Media OutReach Newswire- Press Releases

CUHK strengthens Hong Kong-Shenzhen medical collaboration to advance a new vision for academic and healthcare development in the GBA

2026-10-30T16:50:00+08:00

CUHK’s Dean of Medicine Professor Philip Chiu Wai-yan appointed Dean of Medicine at CUHK-Shenzhen Leveraging the two CUHK medical centres in Hong Kong and Shenzhen to foster an international hub for medical talent and innovation in the region

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 October 2026 – The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) has been deeply engaged in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) for more than two decades. Through 45 years of dedicated development, the CUHK Faculty of Medicine (CU Medicine) has become a world-leading medical school. Recognising the immense growth potential and future healthcare needs of the GBA, CUHK will fulfill its distinctive "One Brand, Two Campuses" vision, integrate the complementary strengths of its campuses in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and advance cross-campus collaboration by appointing Professor Philip Chiu Wai-yan, Dean of Medicine at CUHK, to concurrently serve as Dean of Medicine at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen (CUHK-Shenzhen). Professor Chiu will also be appointed as Associate Vice President (Medical Affairs) of CUHK-Shenzhen, with a term aligned with his current tenure as Dean of Medicine at CUHK. The appointments will take effect on 1 November 2026. He will oversee the strategic development, academic planning and collaboration initiatives of both medical schools, while leading global recruitment efforts to attract top medical talent.

CUHK's Dean of Medicine Professor Philip Chiu appointed Dean of Medicine at CUHK-Shenzhen

This appointment marks a significant strategic move under the "One Brand, Two Campuses" vision. It will further strengthen the capabilities and advantages of both campuses in medical education, translational research and clinical excellence. By leveraging the crucial clinical and research platforms provided by the two CUHK medical centres in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, CUHK aims to advance medical innovation and the internationalisation of medical education, cultivate top global healthcare professionals, elevate regional healthcare standards and serve the broader GBA. The initiative is also aligned with the National 15th Five-Year Plan and the First Five-Year Plan of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Under the governance and management framework of CUHK, Professor Chiu will be accountable to both CUHK and CUHK-Shenzhen campuses. He also serves as a member of the Board of Directors of CUHK Medical Centre. Under his leadership, the two medical schools will further deepen collaboration under their respective governance principles and frameworks, making full use of the two teaching hospitals, namely CUHK Medical Centre and CUHK-Shenzhen Medical Centre, to enhance clinical research capacity, accelerate the translation of cutting-edge medical technologies, strengthen medical talent development and contribute to improving medical education and clinical research across the GBA.

Deep roots in the GBA and a strong foundation of Hong Kong-Shenzhen collaboration

CUHK has maintained a presence in the GBA for more than 20 years. As early as 2006, it co-established the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, gradually building a multi-layered network of academic, research and healthcare partnerships. Founded in 2014, CUHK-Shenzhen inherits CUHK's educational philosophy to "combine tradition with modernity, and to bring together China and the West". It serves as CUHK's campus in Shenzhen and extends CUHK's educational brand into the GBA.

To support the national GBA development strategy, CUHK and CUHK-Shenzhen have prioritised medical collaboration since 2018 through the establishment of the School of Medicine at CUHK-Shenzhen and the development of a comprehensive teaching hospital. The two campuses will maintain close strategic coordination in management and development. while continuing collaboration in teaching, research and talent cultivation.

Drawing on the experience of CU Medicine, these initiatives aim to nurture healthcare professionals with international perspectives, professional excellence and humanistic values to meet the healthcare and public health needs of the GBA, as well as the nation as a whole.

Strategic appointment to realise the synergy of "One Brand, Two Campuses"

Professor John Chai Yat-chiu, Chairman of the CUHK Council, highly commended the appointment: "As an important manifestation of the 'One Brand, Two Campuses' strategy, this dual-appointment brings together the medical research strengths and advantages of Hong Kong and Shenzhen. It will expand the clinical research network and educational platforms of both medical schools, enhance the Greater Bay Area's competitiveness in international medical innovation and cultivate globally-minded healthcare talent. It will also help attract leading medical professionals from around the world to the region, creating mutual benefits for the development of academic medicine and healthcare systems across the Greater Bay Area, while supporting the National 15th Five-Year Plan and the First Five-Year Plan of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region."

Professor Dennis Lo Yuk-ming, CUHK's Vice-Chancellor and President and Chairman of the Governing Board of CUHK-Shenzhen, said: "Rooted in Hong Kong, contributing to the nation and connected to the world, CUHK is taking an important step in focusing on the long-term development of the Greater Bay Area and advancing its strategic footprint in healthcare innovation across the region through this appointment. Professor Philip Chiu's outstanding academic achievements and international vision make him exceptionally well suited for this role. Under his leadership, the two medical schools will deepen collaboration while adhering to the established governance principles, injecting new momentum into the development of medical technology and higher education in Hong Kong, Shenzhen and across the nation."

Professor Xu Yangsheng, President of CUHK-Shenzhen, warmly welcomed Professor Chiu's appointment: "Since its establishment, the School of Medicine at CUHK-Shenzhen has been committed to developing a world-class system for medical education and research, raising healthcare standards across the Greater Bay Area and the broader nation. Professor Chiu is internationally renowned and possesses extensive leadership experience. We look forward to his leadership in accelerating the growth of the medical school, attracting outstanding global talent and serving the healthcare and public health needs of the Greater Bay Area, as well as the nation as a whole."

Professor Chiu expressed his gratitude and shared his vision for the future: "Strengthening collaboration between Hong Kong and Shenzhen in medical education and research is key to driving high-quality healthcare development in the Greater Bay Area and across the wider nation. I will devote my full efforts to fostering deep-level synergy between the two medical schools across education, research and clinical innovation to achieve a powerful '1 + 1 > 2' effect. This appointment will enable CU Medicine to further expand its clinical data and translational research platforms, reinforcing Hong Kong's position as an international hub for medical innovation. At the same time, it will accelerate the internationalisation of the School of Medicine at CUHK-Shenzhen, attract top-tier medical talent and drive breakthroughs at the frontiers of medicine. Through close collaboration between the two campuses, we aim to align with the national "Healthy China" agenda and the Greater Bay Area's innovation development strategy, jointly building a globally influential hub for medical innovation and talent development."

This strategic cross-boundary appointment reflects the forward-looking strategic vision and holistic perspective of both Hong Kong and Shenzhen. CU Medicine has a strong foundation in medical education, clinical services, frontier research and healthcare innovation, while Shenzhen offers a vibrant innovation ecosystem and significant opportunities for clinical research and technology translation.

By serving concurrently as dean of both medical schools, Professor Chiu will help align and complement the development strategies of the two institutions, strengthen communication and coordination, capitalise on the unique advantages of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, support the advancement of the School of Medicine at CUHK-Shenzhen toward greater internationalisation and academic excellence, and expand CUHK's footprint in healthcare innovation.

This initiative not only serves as a key measure to align with the national GBA strategy and support the implementation of the "Healthy China" agenda, but also represents a visionary, epoch-making alignment with the global frontier of medicine. It will inject powerful momentum into jointly building an internationally influential medical technology innovation ecosystem across both cities, while advancing the development of human health and healthcare worldwide.

CUHK website: https://www.cuhk.edu.hk/
CUHK-Shenzhen website: https://www.cuhk.edu.cn/
Video of CUHK Integrating into the Greater Bay Area: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uTZtdXKJu-Q

Hashtag: #CUHK #CUHKShenzhen #CUMedicine #PhilipChiu #OneBrandTwoCampuses #GreaterBayArea #MedicalInnovation #HealthcareInnovation #MedicalEducation #TranslationalResearch #GlobalTalent #HealthyChina

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

YF Life Proudly Claims Two Top 3 Accolades at the Hong Kong Insurance Awards 2026

2026-10-30T16:10:00+08:00

Demonstrating Leadership in Robust Risk Governance and Strategic Partnerships

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 October 2026 – YF Life Insurance International Ltd. ("YF Life") has achieved outstanding recognition at the prestigious Hong Kong Insurance Awards 2026. Leveraging its forward-looking business strategies and exceptional innovative strength, YF Life stood out among top industry competitors to win two Top 3 honors: the "Outstanding Risk Management Award (Top 3)" and the "Best Partnership Project Award (Top 3)". This recognition highlights YF Life's leadership in corporate governance, cross-sector synergy, and driving industry excellence.

YF Life Proudly Claims Two Top 3 Accolades at the Hong Kong Insurance Awards 2026

Agile Enterprise Risk Management Framework Builds Solid Business Foundation

Receiving the "Outstanding Risk Management Award (Top 3)" validates YF Life's excellence in Enterprise Risk Management (ERM). Moving beyond passive compliance, YF Life transforms risk management into a strategic business enabler that drives sustainable growth. The company pioneers responsible AI risk governance, implementing a tiered, risk-proportional architecture with "Human-in-the-Loop" oversight, Data Loss Prevention (DLP), and active participation in regulatory sandboxes. Coupled with zero-trust cloud resilience and a multidisciplinary team, YF Life ensures robust business continuity while balancing technological innovation with stringent safeguards to build deep trust with clients.

Strategic Alliance with Barings Leads the "Invesurance" Ecosystem

In the "Best Partnership Project Award (Top 3)" category, YF Life's long-standing strategic alliance with Barings was highly commended by the judging panel. Over the past two decades, the two partners have jointly developed Hong Kong's premier "Invesurance" ecosystem, seamlessly integrating world-class asset management with disciplined insurance liability expertise. Under YF Life's pioneering "Invesurance" framework and "1+N" investment architecture, Barings serves as a core partner, leveraging robust FX risk management to significantly expand YF Life's access to global fixed income, Asia-Pacific private credit, and alternative credit opportunities. This synergy extends beyond traditional insurance portfolios to enhance MPF retirement solutions and distribution enablement, creating long-term value for clients.

Looking ahead, YF Life will continue to uphold its brand philosophy, "Envision, Invesurance", leveraging its strengths to deepen technological applications and strategic partnerships to open broader horizons for clients and the Hong Kong insurance market.

Organized by The Hong Kong Federation of Insurers (HKFI), the Hong Kong Insurance Awards is one of the most prestigious and authoritative honors in the local insurance sector, recognizing outstanding achievements and innovative benchmarks across the industry.

Hashtag: #YFLife, #HKIA, #Invesurance

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Crown Workspace wins Gold and special Trinity recognition at HR Vendors of the Year Awards 2026

2026-10-30T16:10:00+08:00

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 October 2026 – Crown Worldwide Group is proud to announce that Crown Workspace Hong Kong has been awarded the Gold Award for Best Workplace Consultancy at the prestigious HR Vendors of the Year Awards Hong Kong 2026, organised by Human Resources Online. In addition, Crown Workspace received the special "Trinity Champion of Achievement" recognition, honouring its consistent and outstanding achievements in elevating the HR solutions ecosystem across 2024-2026. Together, these accolades recognise Crown Workspace's continued excellence in workplace transformation, relocation management, sustainability consulting, and innovative solutions that help organisations create future-ready workplaces.

