Thursday, 3 September 2026

AM BEST RETAINS STABLE OUTLOOK FOR TAIWAN NON-LIFE INSURANCE

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 3 (Bernama) -- Global credit rating agency, AM Best has maintained a stable outlook on Taiwan’s non-life insurance segment amid the implementation of Taiwan Insurance Solvency (TIS), IFRS 17, and consistent premium expansion across retail and commercial lines.

Also underpinning the stable outlook are non-life insurers’ conservative asset allocation and moderate equity exposure, which should help protect their overall profitability in the event domestic stock market volatility impacts the segment’s investment results.

According to the Best’s Market Segment Report, “Market Segment Outlook: Taiwan Non-Life Insurance”, implementation of TIS and IFRS 17 enhances cross-market comparability and elevates the strategic importance of capital management and earnings volatility analysis.

In a statement, AM Best said TIS has had a limited impact on the segment’s overall capitalisation, although market-risk capital requirements have increased moderately.

Meanwhile, the transition to IFRS 17 has been favourable to the segment’s reported capital position, with industry-wide reported shareholders’ equity increasing by approximately 10 per cent at year-end 2025.

Taiwan’s non-life insurance market remains mature and competitive, with demand for commercial lines coverage growing, supported by investments in high-technology manufacturing plants, renewable energy projects, and major infrastructure development.

The credit rating agency added that Taiwan’s non-life insurers are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) and data analytics to streamline underwriting, automate claims processing and detect fraud.

“AI adoption among Taiwan’s non-life insurers is likely to remain gradual and tightly controlled, with insurers prioritising internal operational and risk management tasks while maintaining continued oversight over customer-facing decisions,” said AM Best director of analytics, James Chan.

These changes should enhance operating efficiency, refine risk selection and help insurers better manage losses over time.

-- BERNAMA

PU Prime Launches Australian Operations under ASIC Licence

  • PU Prime officially launches operations in Australia through its ASIC-regulated local entity, PU Prime Trading Pty Ltd.
  • With ASIC regulation and local operations in place, PU Prime is strengthening its presence and commitment to the Australian market.

SYDNEY, Australia, Sept 3 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- PU Prime, a global multi-licensed online brokerage, today announced the official launch of its operations in Australia through its local entity, PU Prime Trading Pty Ltd, regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). PU Prime Trading Pty Ltd holds Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) No. 410681

After obtaining its ASIC licence, PU Prime invested in the resources and infrastructure needed to support Australian clients, including local operations, a dedicated customer support team, and systems aligned with regulatory requirements. The launch reflects the company's commitment to delivering a seamless and compliant trading experience in the Australian market.

“This launch marks the beginning of our long-term commitment to the Australian market. We will meet our obligations under the ASIC framework and deliver transparent and regulated services to our Australian clients,” says Mr Cristian Moreno, Director at PU Prime.

With the launch, Australian clients can now onboard directly through PU Prime's ASIC-regulated entity, reinforcing the company's commitment to operating within established regulatory frameworks while expanding access to its trading products and services. The milestone further strengthens PU Prime's global regulatory footprint and long-term growth strategy.

Important Notice: Trading derivatives carries significant high risks. It is not suitable for all investors and if you are a wholesales client, you could lose substantially more than your initial investment. When trading CFDs, you do not own the underlying assets and have no rights to them. Past performance is no indication of future performance and tax laws are subject to change. Before acquiring any financial products, please ensure that you read the relevant legal documents and are fully aware of the associated risks.

About PU Prime
Founded in 2015, PU Prime is a leading global fintech company and trusted CFD broker. Today, it offers regulated financial products across forex, commodities, indices, shares, and bonds. Operating in over 190 countries with more than 40 million app downloads, PU Prime provides innovative trading platforms to support traders worldwide in accessing global financial markets.

PU Prime Trading Pty Ltd (AFSL No. 410681), is a separate legal entity incorporated in Australia and regulated by Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). PU Prime Trading Pty Ltd is the issuer of CFD products to Australian residents only. Any information provided is general in nature and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs.

The ASIC license held by PU Prime Trading Pty Ltd does not apply to, extent to, or cover any products or services offered by other PU Prime entities. References to PU Prime's global brand, group presence or international operations are for general information only and should not be taken as an offer, invitation or recommendation by any offshore entity to provide financial products or services in Australia.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/b40cdf76-3349-4456-b6fc-f605f85fdd3e

For media enquiries, please contact: media@puprime.com

SOURCE: Pacific Union Seychelles Limited

DISCLAIMER: BERNAMA MREM are not accountable for any causes of website defacement, misuse, or illegal activities connected to cryptocurrency, blockchain, tokenisation, or bitcoin. This material should not be considered as guidance or an opinion, as it does not constitute financial or investment advice. Use this information at your own risk; we are not liable for any losses or damages caused by the republication of this article.

--BERNAMA

Russell Westbrook Announced as Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Project B

Russell Westbrook Announced as Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Project B

Westbrook joins ownership of the global basketball platform shaping the next era for sport and entertainment

LOS ANGELES & SINGAPORE, Sept 3 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Project B today announced that NBA MVP Russell Westbrook has joined the company’s founding team as Chief Strategy Officer.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260902246769/en/

A generational talent and visionary whose influence transcends the court, Westbrook is a relentless business builder, a cultural vanguard, and a committed philanthropist. As Co-Founder and Chief Strategy Officer of Project B, he will take an active role in shaping the company’s basketball strategy and long-term vision. Westbrook holds an ownership stake in Project B and has joined its Board of Directors. His role extends to strategic partnerships and creates opportunities to collaborate with companies and initiatives across Westbrook’s broader business portfolio as the business grows globally.

“At every step of my career, what was most valuable to me was making sure everyone had a seat at the table,” said Westbrook. “With Project B, we’re challenging the norm and bringing a new vision to the intersection of premium sport, culture, and entertainment. We're reimagining the experience with players not only as key value drivers, but also as shareholders and decision makers."

The announcement is Westbrook’s first major business move since closing his 18-year NBA career. For more than a decade, Westbrook has been building a global empire alongside basketball. Through Russell Westbrook Enterprises, he has built and invested across technology, digital media, consumer businesses, real estate, sports and community infrastructure. He has founded, owned and invested in companies alongside institutional investors and used his businesses to connect commercial growth with investment and opportunity in communities historically excluded from both.

Project B’s launch comes as the economics of global sports are changing rapidly. Franchise values, media rights, sponsorships and international audiences have grown into enormous businesses while athletes increasingly look beyond compensation toward equity and ownership.

