ACROFAN

Overbit Releases 2021 Crypto Traders Survey

CCCME new Co-Organizer of CE China

German Pavilion at CE China 2021

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India to overtake China as world’s largest LPG residential market by 2030

IBA launches new guidebook on doing business in Asia Pacific

China Exports Hit $237.6bn Value in July, a 7.2% Jump Year-on-year

VisiConsult earns the Grand Prize for Medium-Sized Enterprises in Germany

CE China 2019: How to implement successful e-commerce strategies?

BITBOX Launches Rewards Festival

DECENT Updates Wallet Ecosystem, Reduces Transaction Fees by 80%

DECENT, the international company behind the DCore blockchain technology, today releases the first major update to its wallet ecosystem since launch. The highlights include a massive reduction in the fees paid for transactions, the capability to make payments with custom tokens, account creation via mobile devices, several UI improvements, bug fixes, and other changes. The general wallet ecosystem has received an 80% fee reduction for all performed transactions, with a downturn from 0.005 DCT (~$0.0005) to 0.001 DCT (~$0.0001) per transaction. In addition to DCT, this small fee can now be paid with DCore’s custom tokens (e.g. ALX), depending on the user’s preference. The web wallet, introduced as the original component in DECENT’s wallet ecosystem, gains an improved UI and reworked coding for faster navigation and enhanced user experience as well as the option to use custom tokens to pay for transaction fees. Similarly to the mobile version, the web wallet also carries numerous bug fixes and improvements. The beta version for DECENT’s Android wallet was released on December 18, 2018. With the wallet already out of beta, the application has been well-received by users and holds the user rating of 4.9/5 stars on Google Play Store. With this update, users can now conveniently create new wallet accounts directly in the application, without the need to activate their wallet via the web interface. Existing wallets can be activated with either the users’ brain key or their private key. As for additional features, users can forthwith pay for all transaction fees with user-generated tokens, known as custom tokens, in addition to DCT. The iOS wallet was released only recently – on March 24, 2019 – with features coinciding with its Android counterpart. Similarly to the Android version, the new major update adds custom token support and enables users to scan QR codes as a more convenient means of sending funds. The update also includes important bug fixes for improved user experience. DECENT’s CEO and Founder, Matej Michalko, gave his observation on the major update: “Since launch, our wallet ecosystem has grown tremendously thanks to our team of dedicated specialists. This growth can also be perceived in the way our users give us appreciation through the company’s public channels. Our plans remain to update our DECENT Wallet across all platforms concurrently and to continuously bring in new features to ensure high quality and security for all of our users.” With DECENT having released an update to its new roadmap, users can expect several features in the upcoming months such as the inclusion of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and new software development kits to make their proprietary blockchain technology, DCore, even easier to adopt and use.

Austria’s First 100% Transparent Charity Project Token4Hope Holds First Public Event After Helping More Than 45 Households

Token4Hope held a public event on Thursday, March 28, 2019, in Vienna, Austria to showcase the project’s successes to date. The high-profile event, hosted by Blockchain Austria, endorsed Humanity Token and Token4Hope’s overall achievements up to date, the technology used behind the project and its plans for future participation in the global market. The event was attended by numerous influential journalists and industry experts, including Matteo Landi from UNIDO, CFO Simon Blatzer from Wiener Hilfswerk, CEO Christoph Zinganell from Collective Energy, and Matej Michalko, Founder and CEO of DECENT. Token4Hope is a joint-project developed in cooperation with DECENT, Collective Energy and HumanVenture, aimed at helping indigent individuals and families in Vienna, Austria. The project runs on DECENT’s DCore blockchain technology, which helps the donations to be stored transparently and securely – allowing donors to track their contributions and observe the actual usage of their donated money. Its users – specifically, individuals living in impoverished conditions – are not required to have any prior knowledge about the technology the application runs on, and are only obliged to carry a [SOMA] card containing T4H tokens, through which they can redeem the tokens for goods. Token4Hope is also the winner of the prestigious eAward 2019. Instituted only last year, the Token4Hope initiative has been able to collect more than 10,000 EUR which were distributed amongst 47 families, consisting of 35 single parents, 12 families and 85 children in Vienna alone. According to Matteo Landi, Project Manager at the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), using blockchain in charity projects seems like an excellent solution to boost trust in charities: “UNIDO is planning on starting to launch projects using blockchain technology, as it can easily be perceived as the biggest revolution of our time. With this project as living proof of blockchain’s success, we, at UNIDO, consider it a tremendous technological breakthrough that can positively disrupt the way charities work today.” As part of the event program, Matej Michalko, CEO and Founder of DECENT, expressed his hopes and ideas for the project during the panel discussion: “Token4Hope is a perfect example of blockchain’s positive impact on community projects. At DECENT, we’re looking forward to investing our time and money into such verticals. Basically, the impact investing and the donation part of this project is what drives us forward, for the sole purpose of it being one of the first end-to-end applications of our technology that has actual customers – families – receiving the donations.”