The HR Vendors of the Year Awards is widely regarded as one of Asia's most respected platforms for recognising excellence among HR and workplace solution providers. Entries are evaluated by an independent judging panel of HR leaders and experts, assessing nominees on criteria including people, products and services, innovation, leadership, and industry contribution. The awards recognise organisations that demonstrate exceptional expertise, business impact, and commitment to helping clients address evolving workplace challenges. The Trinity Champion of Achievement holds particular significance as it recognises Crown Workspace's sustained achievements over three consecutive years, from 2024 to 2026. This special recognition further reinforces Crown Workspace's consistent contribution to the HR and workplace solutions ecosystem in Hong Kong.

What distinguishes Crown Workspace is its ability to combine workplace consultancy, relocation expertise, sustainability leadership, and project execution into a single integrated offering. In a market where many Hong Kong organisations are rightsizing their offices, adopting hybrid working models, and seeking cost-effective ways to optimise their workplaces, Crown Workspace helps clients transform their offices while achieving ESG objectives through services such as furniture resale, storage solutions, and recycling programmes.

Complementing these sustainability-focused initiatives is Crown Workspace's proven capability to deliver complex, business-critical projects, including high-security relocations, IT and infrastructure moves, and large-scale workplace transformations. Backed by strong customer satisfaction and industry-leading operational standards, Crown Workspace provides organisations with a trusted partner to navigate workplace change while creating more efficient, sustainable, and future-ready work environments.

"We are honoured to receive both the Gold Award and this special recognition at the HR Vendors of the Year Awards," said Jeffrey Chong, General Manager, Hong Kong, at Crown Worldwide Group. "The Trinity Champion of Achievement is particularly meaningful as it reflects the consistency of our work and the dedication of our team over the past three years. Hong Kong organisations are rethinking the role of the workplace. Increasingly, our clients are asking how they can create more flexible, sustainable and employee-centric environments while maintaining business continuity. These recognitions reflect our commitment to helping businesses navigate that transformation successfully. We remain focused on delivering secure and sustainable solutions that support our clients' business goals."

Building on these latest recognitions, Crown Workspace will continue investing in people, technology, and innovative workplace solutions, helping businesses create workplaces that are resilient, efficient, sustainable, and ready for the future.

For more information, please visit Crown Workspace's website at crownworkspace.com.

Hashtag: #CrownWorkspace #HRVendors #BestWorkplaceConsultancy

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Crown Workspace

Crown Workspace helps organisations manage workplace change through commercial and specialist relocations, move management, storage, furniture solutions, IT relocation services, and workplace consultancy. Supported by the global capabilities of Crown Worldwide Group, Crown Workspace delivers tailored solutions that minimise disruption, maximise value, and create positive outcomes for businesses, employees, and the environment.

Crown Workspace – Inspiring places and performance – www.crownworkspace.com

Hong Kong Disneyland Brings Halloween Treats to the Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival for the First Time

2026-10-30T15:45:00+08:00

Taking fan-favorite treats to the city, Building Excitement for the Ultimate Halloween Celebration at Booonus Wicked Night Party

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 30 October 2026 - From October 29 to November 1, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort (HKDL) is participating in the annual "Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival", organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board. For four consecutive days, HKDL will offer a selection of park-exclusive Halloween treats to the city, adding distinctive Disney storytelling and creativity to Hong Kong's mega event tourism experience.

Visitors can embrace the Disney Halloween spirit in the city before joining HKDL's Booonus Wicked Night Party on October 30 and 31 for one last chance to enjoy the ultimate Halloween celebration.

Manfred Wong, Director, Food & Beverage, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort

Manfred Wong, Director, Food & Beverage, Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, said, "At HKDL, we combine Disney storytelling and seasonal creativity to create distinctive dining experiences. By joining the "Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival", we are showcasing some of our park-exclusive Halloween flavors into the city, extending the taste of HKDL's creative seasonal offerings beyond the park to more locals and visitors at one of Hong Kong's signature culinary events."

Visitors can enjoy a selection of popular Disney treats at the event, including the Nightmare Before Christmas Glowing special drink, Mickey Halloween Cookie, and Halloween-themed Caramel Popcorn. Beyond the Halloween-themed treats, guests can also savor park favorites such as turkey leg and Lotso Waffle Sandwich, paired with wines available at the festival for a uniquely Disney take on the "Wine & Dine" experience. Guests who purchase any item at the HKDL booth will also receive a HK$100 dining voucher, redeemable upon spending HK$500 at designated hotel restaurants at the resort, extending the "Wine & Dine" experience at the resort.

Creep Deeper at the Booonus Night Party

The Halloween treats in the city are just the beginning. Hong Kong Disneyland will extend its park hours on October 30 and 31, giving locals and visitors one last chance to indulge in wicked fun at the The Booonus Night Party. Guests dressing their worst for the Booonus Night Party can head to the Clopin's Festival of Foods to flaunt their wicked charm at the Disney-Style Booo-tiful Award for a chance to win complimentary park tickets and same-day access to the reserved viewing area for "Uninvited! A Villains Takeover Party." Get ready to party into the night!

Hashtag: #HKDisneyland

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Anchored in Data Sovereignty, the Engagement Enables the Legal Sector to Adopt Generative AI Safely and Confidently

2026-10-30T11:15:00+08:00

Ridger Delivers MUX Private AI Deployment to Shum Wong & Co., Solicitors in Hong Kong

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 October 2026 – Ridger, an AI infrastructure company, today announced the official delivery of its MUX private AI solution to Shum Wong & Co., Solicitors in Hong Kong. The solution features MIMO, the world's first AI-native storage system, making Shum Wong & Co., Solicitors the first law firm in Hong Kong Northern Metropolis to deploy it.

Representatives from Ridger, Shum Wong & Co., Solicitors, xFusion, and Richee at the delivery ceremony for the first MUX private AI deployment in Hong Kong Northern Metropolis.

Representatives from Ridger, Shum Wong & Co., Solicitors, xFusion, and Fadada's RicheeAI team attended the delivery ceremony. During the event, Ridger presented the firm with the "Global AI Pioneer Law Firm" certificate in recognition of its forward-looking investment in private AI infrastructure.

The solution brings together AI-native storage and compute infrastructure, a dedicated large language model (LLM) environment, and AI applications tailored to legal workflows. Operating entirely within the firm's own security perimeter, it marks a significant step toward enabling Hong Kong's legal profession to harness the productivity of generative AI while safeguarding client data and meeting compliance requirements.

About the Deployment

In space-constrained Hong Kong, Ms. Careen H.Y. Wong, Founding Partner of Shum Wong & Co., Solicitors and Vice President of The Law Society of Hong Kong, set aside room in the Firm's latest office in the Northern Metropolis for a standard equipment rack, ready for on-premise AI. It is more than a space decision: it reflects her view of the future of legal services—that while harnessing AI to improve efficiency, a firm must retain control of its data and technology boundaries, so that sensitive materials are always properly protected.

Under the engagement, Ridger built a privately owned, independently operable AI foundation for Shum Wong & Co., Solicitors, comprising high-performance storage and data infrastructure optimized for AI workloads, together with a dedicated LLM platform over which the client retains full control of model weights and the inference environment. The platform supports use cases including contract review and risk flagging, legal research and case-law retrieval, large-scale document review in due diligence, drafting and multilingual translation of legal documents, and internal Knowledge Base question answering. It also provides role-based access control, tiered permissions, comprehensive audit trails and content provenance to meet enterprise-grade governance requirements.

Called MUX, the private solution lets the firm begin with no barrier and without capital-intensive build-out or a dedicated server room, scaling on demand; it natively supports Hong Kong's common law system and integrates seamlessly with existing systems such as email, document management and calendar, embedding AI into lawyers' daily work. MUX can be ordered directly through Ridger's website (https://ridger.tech), out of the box.

The delivery reflects the collaboration of legal expertise, AI infrastructure, compute platforms and industry applications: Shum Wong & Co., Solicitors defined the requirements for data confidentiality and on-premise deployment from its actual practice; Ridger provided the end-to-end MUX solution and led its design and integration; xFusion supplied the FusionXpark local AI compute platform and technical support; and Fadada provided the Richee Legal AI Agent Platform, leveraging specialized AI agents and skills to support lawyers in their daily work and improve workflow efficiency. Ridger notes that while an AI model determines capability for a moment, AI infrastructure determines long-term competitiveness.

Why Private AI Matters for the Legal Sector

1. Safeguarding client confidentiality and legal professional privilege

Client materials, transaction documents and dispute information handled by law firms are protected by legal professional privilege (LPP) and strict professional duties of confidentiality. Disclosure to third parties—including public cloud services—may be treated as a waiver of privilege, causing it to be lost and the materials to become disclosable in subsequent proceedings. Private deployment keeps storage, processing and inference entirely within the firm's own environment, with no disclosure to external providers, preserving privilege and confidentiality at source.

2. Embedding data sovereignty and regulatory compliance

The solution aligns with Hong Kong's Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486) and is designed with reference to the Privacy Commissioner's "Checklist on Guidelines for the Use of Generative AI by Employees" and the "Model Framework on AI: Personal Data Protection," as well as The Law Society of Hong Kong's 2024 position paper on the impact of AI on the legal profession and the Manifesto on "Legal Ethical Code of Conduct Regarding the Deployment of AI." It embeds the principles of lawfulness, transparency, traceability, interpretability, security and appropriate human oversight into a unified AI governance framework.

For a firm handling cross-border work, the same private environment also addresses the requirements of the major jurisdictions: for Mainland China, it aligns with the Personal Information Protection Law, the Data Security Law and data-export mechanisms such as security assessments and standard contracts; for Europe, it maps to the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and standard contractual clauses; for the United States, it meets the confidentiality and competence duties under the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct and Formal Opinion 512 on generative AI. Because data always remains within the firm's own perimeter, the firm can confidently meet local data-confidentiality and regulatory expectations wherever its clients are based.

3. Eliminating the hidden risk of "shadow AI"

Where a firm offers no convenient, approved AI tool, individual lawyers may turn to consumer-grade public chatbots for work, creating "shadow AI" that sits outside IT and compliance visibility—unapproved, unlogged and unaudited, with unknown data flows and no clear accountability. MUX channels that demand into a single, visible, auditable controlled environment, giving lawyers the efficiency they want while bringing every use under the institution's governance and oversight.

4. Keeping institutional knowledge within the firm

The case law, templates and practical know-how accumulated by a firm are core competitive assets. A private platform continuously refined on the firm's own corpus keeps these assets within the institution and compounds their value over time, rather than depositing them with an external vendor.

5. Ensuring control and business continuity

Private deployment insulates the firm from external API changes, model versioning, service outages or shifts in vendor strategy, giving it full control over capabilities, upgrade timing, cost and availability — a foundation for durable, long-term AI adoption.

Executive Quotes

"For industries built on trust and confidentiality, such as the law, the value of AI should never come at the price of data sovereignty," said Ray Hu, General Manager Asia-Pacific Region of Ridger. "Private deployment lets a firm turn generative AI into auditable, governable and sustainable productivity without crossing confidentiality lines. We are proud to set this benchmark with Shum Wong & Co., Solicitors"

Ray Hu, General Manager Asia-Pacific Region, Ridger

"In Hong Kong, office space is scarce and precious, but data sovereignty is worth setting aside a place for. Building our own AI infrastructure lets us embrace AI while always safeguarding our clients' trust and the boundaries of our profession."

