Hong Kong – 2023 Innovation and Technology Support Programme (Platform & Seed) open for applications

Jul 24, 2023 | International

2023 Innovation and Technology Support Programme (Platform & Seed) open for applications

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     The Innovation and Technology Commission is inviting applications for the 2023 Innovation and Technology Support Programme (ITSP) (Platform & Seed) from today (July 24) until October 27.
 
     The ITSP (Platform & Seed) provides funding support for platform and seed research and development (R&D) projects undertaken by designated local public research institutes and R&D centres. Platform projects are applied R&D projects that are industry-oriented and have potential for commercialisation, while seed projects are exploratory and forward-looking projects.
 
     Further information is available on the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) website (www.itf.gov.hk/en/funding-programmes/supporting-research/itsp/itsp-platform-seed/index.html). For enquiries, please contact the ITF Secretariat (Tel: 3655 5678; email: enquiry@itf.gov.hk).

IBO Technology Appoints New Management

Jul 5, 2023 | Business

IBO Technology Company Limited (“IBO Technology” or the “Company”, together with its subsidiaries, the “Group”; stock code: 2708.HK) announces the appointment of Mr. Zhong Zhi Xiong and Mr. Jin Zi as co-chief executive officer and independent non-executive Director respectively, with effect from 3 July 2023.

Mr. Zhong Zhi Xiong has extensive industry knowledge and solid management experience in the electronic cigarette industry in the PRC, and he is also a top management talent in the relevant industry. He has been the general manager of Shenzhen CCMIC Electronics Co., Ltd. Since April 2018, and has been involved in the fields of pre-filled atomised electronic cigarettes, pre-filled HNB electronic cigarettes, semiconductor/integrated circuits in the electronic cigarette industry, automotive supplies, office supplies, e-commerce and other industries 0-1 or equity investment, A shares and secondary market in Hong Kong and the United States. With his relevant experience in the electronic cigarette industry in PRC and his outstanding leadership skills, Mr. Zhong Zhi Xiong will help the Group speed up its development of electronic cigarette industry in the PRC, thus continuously making a big step forward despite the challenges ahead.

Recently, the Group has been actively exploring the highly potential electronic cigarette industry in the PRC, with a view to diversifying the development of its hardware business. On 29 May 2023, the Group announced an investment of an amount in RMB which is equal to HK$40 million (equivalent to RMB36,035,600) in 5.00% of the share capital of Hangzhou Yixin Micro Technology Co., Ltd.* (“Hangzhou Yixin”), a company that integrates the research and development, production and sales of constant pressure and constant power airflow sensing chips. Hangzhou Yixin holds a number of patents on constant pressure and constant power airflow sensing chips. The Group is entitled to further invest in Hangzhou Yixin to hold 35% to 46% of its share capital and become its controlling shareholder in the future. The “airflow sensing chip” is one of the main components of electronic atomisation equipment, while the Group plans to increase its investment in the PRC’s electronic cigarette market through further investment in Hangzhou Yixin, in order to capitalise on the growth potential of relevant business and broaden the source of revenue. The appointment of Mr. Zhong Zhi Xiong will facilitate the Group’s in-depth deployment in the electronic cigarette market in the PRC and the identification of more suitable business partners, thus reinforcing the rapid development of relevant business and building a solid foundation for future development.

Mr. Jin Zi has extensive experience in asset management, global asset allocation, investment advisory and research on global macro and investment strategies. Mr. Jin Zi is the co-founder of Coronation Capital Limited in October 2020 and is currently the responsible officer of Coronation Capital Limited since December 2021. In the past, Mr. Jin Zi was an analyst at the Royal Bank of Scotland (Formerly ABN Amro Bank), provided trading support in Commerzbank AG and acted as the executive director of J.P. Morgan Chase Bank, Private Banking. The management believes that his new role will help the Group maintain good corporate governance, while his acumen in macroeconomics will provide the Group with a constructive strategic direction, thus leading the Group towards more remarkable developments.

Mr. LAI Tse Ming, Chairman and Executive Director of IBO Technology, said, “2023 is a golden period for the Group’s diversified business development. We are pleased to welcome Mr. Zhong Zhi Xiong and Mr. Jin Zi to the Group. We are confident that they will lead the Group to a new milestone, meanwhile their extensive industry experience will bring new impetus to the Group and strengthen the management team. Looking forward, the Group will continue to operate under prudent commercial principles, whilst stepping up its effort in the PRC’s electronic cigarette industry and turning it into one of the Group’s business focuses. We expect that the new business will complement the Group’s existing businesses to form a complete business model and industrial ecosystem, promoting the Group to grow its business scale on the one hand, and creating a unique core strength on the other.”