China-Korea Yantai Industrial Complex Press Conference

On February 26, at 10:30 am, a Media briefing session on ‘China-Korea Yantai Industrial Complex’ was held at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas Hotel. The session was attended by about 30 people from Yantai City and the industrial complex, including vice mayor of Yantai, Zhang Dailing(张代令), and people from Korean companies and media. The China-Korea Yantai Industrial Complex was constructed as two core areas and two expanded areas over a total area of 80.4㎢. In the core areas, smart manufacturing, logistics and new energy sectors are concentrated, while expansion areas are concentrated with life sciences, biotechnology and medical fields. Besides, it will actively build cooperation with Korean companies in various fields such as finance, e-commerce, and entertainment on the strength of the policy of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China. ▲ Dailing Zhang, Vice Mayor of Yantai, China ▲ Ho-yeol Bae, Director of Investment Strategy, Korea Agency for Saemangeum Development and Investment ▲ Jinsheng Gu, Minister-Counsellor of Economic and Commercial Counsellor’s Office, Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Korea “Yantai Industrial Complex is a significant strategic hub for economic cooperation between China and Korea. In the future, we will devote our utmost efforts to make the industrial complex the cornerstone of the economic development of two countries by attracting companies and talents through active policy support and benefits,” said Zhang Dailing, Vice Mayor of Yantai, China. “While Chinese VIPs were visiting the Saemangeum site, there was an in-depth discussion about exchanging more actively between the two countries. I believe the active exchange since last year has become a stepping stone to devising a win-win strategy,” said Ho-yeol Bae, Director of Investment Strategy, Korea Agency for Saemangeum Development and Investment. “The Embassy will make efforts to realize the Xiaokang(Moderately prosperous) Society and the Chinese Dream. We will do our best for the idea of ‘Benefit all Mankind(人类共同)’ by carrying out the reform and opening up according to the ideology of the general secretary Xi Jinping(習近平). The two countries are neighboring countries facing the sea, and have achieved rapid overall achievement over the past two decades. It has achieved a lot of accomplishments with wider human exchanges. On the other hand, trade protectionism is worsening in the world and uncertainty is growing. In the midst of this, complementary characteristics between China and South Korea are emerging. We look forward to substantial cooperation in each area and hope to have more benefits for the people of both countries,” Gu Jinsheng(谷金生), Minister-Counsellor of Economic and Commercial Counsellor’s Office, Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the Republic of Korea. ▲ The plan to accelerate growth of Industrial Complex focused on by the Chinese government and Yantai city government was introduced. ▲ The specialization strategy of the development zone was introduced to the representatives from Korean companies. ▲ Major projects of ‘One Belt One Road’ in the expanded zone were introduced. Taking this opportunity, Korean companies’ entry into China is expected to be more active. If a Korean company moves into an industrial complex, it will receive a subsidy for renting industrial parks and expanding factories. There are also institutional benefits such as tax breaks and visa exemption (for maximum 144 hours). It is expected that Korean companies will capture the fast-growing Chinese domestic market and secure an economic growth engine. At the presentation, five policies for Korean companies were announced; subsidies, substantial use of land, strengthening tax support, active attracting of talented people, and providing trade and administrative support. It is expected to further boost the value of the industrial complex, which has a strategic position with the two zones and one base, including the demonstration zone, precedent zone, and new development base. In 2018, 66 new Korean projects were launched with a total value of $210 million and recorded the total turnover of about $7.47 billion (RMB 50 billion). Likewise, the upward trend in China since 2019 is expected. In particular, the Industrial Complex said they will attract more than 100 Korean companies by 2025 and will invest a total of $2 billion in these companies. Meanwhile, the Industrial Complex was established in December 2017 to explore economic cooperation between Korea and China on the basis of the Korea-China FTA agreement that entered into force in December 2015. The complex has settled down as an important base of the policy of Xi Jinping’s ‘One Belt One Road(一帶一路)’ and a bridgehead of entering China, Korea’s number one trading partner.

Swiss Companies DECENT & bardicredit Announce Plans to Launch the First EU-approved Tokenized Investment Fund

DECENT, announces a new partnership with bardicredit, a company working to be one of the first EU-approved investment funds running on blockchain. The companies will engage in transforming and improving the investment fund industry through tokenization – integrating and leveraging blockchain technology in the field of finance. Bardicredit aims to be the first EU-approved tokenized investment fund on a mission to open the world of venture capitalists to a much larger investor audience. To help bardicredit achieve this goal, DECENT will provide its advanced, proprietary blockchain platform, DCore. -Boosting Finances with Blockchain The fund’s plan is to invest in commercial blockchain applications powered by DECENT’s advanced blockchain protocol, DCore. Bardicredit will apply the concept of tokenization to enable investors to hold even a small and tradable stake in the fund. The company wants to make use of this modern and emerging technology and claims that high-performing commercial platforms, such as DCore, will be highly sought after and have a strong future. Managing Partner at bardicredit, George Salapa, elaborated on the benefits of tokenization: "Tokenization is transforming the investment fund industry. Traditionally, alternative asset funds such as venture capital and private equities were inaccessible to investors beyond the ultra-high-net-worth individuals due to a long lock-up period. Now, through tokenized investment funds, investors can sell the tokens on the secondary market at any time, instead of waiting 7 to 10 years for their investment returns." Before bardicredit, George Salapa worked in consulting (PwC) and banking (Sberbank), co-founded a startup and contributed as a guest writer for Forbes. - Commercial Blockchain Applications With the public being constantly exposed to the emerging power of blockchain and its real-world use cases, bardicredit aims to use the innovative technology of DCore in a variety of no-nonsense blockchain commercial applications. The company also believes that DCore is a great fit for standalone ventures and blockchain-ready technology companies that can be elevated through blockchain via “Blockchain-as-a-Service”. - Utilizing “Reverse ICO” Bardicredit will also invest in ‘on-demand’ companies in the sharing economy space. For these “UBER-like” businesses, the model of internal tokenization will function as an enabler of frictionless payments for their customers and a means to raise additional capital. The company, therefore, postulates that a phenomenon called a “reverse ICO” will enable many viable start-ups in the ‘on-demand’ economy (providing consumers with immediate access to goods and services) to flourish. Reverse ICOs are a crowdsourcing method where already existing, real-world businesses raise funds as they launch their own cryptocurrency. Investors deem this form of funding much safer than regular ICOs and are more inclined to participate since the companies they are investing in have already established viable products, gaining the trust of investors worldwide. As for the fund structure, bardicredit established themselves in Switzerland and Liechtenstein due to their strict, but progressive regulations. The aim is to combine the safety and investment certainty offered by these countries with an added layer of revolutionary technology enabled by tokenization. Currently, bardicredit is holding an equity round for Q1 of 2019.