Careen H.Y. Wong, Founding Partner, Shum Wong & Co., Solicitors, Solicitors

Hashtag: #Ridger #MIMO #MUX #PrivateAI #LegalAI #AIInfrastructure #HongKong

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Ridger Company Limited

Ridger is a technology company focused on data and storage infrastructure for the AI era. The company provides private, high-performance AI infrastructure and solutions that enable enterprises to deploy and run large models and AI applications within their own security perimeter. Through its proprietary storage and data management technologies, Ridger helps clients safeguard data sovereignty, security and compliance while fully realizing the business value of artificial intelligence.

One Earth Summit Unites Global Leaders to Advance

2026-10-30T11:10:00+08:00

Collective Flourishing in the Intelligent Age

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 October 2026 – The third One Earth Summit (the Summit), jointly organised by the Institute of Sustainability and Technology (IST) and The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST), took place today at Regala Skycity Hotel. The Summit brought together more than 40 speakers and over 700 participants from government, business, academia and philanthropy to explore how human wisdom can guide technological progress towards a shared vision of "Collective Flourishing in the Intelligent Age".

Guests, VIPs, and Speakers pose for a group photo at the opening ceremony of the One Earth Summit 2026

At the heart of the Summit was a clear conviction: in the age of AI, human wisdom, intention and values must guide the development and application of technology. By connecting leadership, capital, research and entrepreneurship, the Summit sought to harness innovation to deliver impactful solutions that benefit businesses and humanity, safeguard our mother Earth, and reach the communities that need them most.

The opening ceremony was officiated by Mr Leung Chun-ying, Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference; Mr Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China; Ms Poman Lo, Founder of One Earth Initiatives; Professor Harry Shum, Council Chairman of HKUST; and Dr Eric Cheng, Chairman of Environment and Conservation Fund Committee.

In his video welcome address, Mr John Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, he said: "Climate research and technological progress in spurring concerted global action. Accelerating climate change and biodiversity loss demand results. That means bridging the gap between green capital, innovation and governance. In each of these areas, Hong Kong has much to contribute. Like the One Earth Summit, Hong Kong is committed to turning dialogue into impact. Working together, we can mobilise capital, technology and people to power sustainable growth across Asia and the world."

In her welcome remarks, Ms Poman Lo said, "As AI agents and systems become more autonomous, the window to guide their development with human wisdom is narrowing. The Intelligent Age must go beyond smarter machines—it must advance collective flourishing, where innovation serves humanity, prosperity is shared, and no one is left behind. Through One Earth Summit and our initiatives, our mission is to advance purpose-driven innovations and scale their impact through a global ecosystem of leaders across sectors, ensuring that their benefits are shared equitably in communities that need them most."

Ms. Poman Lo, Founder, One Earth Initiatives, delivers Opening Remarks

Professor Harry Shum stated, "Technological progress is not measured by capability alone, but by its capacity to foster collective flourishing, elevate human lives, and protect the planet we share. At HKUST, our responsibility is to translate that ambition into practice—through research, education, and partnerships that turn innovative ideas into real-world solutions. That means moving cutting-edge green technologies, from clean energy to climate resilience, out of the lab and into everyday life. Above all, it means nurturing the next generation by equipping them with the skills and judgment required in the era of artificial intelligence. While AI can accelerate the pace of scientific discovery, human wisdom must ultimately decide where it goes. We are preparing our people not just to master the Intelligent Age, but to become its stewards."

"Planetary health and human health are inseparable," said Mr Leung Chun-Ying. "Climate change is already putting public health at risk—from extreme heat and the spread of infectious diseases to mounting pressure on healthcare systems. We must accelerate the green transition through international cooperation, not fragment it with tariffs and market barriers. China's large-scale manufacturing of solar panels, electric vehicles and other clean-energy technologies has helped bring down costs worldwide. By keeping markets open and sharing innovation, we can make these solutions more accessible—especially to the communities most vulnerable to climate change."

Minister Huang Runqiu noted that the climate, biodiversity and pollution crises are intensifying, making the green transition an irreversible global trend. He said China has achieved the world's fastest improvement in air quality and, as the largest supplier of clean-energy equipment, is bringing affordable clean-energy solutions to the Global South through the Green Belt and Road Initiative.

He described Hong Kong as an important contributor to China's environmental progress and the global green transition and called on the city to leverage its role as an international financial centre to mobilise cross-border investment, expand international cooperation in green technology and finance, and share expertise with the Global South.

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, said that finance should support innovation, and innovation should serve people and improve lives. Hong Kong will leverage its roles as a "super connector" and "super value-adder" to bring together capital, technology and talent, advance sustainable development through green and transition finance, and promote the translation of research into practical applications. The city will also provide a platform for testing and demonstrating innovative solutions, including AI, to accelerate their adoption in markets around the world. He stressed that investment in technology must go hand in hand with investment in people. Through its "AI Training for All" initiative and cross-sector collaboration, Hong Kong will help people acquire new skills and ensure that the benefits of technological progress are more widely shared.

Featuring twelve keynote addresses and eight panel discussions, the Summit brought together more than 40 speakers across three core themes: AI for Good, Energy and Climate, as well as Oceans and Nature.

Technology for Good

This theme explored how education can nurture AI literacy, human wisdom and responsible leadership, and how young innovators can turn ideas into practical solutions. Discussions highlighted that AI's contribution to collective flourishing depends not only on technological advances, but also on responsible deployment, equitable access and talent development. Speakers examined how education, research partnerships and cross-sector collaboration can translate innovation into wider societal benefits.

Speakers and guests included:

Professor Yang Bin, Vice-Chairman of the University Council, Tsinghua University;
Mr Kevin Choi, Permanent Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government;
Mr Alfred Chuang, Co-Founder and General Partner, Race Capital;
Mr Feng Deng, Founder, Northern Light Venture Capital;
Mr Elliott Donnelley II, Vice Chair, Synergos;
Mr Boon Heong Ng, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Temasek Foundation; and
Professor Ya-Qin Zhang, Chair Professor of AI Science, Tsinghua University.

Energy and Climate

Discussions focused on how clean technologies, energy efficiency and investment can work together to accelerate the green transition. Speakers explored the infrastructure, partnerships and local capabilities needed to turn climate ambitions into practical projects and build more resilient communities.

Speakers and guests included:

Ms Vivian Cheung, Chief Executive Officer, Airport Authority Hong Kong;
Dr. Arunabha Ghosh, Founder and Former Chief Executive Officer, Council on Energy, Environment and Water;
Mr Huang Runqiu, Minister of Ecology and Environment of the People's Republic of China;
Mr Leung Chun-ying, Vice-Chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference;
Mr Liu Xueliang, Vice President, BYD Co Ltd.;
Mr Jean-Pascal Tricoire, Chairman of the Board, Schneider Electric;
Mr Terry Wong, Chief Executive Officer, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation; and
Mr Arthur Yuen, Deputy Chief Executive, Hong Kong Monetary Authority.

Oceans and Nature

This theme examined nature's essential role in sustaining prosperity and community resilience, and the importance of integrating environmental considerations into investment, education and development. Speakers also discussed how long-term stewardship and partnerships responsive to local needs can safeguard the foundations of wellbeing for future generations.

Key speakers and guests included:

Mr Aziz Abdukhakimov, Adviser to the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan;
Her Royal Highness Princess Esméralda of Belgium, President, King Leopold III Fund for Nature Exploration and Conservation;
Ms Irina Bokova, Former Director-General, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO);
Dr Youssef Nassef, Director, Adaptation Division, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat; and
Mr Fred Tsao, Chairman, Tsao Pao Chee Group.

From Dialogue to Action

Throughout the Summit, speakers shared their visions, progress and practical experience to advance collective flourishing in the intelligent age. IST provides a platform for exchanging ideas, connecting resources and building partnerships, helping solutions move from discussion to implementation and fostering collaboration for the wellbeing of people and the planet.

One Earth expressed its deep gratitude to every speaker, partner, supporter and participant contributing to this movement. Beyond a single gathering, the Summit serves as a catalyst for year-round collaboration, aligning human intention with technological capability to create lasting value for business, humanity and the planet.

For photo download, please visit: https://bit.ly/3UkC1kc

Hashtag: #HKUST #IST

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About the One Earth Initiatives

One Earth Initiatives advance purpose-driven innovations and scale their impact to enhance the wellbeing of people and the planet. Through year-round programmes, One Earth brings together changemakers across sectors to develop new approaches, build partnerships and accelerate solutions.

Now in its third edition, One Earth Summit is one of Asia's leading forums advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Up to date, the Summit has convened over 1,600 investors, business leaders, innovators, philanthropists, policymakers and academics from around the world. Recognised by the United Nations as a platform for building lasting impact and trust, it sets the direction for year-round collaboration. One hundred young entrepreneurs and founders of tech-for-good solutions from One Earth NextGen Innovators Program, coming from over 20 countries, join the Summit as youth delegates each year, as part of their week-long bootcamp in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Guangzhou. One Earth Alliance further fosters partnerships across the public, private and philanthropic sectors.

Hitachi Construction Machinery Meluncurkan Kampanye Merek Global Terbaru Menjelang Perubahan Nama Perusahaan dan Merek Menjadi "LANDCROS" pada April 2027

2026-10-30T10:05:00+08:00

Menghadirkan "Solutions Beyond Machinery" kepada Dunia, Berlandaskan Kepercayaan Selama Lebih dari 75 Tahun

TOKYO, JEPANG – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 Oktober 2026 – Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (Presiden dan COO: Masafumi Senzaki; selanjutnya disebut sebagai "Hitachi Construction Machinery") mengumumkan perubahan nama perusahaan menjadi LANDCROS Corporation dan merek korporatnya menjadi "LANDCROS", yang mulai berlaku tanggal 1 April 2027.

Kampanye merek global telah diluncurkan untuk meningkatkan kesadaran pemangku kepentingan di seluruh dunia terhadap nama baru "LANDCROS". Kampanye ini juga bertujuan untuk memperdalam pemahaman dan membangun ekspektasi mereka terhadap tujuan yang ingin dicapai LANDCROS serta nilai yang ditawarkannya. Mulai 2 November, perusahaan memperkenalkan empat materi visual utama yang mengusung "Solutions Beyond Machinery", dan akan memperkenalkannya secara bertahap ke seluruh dunia.

Kampanye merek global ini dilaksanakan sebagai sebuah inisiatif yang ditujukan bagi berbagai negara dan wilayah di seluruh dunia tempat perusahaan beroperasi, termasuk Asia, Oseania, dan Amerika Latin.

"Solutions Beyond Machinery"- Pesan Kampanye Merek Global Terbaru
Sejak meluncurkan ekskavator mekanik pada tahun 1950, Hitachi Construction Machinery telah menjadi pemimpin industri sebagai produsen mesin konstruksi dan pertambangan selama lebih dari 75 tahun, serta telah membangun reputasi melalui "Reliable Solutions".