“Project B was built to put athletes inside the ownership and decision-making structure from the beginning,” said Grady Burnett, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Project B. “Russell brings an extraordinary combination of basketball intelligence, business ownership, cultural relevance and global reach. As co-founder, he will help shape both the game and the company as we expand the future for basketball globally.”

Project B is building a global grand prix that brings elite basketball and live entertainment to major basketball markets around the world. Project B has leaned into the fast-growing segment and signed many of the best women players in the world, pairing exciting young players with elite international talent and global superstars.

Launching in January 2027, tournaments will move through host markets across Asia, Europe and the Americas, turning each stop into a week-long festival of sport, entertainment and culture, offering unprecedented access to players and unique storytelling opportunities as they experience each city and play tournaments at the highest level, all streamed live on YouTube.

“Russell is one of the most accomplished players of his generation, and what makes him truly exceptional is the impact he has built beyond the game,” said Alana Beard, Co-Founder and Chief Basketball Officer of Project B. “He believes athletes should have a real voice in shaping this sport, and he's here to help build it. Having him as a co-founder makes us stronger and expands what we believe basketball can be globally.”

Westbrook’s mandate will also create additional collaboration between Project B and his broader ecosystem, including opportunities across media, consumer products and community programming. Additional partnerships will be announced separately.

About Project B

Project B is creating a sports and entertainment platform built for the next generation of players and fans. Owned by athletes, Project B brings together the world's best women and men to compete across iconic destinations in Asia, Europe, and the Americas. Designed for a streaming-first, social-native world and distributed globally on YouTube, Project B combines elite competition, culture, and premium experiences.

About Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook is an NBA MVP, nine-time NBA All-Star, entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. His business, philanthropic and education platform includes Russell Westbrook Enterprises, RW Digital, Honor the Gift, the Russell Westbrook Why Not? Foundation and Westbrook Academy, launched in partnership with LA Promise Fund. Westbrook has spent more than a decade building businesses, investing capital and creating educational and economic opportunities in communities historically excluded from both.

About Russell Westbrook Enterprises

Founded by Russell Westbrook, Russell Westbrook Enterprises (RWE) is a diversified operating and investment company spanning financial services, life sciences, media, fashion, mobility, real estate, education, sports and community infrastructure. RWE deploys capital, builds and owns companies, makes strategic investments and forms commercial partnerships across those sectors. The company brings together Westbrook’s capital, business relationships and global reach to create, acquire and grow businesses and assets for the long term.

View source version on businesswire.com:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260902246769/en/

Contact

Johanna Hoopes
johanna@projectb.co
projectb.global

Source : Project B

--BERNAMA



 

Wednesday, 2 September 2026

ANAQUA: AI DRIVES SURGE IN SEMICONDUCTOR PATENTING

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 2 (Bernama) -- Anaqua has unveiled key findings from its 2026 Semiconductor Industry Patent Report: AI & Innovation Trends report, revealing a market undergoing structural transformation, driven significantly by the demands of artificial intelligence (AI).

The report, an analysis of global semiconductor patent activity, found that while overall semiconductor patenting grew 78 per cent over the last five years, patents at the intersection of AI and semiconductors grew 114 per cent, nearly 40 per cent faster.

Anaqua, in a statement, said AI is increasingly defining semiconductor innovation at every level of the technology stack, across chip architecture, graphics processing units (GPUs), inference processors and custom accelerators for hyperscalers.

Using Anaqua’s AcclaimIP patent analytics platform to analyse more than 700,000 semiconductor patent filings, the report shows AI’s influence on nearly every layer of chip innovation. The data was accessed between May and June 2026.

According to the report, a closer examination of key semiconductor subcategories across the AI landscape shows that AI is driving an outsized impact on the chip market and has become a primary force behind semiconductor research and development (R&D) investment and patent filings.

The report also found that NVIDIA’s patent footprint may appear smaller relative to its market dominance because its competitive advantage lies outside hardware. NVIDIA holds 49 GPU-titled semiconductor patents, ranking seventh, and ranks 15th in inference chips.

IBM tops AI-semiconductor crossover filings with 794 and analogue AI with 389, with a footprint concentrated in frontier technologies, including quantum computing, neuromorphic chips and phase-change memory that encodes neural-network weights directly onto the chip.

China dominates AI inference patenting by a significant margin and is rising rapidly in GPUs. Chinese government-affiliated entities lead inference and accelerator filings with 5,387 over five years, far ahead of Samsung’s 1,897, spanning universities, national laboratories and state research institutes.

The report also found that hyperscalers have become silicon designers. Alphabet/Google’s tensor processing unit (TPU) and Microsoft’s Maia accelerator-related patenting appear across nearly every AI-and-semiconductor patenting intersection, reflecting a shift towards cloud giants designing custom chips for their own workloads rather than buying off the shelf.

-- BERNAMA

Friday, 28 August 2026

Thailand Puts Productivity at the Center of AI Transformation with National AI Roadmap

 

The APO-supported roadmap positions AI as a practical productivity tool to raise output, strengthen worker capability, improve resource efficiency, and accelerate sustainable industrial upgrading


BANGKOK, Aug 28 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thailand today marked the official handover and dissemination of the National AI Roadmap for the Sustainable Productivity of Industries in Thailand, placing productivity rather than technology adoption itself at the center of the country's AI transformation agenda.

The milestone took place during the Thailand Productivity Forum 2026: “Twin Transformation – AI × Productivity × Net Zero,” held in conjunction with the 1st AI Productivity Collaboration Consortium. The central message was clear: AI should be judged by the measurable value it creates for firms, workers, public services, and the wider economy.

The economic case is compelling. The APO Productivity Database 2025 reports that Thai labor-productivity growth averaged 2.1% during 2015–2023, down from 4.8% during 2010–2015, while total factor productivity averaged zero growth. As population aging constrains labor-force expansion, Thailand will increasingly need to create more value from each hour worked and each unit of capital.

“AI is not the objective. Productivity is.”
— Dr. Indra Pradana Singawinata, Secretary-General, Asian Productivity Organization

For the APO, the test is not how many AI tools are purchased, pilots launched, or people trained. It is whether AI raises output per hour, reduces downtime and defects, improves quality and asset utilization, lowers energy and material intensity, accelerates innovation, and strengthens the productive capability of workers.

Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Industry Duangdow Khawjaroen reinforced the same productivity-first framing, linking digital transformation and green transformation through AI × Productivity × Net Zero. In her prepared remarks, she said: “Productivity represents the tangible outcomes of doing things better using fewer resources, reducing costs and waste, and creating greater value.” She also stressed that “good AI begins with good data,” highlighting the ministry's i-Industry and i-SingleForm systems and practical applications such as predictive maintenance, energy-efficiency optimization, supply-chain analysis, real-time quality inspection, greenhouse-gas assessment, and executive decision support.

Prepared collaboratively by the Thailand Productivity Institute (FTPI) and APO with the technical support of FutureLab, the roadmap is grounded in 23 in-depth stakeholder interviews, a strategy workshop, and practical AI training. Importantly, its quantitative items are presented as recommended goals for the Ministry of Industry: a 15% productivity increase across specified MIND priority sectors by 2030; at least 60% AI adoption among large enterprises and 40% among SMEs in key sectors; at least 80 targeted AI pilot projects across priority sectors, with 30% scaled into full production; and certification of at least 50,000 industrial workers and 5,000 AI specialists by 2030.

Thailand already has a powerful proof point. In 2025, the World Economic Forum (WEF) added Midea's Si Racha facility to its Global Lighthouse Network after the plant deployed 72 digital and AI solutions. WEF-reported outcomes included a 43% reduction in order lead time, a 32% decline in customer complaints, and a 62% improvement in employee qualification speed, evidence of what becomes possible when AI is integrated with process redesign, workforce development, and operational discipline.

The next challenge is diffusion. In the 2024 ETDA–NSTDA AI Readiness study, 580 organizations responded; 17.8% reported already using AI, while 73.3% planned future adoption. The productivity opportunity lies in moving enterprises from intention to economically valuable deployment through use-case selection, data readiness, workflow redesign, worker adoption, integration, scaling, and measurement.

Aligned with the APO Vision 2030 and Thailand's Strategic Partnership Program, the roadmap provides a platform for moving from project-based AI adoption toward a result-oriented productivity transformation system. The next test will not be how many AI initiatives Thailand launches, but how widely AI helps enterprises, especially SMEs, to create more value, build stronger capabilities, and compete sustainably.

The defining question is no longer whether Thailand will use AI. It is how effectively Thailand can turn AI into productivity improvements that are measurable, scalable, sustainable, and broadly shared.

About the APO

The APO is a regional intergovernmental organization dedicated to improving productivity in the Asia-Pacific region through mutual cooperation. Established in 1961, the APO supports its member economies through policy advisory services, capacity building, and knowledge sharing to promote sustainable socioeconomic development.

Contact: pr@apo-tokyo.org
Website: https://www.apo-tokyo.org

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/6b413fac-4b0d-4112-8e60-68df791a3bba

SOURCE: Asian Productivity Organization

Sapient Intelligence Launches PRAXIST (Beta) to Accelerate a New Era of Autonomous AI-led Research and Development



  • 49 gold-medal outcomes across 75 machine learning competitions from MLE-Bench achieving approximately US$3,000, versus 34 for Claude Code at US$38,000
  • Rocket-landing accuracy reached 100% within 12 hours, demonstrating a proof-of-concept capability at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3

SINGAPORE, Aug 28 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Singapore-headquartered artificial general intelligence research company Sapient Intelligence today announced the launch of PRAXIST (Beta), an autonomous AI research and development (R&D) system that takes on complex technical problems and independently tests and validates potential solutions.

While AI has rapidly accelerated productivity in content generation and other well-defined workflows, R&D remains inherently difficult to automate and scale. Breakthroughs require testing multiple hypotheses, learning from successes and failures, and continuously determining which paths to pursue. Organizations must address this all while balancing specialist expertise, time, cost, and infrastructure.

A capacity multiplier

PRAXIST addresses this challenge as an R&D capacity multiplier. Rather than executing a predefined path, it independently explores which technical approach can best achieve a measurable objective. Users define the goal, parameters, and budget; PRAXIST then autonomously experiments and evaluates the strongest solution.

The approach has demonstrated promising results in controlled internal evaluations. On 75 challenging Kaggle competitions from MLE-Bench, a benchmark designed to test how well AI systems tackle complex, real-world machine learning problems across, PRAXIST achieved the highest-level result in 49 competitions at an approximate recorded model cost of US$3,000, compared with 34 highest-level results for Claude Code at approximately US$38,000 under the same evaluation conditions.

“Unlike general coding agents, which are built primarily to execute a specific task, PRAXIST is designed for long-horizon R&D, where the problem-solving approach itself may need to be discovered and adapted,” says William Chen, Co-Founder at Sapient Intelligence. “A conventional research team is ultimately constrained by the number of experiments its researchers can realistically run and evaluate. PRAXIST is designed to provide organizations with the ability to augment their existing teams with additional research capacity, enabling them to explore problems with a breadth and speed that would otherwise require significantly greater specialist resources.”

From autonomous research to cumulative scientific discovery

PRAXIST deploys multiple autonomous research peers to explore approaches in parallel, test hypotheses, investigate failures, and validate promising results. Unlike the tree-like search used by other similar systems, where each candidate inherits from one parent and weaker branches are pruned, PRAXIST uses a generation-layered research graph that preserves what every experiment teaches. This allows later generations to combine valuable mechanisms, evidence, and constraints across different lineages, including failed attempts. Rather than searching for the single best branch, PRAXIST constructs stronger solutions from discoveries made across branches.

Expansion and scale at speed

For organizations with limited AI or machine learning capabilities, PRAXIST can provide an AI research layer alongside existing domain expertise; for sophisticated teams, it can augment existing capabilities and increase the scale and breadth of R&D. A traditional robotics company, for example, can define problems, objectives, and constraints from an engineering perspective while PRAXIST conducts the AI research, experimentation, and validation needed to develop solutions, effectively serving as an in-house AI research team without requiring the company to build one.

Partner engineering results further illustrate this potential. In a partner-provided rocket-landing simulation, PRAXIST improved baseline to 100% within 12 hours, demonstrating a proof-of-concept capability at Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 3. In an industrial robotic SLAM problem, a partner team achieved 9.37cm of accumulated error after several months of development. PRAXIST reduced the error to 5.01cm within three days.

System application

PRAXIST can operate with proprietary data in private or customer-controlled environments, giving organizations greater control over their research infrastructure and sensitive intellectual property.