Citi Initiate BGBS with a Buy Rating and Target Price of HK$0.4

Citi issued a research report on Beijing Gas Blue Sky Holdings Limited ("the Company" or "Beijing Gas Blue Sky", together with its subsidiaries, the "Group", HKSE stock code: 6828) today, initiate it with a Buy rating and target price of HK$0.4. Citi expects BGBS to complete at least five acquisitions in 2019-20E and will gain superior profit growth in expansion. It expects that, BGBS EPS will grow at 60% CAGR in 2018-20E, driven by profit contribution from its 29% owned Caofeidian LNG terminal, and gas sales volume growing at 145% 2018-20E CAGR. With strong support from Beijing Gas Group, largest shareholder of BGBS, Citi expects more quality asset injections will happen in the future. It also expects that, Beijing Gas Group will consolidate BGBS as a subsidiary so that BGBS could obtain better financing terms with SOE connections. The report stated that, the recent share price volatility looks unrelated to its fundamentals. It is optimistic with BGBS's future development and expects the Company to issue a positive alert.

Alibaba Group Announces Executive Chairman Succession Plan

Alibaba Group Holding Limited (NYSE: BABA) today announced that one year from today, September 10, 2019, chief executive officer Daniel Zhang will succeed Jack Ma as chairman of the board of Alibaba Group. Mr. Ma will continue as executive chairman of the company over the next 12 months to ensure a smooth transition of the chairmanship to Mr. Zhang. Mr. Ma will complete his current term as a member of Alibaba Group’s board of directors until its annual general meeting of shareholders in 2020. Mr. Ma is a lifetime partner in the Alibaba Partnership and is a member of its partnership committee. The Alibaba Partnership is currently comprised of 36 partners who are also members of senior management of Alibaba Group or its affiliates. Pursuant to the articles of association of Alibaba Group, the Alibaba Partnership has the right to nominate a majority of the directors to the board of the company. Mr. Ma issued a letter to Alibaba’s customers, employees and shareholders, which is attached to this release. ... Letter from Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group Dear Alibaba customers, Aliren, and shareholders, Today, as we mark the 19th anniversary of Alibaba, I am excited to share some news with you: with the approval of our board of directors, one year from today on September 10, 2019 which also falls on Alibaba’s 20th anniversary, Group CEO Daniel Zhang will succeed me as chairman of the board of Alibaba Group. While remaining as executive chairman in the next 12 months, I will work closely with Daniel to ensure a smooth and successful transition. Thereafter, I will stay on the Alibaba board of directors until our annual shareholders meeting in 2020. I have put a lot of thought and preparation into this succession plan for ten years. I am delighted to announce the plan today thanks to the support of the Alibaba Partnership and our board of directors. I also want to offer special thanks to all Alibaba colleagues and your families, because your trust, support and our joint enterprise over the past 19 years have prepared us for this day with confidence and strength. This transition demonstrates that Alibaba has stepped up to the next level of corporate governance from a company that relies on individuals, to one built on systems of organizational excellence and a culture of talent development. When Alibaba was founded in 1999, our goal was to build a company that could make China and the world proud and one that could cross three centuries to last 102 years. However, we all knew that no one could stay with the company for 102 years. A sustainable Alibaba would have to be built on sound governance, culture-centric philosophy, and consistency in developing talent. No company can rely solely on its founders. Of all people, I should know that. Because of physical limits on one’s ability and energy, no one can shoulder the responsibilities of chairman and CEO forever. We asked ourselves this question 10 years ago – how could Alibaba achieve sustainable growth after Jack Ma leaves the company? We believed the only way to solve the problem of corporate leadership succession was to develop a system of governance based on a unique culture and mechanisms for developing consistent talent and successors. For the last 10 years, we kept working on these ingredients. Having been trained as a teacher, I feel extremely proud of what I have achieved. Teachers always want their students to exceed them, so the responsible thing to do for me and the company to do is to let younger, more talented people take over in leadership roles so that they inherit our mission “to make it easy to do business anywhere.” Carrying out this mission in order to help small businesses, young people and women around the world is my passion. This is not only our intent from day one but I feel blessed to have this opportunity. To realize the dream behind this mission requires participation by a lot more people than just Jack Ma and persistent effort by generations of Aliren. Alibaba is amazing not because of our business or scale or accomplishments. The best thing about Alibaba is that we come together under a common mission and vision. Our partnership system, unique culture and talented team have laid a strong foundation for the legacy of our company. In fact, since I handed over the CEO’s responsibilities in 2013, the company has run smoothly for five years on the back of these institutional ingredients. The partnership system we developed is a creative solution to good governance and sustainability, as it overcomes several challenges faced by companies of scale: continuous innovation, leadership succession, accountability and cultural continuity. Over the years, in iterating our management model, we have experimented with and improved on the right balance between systems and individuals. Simply relying on individuals or blindly following a system will not solve our problems. To achieve long-term sustainable growth, you need the right balance among system, people and culture. I have full confidence that our partnership system and efforts to safeguard our culture will in time win over the love and support from customers, employees and shareholders. Since the founding of the company in 1999, we have been of the view that Alibaba’s future will need to depend on “droves of talent” to enable us to iterate on our management succession plans. After years of hard work, today’s Alibaba has a world-class talent pool in quality and quantity. The teacher in me feels extremely proud of our team, our leadership and our unique mission-driven culture, as well as the fact that we continue to develop exceptional business leaders and professional talent like Daniel Zhang. Daniel has been with Alibaba Group for 11 years. Since he took over as CEO, he has demonstrated his superb talent, business acumen and determined leadership. Under his stewardship, Alibaba has seen consistent and sustainable growth for 13 consecutive quarters. His analytical mind is unparalleled, he holds dear our mission and vision, he embraces responsibility with passion, and he has the guts to innovate and test creative business models. Deservedly, China’s business news media has named him the No.1 CEO in 2018. For these reasons, he and his team have won the trust and support of customers, employees and shareholders. Starting the process of passing the Alibaba torch to Daniel and his team is the right decision at the right time, because I know from working with them that they are ready, and I have complete confidence in our next generation of leaders. As for myself, I still have lots of dreams to pursue. Those who know me know that I do not like to sit idle. I plan on continuing my role as the founding partner in the Alibaba Partnership and contribute to the work of the partnership. I also want to return to education, which excites me with so much blessing because this is what I love to do. The world is big, and I am still young, so I want to try new things – because what if new dreams can be realized?! The one thing I can promise everyone is this: Alibaba was never about Jack Ma, but Jack Ma will forever belong to Alibaba. Jack Ma September 10, 2018