About IBO Technology Company Limited
IBO Technology Company Limited (Stock code: 2708.HK), a leading digital solutions provider, is principally engaged in providing 5G communication equipment and private network solutions, ITAI terminal products and industry solutions, IoT products and solutions, as well as industrial digital solutions in the PRC. The Group’s businesses mainly cover four areas, namely (i) intelligent terminal products sales; (ii) system integration; (iii) software development; and (iv) system maintenance services. With nearly 20 years penetration in the IoT industry, the Group serves customers from both the public and private sectors in the PRC, including government authorities, large-scale state-owned enterprises and private enterprises. On 29 May 2023, IBO Technology Company Limited announced an investment in Hangzhou Yixin Micro Technology Co., Ltd.*, in order to commence chip manufacturing business.

For more details, please visit: http://www.ibotech.hk/

* The English name is not the official name and is translated for reference purpose only.


Topic: Press release summary

Strategic Technology Solutions (STS) Has Ranked on Channel Futures 2023 MSP 501

Jun 28, 2023 | Business

 STS, for the fifth year in a row, has been named as one of the world’s premier managed service providers in the prestigious 2023 Channel Futures MSP 501 rankings.

For the past 17 years, managed service providers around the globe have submitted applications for inclusion on this prestigious and definitive listing. The Channel Futures MSP 501 survey examines organizational performance based on annual sales, recurring revenue, profit margins, revenue mix, growth, innovation and supported technologies.

MSPs that qualify for the list must pass a rigorous review conducted by the research team and editors of Channel Futures. It ranks applicants using a unique methodology that weighs financial performance according to long-term health and viability, commitment to recurring revenue and operational efficiency.

Channel Futures is pleased to name STS to the 2023 MSP 501, ranking 142 overall.

James Waryck, CEO of STS had this to say, “This is first and foremost a team effort, one that adheres to the STS Core Values, an integral part that drives our organization to this level of recognition and success. We strive for excellence, accountability, and continuous improvement day in and day out here at STS. I’m proud of our team and I thank them for their dedication, teamwork, and support.”

This year’s list is one of the most competitive in the survey’s history. Winners will be recognized on the Channel Futures website and honored during a special ceremony at the Channel Futures Leadership Summit, Oct. 30-Nov. 2, in Miami, Florida.

Since its inception, the MSP 501 has evolved from a competitive ranking into a vibrant group of innovators focused on high levels of customer satisfaction at small, medium, and large organizations in public and private sectors. Many of their services and technology offerings focus on customer needs in the areas of cloud, security, collaboration, and hybrid work forces.

“The 2023 Channel Futures MSP 501 winners persevered through challenging times to become the highest-performing and most innovative IT providers in the industry today,” said Jeff O’Heir, Channel Futures senior news editor and MSP 501 project manager. “The MSP 501 ranking doesn’t award MSPs solely on their size and revenue. It acknowledges the business acumen, best practices, and trusted advice they deliver to customers every day. They deserve the honor.”

“We extend our heartfelt congratulations to the 2023 winners, and gratitude to the thousands of MSPs that have contributed to the continuing growth and success of the managed services sector,” said Kelly Danziger, general manager of Informa Tech Channels. “These providers are most certainly driving a new wave of innovation in the industry and are demonstrating a commitment to moving the MSP and entire channel forward.”

The data collected by the annual NextGen 101 and MSP 501 drive Channel Futures’ market intelligence insights, creating robust data sets and data-based trend reports that support their editorial coverage, event programming, community and networking strategies and educational offerings.

Background

The 2023 MSP 501 list is based on confidential data collected and analyzed by the Channel Futures research and editorial teams. Data was collected online from February to May, 2023. The MSP 501 list recognizes top managed service providers based on metrics including recurring revenue, profit margin and other factors.

Strategic Technology Solutions has over 15 years of experience in the managed IT services space. It specializes in providing cybersecurity and managed IT services to the legal industry and is proud to be one of the only providers that hold the SSAE-21 SOC 2 Type II certification.

For more information on Strategic Technology Solutions (STS), please visit https://stspartner.com.

STS partners with and supports law firms throughout the US.

