (AR)-powered visual assistance platform, has announced the closing of US$42 million in Series B funding. (US$1 = RM4.141)

The funding was led by InfraVia Capital Partners, along with co-investor Bpifrance, through its Large Venture fund.

Based on a statement, the company intends to use the funds to double its research and development efforts and increase its platform’s AI and AR capabilities. 

“This investment is in perfect alignment with our objectives to scale the company and extend our lead in technology to help our customers realise lasting digital transformation within their service organisations,” said SightCall Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Thomas Cottereau. 

SightCall is poised for global growth and selected this particular set of investors to help them achieve the goal of scaling to US$100 million in annual recurring revenue.

With technology integrations set up with some of the world’s leading companies, the proprietary technology platform enables remote experts to see a problem through video and deliver guidance using AR and AI technology.

By blending the digital and physical worlds into a real-time collaborative environment, SightCall empowers technicians, reduces unnecessary spend and improves the customer experience.

More than 200 of the Fortune 2000 use SightCall, which has seen 100 per cent year-over-year growth in annual recurring revenue in 2019 and 2020 and is on track to reach that mark again this year. 

-- BERNAMA