PChome Hosts First Investor Day of 2018 to Unveil New Management Team and Strategic Initiatives

PChome Online Inc., the largest ecommerce group in Taiwan and pioneer in 24-hour guaranteed delivery, held its first annual Investor Day on Monday, March 5 to highlight the company's focus on investment in artificial intelligence, open infrastructure, and mobile transactions. Joining Chairman Hung-Tze Jan to execute these new strategies are Yun Su, General Manager of PChomeStore, Kevin Tsai, General Manager of PChome Online, Vicky Tseng, General Manager of PChome eBay Co., and Eric Chung, General Manager of PChome Interpay. PChome's new management team at PChome's 2018 Investor Day. From left to right: Kevin Tsai, GENERAL MANAGER, PChome Online, Vicky Tseng, GENERAL MANAGER,PChome eBay Co., Hung-Tze Jan, CHAIRMAN,PChome Online, Yun Su, GENERAL MANAGER, PChomeStore, and Eric Chung, GENERAL MANAGER, PChome InterPay. Last year was filled with many achievements for PChome Online Group. Each selling channels demonstrated impressive growth in the following areas: Consolidated revenue from all channels reached NT$29.4 billion. B2C platform (include PChome24h Shopping), achieved double-digit performance for 10 consecutive months of growth. The 3C and appliance sales on this platform soared, with performance rising 23% in 2017, beyond the other online and physical channels' 6.2% and -1.7%. Ruten Auction reached more than 2 million sellers with NT$275.2 billion gross merchandise volume in 2017. PChome Stores, the B2B2C platform, counted 70,000 total vendors in 2017 compared to 24,000 vendors the previous year. This 192 percent YoY growth was possible due to the discontinuation of the shop set-up fee in 2016. In January 2017, PChome introduced Taiwan's largest mobile marketplace called Personal Store that allows consumers to shop on their smartphone for over 200 million products and pick up purchases in convenience stores as a direct competitive response to both big and small ecommerce players alike. Building upon the successes of 2017, PChome Online Group will continue to make each platform stronger individually as well as collectively building revenue opportunities in the upcoming year. To begin with, PChome Online Group will utilize a combination of big data and artificial intelligence to power its first core business model in 2018. For example, PChome's Ruten C2C marketplace has access to huge amounts of demographic data that can be sold to sellers and advertisers on the platform as eMarketing tools. Each transaction provides access to data such as age, location, gender, payment type, age group, etc. This data can also help create smarter chat bots, and personalize the shopping experience of consumers. To further expand on this, PChome will provide users with the option of an overall membership which will provide convenience to customers and allow the company to combine the data of every PChome platform (containing over 10 million active members) to provide a huge data pool and revenue stream. The second focus strategy PChome plans to roll out in 2018 is opening up its infrastructure to all players in the ecommerce ecosystem. The order system, applications, logistics, and payment options that PChome has spent nearly two decades building will be available for use on social media platforms, other external websites, and more. Finally, PChome will bolster its mobile commerce efforts to further its share of the growing m-commerce market in Asia-Pacific. According to the eMarketer Asia-Pacific Retail and Ecommerce Sales 2017 Report, Mcommerce sales in Asia-Pacific totaled USD $1.027 trillion in 2017 accounting for 76.1% of ecommerce sales. As of January 2018, PChome's personal store added 100 million new products in a year, and was up to 10 million convenience store pickup deliveries and NT$4 billion turnover in a single month. Additionally, the Ruten platform receives 47 percent of total orders from mobile devices and 51 percent of total traffic to the marketplace is mobile. PChome is dedicated to further expansion in the m-commerce space in 2018.