"Solutions Beyond Machinery" merupakan pesan yang mencerminkan tujuan dan nilai LANDCROS, merek korporat baru yang akan terus berkembang di masa mendatang. Pesan ini mengungkapkan tekad perusahaan untuk tidak hanya memasok mesin konstruksi dan pertambangan, tetapi juga menyediakan solusi atas permasalahan nyata yang dihadapi pelanggan, lokasi kerja, dan masyarakat melalui kolaborasi terbuka dengan para mitra.

Dalam kampanye merek global ini, LANDCROS digambarkan sebagai solusi atas berbagai tantangan yang dihadapi pelanggan melalui tiga nilai utama: Keandalan, yang dibangun dengan landasan keunggulan manufaktur Jepang serta jaringan layanan global yang telah diwarisi perusahaan; Keterbukaan, yang diwujudkan melalui kolaborasi dengan berbagai mitra, baik di dalam maupun di luar perusahaan; serta Profesionalisme, yang berlandaskan pada keahlian mendalam dan pemahaman menyeluruh terhadap kondisi lokasi kerja.

Selain mengembangkan alat berat konstruksi generasi berikutnya yang menggabungkan teknologi AI, robotika, sensor, dan komunikasi, LANDCROS juga akan menyediakan dukungan terintegrasi yang mencakup layanan dan solusi digital. Melalui berbagai upaya tersebut, perusahaan bertujuan untuk berkontribusi terhadap operasional mesin yang stabil, meningkatkan keselamatan dan produktivitas di lokasi kerja, sekaligus menciptakan nilai baru yang melampaui batas-batas industri.

Hitachi Construction Machinery akan terus mengembangkan LANDCROS, merek korporat barunya, yang secara konsisten menghadirkan solusi inovatif melampaui peran tradisional sebagai produsen alat berat konstruksi.

Pernyataan dari Masafumi Senzaki, Presiden dan COO Hitachi Construction Machinery
Selama lebih dari 75 tahun, kami telah bekerja sama erat dengan pelanggan di berbagai lokasi kerja di seluruh dunia, sembari terus memperkuat kapabilitas manufaktur khas Jepang serta jaringan penjualan dan layanan global kami. Kepercayaan kuat yang telah kami bangun di sepanjang perjalanan panjang ini akan tetap menjadi inti dari identitas kami, bahkan saat kami bertransformasi menjadi LANDCROS.

Di saat yang sama, seiring makin beragam dan kompleksnya tantangan yang dihadapi para pelanggan di lokasi kerja mereka, peran yang diharapkan dari kami pun turut berubah secara signifikan. Itulah alasan kami akan terus mengembangkan keunggulan yang telah kami bangun selama bertahun-tahun, menunjukkan Profesionalisme lewat pemahaman mendalam akan kondisi lokasi kerja, mendengarkan pelanggan secara saksama, serta mengedepankan Keterbukaan dengan menjalin hubungan dan berkolaborasi bersama berbagai mitra.

"Solutions Beyond Machinery" mencerminkan tekad kami untuk melampaui batasan mesin, menciptakan nilai baru bersama pelanggan, serta membentuk masa depan lokasi kerja. Melalui kampanye merek global ini, kami akan menyampaikan ambisi tersebut kepada masyarakat di seluruh dunia.

Catatan Merek Dagang
LANDCROS adalah merek dagang terdaftar milik Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.

Informasi Terkait
- Siaran Pers 28 Oktober 2025 "Hitachi Construction Machinery Mengubah Nama Perusahaan Menjadi LANDCROS Corporation"
- Situs Khusus LANDCROS

Hashtag: #Landcros

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Tentang Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.

Hitachi Construction Machinery (TSE: 6305), yang berkantor pusat di Tokyo, Jepang, merupakan produsen mesin konstruksi global yang bergerak dalam pengembangan, manufaktur, penjualan, dan penyediaan layanan untuk berbagai produk seperti ekskavator hidrolik, wheel loader, alat pemadat, dan mesin pertambangan. Selain bisnis penjualan mesin baru, perusahaan juga mengembangkan "bisnis rantai nilai" yang mencakup suku cadang dan layanan, remanufaktur (suku cadang dan mesin), penyewaan, serta alat berat bekas. Perusahaan terus berkembang bersama para pelanggannya sebagai penyedia solusi inovatif. Dengan sekitar 25.000 karyawan di seluruh dunia, pendapatan penjualan terkonsolidasi Hitachi Construction Machinery mencapai 1.405,5 miliar yen pada tahun fiskal 2025 (berakhir pada Maret 2026), dengan pendapatan penjualan luar negeri mencapai 84% dari jumlah tersebut. Untuk detail lebih lanjut, kunjungi situs web Hitachi Construction Machinery.

Perusahaan berencana mengubah nama perusahaannya menjadi "LANDCROS Corporation" dan merek korporatnya menjadi "LANDCROS" pada tanggal 1 April 2027.

Informasi yang tercantum dalam siaran pers ini adalah informasi yang berlaku pada tanggal pengumuman siaran pers, tetapi dapat berubah tanpa pemberitahuan sebelumnya.

Hitachi Construction Machinery Launches a New Global Brand Campaign in Advance of Changing the Company Name and Brand to "LANDCROS" in April 2027

2026-10-30T10:00:00+08:00

Bringing “Solutions Beyond Machinery” to the World, Built on More Than 75 Years of Trust

TOKYO, JAPAN – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 October 2026 – Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd. (President and Executive Officer: Masafumi Senzaki; hereafter referred to as "Hitachi Construction Machinery") announces that it will change its trade name to LANDCROS Corporation and its corporate brand to "LANDCROS" effective April 1, 2027.

A global brand campaign has been launched to raise awareness of the new name "LANDCROS" among stakeholders worldwide, and to deepen their understanding of, and their expectations for, what LANDCROS is striving to achieve, and the value it brings. From November 2, we are unveiling four key graphics expressing "Solutions Beyond Machinery," and will gradually roll them out worldwide.

This global brand campaign is being implemented as a global initiative, aimed at countries and regions across the world where we operate, including South East Asia, Oceania, and Latin America.

"Solutions Beyond Machinery" - The Message of the New Global Brand Campaign
Since launching a mechanical excavator in 1950, Hitachi Construction Machinery has been one of the industry leader as a construction and mining machinery manufacturer for over 75 years, and has built a reputation for "Reliable Solutions."

"Solutions Beyond Machinery" is the message that expresses what LANDCROS is, the new corporate brand that will keep evolving into the future and its' aims to be and the value it delivers. This expresses our determination to go beyond simply supplying hardware such as construction machinery and mining machinery, but to provide solutions that solve the real issues confronting customers with construction sites, and society, through open collaboration with partners.

In this global brand campaign, LANDCROS is portrayed as the response to customer challenges through Reliability, built on the Japanese manufacturing excellence and global service network we have inherited; Openness, through collaboration with partners both inside and outside the company; and professionalism, grounded in deep expertise and understanding of worksites.

In addition to developing next-generation construction machinery combining AI, robotics, sensing, and communication technologies, LANDCROS aims to provide integrated support that includes services and digital solutions. Through these efforts, we aim to contribute to stable machine operation and improved safety and productivity at worksites, while creating new value beyond the boundaries of the industry.

Hitachi Construction Machinery will continue to develop LANDCROS, its new corporate brand, as a brand that consistently delivers innovative solutions beyond the traditional boundaries of a construction machinery manufacturer.

Comment from Masafumi Senzaki, President and COO, Hitachi Construction Machinery
For more than 75 years, we have worked closely with customers at worksites around the world, continuously strengthening our Japanese manufacturing capabilities and our global sales and service capabilities. The unwavering trust we have built along the way will remain at the heart of who we are, even as we become LANDCROS.

At the same time, as the challenges facing our customers and their worksites become increasingly diverse and complex, the role expected of us is also changing significantly. That is why we will continue to evolve the strengths we have built over the years, demonstrating Professionalism through our deep understanding of worksites, listening closely to our customers, and embracing Openness by connecting and collaborating with a wide range of partners.

"Solutions Beyond Machinery" embodies our determination to go beyond the boundaries of machinery, create new value together with our customers, and shape the future of worksites. Through this global brand campaign, we will share this ambition with people around the world.

Trademark Notes
LANDCROS is a registered trademark of Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.

Related Information
- October 28, 2025 News Release "Hitachi Construction Machinery Changes Trade Name to LANDCROS Corporation"
- LANDCROS Special Site

Hashtag: #Landcros

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.

Hitachi Construction Machinery (TSE: 6305), headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, is a global construction machinery manufacturer engaged in the development, manufacturing, sales, and servicing of products such as hydraulic excavators, wheel loaders, compaction equipment, and mining machinery. In addition to the company's new machinery business, it is expanding its "value chain businesses" that include parts and services, remanufacturing (parts and machines), rentals, and used equipment. The company continues to grow with its customers as a solutions provider delivering innovative solutions. With roughly 25,000 employees around the world, the consolidated sales revenue for Hitachi Construction Machinery was 1,405.5 billion yen for fiscal year 2025 (ended March 2026), of which overseas sales revenue accounted for 84%. For more details, see the Hitachi Construction Machinery website.

The company plans to change its trade name to "LANDCROS Corporation" and its corporate brand to "LANDCROS" on April 1, 2027.

Information contained in this news release is current as of the date of the press announcement, but may be subject to change without prior notice.

Hill’s Enhances Cat and Dog Food with Prebiotics to Support Senior Pet Health in Hong Kong

2026-10-30T10:00:00+08:00

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 30 October 2026 – Hill's Pet Nutrition has announced that it is promoting ActivBiome+ Multi-Benefit technology in Hong Kong and enhancing its life-stage cat food and dog food formulations to meet the nutritional needs of mature and senior pets. Incorporating prebiotics for dogs and prebiotics for cats, the technology forms part of the company's approach to supporting digestive health and overall wellbeing.

Hill's will also collaborate with veterinarians and pet care professionals to promote nutrition education, encouraging owners to incorporate nutritional management into preventive healthcare plans from an early stage.

Pet Food for Senior Dogs and Senior Cats Support Life-Stage Nutrition
The South China Morning Post, citing a recent survey, reported that Hong Kong cat owners spend an average of approximately HK$2,062 per cat each month, with expenditure increasing year on year. This reflects owners' continued investment in pet healthcare and nutrition.

Ageing is a gradual process. Pets may experience increased digestive sensitivity, reduced activity, changes in immune function and a greater burden on the kidneys over time. Hill's encourages owners to pay closer attention to everyday nutrition and adopt a proactive approach to health management through their pets' diets.

When selecting pet food for senior dogs and pet food for senior cats, Hill's recommends that owners work with their veterinarians to consider each pet's age, breed, lifestyle and health status. Its life-stage ranges include options for mature and senior pets, alongside everyday and prescription nutrition for individual dietary needs

Prebiotics for Dogs and Cats Support a Healthy Gut Microbiome
Hill's identifies gut health as an important factor in supporting pets' immune health. To address the changing nutritional needs of aging pets, the company continues to advance the application of prebiotic fibres in its cat and dog food formulations.