Initial applications are focused on sectors with intensive R&D requirements or highly measurable or simulatable optimization problems, including AI, engineering and robotics, manufacturing, finance, and health and drug discovery. Over time, Sapient Intelligence aims to extend PRAXIST beyond traditional R&D into broader business optimization, from inventory and sales to logistics and shipping.

“AI has mastered executing what we know. The next frontier is discovering what we don’t,” said Jin Li, Chief Scientist of PRAXIST. “PRAXIST is our first step toward making autonomous discovery a practical capability for organizations tackling complex problems. As we continue to develop the platform, we will look to expand beyond traditional R&D. Our ambition is to give organizations a fundamentally greater capacity to explore what is possible, enabling existing teams to pursue more experiments, approaches, and innovations while keeping human expertise and judgment at the center.”

About Sapient Intelligence

Founded and headquartered in Singapore, Sapient Intelligence is developing a new generation of AI systems that move beyond answering questions and executing predefined tasks to autonomously discover, reason, and optimize across complex problems without predefined solutions. By combining autonomous research systems with novel foundation-model architectures, Sapient Intelligence advances autonomous discovery through deeper reasoning, self-evolving capabilities, greater adaptability, and enhanced interpretability.

At the center of this vision is PRAXIST, the company’s flagship autoresearch system enabling breakthroughs in real-world R&D and business challenges. Sapient is also the creator of the Hierarchical Reasoning Model (HRM), a novel, brain-inspired foundation model architecture designed to enable deep reasoning with substantially greater training efficiency.

With a global team of more than 50 researchers and engineers operating across Singapore, Palo Alto, and Beijing, Sapient brings together experience from leading AI organizations and research institutions. The company connects foundational AI research with demanding applications in finance, healthcare, manufacturing, and logistics, developing original AI systems for enterprises, researchers, and institutions worldwide.

Learn more about PRAXIST here.

View source version on businesswire.com:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260827080331/en/

Contact

The Hoffman Agency on behalf of Sapient Intelligence
Sapient@hoffman.com

Source : Sapient Intelligence

--BERNAMA

Thursday, 27 August 2026

ARC’TERYX INTRODUCES SYSTEM 0 CIRCULAR DESIGN FRAMEWORK

Arc’teryx athlete, Craig Murray, wearing the Sperro SV, a multisport mountain-grade hardshell built with circular design principles, available September 4, 2026.


KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- Arc’teryx Equipment, a global designer of technical high-performance apparel and equipment, has introduced System 0, a new framework designed to embed circularity across the product lifecycle, from design and manufacturing through use, repair and end-of-life regeneration.

The first product under the framework is the Sperro SV jacket, a mountain-grade hardshell designed for durability, repairability and disassembly for recycling at end of life. The jacket uses GORE-TEX Pro fabric with an ePE membrane, while its nylon face fabric and backer were separately designed for recyclability in partnership with Aquafil, the manufacturer of ECONYL regenerated nylon.

Available globally from Sept 4 through Arc’teryx stores and its website, the Sperro SV is positioned as the brand’s most advanced hardshell jacket and is intended to demonstrate that circular design can be integrated into technical apparel without compromising performance.

“System 0 represents a fundamental shift in how we build and scale our business with circularity front of mind. For decades, Arc’teryx has built gear that is meant to be repaired, not replaced. This is the next step forward,” said Arc’teryx Chief Executive Officer, Stuart Haselden in a statement.

The Sperro SV is the first product certified under TESTEX Circularity, a standard Arc’teryx said it co-developed to address gaps in existing circular product standards. The certification evaluates the jacket’s durability, repairability and ability to undergo chemical recycling.

System 0 builds on Arc’teryx’s existing ReBIRD ecosystem of washing, repair, trade-in, resale and upcycling initiatives. The company said the new framework extends these principles across design, sourcing, manufacturing, customer experience, repair and end-of-life recovery as part of an effort to make circularity a scalable operating model.

The Sperro SV has been tested by alpine professionals, including Vancouver’s North Shore Rescue. It features reinforcement at common failure points, including an easily replaceable zipper slider, and comes with three years of unlimited out-of-warranty repairs through ReBIRD.

When the jacket is no longer repairable, its fabric can undergo chemical recycling to separate the nylon from the GORE-TEX membrane. The nylon is then returned to Aquafil to be regenerated into ECONYL yarn for new products.

-- BERNAMA

AI ADOPTION GROWS AMONG TOP CYBERSECURITY TEAMS - HTB REPORT

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- Hack The Box (HTB) has revealed that cybersecurity teams are reaching successful solutions significantly faster, completing more of the challenge set, and increasingly incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) agents into their work.

In its 2026 Global Cyber Skills Benchmark Research Brief, which includes a three-year analysis, HTB said the strongest evidence of AI adoption emerged among the competition’s top performers.

AI agent accounts made up just 2.7 per cent of all registered accounts, yet 17 of the top 25 teams (68 per cent) had one. Those agents accounted for 4.2 per cent of submitted flags and 4.6 per cent of points awarded.

HTB in a statement said the findings do not establish that AI caused teams to perform better but show that AI is already becoming part of the toolkit used by many of the competition’s strongest teams.

“Our data shows that AI is appearing most often alongside some of the strongest practitioners, not instead of them. As agents become more capable, human judgement, validation and hands-on technical skill become more important, not less,” said HTB Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Haris Pylarinos.

Performance across the competition has also shifted substantially over the past three years. Median recorded time-to-solve fell by more than 12 hours, from 26.1 hours in 2024 to 13.8 hours in 2026. The number of teams completing the entire challenge board rose from two in 2024 and three in 2025 to 15 in 2026.

The findings highlight how AI is transforming both sides of the cybersecurity equation, as evidenced by Hugging Face’s July 2026 incident disclosure and OWASP’s Q1 2026 GenAI exploit roundup, which demonstrate that AI is generating new risks while also becoming integral to both the attack surface and the defensive response.

For security leaders, the challenge is not simply adopting AI, but making sure practitioners have the skills and judgement to direct, test and validate its work.

The findings build on earlier HTB research examining AI and cybersecurity performance. While the earlier controlled benchmark explored what happens when practitioners work with AI, the latest data provides a view into where AI agents appear when competitors are free to choose their own approaches.

The findings suggest that AI is moving from experimentation to the working methods of experienced cybersecurity practitioners, highlighting the importance of human expertise in directing, evaluating and validating AI-generated work.