Comviva’s mobiquity Money crosses 100 Million Mobile Money Customers

Comviva, the global leader in mobility solutions today announced that its flagship mobile money product, “mobiquity® Money”, has crossed the 100 million registered customers mark across 60 deployments in 45 countries. Moreover, the product processes 3.6 billion mobile money transactions, valuing over $60 billion annually. On the occasion of completing a decade of mobiquity® Money, the company also unveiled a coffee table book, chronicling the role the product has played in empowering customers and societies globally. The coffee table book provides a selection of human interest stories from mobile money deployments in Asia, Africa, Middle East and Latin America. The book was unveiled by Marc Rennard, ‎Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Customer Experience and Mobile Banking, ‎Orange Group at the Mobile World Congress, Barcelona. Speaking at the launch, Manoranjan Mohapatra, Chief Executive Officer, Comviva said, “When the history of mobile payments is written, it will be worth recognizing the efforts of the many who overcame multiple challenges, in terms of regulators, the merchant network, banks, consumer trust and behavior, to bring in over 300 million unbanked customers into the financial inclusion fold. In the years to come, as people access all kinds of financial services, it is likely that this group would have played an important part. On the occasion of ten years of transforming lives through mobiquity® Money, I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate our partners who have been with us through this journey.” Unveiling the coffee table book Marc Rennard, ‎Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Customer Experience and Mobile Banking, ‎Orange Group said: “Mobile money is a tremendous tool that improves the welfare of people in underbanked economies, and that can complement banking offers elsewhere in the world. Orange Money and other mobile money services are constantly breaking new grounds in fields as diverse as financial inclusion, women’s health, migrant’s welfare, access to energy, development of small businesses and the progressive building of a cash-light economy. I am delighted to launch this coffee table book that contains a selection of life transforming stories from mobile money deployments across the world.” mobiquity® Money enables a host of mobile money services that has transformed millions of lives across the globe by changing the way money is used, saved and distributed. For example, the facility to transfer and store money digitally on the mobile phone is very handy during emergencies. In Mali, it has helped in the socio-economic empowerment of women by bundling pre-natal care with savings and insurance. In Tanzania, it is allowing non-smartphone users to tap and pay at merchants using an NFC card linked to their mobile money account. In famine and drought hit areas of Africa, it is streamlining financial aid to the needy by streamlining donations. Similarly, mobiquity® Money, in Zimbabwe, is powering remittance services, making it easier for the diaspora to send money to their families.

Comviva’s mobiquity Money crosses 100 Million Mobile Money Customers

SpherePay, Singapore FinTech Company Open Its Cryptocurrency ICO Today, Releasing 4 billion SAY Tokens For Sale

Singapore homegrown mobile payment app company SpherePay officially opens its Initial Coin Offering (ICO) or also known as Initial Token Sale today. Earlier this month, SpherePay announced that it will launch a total of 10 Billion SAY token, of which, 40% will be distributed for sale via ICO. According to their spokesperson, on the day of the announcement of its introduction of SAY, the official token for SpherePay' s cryptocurrency, the company has already received many inquiries from interested buyers from all over the world, from Japan to the United States and many more parts of the globe. "During our pre-sale period, we received many inquiries and show of interest through our Telegram Community Group, Facebook Messages and Emails. We are responding to all inquiries as fast as possible. We will increase the number of our service team immediately to better respond to all inquiries." Said Mr Joseph Chen, CEO of SpherePay. In recent years, the fintech industry have seen a booming growth in the number of cryptocurrencies launched and ICOs happening. SpherePay aims to be in a different ballgame altogether. Their company mission is to revolutionize the entire global peer-to-peer trading ecosystem by being the first in the world to link virtual currency assets to real life via a decentralized sharing economy. This meant that SpherePay's users can utilise their cryptocurrency SAY and others to make actual purchases via the mobile app. "One of objective of us introducing SAY is to solve a problem which has been around for quite some time, it is to transact cryptocurrency in real life. By having SAY on our mobile wallet app SpherePay, we allow users to use our SAY cryptocurrency and other cryptocurrencies to purchase any item in real life via our app. We will soon share with the public how this can be done, via our app. We plan a full "up and running" completion of this integration project by beginning of March, so its not that long from now. Public however can get the SAY token starting from today" Continued the CEO. Starting from today, interested buyers and investors can purchase SAY via exchanging Ethereum (ETH) tokens to SAY tokens on cryptocurrency digital wallet such as MyEtherWallet, ImToken or other wallets which are ERC20 compatible. Buyers and investors are advised not to use any other exchanges to transfer the ETH, only transfers via the digital wallets will be accepted. The current exchange rate of ETH to SAY is 1 ETH to 80,000 SAY and minimum contribution is 0.5 ETH with no personal cap. 50% of SAY purchased in this ICO will have a lock in period until 5th April 2018. The SoftCap for this ICO will be 2 Billion SAY and the ICO will end once it reaches their HardCap. Interested buyers who are not familiar with purchasing cryptocurrencies or have further questions can join the company's official Telegram Community Group at @SAYOfficial. All questions will be answered by the SAYOfficial admin. Alternatively, public could also visit the website at say.spherepay.com to find out more information about SAY token.