According to Hill's, these fibres nourish beneficial gut bacteria, helping maintain a balanced gut microbiome and supporting normal digestive function. A well-functioning digestive system helps pets absorb nutrients from food, supporting skin and coat condition, daily energy levels and overall vitality as they progress through mature and senior life stages.

Drawing on research published in Nature Reviews Immunology and the Journal of Animal Science, the original release states that approximately 70% to 90% of immune cells are located in the gut. It highlights the importance of a healthy gut environment in defending against external pathogens, supporting intestinal barrier function and maintaining overall health.

Improving Gut Health in Dogs and Cats Through Tailored Nutrition
For pet owners wondering how to improve their dog's or cat's gut health, Hill's promotes a tailored nutritional approach. According to the company, prebiotic fibres nourish beneficial gut bacteria, helping maintain a balanced gut microbiome and supporting normal digestive function. Hill's encourages owners to work with their veterinarians to select appropriate food based on each pet's life stage, digestive needs and overall health.

According to Hill's product information, cat and dog foods featuring ActivBiome+ Multi-Benefit technology combine fructooligosaccharides (FOS), oat beta-glucan fibre and antioxidant vitamins to provide balanced nutritional support. The company describes the technology as a blend of prebiotic fibres and antioxidants designed to support digestion, immune system health, vitality and overall organ health.

Selected Hill's products also offer targeted nutritional solutions, including ActivBiome+ Digestion for digestive health and ActivBiome+ Kidney Defense for kidney-related nutritional needs. These solutions are intended for pets with specific or multiple nutritional requirements, following veterinary assessment

Hill's Partners with Veterinary Teams to Promote Lifelong Care
Beyond product development, Hill's will continue working with veterinary teams and pet care professionals to strengthen nutrition education and help owners recognise their pets' changing needs throughout life.

Dr Karen Shenoy, Hill's Global Chief Veterinary Officer, said: "Every meal is an opportunity to improve a pet's health and wellbeing. At Hill's, the veterinary profession has always been at the heart of what we do. We are committed to being their partner, helping them address evolving health needs through innovative and continuously improved pet nutrition."

Hill's encourages owners to schedule regular veterinary check-ups and review their pets' diets in line with professional advice, making daily nutrition part of a consistent, lifelong approach to health and wellbeing.
Hashtag: #PetFoodForSeniorDogs #PetFoodForSeniorCats #PrebioticsForDogs #PrebioticsForCats #SeniorPetNutrition #HillsPetNutrition #ActivBiomePlus #PetGutHealth

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Hill's Pet Nutrition

Hill's Pet Nutrition is a science-led pet nutrition company with more than 75 years of history, dedicated to enriching and extending the bond between people and their pets. Its product ranges include Hill's Science Diet and Hill's Prescription Diet, providing cats and dogs with the nutrition they need every day.

Grades Versus Experience: SIM Explains What Students Should Consider When Preparing for Their First Job

2026-10-30T09:00:00+08:00

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 30 October 2026 - Singapore's shift towards skills-based hiring is broadening how candidates are assessed. Yet published graduate recruitment criteria show that academic achievement and practical experience can sit alongside each other, rather than represent competing routes to employment. Singapore Institute of Management supports this broader approach through Career Connect, helping students connect academic learning with career preparation.

The Ministry of Manpower's Job Vacancies 2025 report found that academic qualifications were not the main determinant in hiring for 79.6 per cent of vacancies. However, this covers the wider labour market. It does not directly compare grades with internships or establish that academic performance no longer matters in graduate recruitment. Academic results, internships, projects and interviews provide different forms of evidence, with their relevance shaped by the role and recruitment process.

Academic achievement remains relevant alongside experience

OCBC's Graduate Talent Programme illustrates how academic and non-academic achievements can feature within the same recruitment framework. Its published criteria include a degree with Second Upper Honours or above, while also highlighting extracurricular or internship achievements, leadership and problem-solving. These criteria relate to the specific programme rather than every role within the bank.

The distinction is between eligibility and suitability. Where a programme specifies an academic standard, experience does not automatically replace it. Equally, meeting that threshold does not demonstrate every quality an employer seeks.

Internships and projects make a candidate's contribution visible

Practical experience becomes more useful when candidates can explain their responsibilities, decisions and contribution. An internship title alone provides limited insight into what an individual can do.

The same applies to university projects. For an aspiring marketing professional, this could mean explaining how audience research shaped a campaign recommendation. A computing graduate might demonstrate how an application was designed and tested. A data analyst could explain how data was cleaned, interpreted and translated into recommendations.

Both coursework and internships can therefore provide evidence for applications. The emphasis should be on what candidates learned, contributed and can explain, rather than simply the number of activities listed on a résumé.

Recruitment assessments reflect the demands of different roles

GIC's Professionals Programme shows how recruitment assessments can vary according to the nature of the role. Candidates applying to its investment and corporate services tracks undertake a business case study, while technology candidates go through technical assessment rounds tailored to the relevant domain.

Both routes also involve interviews, demonstrating why graduate preparation needs to extend beyond academic results and résumé-building. Students preparing for recruitment should therefore understand the requirements of the roles they are targeting and be ready to explain their thinking, problem-solving approach and contribution through relevant examples.

SIM supports career preparation alongside academic study

At SIM, Career Connect offers career workshops, individual guidance, résumé reviews and mock interviews. Employer engagement includes career fairs, company visits and networking events. The CareerSense app enables students to browse and apply for internships, jobs and career events.

These services help students explore career options and practise presenting their experience before entering graduate recruitment. They complement academic study rather than replace it.

For students preparing for their first job, the question is not whether grades or experience always matter more. It is whether their learning, practical work and ability to explain their contribution provide credible evidence for the role they hope to enter. Further information on graduate employment is available through the Graduate Outcome and Employability section of SIM's Parent Resource Hub.

References:

Ministry of Manpower. Job Vacancies 2025: Labour demand gradually shifting to growth areas as firms adjust hiring plans - https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/2026/0320-job-vacancies-report-2025
OCBC. Graduate Talent Programme - https://www.ocbc.com/group/careers/students/programmes/graduate-talent-programme.page
GIC Professionals Programme - https://gic.careers/programmes/gic-professionals-programme/
SIM Career Services - https://www.sim.edu.sg/degrees-diplomas/life-at-sim/career-services
SIM Graduate Outcome and Employability - https://www.sim.edu.sg/degrees-diplomas/parent-resource-hub/graduate-outcome-employability

Hashtag: #SIMGlobalEducation #SIMGE

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About SIM Global Education

SIM Global Education (SIM GE) is a leading private education institution in Singapore and the region. We offer more than 170 academic programmes ranging from diplomas and graduate diploma programmes to bachelor's and master's degree programmes with some of the world's most reputable universities from Australia, Canada, Europe, United Kingdom, and the United States. SIM GE's cohort is made up of 17,000 full- and part-time students and adult learners, of which approximately 41% are international students hailing from over 50 countries.

SIM GE's holistic learning approach and culturally diverse learning environment aim to equip students with knowledge, industry skills and employability competencies, as well as a global perspective to succeed as future leaders in a fast-changing, technologically driven world.

For more information on SIM Global Education, visit www.sim.edu.sg

MediaQuiz Appointed Exclusive Media Advertising Agency for TBS Bus Terminal

2026-10-30T08:00:00+08:00

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media OutReach Newswire - 30 October 2026 - MediaQuiz Marketing Solution Sdn Bhd, a global media company specialising in content distribution, cross-border advertising and media technology, has been appointed as the exclusive media advertising agency for TBS Bus Terminal (Terminal Bersepadu Selatan) under a multi-year licence.

TBS is Malaysia's largest bus terminal. Spanning 20 hectares and designed to handle 1,000 daily trips, it serves 40,000 passengers daily and reaches 14 million passengers annually. Operating 24 hours a day, TBS connects travellers to more than 150 destinations across southern, eastern and northern Peninsular Malaysia. Since opening in 2011, it has handled approximately 100 million passengers.

Under the appointment, MediaQuiz holds exclusive rights to manage and market advertising across the terminal's media assets. Advertisers will gain access to premium digital and static placements, as well as outdoor billboards, supported by integrated campaign planning, multicultural creative adaptation and performance reporting. The agreement also provides advertisers with a coordinated approach to reaching commuters at multiple touchpoints throughout the terminal, from arrival and departure areas to high-traffic passenger zones. This terminal-wide presence allows brands to build sustained visibility across the entire passenger journey, from initial arrival through waiting periods and final departure, while supporting coordinated messaging across digital, static and outdoor formats within a single campaign today and beyond. MediaQuiz will support brands in developing campaigns that reflect Malaysia's multicultural audience while delivering measurable outcomes and clear performance insights for all brands.

The partnership strengthens MediaQuiz's cross-border and out-of-home advertising capabilities, offering brands high-visibility access to a large and diverse commuter audience. It also reinforces the company's position as a media partner capable of combining content, technology and advertising expertise across markets. By bringing together terminal-wide media assets with integrated planning and reporting, the appointment creates new opportunities for brands seeking to engage travellers in a high-footfall environment. The terminal's round-the-clock operations and destination network make it a strategic out-of-home advertising location for brands targeting travellers, commuters and passengers. This is valuable for consumer, retail and travel brands.

Hashtag: #MediaQuiz #TBSBusTerminal #OutOfHomeAdvertising

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About MediaQuiz Marketing Solution Sdn Bhd

MediaQuiz helps OTT platforms and brands adapt, scale and grow through content licensing, cross-border advertising and media technology. The company works with partners to extend audience reach, localise content and advertising for diverse markets, and apply media technology to improve campaign delivery and measurement.

ZJLD Group Returns to Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival 2026

2026-10-29T23:05:00+08:00

Unveiling Three Innovative Products Integrating Local Hong Kong Culture and Consumption Scenarios, Demonstrating Deep Synergy Between Chinese Baijiu and Modern Leisure Lifestyles

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 29 October 2026 – The "Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival 2026," a premier global culinary extravaganza organized by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, officially opened today, 29 October. Kweichow Zhen (also known as Zhenjiu), the flagship brand of ZJLD Group Inc. (6979.HK), a leading Chinese baijiu enterprise listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, makes a powerful return to the event. Against the backdrop of accelerating its global expansion and developing innovative products following its IPO, Kweichow Zhen centres its participation on the core theme of "Zhenjiu Encounters Hong Kong". By seamlessly blending rich sauce-aroma baijiu with Hong Kong's vibrant contemporary urban culture, the brand creates an immersive tasting experience that highlights its latest breakthroughs in product innovation and integration with lifestyle scenarios.

As a pioneer championing Chinese baijiu culture on the global stage, ZJLD Group is dedicated to breaking traditional stereotypes and continuously expanding the horizons of baijiu within modern casual living. Catering to the preferences of young urbanites and international consumers for versatile and rich flavor profiles, the Group presents three flagship innovative products. These offerings fully showcase an innovative interpretation of time-honoured craftsmanship and a profound resonance with modern Hong Kong aesthetics.