-- BERNAMA

Wednesday, 26 August 2026

Nessum Adoption Expands Across Global Energy-Management Infrastructure

 

Cumulative shipments of LSI devices incorporating Nessum*1 IP exceed six million units as deployments grow in HVAC and smart grid applications


FUKUOKA, Japan, Aug 26 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- Nessum Alliance*2 today announced the expansion of Nessum technology in commercial HVAC and smart grid applications through deployments by Alliance members Daikin Industries, Ltd. and Power Plus Communications AG (PPC). The Alliance also noted that cumulative worldwide shipments of LSI devices incorporating Nessum IP have surpassed six million units, according to Panasonic Holdings Corporation, the technology licensor, underscoring its maturity and market adoption.

As energy management, digitalization, and sustainable infrastructure accelerate worldwide, organizations need communications networks that combine reliability and flexibility. By enabling high-speed IP communications over existing wiring, Nessum is expanding its role across energy-management applications.

Deployments by Daikin and PPC demonstrate how IEEE 1901*3-based Nessum technology delivers value in real-world infrastructure environments, connecting systems, devices, and operational data across critical sectors.

In the HVAC sector, Daikin is utilizing Nessum as part of its D4-NET architecture for next-generation air conditioning networks. As buildings rely more on operational and sensing data to improve efficiency, comfort, and performance, reliable communications infrastructure is becoming critical. Daikin has positioned Nessum as key to the evolution and global deployment of HVAC networks.

In Europe, PPC is advancing smart metering and grid modernization initiatives requiring reliable, long-distance communications over existing infrastructure. Its activities show how Nessum can meet smart-grid requirements while helping utilities improve visibility, efficiency, and network management.

The Alliance also noted that, according to Panasonic Holdings Corporation, cumulative shipments of LSI devices incorporating Nessum IP have exceeded six million units worldwide. This milestone demonstrates Nessum’s maturity in large-scale deployments.

Originally developed for high-speed communications over existing wiring, Nessum has evolved into a versatile platform supporting HVAC, smart grids, building automation, industrial facilities, and other IoT applications. It enables organizations to modernize infrastructure while reducing deployment complexity and cost.

"As energy management becomes increasingly important across industries, demand for reliable, scalable connectivity continues to grow," said Mr. Michimasa Aramaki, Chair of Nessum Alliance. "Nessum’s growing adoption in HVAC and smart grid applications shows its ability to address real-world challenges and support a more efficient, sustainable future."

Nessum Alliance will continue working with industry leaders to promote interoperability, ecosystem growth, and adoption of IEEE 1901-based communications technologies for connected energy-management infrastructure.

Daikin and PPC case studies are available at:
https://nessum.org/media/event/special-seminar-202606

Notes:
*1: "nessum" and its logo is a registered trademark or a pending trademark application of Panasonic Holdings Corporation in Japan and in other countries.
*2: An organization that succeeded and renamed the former HD-PLC Alliance on October 2, 2023, to expand the spread of Nessum, ensure communication compatibility, and advance international standardization activities.
https://nessum.org/
*3: An IEEE communications standard developed for IoT applications such as smart buildings, smart grids, and smart cities, supporting various media (Any Media: wired, wireless, and underwater).
https://standards.ieee.org/ieee/1901/7598/

View source version on businesswire.com:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260825122947/en/

Contact

Nessum Alliance Office
info@nessum.org

Source : Nessum Alliance

Thursday, 20 August 2026

JAPAN MARITIME DAILY TO HOST SINGAPORE SEMINAR ON EMERGING TRANSPORT DEMANDS

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- The Japan Maritime Daily (JMD), Japan’s leading maritime newspaper, will host an international seminar in Singapore on Oct 5, focusing on “Emerging Transport Demands”.

JMD said in a statement the event supported by Singapore Exchange (SGX), will examine major shipping initiatives and the future of maritime transport through presentations and a panel discussion.

Registration is now open for “Charting the Course for the Future of Maritime” seminar, featuring senior maritime leaders from Ocean Network Express (ONE), SGX, Kpler and other international organisations.

ONE Chief Executive Officer, Till Ole Barrelet will deliver the keynote address, while SGX Group Director, Kenneth Ng will give a presentation, and Kpler Principal Heavy Distillates Analyst, Roslan Khasawneh will speak on “How Geopolitical Disruption Is Reshaping Asian Shipping”.

A panel discussion moderated by JMD Principal Editor Yohei Misaki will examine emerging transport demands and key industry challenges amid an increasingly uncertain global environment.

The panel will feature MOL Energia Managing Director, Miki Ogura; Wallem Ship Management Managing Director, Ioannis Stefanou; Tokyo Century Corporation Joint General Manager, Jigo Hayashi; and Baltic Exchange Asia Head, Cheong Jin Yu.

-- BERNAMA

HONG KONG CYCLOTHON OPENS REGISTRATION WITH NEW 56 KM ROUTE, UCI ROAD RACE

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- The Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) has announced the opening of public registration for the Sun Hung Kai Properties Hong Kong Cyclothon, which will take place on Oct 11.

This year’s event continues to promote the spirit of sports for charity and features several new elements, including a 56-kilometre (km) non-competitive ride on a “Five Tunnels, Three Bridges” route, while the popular 32 km ride will continue on the “Two Tunnels, Two Bridges” route. More than 6,500 places are available for the two non-competitive rides.

The Cyclothon will also feature the return of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Class 1.1 Road Race, with a new 100 km racecourse that will draw elite teams from around the world for competition in Hong Kong.

“Starting in mid-September, HKTB will roll out a series of mega events, with the Hong Kong Cyclothon standing out as one of the most energetic and dynamic international sporting spectacles on our calendar,” said HKTB Chairman, Dr Peter Lam in a statement.

HKTB said the popular non-competitive ride has been upgraded this year, with the previous 50 km route extended to 56 km and spanning six districts — Yau Tsim Mong, Sham Shui Po, Kwai Tsing, Tsuen Wan, Sha Tin and Kowloon City.

The 56 km route will take participants along the newly opened Central Kowloon Bypass for the first time, while the 32 km ride will maintain its “Two Tunnels, Two Bridges” route, incorporating Cheung Tsing Tunnel, Nam Wan Tunnel, Stonecutters Bridge and Ting Kau Bridge.

The starting and finishing lines will be relocated to Museum Drive in the West Kowloon Cultural District, with a dedicated viewing zone allowing locals and visitors to watch cyclists up close as they make their final dash to the finishing line. The new UCI route will also pass iconic landmarks, including the Hong Kong Palace Museum and the International Commerce Centre.