JD.com and Fung Retailing Form Artificial Intelligence Partnership

Fung Retailing Limited, with a network of over 3,000 stores, and JD.com (Nasdaq: JD, JD.com or JD.COM), China's largest retailer, today announced a partnership to develop AI-driven retail solutions. According to the agreement signed today, the two companies will cooperate in using AI to transform the retail landscape, and to collaborate in areas including AI platform development and the application of AI to smart retail. The agreement calls for the establishment of an AI Boundaryless Retail Center that will oversee and manage cooperative research and development projects, and facilitate the sharing of information and expertise relating to AI technology. Leveraging AI, and combining JD.com's extensive online expertise and Fung Retailing's offline expertise, the two companies aim to develop a new retail format for China and Asia. This includes creating an AI-driven retail system that seamlessly integrates online and offline retail platforms; developing an end-to-end system that enables the management of products, pricing, storage, order and payment; and enhancing consumer experience through solutions such as AI-driven virtual fitting, unmanned stores and smart shopping assistants. Speaking at the signing, Sabrina Fung, Group Managing Director of Fung Retailing Limited said, "When it comes to the future of retail, and driving the customer experience, AI is an essential component. Across our retail portfolio, AI is a focal point and this co-operation with JD will, without doubt, accelerate our progress." Bowen Zhou, Vice President of JD.com and Head of JD's AI Platform and Research said, "As one of the largest retailers in the world, we believe that figuring out how to deploy AI solutions is critical to our future success. Drawing on Fung Retailing's global offline retail expertise, this partnership will be important for us as we deliver our retail vision." Other areas of focus within the agreement include cooperation on the construction of AI infrastructure, as well as smart retail, creating AI-driven solutions that break down the barriers between online and offline, and exploring the intersection of AI and fashion.

SpherePay, Set To Launch Its Own Cryptocurrency called SAY In Partnership With ODYSSEY (OCN)

South East Asian leading mobile payment platform SpherePay is set to launch its own cryptocurrency in the coming few months. The Singapore founded, and homegrown company will introduce the world's first shared economy blockchain platform in working partnership with ODYSSEY (OCN). This sets another astonishing milestone for a Singapore based company to introduce a new technology on the global scale. Having earlier announced its biggest partnership with oBike that saw the company acquiring over 5 million users in South East Asia, SpherePay has up its game by venturing into the cryptocurrency arena. Within a week of its previous funding round, SpherePay has secured yet another strategic investment from ODYSSEY (OCN), a sharing economy blockchain project initiated by the founding members of Obike. ODYSSEY (OCN) is also the only provider in the shared economy of blockchain project in South East Asia for cryptocurrency transactions. The investment amount was not disclosed. According to SpherePay's development plan, the company will officially open the encrypted currency wallet and QR code payment function in March 2018. This new development will see SpherePay as the only mobile payment platform in the world that enables the virtual currencies to be transacted in real life. This means that users will be able to spend their cryptocurrencies to purchase everyday items via the SpherePay app. The app e-wallet will support various cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, ETH, SAY, OCN and others. Users will now have more mode of payment options from credit card, debit card, SpherePay's Advanced Credit to cryptocurrencies, all stored in one e-wallet. "We look forward to bringing premium cryptocurrencies to the real world with SpherePay's fast-paced ecosystem of blockchain and cryptocurrency which will cover over 400 million people in South East Asia. This innovation will enable our users to pay for their purchases using cryptocurrency whenever they need it." said Mr Joseph Chen, CEO of SpherePay. Accompanying this initiative, SpherePay will launch its own cryptocurrency and official token called SAY, with its ticker symbol as SAY. Its Whitepaper has been released on their official website. SAY is an ERC20 token and ETH ERC20 wallet compatible. The company will release a total of 10 Billion SAY tokens, within this, 40% will be offered on ICO. The company will announce SAY's Initial Coin Offering (ICO) within the next two days, releasing over 6 Billion tokens to the market. Public can subscribe to receive the token during its ICO via the official website at say.spherepay.com

Arsenal Football Club signs world-first cryptocurrency partnership with CashBet Coin

