Author: Marie Jones

Develops Both Catering and New Energy Businesses; Strategically Expands Business to Enlarge Income Streams HONG KONG — Northern New Energy Holdings Limited (“Northern New Energy” or the “Group;” stock code: 8246) today announced its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2017. During the financial year, the Group pushed its business strategy forward on two fronts, with the catering business serving as foundation while expanding into the new energy business. By developing both operations at the same time, it hopes to broaden income streams and steer the Group towards comprehensive and professional development. During the year, revenue amounted to RMB302,427,000,…

HONG KONG — Emperor Watch & Jewellery Limited (the “Group” or “Emperor W&J”) (Stock code: 887), a leading retailer of European-made watches and fine jewellery, announced its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2017 (the “Year”). Driven by strong recovery in consumption sentiment, the Group’s total revenue increased by 11.9% to HK$4,075.1 million (2016: HK$3,641.8 million). Watch segment revenue increased by 13.4% to HK$3,238.6 million (2016: HK$2,856.7 million) and remained a key revenue contributor, accounting for 79.5% (2016: 78.4%) of the total revenue. Revenue from the jewellery segment increased by 6.5% to HK$836.5 million (2016: HK$785.1 million). 74.8% (2016:…

Profit for the Year Soared 41.3% to RMB3.45 Billion; Proactively Expanding Land Bank for Future Growth HONG KONG — China SCE Property Holdings Limited (the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”) (stock code: 1966), announced its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2017. Throughout 2017, the PRC real estate market was full of opportunities and challenges. Tightening of real estate policies has created a “spillover effect” which purchase demand flowed to nearby third- or fourth-tier cities. With the effective implementation of the nationwide development strategy of “Focusing on Fist-tier Cities and Quality Second-tier Cities”, the Group has an…

HONG KONG — XTEP International Holdings Limited (Stock code: 1368) announced 2017 annual results. 2017 marked the completion of the Group’s three-year strategic transformation, enabling it to gain full control of its entire retail channel and boost its retail sales efficiency. Financial highlights as follows: – Proposed final dividend of HK 4.5 cents per share, and 10th year listing anniversary special dividend of HK 10.0 cents per share to thank shareholders for supporting the Group for the past 10 years. – Total dividend increased by 39.4% to HK23.0 cents per share (2016:HK16.5 cents). Annual dividend payout ratio increased to 103.8% (2016:…

Mainland Wine Imports Surge 13% with French Wine Leading HONG KONG — The latest study by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) Research has found that the confidence level among Hong Kong exporters continues to rise, in line with the strengthening of global economic activity. The findings are based on the latest results of the HKTDC Export Index, which was published today. It found that for the first quarter of 2018, the Index stood at 49.4, up 4.8 compared to the fourth quarter of 2017. Among the sectors, the timepiece industry outperformed all other sectors, with a 57 Index reading,…

Osaka, Japan – (ACN Newswire) – Trillium Secure, Inc., known for its disruptive automotive IoT cybersecurity technology and highly innovative ‘SecureIoT’ Cyber Security as a Service (C-SaaS) platform, has come out on top in a technology startup competition, being crowned ‘Middleweight Champion’ at the ‘Get in the Ring’ event held in Osaka, Japan. Get in the Ring is a startup competition created by the Get in the Ring Foundation. “Confidence, clarity and potential for societal impact made Trillium the winner tonight. They were quick on their feet with compelling answers to every question and I really think what Trillium is doing will impact the…

Real Capital Analytics reveals region’s top dealmaker in 2017 SINGAPORE — JLL has been named number one real estate investment advisory firm in Asia Pacific for the seventh consecutive year by Real Capital Analytics (RCA), an independent body that monitors real estate transaction volumes worldwide. According to RCA, JLL has achieved the highest value of investment deals in Asia Pacific, a total of US$26.8 billion in 2017, accounting for 29.8 per cent of total market share. Out of the seven asset types included in the ranking, JLL took the top spot in five categories – office, retail, apartment, development site and…

Core Net Profit increases by 31.9% to RMB310.4 Million, with Core Net Profit Margin Achieving at 65.0%; Expands School Network, Forays into the High School Education  HONG KONG — Minsheng Education Group Company Limited (“Minsheng Education” or the “Group,” Stock code: 1569) has announced its audited annual results for the twelve months ended 31 December 2017 (“Period under Review”). Financial Highlights – Revenue increased by 7.4% to RMB477.8 million (FY2016: RMB445.0 million) – Gross profit grew by 7.8% to RMB278.7 million (FY2016: RMB258.6 million). Gross profit margin improved to 58.3% (FY2016: 58.1%) – Core net profit increased by 31.9% to RMB…

Leading investors including Timothy Draper (Draper Associates), Golden Gate Ventures & SeedPlus with global leaders from Bancor, 1kx, ZCash and SGInnovate to explore blockchain technology and its commercial viability SINGAPORE — The world’s leading minds in blockchain will meet with venture capitalists, investors, and government regulators in Singapore from 5-6 April to discuss the opportunities and challenges of blockchain, one of the fastest growing technologies finding its application among businesses. Leading investors such as Timothy Draper (Draper Associates), Golden Gate Ventures, SeedPlus, along with global blockchain leaders from Bancor, 1kx, ZCash as well as Singapore’s SGInnovate will discuss the future of…

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Institutional equities broker Decker & Co. launched in 2013 with a focus on ASEAN markets, and over the past five years has expanded to cover all of Asia, most recently with an expansion in both its New York and Asia offices. With the new hires, Decker & Co. now has five sales and trading staff members based in the U.S. The expansion includes two senior hires at the firm’s New York office and one in Asia. The fourth hire represents Decker & Co.’s first dedicated frontier-market salesperson. “Bulge bracket firms have pulled way back in their North…