For more information:

Strategic Technology Solutions
Michael Ubaldini
310-995-2649
www.stspartner.com

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Japan – NEC Technology Successfully Predicts High Risk Areas for Presence of Landmines

Mar 30, 2023 | Business

NEC Corporation (TSE: 6701) has successfully conducted experiments with AI to predict the likelihood of landmines being buried in certain areas. This project was conducted to contribute to the reduction of casualties from landmines and to support their safe, prompt, and efficient removal. As a result of this work, it was confirmed that the most likely position of landmines can be predicted with a high degree of accuracy (about 90%). This work was conducted as part of a co-creation project with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that began in June 2021.

Comparison between the AI-predicted mine burial area (red circles) and the actual burial location (yellow-green dots)
(Pre-identify the area to be predicted by AI (red square frame))

Landmines are often placed so that they are difficult to detect, and because they are buried in areas where people and vehicles frequently pass, they continue to pose a threat to human life, even after conflicts have ended. In 2021, the number of casualties caused by Explosive Remnants of War (ERW), such as cluster bombs and landmines, reached 5,554 worldwide, most of which were civilians(1). In addition, land development is difficult in areas where landmines may be buried, hindering economic development.

For this project, NEC received open data from the ICRC, such as geographical and geological information, data that included the locations of habitation and important buildings, as well as reports from residents. NEC’s AI then selected and analyzed the information to predict areas with a high probability of landmines. Based on information about conflict areas, NEC has used this technology to achieve a prediction match rate of approximately 90%, with the predictions indicating both likely landmine areas and areas that are likely free from landmines(2).

As a result, it will be possible for the small number of demining experts and personnel around the world to survey larger areas of land faster and at a lower cost. The first stages of demining conventionally require many people and a great deal of time to sort through large amounts of data and information. By using AI to sort (or “harmonize”) this data and information, human experts can focus on making decisions about where to conduct landmine removal in the most efficient way.

Going forward, the system will also incorporate new sources of data such as remote sensing (e.g., data gathered from drones and satellites), to further improve the speed and accuracy of forecasts. Moreover, by March 2024, NEC aims to provide an AI-enabled prediction solution for landmine areas to governments and international organizations around the world. This project is aligned with NEC’s vision to realize a sustainable society in which everyone can reach their full potential by integrating advanced ICT and knowledge for the benefit of all.

(1) Survey results by the international NGO “Landmine and Cluster Munition Monitor”
new windowhttp://the-monitor.org/en-gb/reports/2022/landmine-monitor-2022/major-findings.aspx
(2) This demonstration was conducted in areas where the location of landmines was already known. However, the AI analysis was conducted without using any information on the actual location of landmines.

About NEC Corporation

NEC Corporation has established itself as a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies while promoting the brand statement of “Orchestrating a brighter world.” NEC enables businesses and communities to adapt to rapid changes taking place in both society and the market as it provides for the social values of safety, security, fairness and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. For more information, visit NEC at https://www.nec.com.

Copyright ©2023 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Japan Corporate News Network.

GigaCloud Technology Inc Ushering In A Bright Future As China Reopening in 2023

Mar 24, 2023 | Business


HONG KONG, Mar 24, 2023 – (ACN Newswire) – In the past three years, with the weakness of overseas consumption and the impact of the new crown epidemic, the pattern of overseas shopping is changing considerably. People’s shopping habits gradually shift from the original cross-border e-commerce to interest e-commerce and AI e-commerce. China, the world’s largest goods trader, will reopen in 2023. Thousands of buyers and sellers are flocking to the new cross-border e-commerce led by TikTok, Pinduoduo, and GigaCloud. GigaCloud Technology Inc, which went public at the end of last year, once again impresses investors with its remarkable financial performance and demonstrates its superior strength and unlimited potential.

Source: Prospectus

First, Remarkable 2022 financial performance with impressive 3P Seller

On March 17, GigaCloud Technology Inc (Nasdaq: GCT) (“GigaCloud” or the “Company”) released its financial results for the fourth quarter of 2022 (“Q4-22”) and the full year of 2022 (“FY22”). Total revenues were US$490 million for FY22. Net income was US$23.97 million for FY22, including US$12.48 million in Q4-22, an increase of 34% compared to last year; operating profit for the year reached US$41.84 million, including US$15.19 million in Q4-22, an increase of 35% compared to last year; meanwhile, net cash flow from operating for FY22 increased by 480% to US$49.66 million, with the growth rate far exceeding market expectations.

Regarding specific products, 3P seller GMV grew 64% year-on-year to US$258 million in FY2022. GigaCloud Marketplace GMV grew 25% year-on-year to US$518 million, with a steady growth trend in trading users, with active buyers growing 17% year-on-year to 4,156 in FY22 and active sellers growing 47% year-on-year to 560 in FY22.