CashBet has announced a landmark partnership with Premier League football club Arsenal FC ahead of the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) of its new cryptocurrency, CashBet Coin designed specifically for iGaming. The first-of-its-kind deal, which makes CashBet Coin the club’s exclusive and official Blockchain Partner, sees Arsenal become the first major team in world football to officially partner with a cryptocurrency. The agreement will give the CashBet Coin brand prominent placement via in-stadium advertising channels for Arsenal home Premier League games at Emirates Stadium. Vinai Venkatesham, Arsenal’s Chief Commercial Officer, said: “We are pleased to welcome CashBet Coin as our partner. We are looking forward to working with CashBet Coin as they launch their new cryptocurrency.” Dr. Mike Reaves, CEO and Founder of CashBet, said: “With our ICO for CashBet Coin, we are actively targeting a global, multi-billion dollar marketplace of iGaming content providers, operators and players. “We are delighted to do so in partnership with one of world football’s true giants in Arsenal, enabling us to build our brand and engage this audience in a meaningful way. “Designed specifically for iGaming, CashBet Coin will improve the online experience for real money, casino, social, skill-based, eSports and sports betting players through increased trust and transparency, faster payouts, reduced fees and dedicated player protection.” The ICO presale will begin on January 24, 2018 at 5:00PM GMT and end on February 20 at 5:00PM GMT, followed by the public sale beginning on March 20 at 5:00PM GMT and continuing until April 27 at 5:00PM GMT.

Mid-summer tech trade show will move to the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in June

CT Lab Global Media has just announced that its official mid-year conference and technology showcase, CE Week, will take place June 20th–21st at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. The change in venue was a decision made shortly after the creation of CT Lab Global Media, a new business entity. The new company is the result of a partnership between IFA, the world’s largest consumer electronics show, and NAPCO Media. In 2017, IFA hosted 250,000 visitors, more than 1,800 exhibitors in more than 1.7 million square feet of sold-out floor space at its annual Berlin-held exhibition, solidifying its role as the leading showcase for the global technology industry. CE Week producer NAPCO Media is a U.S. business-to-business media company and the publisher of Dealerscope, Technology integrator and Connected Design. The selection of the Javits Center, known as a top-tier U.S. venue for hosting many globally significant exhibitions, also signals a pivot in emphasis that is consistent with IFA’s longstanding mission as a world-renowned producer of buyers’ events. CE Week 2018, in line with that, will represent a transition from a predominantly media-oriented show with a retailer presence to a retailer-/distributor-oriented buying event with a media presence. CE Week powered by IFA will remain, as ever, geared towards leaders in the consumer electronics industry, but will now provide a midyear forum for the global retailing and distributor buying communities to conduct actual business with Vendors, in addition to being a gathering place that fosters new relationships. The tradeshow is also the ideal event to generate excitement around upcoming products for the back-to-school and holiday shopping seasons. “We are excited about the opportunity that creating this new alliance affords IFA, and about working with our U.S. partners, who have already established CE Week as a solid foundation. We look forward to building upon that foundation together, bringing to CE Week all of IFA’s strengths to create synergies that will leverage the expertise of our global reach, and that will serve the American CE retailing community even more effectively,” said Jens Heithecker, senior vice president of Messe Berlin Group and IFA Berlin executive director. As it always has in its 11 years, the event will give exhibitors the opportunity to showcase products to the tech industry’s most influential journalists and to meet with key industry partners, channel representatives, and investors. Participants in the show’s history have included LG, Sharp, Pioneer, Samsung, Sony, JVC, Epson, Harman, Kodak, Tiffen, Westinghouse, Onkyo – all of whom are now part of the CE Week Alliance, with right of first choice for premiere booth locations once the show layout is finalized next month. Along with exhibition of new products, the tradeshow showcases numerous conference sessions, awards ceremonies, and networking-themed events. “By way of the new partnership, CT Lab Global Media intends to enrich CE Week with IFA’s strategic show management style. Just as IFA is a core meeting place for key retailers, buyers, and distributors from the industry and the media, CE Week intends to follow the same mantra,” said Eric Schwartz, executive producer of CE Week. Last year, CE Week introduced the Retailer Meetups – a unique networking event that enabled leaders from across the consumer tech spectrum to connect, exchange ideas, and build relationships by way of one-on-one meetings. Of those surveyed at the event, 100 percent expected that some or all of the relationships forged at the CEWEEK Retailer Meetups would be useful to their business in the next 12 months. To add further growth to the Retailer Meetups, IFA said it will add key global retailers, distributors, and buying groups to the event. The Retailer Meetups will be held on June 19th, the day before CE Week exhibits open. CEWeek 2018 will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, June 20th-21st, 2018. For more information, please visit www.ceweekny.com or call Eric Schwartz-Executive Producer +1 215-238-5420 or email: eschwartz@napco.com