3D printing shows potential for fabricating personalized ‘soft’ robotic hands and hearts. But challenges need to be addressed. Tsukuba, Japan — Three-dimensional printing offers unique advantages, but still faces many challenges, for fabricating small, flexible robots that can navigate through the human body and other confined spaces, according to a review in the journal Science and Technology of Advanced Materials. Researchers at South Korea’s Jeju National University examined the latest research and developments in fabricating soft robots using 3D printing technologies. Their study concludes that 3D printing is well suited to build robots that have complex external shapes together with an…

The Gold Coast at Sihanoukville follows the opening of Courtyard by Marriott Siem Reap Resort in January 2018, the Group’s first hotel property in the Kingdom. SINGAPORE — Cambodian real estate company Grand Lion Group has inked a deal with Marriott International, Inc., to manage and operate a new hotel in the stunning coastal city of Sihanoukville, located in Cambodia’s southwest region, a short 35-minute flight from the capital of Phnom Penh. Branded Le Meridien, the 388-room five-star hotel will comprise an all-day dining/open kitchen concept restaurant, a specialty restaurant, a rooftop bar with captivating views of the ocean and the…

Achieves Full-blown Business Growth by Seizing Opportunities Brought by Interconnected Capital Markets and Economic Restructuring and Upgrade HONG KONG — China Goldjoy Group Limited (“China Goldjoy” or the “Group”; HKEX: 1282) announced its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2017. During the year, the Group achieved full-blown business growth with revenue soaring by 183.8% to approximately HK$2,825.3 million (2016: HK$995.6 million). Gross profit improved by a marked 84.1% to approximately HK$871.3 million (2016: HK$473.4 million). Profit attributable to owners of the Company rocketed by 86.3% to approximately HK$869.2 million (2016: HK$466.6 million). The increase was mainly due to the…

HONG KONG — Dr Lui Che-woo, Chairman of K. Wah Group (the “Group”), has been appointed by Peking University as an Honorary Trustee in recognition of his contributions to the development of the university as well as his efforts to the promotion of world civilisation and advancement of mankind. Dr Lui Che-woo said, “I am honoured to be appointed as an Honorary Trustee of Peking University, and would like to extend my heartiest appreciation to the University for such recognition which is by all means an invaluable encouragement to me.” As a firm believer in ‘giving back to the society from…

Annual gathering aims to help CRE practitioners optimise portfolio efficiency, workplace effectiveness and facilities management amidst digital disruption and geopolitical risks SINGAPORE — CoreNet Global, the world’s leading corporate real estate (CRE) association, will be holding the CoreNet Global Summit 2018 “What’s Next? Exploiting Uncertainty” at the Ritz-Carlton, Millenia Singapore from 12 to 15 March 2018. The summit aims to help CRE practitioners leverage opportunities in light of geopolitical shifts and emerging megatrends, including disruption driven by progressive technologies such as the Internet of Things (IoT) and Artificial Intelligence which are reshaping the Asia Pacific built environment. According to IDC, connected…

Energy experts, policymakers, business leaders, students and young innovators from across Asia engaged in lively dialogue about solutions to the region’s shared energy challenge at the 2nd Shell Powering Progress Together Forum in Singapore SINGAPORE — Society faces a dual challenge: how to make a transition to a low-carbon energy future to manage the risks of climate change, while also extending the economic and social benefits of energy to everyone on the planet. In Asia, where urbanisation, living standards and population growth continue to increase, energy demand is higher than ever and is growing fast, with consumption levels increasing. This was…

HONG KONG — Asia Allied Infrastructure Holdings Limited and Top Spring International Holdings Limited are pleased to jointly announce that the two entities are entering into a long-term collaboration to develop property business in Hong Kong, with the first kick-off project being a low-density premium residential property project (the “Project”) located at Waterloo Road in Kowloon Tong, Hong Kong. Riding on AAI’s experience in property development, construction and project management in Hong Kong, and Top Spring’s diverse capabilities in developing residential and premium property projects across the PRC, the collaboration will seek to capture the lucrative opportunities associated with the Hong…

– Using magnetic resonance technology to generate and transfer energy from the cup to electronic devices Daejeon, KOREA — A cup holder that wirelessly charges electronic devices in a 3D space has been developed by ETRI in South Korea. It is dubbed as ‘E-Cup’ and can charge multiple devices placed inside the 10 cm-wide holder at the same time, at the same rate as wired chargers, regardless of orientation or position of the devices. Shaped just like a circular cup holder, the wireless charger generates and maintains a constant and uniform magnetic field. The electric current wirelessly flows to the…

SAN FRANCISCO, CA — Loyyal, the industry leader in applying blockchain technologies to loyalty and incentive programs is pleased to announced the addition of Mr. Thom Kozik as the company’s new Chief Commercial Officer. Previously serving as an independent director, Mr. Kozik will also transition to a management representative role on the company’s board. Prior to his appointment to the role, Thom most recently served as Vice President, Global Loyalty at Marriott International, where he led the transformation of Loyalty marketing within the world’s largest hotel company. A Noted Background in Technology Innovation and Growth With a career spanning the National…

On-site Survey Shows Industry Optimism on Future Prospects HONG KONG — Featuring more than 4,550 exhibitors, the fifth Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem and Pearl Show (27 February-3 March) and the 35th Hong Kong International Jewellery Show (1-5 March) concluded with participation from about 87,000 buyers from 145 countries and regions, representing a two per cent increase from last year. Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), more than 33,700 buyers visited the Diamond, Gem and Pearl Show, while about 53,000 visitors attended the Jewellery Show. “With improving global economic conditions, Hong Kong’s exports of precious jewellery rose 3.6…