A new non-competitive World University Trophy will be introduced as part of the 56 km ride, bringing together university cyclists from Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and overseas institutions ranked among the world’s top 100 universities.

In addition, HKTB will stage a dedicated cycling-themed carnival at the Great Lawn of Art Park in the West Kowloon Cultural District, featuring sports, entertainment, family-friendly activities and culinary offerings.

-- BERNAMA

XSOLLA, ACCELBYTE UNVEIL INTEGRATED GAME BACKEND, PAYMENT SOLUTIONS

Graphic: Xsolla

 
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- Xsolla, a global video game commerce company, has introduced integrated backend solutions for game developers through a founding partnership with AccelByte, a fully managed extensible games backend platform.

Concurrently, Xsolla has opened a closed testing programme for a combined solution that pairs AccelByte Gaming Services (AGS) with Xsolla's global payments and monetisation tools.

Select developers can now apply for early access and help shape the integration ahead of its broader launch, according to Xsolla in a statement.

“Our first test partners will help us prove that a studio can stand up backend services and global payments together, without staffing separate teams for each, and get to market faster as a result,” said Xsolla President, Chris Hewish.

Meanwhile, AccelByte Chief Executive Officer and Technical Director, Junaili Lie said: “We are excited to partner with Xsolla, which shares our belief in making powerful technology accessible to studios of every size. By combining our technology and expertise, we can help studios launch faster, operate smarter, and reach players globally.”

Under the partnership, Xsolla brings AccelByte's backend services together with its payments and monetisation solutions in one integrated stack, shaped by direct input from studios shipping live games. This allows studios to avoid stitching separate solutions together on their own.

During the closed testing period, partner studios will help validate the feature set and modular implementation options. AccelByte's backend services, including player management and matchmaking, will be combined with Xsolla's payment, subscription, monetisation and identity services in an interoperable layer.

In addition, studios can stand up and operate live game services without building backend infrastructure in-house or staffing dedicated LiveOps teams, reducing time-to-market and accelerating iteration cycles.

Through Xsolla's global game payment platform, participating studios gain access to more than 1,000 payment methods across over 200 geographies, opening new revenue channels for games.

-- BERNAMA

Wednesday, 19 August 2026

TEMPLAFY LAUNCHES FREE AI AGENT FOR POWERPOINT PRESENTATIONS

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 19 (Bernama) -- Templafy, the agentic document generation platform, has launched the Templafy Agent Add-In, a free artificial intelligence (AI) agent that enables users to create, edit and review presentations without leaving PowerPoint.

Available to download from Microsoft Marketplace and free for individual PowerPoint users, the add-in brings document agents directly into the presentation workflow, enabling both the creation of new presentations and editing tasks.

According to Templafy, users can ask the agent to create new slides, rewrite or translate a presentation, fix formatting, add editable charts and tables, as well as review content, through a conversational interface before it is shared.

“By bringing agents directly into PowerPoint, we are extending AI from creation into iteration, so users can keep working with the agent as their presentation evolves, inside the workflow they already know.

“When connected to Templafy, this becomes even more powerful as the agent is grounded in company knowledge and governed centrally, bringing the speed of AI together with the context and control enterprises need,” said Templafy Chief Product Officer, Oskar Konstantyner in a statement.

Templafy customers can connect the agent to approved company content and context, including templates and layouts, content libraries, brand rules, product information and business data. This enables teams to use AI while drawing on information and content their organisation already trusts.

Meanwhile, for enterprises, this can mean less time spent searching for the right slide, checking the latest messaging or correcting branding and formatting at the end of the process.

Templafy said Microsoft 365 administrators can also deploy the add-in to relevant users or groups across the organisation, in addition to centrally distributing rules governing AI document creation, reducing the need for complex prompting or configuration by individual users.

-- BERNAMA

Tuesday, 18 August 2026

GMO GLOBALSIGN EXPANDS TLS CONNECT TO APAC, MIDDLE EAST

 

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 (Bernama) -- GMO GlobalSign Inc, a global Certificate Authority, has expanded the availability of TLS Connect by GMO to businesses in the Asia Pacific (APAC) and Middle East, following its initial launch in Western markets in April.

TLS Connect is a Certificate Lifecycle Management (CLM) tool designed for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), automating the deployment and renewal of public trust Transport Layer Security (TLS) certificates to help strengthen security, maintain regulatory compliance and reduce business risk.

GMO GlobalSign said TLS Connect is designed to address the needs of SMEs that rely on TLS certificates but may lack in-house Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) expertise or a straightforward way to implement a CLM solution.

The company said the expansion comes as businesses face a series of reductions in TLS certificate validity periods. The first reduction took effect on March 15, 2026, shortening certificate lifespans from 398 to 200 days, while further reductions to 100 days and 47 days are scheduled for March 15, 2027, and March 15, 2029, respectively.

In a statement, GMO GlobalSign Head of Business Unit for TLS & CLM CA Division, Aditya Anand said shrinking certificate lifespans mean SMEs face greater risks of missed renewals and unexpected outages, often without the tools to manage certificates efficiently.

He said TLS Connect provides automated certificate lifecycle management specifically for smaller enterprises and offers a simple and affordable way for businesses in APAC and the Middle East to manage changing certificate requirements.

The solution is particularly relevant in APAC and the Middle East, where SMEs account for a significant share of businesses, including approximately 94 per cent in the United Arab Emirates, 97 per cent in Australia, and 99 per cent in Singapore and the Philippines.

According to GMO GlobalSign, cybersecurity regulations in these markets are also increasing the management and oversight requirements for SMEs, while a shortage of cybersecurity professionals is adding to the challenge.

The company said TLS Connect includes certificate discovery, a centralised interface and automated certificate management, and can be deployed on premises for centralised management across endpoints.

-- BERNAMA

ABNORMAL AI SECURES IMDA ACCREDITATION FOR GOVERNMENT, ENTERPRISE ADOPTION

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 18 (Bernama) -- Abnormal AI, a behavioural artificial intelligence (AI) security platform, has been accredited by the Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA) and recognised as a trusted solution for government and enterprise adoption.

The accreditation status, effective July 1, positions Abnormal to pursue expanded engagement with Singapore government agencies and enterprises through IMDA's streamlined procurement process and market access channels.

Abnormal Regional Director, ASEAN, Sebastian Murphy said the accreditation reflected that the company’s platform has undergone IMDA’s robust evaluation process, giving Singaporean agencies and enterprises a validated path to adopt behavioural AI security.