Three Highlighted Innovative Products: Local Flavors, Cross-Industry Collaboration, and Multi-Category Breakthroughs

Local Flavor Inspiration: ZESS（Zhenjiu Cocktail with Local Ginger and Lemon）

To broaden the daily appeal of traditional baijiu and capture younger demographics, Kweichow Zhen introduces an innovative low-ABV, light-sip concept. Crafted with Zhenjiu's premium sauce-aroma baijiu as its base, the cocktail is specially infused with carefully selected local Hong Kong ginger and fresh lemon. Featuring a light 5% ABV sparkling profile, it harmoniously balances spicy nuances with crisp citrus notes, offering an approachable, low-alcohol alternative that revitalizes traditional sauce-aroma baijiu with a distinctly local Hong Kong touch.

Cross-Brand Innovation: Exclusive Launch of Chocolate Baijiu Ice Cream with The Ice Cream & Cookie Co.

Building on the enthusiastic response to past collaborations, Zhenjiu deepens its partnership with The Ice Cream & Cookie Co., an artisanal dessert brand from Singapore that has gained widespread popularity in Hong Kong. Making its exclusive debut at the festival, the "Chocolate-Flavored Baijiu Ice Cream" features a rich 60% dark chocolate base infused with premium apricots deeply soaked in Zhenjiu. The bright acidity and fermented complexity of the apricots blend perfectly with the smooth cocoa notes, delivering a luxurious triple-layered flavor experience of fruit, baijiu, and dark chocolate.

Major Category Expansion: "NEWS Oak-Aged Craft Beer" Makes Its Wine & Dine Debut

Marking a significant milestone in ZJLD's multi-category beverage ecosystem, "NEWS Oak-Aged Craft Beer", hailed as a "Super Beer", makes its premiere at this year's Wine & Dine. Developed over three years by Kweichow Zhen's R&D team, it is crafted from imported Canadian and Australian two-row barley malt, top-grade German and Belgian yeast, Yakima Valley aroma hops from the US, and pristine water from Mount Mogan. Brewed using top-fermented Ale techniques with an ABV of 5.9%, it delivers elegant fruity, malty, and subtle woody notes. The brand incorporates the Eastern cultural ethos of "good fortune and prosperity" into its marketing narrative, accompanied by a sleek, modern, minimalist packaging design that embodies continuous progress and infinite possibilities.

Deepening the Baijiu Globalization Strategy: Partnering with Hong Kong to Enhance Its Charm as a Global Culinary Capital

Mr. Paul Ng, Vice President of International Operations at ZJLD Group Inc., stated:

"The Hong Kong Wine & Dine Festival is a world-class event of immense global influence. Kweichow Zhen has participated for consecutive years, and this year, we are placing even greater emphasis on the deep integration and scenario innovation between baijiu and local Hong Kong culture. From ZESS, our local flavor-inspired cocktail, to our co-created baijiu ice cream with a renowned artisanal dessert brand, and the premiere of NEWS Oak-Aged Craft Beer, we aim to present a fresh international calling card for Chinese baijiu. We want to demonstrate that baijiu is not only a traditional cultural symbol, but a dynamic, stylish lifestyle choice that seamlessly fits into modern urban leisure and daily living."

Hashtag: #ZJLDGroup

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About ZJLD Group Inc.

Zhenjiu was established in 1975 in Zunyi, Guizhou, China's primary production area for sauce-aroma baijiu. In 1988, it was honored with the National Quality Award at the 5th National Wine Appreciation Conference. In the same year, it was selected by the Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Communication Department of the Ministry of Economy and Trade, and the Great Hall of the People Management Bureau to become one of the two sauce-aroma baijiu served at state banquets. It is also recognized as one of the "Three RepresentativeBaijiu Brands in Guizhou".

ZJLD Group Inc. is a leading baijiu group in China devoted to offering premium baijiu products, including sauce-aroma, mixed-aroma, and strong-aroma varieties. The Company operates four renowned baijiu brands in China, including two national baijiu brands (Zhenjiu and Li Du) and two regional brands (Xiangjiao and Kaikouxiao). ZJLD prides itself on inheriting the time-honored baijiu-distilling techniques and reinvigorating them to develop iconic products, striving to create a diverse portfolio that meets modern consumer preferences, captures broader market opportunities, and promotes traditional Chinese baijiu culture worldwide.

PhotonPay Raises $40M Series C to Scale Its Stablecoin-Centric Financial OS

2026-10-29T20:40:00+08:00

Led by Blockchain Capital, the funding will accelerate the expansion of PhotonPay's stablecoin-centric Financial OS, connecting stablecoin liquidity with global fiat networks to unlock digital assets for everyday corporate operations and cross-border settlement.

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – PhotonPay today announced the closing of a $40 million Series C funding round led by Blockchain Capital, with participation from new investor SBI Group and follow-on investments from existing investors IDG Capital, GL Ventures, and Lightspeed Faction. Blacksheep Technology acted as exclusive financial advisor to PhotonPay on the transaction.

The new capital will support the expansion of PhotonPay's stablecoin-centric Financial Operating System (Financial OS), with investment focused on enhancing multi-asset wallet capabilities, expanding global card issuing, strengthening local clearing infrastructure in key markets, and developing an agent-ready financial execution layer.

As of August 2026, PhotonPay's annualized transaction volume reached US$65 billion. The company has secured 34 payment and financial licenses and regulatory authorizations across the Americas, Europe and Asia, and serves over 200,000 business customers across more than 200 countries and territories.

As stablecoins move beyond crypto-native use cases into corporate treasury, settlement and commercial spending, PhotonPay sees the next phase of global finance not as a choice between stablecoins and fiat currencies, but as the convergence of both. Its Financial OS connects on-chain liquidity with the banking, clearing and card networks businesses rely on for everyday operations.

"Moving money across borders in seconds means little if it still takes days to put that capital to work," said Lewison Chen, Founder and CEO of PhotonPay. "Stablecoins are accelerating global money movement, while local clearing and global card issuing connect that liquidity to local settlement and everyday business spending. Our Financial OS brings these capabilities together, making the underlying infrastructure far less visible to businesses, even as it becomes more essential than ever."

"At the same time, business software is becoming increasingly autonomous," Chen added. "AI is shifting financial workflows from people manually operating fragmented tools toward systems that understand business intent and coordinate execution across assets, accounts and financial rails. That creates the foundation for agentic commerce. Stablecoins change how money moves. AI changes how it gets put to work. But commerce is still what money is for."

Moving Money Across Assets and Markets

PhotonPay's Financial OS brings together multi-asset wallets, global money movement, foreign exchange, local clearing, and global card issuing through an integrated API-first architecture. This unified system gives businesses access to the financial capabilities they need to manage and deploy funds across markets.

Stablecoins sit at the core of this architecture. PhotonPay's multi-asset wallet connects stablecoin liquidity with fiat balances, integrating asset conversion, foreign exchange, and local clearing into a single connected workflow. This enables businesses to move funds across supported on-chain and traditional financial networks, turning digital asset liquidity into purchasing power for local payments and everyday corporate spending.

Supporting this dual-rail infrastructure is PhotonPay's established global financial network. Businesses can open local collection accounts in 17 key markets and receive funds in more than 60 currencies. On the payout side, the network supports over 100 payment routes across local clearing systems, bank transfers, and digital wallets, including payouts to 74 major local e-wallets. Approximately 97% of payout transactions reach recipients within hours or on the same day, with 68% arriving in real time.

Global card issuing extends these capabilities into programmable business spending. Through PhotonPay's APIs, businesses and platforms can issue virtual and physical cards, configure granular spending controls, and embed card payments directly into their software and automated workflows. Over the past 12 months, PhotonPay issued 4.4 million cards, up 275% YoY.

Beyond its first-party payment solutions, PhotonPay makes its infrastructure available through embedded finance, enabling technology platforms to natively integrate global accounts, payments, and card issuing into their own products. The company now serves more than 100 enterprise and platform partners, extending the reach of its Financial OS into industry-specific workflows.

From Financial Intent to Agentic Commerce

As AI agents assume active operational roles, financial infrastructure must evolve beyond API access to enable programmable, policy-governed execution. It requires systems capable of translating high-level instructions into coordinated financial actions, with deterministic controls governing how those actions are executed.

In May 2026, PhotonPay and Mastercard completed a live agentic payment demonstration using a tokenized PhotonPay card, validating AI-initiated transactions across existing global card networks.

Building on this milestone, PhotonPay is developing standardized financial interfaces designed for developers and AI agents. With planned support for the Model Context Protocol (MCP), PhotonPay aims to make account information, balances, card functions, and payments accessible as composable financial primitives, allowing AI agents to securely retrieve context and initiate financial workflows within defined authorization boundaries.

To govern this agent-ready layer, PhotonPay is developing a policy-based execution framework designed to enforce programmable authorization rules, spending limits, and transaction-level controls. The framework is intended to enable AI agents to coordinate financial tasks across supported accounts and assets, while ensuring that execution remains subject to explicit, enforceable policies set by businesses.

PhotonPay is also advancing its AI-assisted risk review capabilities, designed to identify complex cases for human assessment. Together, these initiatives reflect a foundational principle of autonomous finance: AI may interpret intent and coordinate tasks, but financial execution must remain governed by verifiable authorization, deterministic controls, and auditable records.

"Connecting financial networks is only the beginning. The real breakthrough is abstracting that complexity behind a unified, programmable financial layer, so businesses and AI agents can move from intent to execution within clearly defined boundaries," said Chen.

Simple on the Surface, Deep by Design

The promise of a Financial OS is simplicity: enabling businesses to manage assets, route money, and execute payments through a unified financial operating layer. Yet delivering that simplicity requires deep financial infrastructure beneath the surface.

While stablecoins accelerate borderless value transfer, turning that liquidity into local settlement, supplier payments, and corporate spending still depends on established banking relationships, domestic clearing rails, foreign exchange infrastructure, and global card networks. Each market brings its own regulatory and operational requirements.

For PhotonPay, building a Financial OS means abstracting these fragmented global networks into a programmable, interconnected financial system. The objective is not to eliminate financial complexity, but to manage it within the underlying infrastructure, so businesses can operate without having to navigate these systems themselves.

"AI can simplify how businesses interact with financial services, but it cannot replace the infrastructure required to deliver them," said JP Pi, Chief Compliance Officer at PhotonPay. "Establishing local financial capabilities takes years of investment, institutional partnerships, and regulatory engagement. Software or AI models alone cannot replicate that depth. The simplicity businesses experience is the result of that heavy lifting, not a substitute for it."

PhotonPay has engineered a financial foundation spanning both stablecoin and fiat rails, connecting multi-asset conversion with local clearing networks. Institutional partnerships with J.P. Morgan, Standard Chartered, and DBS, alongside connections to domestic payment systems such as Brazil's Pix and Mexico's SPEI, form the backbone of this network.

The new capital will enable PhotonPay to strengthen its local clearing and compliance infrastructure in existing markets while expanding into new jurisdictions, scaling the reach of its Financial OS across corporate spending, embedded finance, and agentic commerce.