GigaCloud has formed a specific brand effect in the large merchandise foreign trade industry through its technology and scale effect. In particular, the performance of 3P seller was impressive. 3P seller GigaCloud Marketplace GMV was US$257.7 million in FY22, growing significantly compared to last year. 3P seller GigaCloud Marketplace GMV represented 50% of total GigaCloud Marketplace GMV in Q4-22 for the first time, showing a rapid growth trend.

Second, GigaCloud can release great potential as China reopens in 2023 to create a prosperous cross-border trade environment

1. Global leading B2B e-commerce solution provider – GigaCloud Technology Inc (GCT.US)

GigaCloud is currently the world’s most advanced B2B e-commerce solution provider, mainly providing optimal cross-border solutions that allow products to be delivered from manufacturers and online distributors to terminal customers without borders. Through its unique artificial intelligence technology, GigaCloud digitizes sellers’ credit profiles and then combines that data with the capacity of local warehouses, significantly increasing the utilization of warehouses. From the perspective of sales per unit area, GigaCloud enables the delivery of more goods than competitors.

In August 2022, GigaCloud went public on NASDAQ and was one of the few cross-border e-commerce platforms with AI technology. As of March 2022, GigaCloud Marketplace, GigaCloud’s unique self-built stations, had 410 active 3p sellers and 3,782 active buyers. In the 12 months ended March 31, 2022, GigaCloud Marketplace GMV was US$438 million and spend per active buyer was US$116,000, showing that users are more willing to pay.

2. Well-developed logistics systems and outstanding self-built stations

In the course of e-commerce development, logistics is the foundation and support of e-commerce development, and the importance of logistics is self-evident. And relying on traditional cross-border logistics to transport goods has been difficult to meet the current needs of the rapid development of cross-border e-commerce. The traditional cross-border logistics sends parcels to consumers, which has the disadvantages of slow delivery, slow customs clearance, easy-to-lose packages, difficult to return, etc., and is also very easy to be restricted by the immigration policies of various countries.

In this context, the birth of overseas warehouses greatly solves the emergence of such problems. Overseas warehouses are established locally and used to store goods, so warehouses can directly dispatch goods after buyers place orders, which not only reduces the logistics costs of cross-border e-commerce merchants, but also avoids the drawback of long waiting time for buyers. Therefore, having a perfect warehouse and logistics network is the most favorable strength for cross-border e-merchants.

GigaCloud has operated 21 large-scale warehouses in North America, Europe, and four Asian countries. The warehouses have significantly optimized buyers’ shopping experience while also greatly reducing merchants’ high logistics costs and delivery time. GigaCloud currently has a total storage space of over 4 million square feets, covering 11 destination ports, with more than 10,000 containers per year, and has strong logistics and transportation advantages.

Meanwhile, GigaCloud also has the best AI system currently available, which can generate seller ratings and credit profiles through transaction volume and reasonably allocate warehouse delivery times based on credit ratings, thus significantly improving warehouse utilization. At the same time, GigaCloud also has an extensive shipping and trucking network, providing customers with fixed rates below market standards (FedEx, UPS) despite high shipping rates running at high costs.

GigaCloud’s largest market is now mainly in the U.S. The Company also has in-depth cooperation with Rakuten in Japan, Walmart and Amazon in the U.S., and Wayfair in the U.K.. Moreover, the GigaCloud Marketplace, the Company’s self-built station, has done quite well. In 2020, GigaCloud Marketplace had 210 active third-party sellers and 1,689 active buyers. Furthermore, GigaCloud Marketplace GMV reached over US$190 million. The number is still growing. As of March 2022, there were over 3,700 active buyers on the GigaCloud Marketplace, with GigaCloud Marketplace GMV exceeding US$440 million. The average annual expenditure per buyer on GigaCloud was US$116,000, showing outstanding microtargeting.

3. GigaCloud’s current share price is cost-efficient and its P/B is low

GigaCloud currently has 3 main businesses, Gigacloud 1P, Off-platform ecommerce and GigaCloud 3P, which account for 45.45%, 30.81% and 23.74% of the Company’s revenues, respectively. According to the prospectus, GigaCloud’s total revenues in the past three years (2019, 2020, 2021) were US$122 million, US$276 million, and US$414 million, representing 125.3% and 50.4% year-over-year growth in 2020 and 2021, respectively; gross profits were US$22.2 million, US$75.1 million, and US$89.6 million, with 238% and 19.3% year-on-year growth in 2020 and 2021, respectively, representing 18.1%, 27.3% and 21.6% of total revenues, respectively. Under the global pandemic of Covid-19 and lingering weakness in overseas consumption, having such a growth trend is already a good achievement for the Company.