[KITA KGSF 2017] 2017 Startup Challenge Platform Demo Day ‘Company IR’ – SKYMAP

On November 28, ‘10th Korea Grand Sourcing Fair 2017' was held at COEX D Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The ‘10th Korea Grand Sourcing Fair 2017', which will be held until the November 29th, will connect Korean with overseas and regional large distribution corporations, manufacturing companies, and consumer goods import vendors for both on-line and off-line to support the export of domestic products through a large global distribution network. The event, which will be held for the 10th time since 2008, is sponsored by Korea International Trade Association (KITA), sponsored by Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and KB Kookmin Bank. '2017 Startup Challenge Platform Demo Day', an incidental event of ‘10th Korea Grand Sourcing Fair 2017', is an exhibition as well as demo day of '6-month Challenge Platform' progressed by Seoul Center for Creative Economy and Innovation. It is prepared by Seoul Center for Creative Economy and Innovation to raise the opportunities of investment and business linkage by informing the accomplishments of the startups that were fostered through the project period to private accelerator and investing institutions. 'Company IR,' one of the main events of '2017 Startup Challenge Platform Demo Day', is prepared for the selected companies to introduce their outcomes, targeting domestic angel investors, accelerators, and VCs, and 6 companies participated. In this event, 6 start-up companies supported by Seoul Center for Creative Economy and Innovation are presented to their company and business items. SKYMAP (CEO: Daewook Jeong) introduced their ‘3D Web GIS Engine’ develop supported by Seoul Center for Creative Economy and Innovation. SKYMAP’s High Quality Three Demensional Web GIS Engine implements Repetive Pattern of Texture using computer vision and deep learning. This Web GIS engine will be used at Smart City Solution, 3D game and VR/AR ▲ SKYMAP introduced their 3D Web GIS engine through this ‘Company IR’ events. ▲ Already, they have some experience of develop 3D GIS engine for web services.

[KITA KGSF 2017] 2017 Startup Challenge Platform Demo Day ‘Company IR’ – AMBITIONEM

On November 28, ‘10th Korea Grand Sourcing Fair 2017' was held at COEX D Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The ‘10th Korea Grand Sourcing Fair 2017', which will be held until the November 29th, will connect Korean with overseas and regional large distribution corporations, manufacturing companies, and consumer goods import vendors for both on-line and off-line to support the export of domestic products through a large global distribution network. The event, which will be held for the 10th time since 2008, is sponsored by Korea International Trade Association (KITA), sponsored by Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and KB Kookmin Bank. '2017 Startup Challenge Platform Demo Day', an incidental event of ‘10th Korea Grand Sourcing Fair 2017', is an exhibition as well as demo day of '6-month Challenge Platform' progressed by Seoul Center for Creative Economy and Innovation. It is prepared by Seoul Center for Creative Economy and Innovation to raise the opportunities of investment and business linkage by informing the accomplishments of the startups that were fostered through the project period to private accelerator and investing institutions. 'Company IR,' one of the main events of '2017 Startup Challenge Platform Demo Day', is prepared for the selected companies to introduce their outcomes, targeting domestic angel investors, accelerators, and VCs, and 6 companies participated. In this event, 6 start-up companies supported by Seoul Center for Creative Economy and Innovation are presented to their company and business items. AMBITIONEM (CEO: SUNGBIN KIM) introduced ‘DIY backpack’ of their own ‘AMBITIONEM’ brand develop supported by Seoul Center for Creative Economy and Innovation. AMBITIONEM is a world map backpack which marks the countries you have been traveled. This product is available in two sizes, 60 liters and 40 liters, depending on the itinerary or body type. Customizable colors for the map on the backpack are gold, silver and national flag colors. ▲ AMBITIONEM introduced world map backpack which marks the countries you have been traveled.

[KITA KGSF 2017] 2017 Startup Challenge Platform Demo Day ‘Company IR’ – LEEDEYEON

On November 28, ‘10th Korea Grand Sourcing Fair 2017' was held at COEX D Hall in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. The ‘10th Korea Grand Sourcing Fair 2017', which will be held until the November 29th, will connect Korean with overseas and regional large distribution corporations, manufacturing companies, and consumer goods import vendors for both on-line and off-line to support the export of domestic products through a large global distribution network. The event, which will be held for the 10th time since 2008, is sponsored by Korea International Trade Association (KITA), sponsored by Ministry of Industry, Trade and Energy and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and KB Kookmin Bank. '2017 Startup Challenge Platform Demo Day', an incidental event of ‘10th Korea Grand Sourcing Fair 2017', is an exhibition as well as demo day of '6-month Challenge Platform' progressed by Seoul Center for Creative Economy and Innovation. It is prepared by Seoul Center for Creative Economy and Innovation to raise the opportunities of investment and business linkage by informing the accomplishments of the startups that were fostered through the project period to private accelerator and investing institutions. 'Company IR,' one of the main events of '2017 Startup Challenge Platform Demo Day', is prepared for the selected companies to introduce their outcomes, targeting domestic angel investors, accelerators, and VCs, and 6 companies participated. In this event, 6 start-up companies supported by Seoul Center for Creative Economy and Innovation are presented to their company and business items. LEEDEYEON (CEO: Yeontaek Lee) introduced their ‘Aromize’, the smart converged diffuser, develop supported by Seoul Center for Creative Economy and Innovation. Unlike the standard diffuser that only diffuse one kind of scent constantly, Aromize, the smart converged diffuser, is a device that users can choose the scent due to their mental state and moods. Aromize is a device that can be installed with various capsules of scent. If necessary, the scent can be easily changed by one button. ▲ LEEDEYEON introduced ‘Aromize’, the smart converged diffuser. ▲ LEEDEYEON’s products are displayed in showcase space of this demo day.

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