"Businesses want one provider that can handle their payments across currencies and markets, whether they're using bank transfers, stablecoins or cards. Lewison and his team have spent a decade building the banking relationships, licenses and local payment infrastructure to deliver that. We believe PhotonPay's ability to bring these capabilities together gives it a strong advantage as businesses adopt stablecoins for everyday payments." - BCAP，Yuanhan Li，Partner

"As stablecoins become increasingly integrated into global payment systems, bridging digital assets with traditional financial infrastructure will be essential to unlocking their real-world potential. PhotonPay's established global payment network and its vision for a stablecoin-centric Financial OS align closely with SBI Group's strategy to advance digital financial infrastructure and expand the practical adoption of digital assets. We look forward to supporting PhotonPay's continued growth and exploring opportunities for strategic collaboration across the SBI Group ecosystem." - Eiichiro So, CEO & Managing Director of SBI Ven Capital

Hashtag: #PhotonPay #SeriesC #Stablecoin

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About PhotonPay

Founded in Hong Kong in 2015, PhotonPay is a global fintech company building a next-generation, stablecoin-centric Financial Operating System (Financial OS). Its API-first architecture brings together multi-asset wallets supporting stablecoins and fiat currencies, global money movement, foreign exchange, global card issuing, embedded finance, and local clearing infrastructure, connecting digital and traditional financial rails within an integrated financial system.

PhotonPay operates 16 offices worldwide, employs nearly 600 people, and holds 34 payment and financial licenses and regulatory authorizations across the Americas, Europe and Asia. The company serves businesses across more than 200 countries and territories.

For more information, visit www.photonpay.com.

SOUEAST Accelerates Global Expansion and Elevates Its International Profile

2026-10-29T20:05:00+08:00

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – As competition in the global automotive market continues to evolve, automakers are exploring ways to fuse technological innovation and product development with local market needs. Under the theme "Future Travel Starts Now," the 2026 SOUEAST Global Technology Experience Day recently concluded, showcasing the brand's hybrid technology, product strength, global presence, and progress in implementing its "Travel+" strategy. Through real-world mobility scenarios, SOUEAST demonstrated how innovation can translate into tangible driving experiences, catering to diverse needs from daily commutes to leisure travel.

Hybrid Lineup rolls out globally on Kunpeng C-DM

As consumers increasingly prioritize efficiency, driving range and driving experience, hybrid technology that balances the benefits of electric driving and the flexibility of long-distance travel emerges as a key pathway in the automotive industry's transition to electrification.

In response to evolving market needs, SOUEAST leverages the Group's global R&D capabilities and technological advances in new energy and intelligent mobility to support the international deployment of its Kunpeng Super Hybrid C-DM System. The system integrates a hybrid-dedicated engine, a dedicated hybrid transmission (DHT) and battery safety system, seamlessly switching between pure electric and hybrid modes to deliver fuel efficiency for urban commutes and extended range for long trips.

Built on its C-DM hybrid technology, SOUEAST has introduced two plug-in hybrid models: the S06 DM as an Urban Stylish SUV, and the S08 DM as a 7-Seat Urban Comfort SUV. Tailored to young consumers and families respectively, the two models are well-suited to different scenarios including daily commutes, weekend getaways and intercity trips. On the experience day, participants took the S08 DM on real-world test drives and gained first-hand experience of the model's performance.

Strengthening Dealer Networks and Deepening Global Market Presence

A robust dealer network and reliable after-sales support are essential to building a strong presence in international markets. SOUEAST continues to strengthen its global supply chain and local sales and service networks to meet the specific needs of different markets. In Iraq, the brand has established the largest automotive after-sales service center, integrating vehicle repair, maintenance and spare parts support to deliver comprehensive, high-quality service under one roof.

As of September 2026, SOUEAST has established a foothold in 52 countries and regions, supported by a network of 318 sales outlets.By expanding its presence in key markets across the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. In Egypt, the brand ranked NO.4 in the passenger vehicle segment and No. 6 in the overall market within one year. By 2030, SOUEAST aims to extend its international operations to more than 80 countries and regions, which will broaden its global market reach.

From Mobility to Lifestyle: Bringing the "Travel+" Strategy to Life

Since its brand refresh in 2024, SOUEAST has adhered to its brand positioning as a "Travel Companion" and proposition of "EASE YOUR LIFE". Guided by its "Travel+" strategy, SOUEAST is exploring new ways to bring mobility and lifestyle closer together.

Focusing on the positioning, SOUEAST is forging closer connections with local cultures, lifestyles and consumer needs. In the Middle East, it partnered with Dubai Fashion Week and Time Out, the global lifestyle media brand to bring its brand philosophy into urban life. It has also engaged with local communities through child welfare initiatives, career guidance for university students and tree planting activities. In Kazakhstan, SOUEAST has collaborated with Red Bull Dance Your Style, a leading street dance competition, embracing local youth culture and enhancing its brand presence.

Through these various local initiatives, SOUEAST is enriching the meaning of its "Travel Companion" positioning and strengthening its emotional connections with local customers. Going forward, the brand will further develop its global footprint, while synergizing technological innovation, sales and service networks, and brand building. By delivering products and services suitable for local market needs, SOUEAST aims to further bolster its international competitiveness.

Hashtag: #SOUEAST

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

HKPC's LogTech Expo 2026 Successfully Held Today

2026-10-29T19:25:00+08:00

Attracts Active Participation from Industry Professionals and the Public, and Brings Together More Than 50 Enterprises to Showcase Innovative Logistics Solutions

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – Organised by the Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) and funded by the Logistics Promotion Funding Scheme (LPFS) under the Maritime and Aviation Training Fund of the Transport and Logistics Bureau of the HKSAR Government, LogTech Expo 2026 attracted strong participation from industry professionals and the public, bringing together over 50 logistics, supply chain and innovation and technology (I&T) enterprises, as well as representatives from industry, academia and the public sector. The Expo showcased innovative technologies and applications spanning artificial intelligence (AI), smart supply chain management, smart warehousing, logistics robotics, green logistics and the low-altitude economy, fostering the integration of technology with real-world logistics scenarios and exploring new opportunities in the digitalisation and smart transformation of the logistics industry.

Aligned with the logistics and innovation priorities outlined in Hong Kong's first Five-Year Plan and the 2026 Policy Address, including strengthening Hong Kong's role as an international maritime centre and international aviation hub, promoting modern logistics development, and accelerating AI and low-altitude economy applications, the Expo was held under the theme "Smart-Driven Transformation, Leading the Future of Logistics". Through exhibitions, forums, technical sharing sessions and business matching activities, the event promoted the integration of innovative technologies with real-world logistics applications and accelerated the industry's digital and intelligent transformation. The Opening Ceremony was officiated by Mr YAU Cheuk Hang, Vic, JP, Permanent Secretary for Transport and Logistics of the HKSAR Government, and Mr DU Yonghai, Chief Innovation Officer of HKPC. The Expo also received support from more than 20 industry organisations.

Mr YAU Cheuk Hang, Vic, JP, Permanent Secretary for Transport and Logistics, said: "Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan and the 2026 Policy Address put forward the goal of fully developing Hong Kong into a 'Global Maritime Capital', focusing on the two key areas of 'increasing quantity' and 'improving quality'. Driving the smart and green transformation of the logistics industry is one of the key priorities under the 'improving quality' agenda. The LogTech Expo has become an annual event for the logistics industry, enabling industry stakeholders to learn about the latest logistics technology solutions and to discuss the development trends and applications of smart logistics. It is hoped that this will help enhance the productivity of the industry and maintain the competitiveness of Hong Kong's logistics sector."

Mr DU Yonghai, Chief Innovation Officer of HKPC, said:"AI has evolved from being a tool for enhancing efficiency into a key engine driving the transformation and upgrading of the logistics industry. Through the integration of AI, robotics, automation systems and data analytics technologies, enterprises can enhance supply chain visibility, optimise decision-making processes and respond more quickly to changing market demands. HKPC has been actively promoting the application of AI and advanced manufacturing and logistics technologies. Through LogTech Expo 2026, we hope to facilitate technology exchange and cross-sector collaboration, helping the industry seize new opportunities arising from smart logistics and the low-altitude economy, while supporting Hong Kong's logistics sector in advancing towards greater efficiency, intelligence and sustainability."

AI, Robotics and Smart Warehousing Solutions Take Centre Stage

This year's Expo brought together more than 50 logistics, supply chain and I&T enterprises, showcasing a wide range of smart logistics applications covering AI, smart warehousing, logistics robotics, supply chain visibility, Internet of Things (IoT) technologies and automated logistics systems. Through real-world use cases, exhibitors demonstrated how AI, robotics and data technologies are enhancing logistics operations, optimising warehouse management and improving supply chain transparency.

Highlights included quadruped robots (Robot Dogs), Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), intelligent sorting systems, Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (ASRS), RFID logistics tracking solutions and high-density smart warehousing equipment, which attracted strong interest from visitors seeking to understand their practical applications and future potential in logistics operations. Companies including BPS Logistics Technology, HSM Industrial Solution Limited, Million Tech Development Limited, IoT Systems Limited and Beijing Xingdongjiyuan Co., Ltd. showcased innovative solutions in smart warehousing, automated operations and supply chain management.

Participating companies also affirmed the Expo's effectiveness as a platform for industry engagement. Eddie CHAP, General Manager of Supply Chain Solutions of Tradelink Electronic Commerce Limited, said, "The Expo brought together stakeholders from across the logistics and supply chain sectors, providing an ideal platform for industry exchange and the showcase of smart logistics solutions."

Mandy MAK, Chief Operating Officer of Swivel Software, said, "The Expo helped facilitate effective alignment between logistics technologies and industry needs, driving the practical adoption of innovative solutions and advancing digital transformation within the industry."

Industry Leaders Discuss AI Applications and Smart Logistics Trends

The Expo also facilitated the sharing of practical industry experience through thematic forums and technical presentations. One of the highlights was the opening seminar, "Smart Tools for Logistics: Practical AI Applications and Insights", moderated by Ryan IP, Vice President and Executive Director of the Public Policy Institute of Our Hong Kong Foundation. The seminar featured Professor LAI Kee-hung, Head of the Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies and Chair Professor of Shipping and Logistics at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Sunny HO, MH, JP, FCILT, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Shippers' Council; Keno CHEUNG Tai-yip, President of The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Hong Kong; and Suki CHEUNG Shuk-ming, Chief Executive Officer of MG Ship. The panel explored the logistics industry's ongoing digital transformation from a model of "reactive response" to one driven by "predictive decision-making", and examined the significant value of AI in enhancing efficiency, reducing costs, and strengthening risk management. Speakers noted that despite AI's enormous potential, the industry continues to face challenges such as gaps between expected and actual returns on investment, poor data quality, and cybersecurity and compliance requirements. The speakers also pointed out that approximately 65% of small and medium-sized enterprises remain at an early stage of technology adoption. They unanimously advocated for the education sector to cultivate multidisciplinary talent equipped with critical thinking skills, while calling on the Government and industry stakeholders to jointly promote affordable and user-friendly digital solutions. Such efforts, they said, would help narrow industry gaps and accelerate the comprehensive upgrading of the logistics sector.