“It reflects the investment we have made in this region over the past several years. We are looking forward to deepening our work with IMDA and the customers and partners we serve here,” added Murphy in a statement.

The IMDA Accreditation programme helps enterprise technology companies scale in the region. IMDA-accredited companies undergo independent evaluation across business and operations, technical capability and financial standing, giving government agencies and large enterprises confidence to adopt their solutions.

Being enrolled in the programme also gives companies access to IMDA's "Greenlane" procurement track, which is designed to substantially shorten typical government procurement timelines, as well as introductions to government decision-makers through IMDA's ecosystem.

Abnormal's accreditation status comes as organisations across Singapore and the broader ASEAN region contend with a rise in AI-generated social engineering, business email compromise, and identity-based attacks that typically bypass traditional, rules-based defences.

By establishing per-entity baselines across identities and environments, the company’s platform is designed to detect and stop sophisticated attacks, including many that have not been seen before, without relying on static rules or threat signatures.

Abnormal intends to continue evaluating opportunities to grow its presence in Singapore and across ASEAN, with additional investment in local go-to-market resources and government engagement expected in the near term.

-- BERNAMA

Monday, 17 August 2026

CROSSBOW NAMED AS GEAR MEMBER, CONTRIBUTING PAYMENT SECURITY EXPERTISE

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 17 (Bernama) -- Crossbow Enterprise Cybersecurity, an enterprise cybersecurity partner, has been selected to serve on the PCI Security Standards Council’s (PCI SSC) 2026–2028 Global Executive Assessor Roundtable (GEAR) for its third consecutive term.

The roundtable is a direct channel between payment security assessors and PCI SSC leadership, and Crossbow is one of 33 organisations selected for the 2026–2028 term, according to a statement.

“Continuing as a GEAR member for a third consecutive term is a meaningful milestone for Crossbow and reflects our ongoing engagement with the global payment security community,” said Crossbow Enterprise Cybersecurity Head of GRC Operations, Sabeena Job.

Meanwhile, PCI Security Standards Council Executive Director, Gina Gobeyn said GEAR brings together experienced industry leaders whose expertise and perspectives help guide the continued evolution of PCI security standards and programmes.

“We look forward to working with Crossbow Enterprise Cybersecurity as we continue advancing our shared mission of helping organisations protect payment data around the world,” added Gobeyn.

Crossbow’s continued role on GEAR enables it to contribute practical perspectives on evolving payment technologies and global compliance standards, helping support security frameworks that remain effective and relevant.

The company brings nearly 12 years of experience across cybersecurity consulting, payment security, assessment, compliance and advisory services, spanning India, Asia Pacific, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the United Kingdom, Europe and the United States.

-- BERNAMA

Thursday, 13 August 2026

K2 Global Raises US$200 Mln For AI Investment

 


KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 (Bernama) -- K2 Global, founded by solo venture capitalist Ozi Amanat, has announced US$200 million in capital commitments focused on artificial intelligence (AI), robotics, compute infrastructure, semiconductors, national security and next-generation healthcare technologies. (US$1=RM4.08)

K2 Global in a statement said it has built concentrated positions in frontier technology companies, including Neuralink, xAI, SpaceX, Shield AI, Tenstorrent, Synchron, Lambda, Agility Robotics and Function Health, as it seeks to back founders developing foundational technologies.

“AI is reshaping every industry, from national security and robotics to healthcare and industrial systems. We believe many of the defining companies of the next decade will emerge at the intersection of intelligence, compute and the physical world,” said Amanat.

The firm’s investment strategy focuses on identifying foundational technology platforms positioned to shape the next decade of innovation and American technological leadership, with investments spanning AI, autonomy, defence systems, robotics, semiconductors, compute infrastructure and healthcare.

K2 Global’s investor and partner base includes entrepreneurs, family offices, foundations, institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, banks, and strategic operators across the United States, Asia, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.

Its AI Fund will focus on early-stage investments and building high-conviction positions in companies developing large language models, humanoid robotics, brain-computer interfaces and other advanced technologies with potential for significant global impact.

Amanat added that K2 Global aims to partner with founders building enduring, category-defining platforms with global impact, while remaining focused on technologies that strengthen competitiveness in robotics, healthcare and national security.

Beyond the AI Fund, K2 Global said it will continue exploring opportunities in advanced manufacturing, aerospace, semiconductors, defence technologies and applied sciences as part of its broader frontier-technology investment strategy.

-- BERNAMA

Wednesday, 12 August 2026

Bitget Expands CFD Business with Institutional-Grade Liquidity Solutions

 

VICTORIA, Seychelles, Aug 12 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bitget, the world's largest Universal Exchange (UEX), has expanded its CFD business with the launch of Institutional-Grade Liquidity Solutions, a dedicated offering for quantitative trading teams, proprietary trading firms (Prop Firms), funds, retail brokers, and high-net-worth professional traders. The solution brings together 100% Straight-Through Processing (STP), deep multi-tier liquidity, sub-millisecond order matching, and FIX API connectivity for clients managing large-volume and automated trading strategies.

The launch comes as automation plays a growing role in global trading. Quantitative strategies, high-frequency trading, futures-spot arbitrage, and Expert Advisor (EA) models place different demands on execution compared with typical retail activity. At higher volumes and frequencies, market depth, order routing, latency, and connectivity to proprietary systems can have a direct impact on execution quality.

Bitget has built the new offering around a 100% STP execution model. Orders are routed directly to external liquidity pools without manual dealing intervention, giving clients a clear path from order submission to the underlying liquidity provider. The model is designed for firms running sustained order flow and strategies that require consistent market access across different conditions.

Bitget aggregates liquidity across institutional sources, including Tier-1 banks and non-bank market makers, with multiple levels of market depth available to clients. For firms placing larger orders or executing continuously, deeper order books can help reduce slippage and market impact when the liquidity available at the top of the book cannot absorb the full trade at a single price. Bitget's trading servers are deployed in major financial data centres, including London (LD4) and Tokyo (TY3), with dedicated networks and direct fibre connectivity supporting sub-millisecond order matching. The solution also supports FIX API, allowing quantitative teams, brokers, and other institutional clients to connect existing proprietary systems, bridges, and liquidity aggregators directly to Bitget's CFD environment.

“As trading becomes more automated and sophisticated, the quality of the infrastructure behind every trade becomes increasingly important,” said Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget. “Professional traders need consistent execution, deep liquidity and reliable connectivity to run their strategies effectively at scale. With our institutional liquidity offering, we are strengthening the foundation of our CFD business to serve these clients better and support the next stage of Bitget's growth across global markets.”