As of the closing quotation on March 17, 2023, GigaCloud’s share price was US$5.27 per share, the after-hours price was US$5.26 per share, and the P/B was 1.098X. Amazon (AMZN.US)’s P/B is 6.94X, and Ebay’s P/B is 4.38X. Regarding the P/B, GigaCloud’s current share price is cost-efficient. From the perspective of the P/E, GigaCloud’s P/ETTM is 9.31X, and P/ELYR is 9.31X, which are at the average of the industry level.

4. Global consumption is weak, while China market has more development opportunities

Most sellers are adopting a conservative stocking strategy in 2022 due to weak overseas consumption and shipping costs still running at a high level. According to the data from YUGUO’s research, 64% of sellers are reducing the amount of stocking, 22% are preparing normally, and only 14% said they would increase the amount of stocking for the peak season.

In addition, cross-border logistics enterprises have also suffered setbacks. High inflation in Europe and the U.S., changing overseas tariff policies, and frequent overseas inspection and supervision have harmed some goods, logistics routes, and even prices. According to the data from Shanghai Shipping Exchange, Shanghai Containerized Freight Index (SCFI) exceeded 5,000 points in January 2022, while the index dropped to 1,031.42 points as of January 13, 2023, with a significant decline in shipping prices.

With the rise in logistics and various labor costs, several cross-border platforms also raised the fees for related services last year: Tiktok shop launched a cross-border store margin policy, Amazon raised FBA fees for multiple stations, and Pinduoduo’s TEMU also reduced the proportion of shipping costs borne by the platform itself. Due to the dual pressure of platform and logistics, the number of containers in the U.S. in December 2022 was 19.3% lower than in December 2021, according to data published by Descartes, with a significant surplus of shipping space. Although the liner transport companies took the initiative to reduce the actual capacity allocation, transport prices continued to fall as supply outpaced demand.

China is the world’s largest country in goods trade. As China reopens in 2023, China is expected to bring extraordinary vitality to the global market. According to data from Intelligence Research Group, from 2017 to 2022, the market size of China’s export cross-border e-commerce has remained stable at more than 75%, and the market size of China’s imported cross-border e-commerce is RMB 3.2 trillion in 2021, accounting for 22.54% of the total cross-border e-commerce market size.

As the market penetration of global e-commerce continues to rise, the Chinese market will release more significant potential. With the high-quality transformation and upgrading of the domestic manufacturing industry, the production quality and efficiency of domestic processing and manufacturing are significantly improved. As “Made in China” moves to the international stage, it will also drive the rapid growth of China’s cross-border e-commerce demand.

Third, with the rapid recovery of cross-border e-commerce, GigaCloud will usher in a bright future

Cross-border e-commerce is the most direct way of economic trade between countries, and its strategic position is unshakable. Although the global economy is slightly weak at present, the domestic market scale of cross-border e-commerce has maintained steady growth year-round. In addition, in January 2023, China’s Ministry of Finance and three other departments jointly issued the “Announcement on Tax Policy of Goods Returned from Cross-border E-commerce Export” to introduce VAT, consumption tax and tariff exemptions to encourage the development of cross-border e-commerce, which will increase the business volume of cross-border e-commerce and drive domestic export business. In addition, as China reopens in 2023 after epidemic, the cross-border trade is expected to return to the pre-epidemic state.

GigaCloud has formed a specific brand effect in the large merchandise foreign trade industry. The self-built stations and AI algorithms for warehousing and logistics have brought cost advantages to sellers and established a unique strength in the ecology. The total revenue of GigaCloud Marketplace, the Company’s self-built station, has grown at a high rate of more than 50% in the past three years against a background of global epidemic and sluggish market environment, demonstrating the Company’s competitiveness. From the 2022 financial report, 3P Seller has also gradually become a profit growth point for the Company. 3P seller GigaCloud Marketplace GMV represented 50% of total GigaCloud Marketplace GMV in Q4-22 for the first time, showing a rapid growth trend. However, a certain interest rate spread exists between the Company’s current share price and its real value. Compared with Amazon and eBay, GigaCloud’s current P/B (1.098X) appears to be more valuable. With the extensive self-built warehouse layout and cutting-edge digital technology, GigaCloud will stand out from its competitors by leveraging its unique advantages and will bring long-term and stable investment returns to investors.


Topic: Press release summary

Sectors: Retail & eCommerce

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