Client assets are segregated from Bitget's operational funds and held through independent custody accounts, alongside compliance reviews and third-party auditing standards. This framework provides institutional clients with greater visibility into how assets are managed as they scale their activity on the platform.

The launch broadens Bitget's CFD offering as the company continues to develop its multi-asset trading ecosystem. Retail users will be able to access Bitget's standard CFD environment through the App, Web, and MT5, while institutional clients can use a dedicated setup built for higher-volume strategies, deeper liquidity requirements, and direct system connectivity. The expansion allows Bitget to serve a wider range of trading activity as its CFD business grows globally.

About Bitget

Bitget is the world's largest Universal Exchange (UEX), serving over 125 million users and offering access to over 2M crypto tokens, 500+ tokenized stocks, ETFs, commodities, FX, and precious metals such as gold. The ecosystem is committed to helping users trade smarter with its AI agent, which co-pilots trade execution. Bitget is driving crypto adoption through strategic partnerships such as MotoGP™. Aligned with its global impact strategy, Bitget has joined hands with UNICEF to support blockchain education for 1.1 million people by 2027. Bitget currently leads in the tokenized TradFi market, providing the industry's lowest fees and highest liquidity across 150 regions worldwide.

For more information, visit: Website | X | Telegram | LinkedIn | Discord

For media inquiries, please contact: media@bitget.com

Risk Warning: Digital asset prices are subject to fluctuation and may experience significant volatility. Investors are advised to only allocate funds they can afford to lose. The value of any investment may be impacted, and there is a possibility that financial objectives may not be met, nor the principal investment recovered. Independent financial advice should always be sought, and personal financial experience and standing carefully considered. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. Bitget accepts no liability for any potential losses incurred. Nothing contained herein should be construed as financial advice. For further information, please refer to our Terms of Use.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at:
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cd6d4848-2e7e-47ea-aca1-514dbea846db 

SOURCE: Bitget Limited

DISCLAIMER: BERNAMA MREM are not accountable for any causes of website defacement, misuse, or illegal activities connected to cryptocurrency, blockchain, tokenisation, or bitcoin. This material should not be considered as guidance or an opinion, as it does not constitute financial or investment advice. Use this information at your own risk; we are not liable for any losses or damages caused by the republication of this article.

Monday, 10 August 2026

SIA EXPANDS AUSTRALIA PRESENCE WITH SEVEN CONSULTING ACQUISITION

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 (Bernama) -- Sia, a global management consulting group, has expanded its international presence with the acquisition of Seven Consulting, an Australian management consulting firm.

Known for its expertise in business transformation, Seven Consulting brings together a team of over 100 consultants, half of whom are based in Sydney and the other half split between Melbourne and Manila.

“Seven Consulting’s deep expertise in programme delivery and change management, and its strong relationships with Australia’s largest banking, government and retail organisations, make it a highly strategic addition to Sia,” said Sia founder and chief executive officer, Matthieu Courtecuisse in a statement.

Meanwhile, Seven Consulting founder, Declan Boylan said: “We found in Sia a partner with the same entrepreneurial mindset, the same focus on high-impact client delivery, and the same conviction that our clients need practical, outcome-focused delivery expertise to navigate their most complex transformation programmes.”

The acquisition marks a key step in Sia’s expansion in Australia, giving the Group a combined team of around 130 consultants, alongside its existing base in Perth.

It also establishes a significant presence on Australia’s East Coast, with offices in Sydney and Melbourne, while expanding Sia’s client portfolio across the banking, government, transportation and retail sectors.

As part of the integration, Seven Consulting will progressively leverage Sia's international reach, global solutions portfolio and deep expertise in data and artificial intelligence (AI).

By combining Seven Consulting's recognised capabilities in business transformation and large-scale programme delivery with Sia's global AI expertise, the combined business is positioned to become a leading AI transformation partner in Australia, helping organisations move from AI experimentation to enterprise-scale transformation.

This acquisition demonstrates Sia’s continued ambition to accelerate its international expansion while strengthening its sector and functional expertise in its most strategic markets.

-- BERNAMA

Sunday, 9 August 2026

PU Prime Expands Gold Trading with the Launch of XAUUSD247

EBENE, Mauritius, Aug 7 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Gold remains one of the world's most actively traded safe-haven assets, with prices continuing to respond rapidly to geopolitical developments, central bank policy decisions, inflation expectations and shifts in investor sentiment. Investors increasingly navigate markets that move around the clock, where PU Prime has introduced XAUUSD247, enabling clients to trade gold 24 hours a day, seven days a week on MT5.


Earlier this year, gold surged to nearly US$5,600 per ounce in January as investors flocked to safe-haven assets amid escalating tensions in the Middle East. While prices have since retreated from their peak, the World Gold Council's research notes that gold remains one of the top-performing assets over the past year.

"Gold CFDs have consistently been among the most actively traded products on the PU Prime platform," said Daniel Bruce, Managing Director at PU Prime. "With many factors continuing to influence prices at all times of the day, traders increasingly expect flexibility to react whenever opportunities arise. The launch of XAUUSD247 enables clients to trade gold CFDs 24 hours a day, seven days a week, giving them uninterrupted access to this precious metal."

The introduction of XAUUSD247 allows traders to access the gold market continuously throughout the week, including weekends, providing greater flexibility beyond conventional trading hours. As financial markets increasingly operate around the clock, PU Prime remains focused on delivering trading solutions that provide clients with greater flexibility, convenience and access to global opportunities.

About PU Prime

Founded in 2015, PU Prime is a leading global fintech company and trusted CFD broker. Today, it offers regulated financial products across forex, commodities, indices, shares, and bonds. Operating in over 190 countries with more than 40 million app downloads, PU Prime provides innovative trading platforms and an integrated copy trading feature, empowering traders worldwide to achieve financial success with confidence.

For media enquiries, please contact: media@puprime.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at 
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f315574d-1cf1-4071-a8f5-070032e191c6 

SOURCE: Pacific Union Seychelles Limited

DISCLAIMER: BERNAMA MREM
are not accountable for any causes of website defacement, misuse, or illegal activities connected to cryptocurrency, blockchain, tokenisation, or bitcoin. This material should not be considered as guidance or an opinion, as it does not constitute financial or investment advice. Use this information at your own risk; we are not liable for any losses or damages caused by the republication of this article.

--BERNAMA