Throughout the day, the Expo hosted more than 10 thematic forums and technical sharing sessions covering AI, digital twins, cross-border e-commerce logistics, supply chain visibility, ESG and green logistics, and the low-altitude economy, providing an important platform for the industry to exchange practical insights and explore the latest technological applications.

Fostering Industry Exchange and Business Collaboration

In addition to the exhibition and seminar programme, the Expo featured a dedicated networking and business matching session that brought together exhibitors, logistics and supply chain practitioners, partners, buyers and other industry stakeholders to have in-depth discussions on logistics technology applications, digital transformation strategies, market trends and potential collaboration opportunities. This helps connect technology providers with enterprise users while facilitating the adoption of innovative solutions and new business partnerships, and further strengthens the Expo's role as a platform for logistics technology exchange, business matching and knowledge sharing.

Looking ahead, HKPC will continue to work closely with industry partners to promote the practical adoption of AI, automation, data-driven technologies and other innovations across the logistics sector. By fostering deeper integration between technology and industry applications, HKPC is committed to supporting the digitalisation, intelligent transformation and high-quality development of Hong Kong's logistics industry.

Please download the high-res photos HERE.

Photo Captions:

1. Mr YAU Cheuk Hang, Vic, JP (middle), Permanent Secretary for Transport and Logistics of the HKSAR Government, Mr DU Yonghai (right), Chief Innovation Officer of the Hong Kong Productivity Council, and Ms Karen FUNG, Chief Marketing Officer of the Hong Kong Productivity Council officiate at the Opening Ceremony of LogTech Expo 2026.

2. Mr YAU Cheuk Hang, Vic, JP, Permanent Secretary for Transport and Logistics of the HKSAR Government, delivers remarks at the Opening Ceremony of LogTech Expo 2026, sharing insights on logistics technology and smart logistics development.

3. Mr DU Yonghai, Chief Innovation Officer of HKPC, said that AI is increasingly becoming a key driver of transformation and upgrading across the logistics industry. He noted that HKPC will continue to promote the adoption of AI and advanced logistics technologies to help the industry enhance competitiveness and operational efficiency.

4. Mr DU Yonghai, Chief Innovation Officer of HKPC, said that AI is increasingly becoming a key driver of transformation and upgrading across the logistics industry. He noted that HKPC will continue to promote the adoption of AI and advanced logistics technologies to help the industry enhance competitiveness and operational efficiency.

5. Mr YAU Cheuk Hang, Vic, JP, Permanent Secretary for Transport and Logistics of the HKSAR Government, toured the exhibition and exchanged views with exhibitors on the latest applications of AI, automation and smart logistics technologies.

6. The opening seminar, "Smart Tools for Logistics: Practical AI Applications and Insights", was moderated by Ryan IP(1^st left), Vice President and Executive Director of the Public Policy Institute of Our Hong Kong Foundation, and featured Professor LAI Kee-hung(2^nd left), Head of the Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies and Chair Professor of Shipping and Logistics at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Sunny HO, MH, JP, FCILT, (2^nd right), Executive Director of the Hong Kong Shippers' Council; Keno CHEUNG Tai-yip, (1^st right), President of The Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Hong Kong; and Suki CHEUNG Shuk-ming, (middle), Chief Executive Officer of MG Ship. Together, they explored how AI can enhance logistics operational efficiency, drive supply chain digitalisation and support Hong Kong's development as a smart logistics hub.

7. HSM Industrial Solution Company Limited: Hong Kong's first industrial mobile charging robot addresses the challenge of ageing power grids lacking three-phase power supply, enabling flexible charging for industrial fleets and private vehicles without costly grid upgrades or additional charging infrastructure.

8. Axis Communications Limited: The edge AI monitoring system integrates video analytics, temperature sensing and gas detection technologies to identify workplace safety incidents in real time and issue instant alerts, enhancing warehouse safety management.

9. BPS Logistics Technology (HKLTS): Equipped with infrared sensing capabilities, the quadruped inspection robot is specifically designed for inspection tasks and operations in hazardous environments across construction sites and logistics facilities, helping to reduce personnel safety risks.

10. Summation Solutions: The RFID inventory robot can automatically scan warehouse racks up to 2.8 metres in height, significantly improving inventory accuracy while reducing manpower requirements.

11. Million Tech Development Limited: The automated labelling system uses robotic arms to precisely handle goods of different shapes, effectively reducing labour costs and training requirements in logistics packaging operations.

12. The Embodied AI International Applications Hub under the Hong Kong Industrial Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Centre (FLAIR): Designed for small-parcel sorting, the humanoid robot is capable of operating 24/7 and is continuously being enhanced to meet the diverse parcel-handling needs of Hong Kong's logistics sector.

13. Centre of Advanced Power and Autonomous Systems (APAS) under HKPC: Featuring high payload capacity and obstacle-avoidance capabilities, the autonomous mobile robot and electric delivery vehicle support the logistics industry's ESG transformation through all-lithium electric technology.

Hashtag: #HKPC

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About the Hong Kong Productivity Council

The Hong Kong Productivity Council (HKPC) is a statutory body established in 1967, dedicated to enhancing the productivity and competitiveness of Hong Kong enterprises through world-class applied R&D, innovative technology services, and integrated manufacturing solutions. As a market-oriented, international R&D organisation, HKPC leverages its deep expertise and extensive industry experience in key areas such as AI, advanced manufacturing, life and health technology, green technology and new energy to drive new industrialisation and support the growth of emerging and future industries.

HKPC focuses on addressing businesses challenges and industrial technology needs, promoting the full integration between technological and industrial innovation. Through technology transfer, product innovation, intellectual property protection and commercialisation of R&D outcomes, the Council fosters collaboration with the local business community as well as top global R&D institutions, delivering added value to industries and advancing the development of new productive forces. HKPC's world-class R&D achievements have been widely recognised over the years, winning an array of local and overseas accolades, reinforcing Hong Kong's role as an international innovation and technology centre and a smart city.

To help enterprises capitalise on Hong Kong's strengths in international connectivity to expand into global markets, HKPC offers comprehensive overseas expansion services tailored to critical areas including product development, technology, manufacturing, and management, enabling businesses to successfully go global from Hong Kong.

HKPC is also committed to providing timely and practical support to SMEs and startups with timely and practical, assisting them in accessing Government funding programmes. Through its FutureSkills training initiatives, HKPC helps both industry and academia stay ahead in latest digital and STEM technologies, nurturing a future-ready talent pool for Hong Kong.

For more information, please visit HKPC's website: www.hkpc.org/en.

SeABank announces Sustainable Finance Framework

2026-10-29T19:16:00+08:00

HANOI, VIETNAM - Media OutReach Newswire - 29 October 2026 - Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank, stock code: SSB) has announced its Sustainable Finance Framework (SFF), which received a Second-Party Opinion (SPO) from S&P Global Ratings on September 24, 2026. This milestone establishes a foundation for funding growth and capital allocation toward SeABank's sustainability commitments.

Sustainable Finance Framework continues SeABank's sustainability efforts.

SeABank's SFF aligns with six international principles and guidelines issued by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), Loan Market Association (LMA), Asia-Pacific Loan Market Association (APLMA), Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA), and International Finance Corporation (IFC). It governs the full fund lifecycle through four pillars: use of proceeds, process for evaluation and selection, management of proceeds, and reporting.

Funding under this Framework will support eligible projects across 14 green categories (40-45%), 7 blue categories (10-15%), and 5 social objectives (40-45%).

This initiative aims to address Vietnam's environmental and social challenges, such as emissions, water security, waste management and pollution, while improving underserved communities' access to vital services, housing and finance. SeABank also supports marine biodiversity and ecosystem conservation, pioneering the field of blue financing.

The Framework sets quantitative criteria, such as a minimum 20% performance improvement in energy savings, emission reduction or water efficiency. All credit exposures are screened and assessed through SeABank's Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS). These criteria and reporting mechanisms aim to enhance accountability and integrate sustainable finance into operations.

Building on its 2025 Green and Blue Bond Framework, ICMA-aligned and rated "Medium Green" by S&P Global Ratings, the updated Framework adds lending and social objectives, unifying green, blue, and social financing under one structure.

Through these moves, SeABank has mobilized nearly US$1.1 billion from international institutions, including IFC, AIIB, Norfund, Proparco, FMO, and DFC. As of September 2026, outstanding green credit exceeded VND4.1 trillion, up over 150% from end-2025. By 2030, SeABank targets green credit at 5% of total outstanding loans alongside a 10% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions against its baseline year, while expanding financial access for vulnerable groups, women-owned businesses, and MSMEs.

Guided by its sustainability vision, SeABank is integrating ESG criteria into its long-term strategy and operations. The SFF serves as an indispensable instrument for capital mobilization and deployment, empowering clients' green transition as Vietnam advances toward Net-Zero by 2050.

Learn more: SeABank's SFF | S&P Global SPO

Hashtag: #SeABank

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Vinhomes Green Paradise to Enter Global Vote for the Future of Urban Living

2026-10-29T19:15:00+08:00

HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM - Media OutReach Newswire - 29 October 2026 - Vinhomes Green Paradise, a 2,870-hectare coastal development in Can Gio, Ho Chi Minh City, enters the global voting phase of New7Wonders' "7 Wonders of Future Cities" campaign on Oct. 31. As the campaign's first Official Participant, the project carries Vietnam's aspiration to be counted among the cities that will define urban living in the 21st century.

Vinhomes Green Paradise, a 2,870-hectare development in Can Gio, Ho Chi Minh City, is entering the global voting phase of the "7 Wonders of Future Cities" campaign launched by New7Wonders.

Around 200 B.C., the Greek writer Philon of Byzantium compiled a list of seven extraordinary monuments, essentially a travel guide for fellow Greeks exploring the known world. More than 2,000 years later, only the Pyramids of Giza still stand. The Hanging Gardens, the Colossus of Rhodes and the rest have passed into legend. What has endured is not the stone, but the human desire to name, celebrate and protect the extraordinary.

Bernard Weber, founder of New7Wonders, revived that tradition with one key difference: the wonders would be chosen not by one person, but by millions of people around the world. The organization's 2007 global vote drew more than 100 million votes, a reminder that a wonder becomes a wonder when it speaks to a shared sense of pride.

Vietnam knows this well. Ha Long Bay, with nearly 2,000 limestone islands rising from emerald waters, earned its place among the New7Wonders of Nature, showing that a single place can rally support from around the world.

Today, however, the world is shaped as much by cities as by landscapes. The United Nations projects that around 68% of the global population will live in urban areas by 2050. The idea of a wonder is shifting accordingly, from beauty inherited from nature to cities that balance nature, technology, sustainability and quality of life. The question is what it will contribute next, not as a wonder of nature, but as a wonder of the future.

A global stage for Vietnam's urban vision

One answer is taking shape in Can Gio. The "7 Wonders of Future Cities" campaign seeks to identify the next generation of urban wonders by recognizing pioneering cities and developments that champion sustainable development, technological advancement, innovation and human-centric design. Launched on Oct. 31, 2025, the campaign is accepting applications through Oct. 31, 2026, and has drawn 265 participants from around the world. Vinhomes Green Paradise was the first to be named an Official Participant.

The global voting phase opens on Oct. 31, 2026, and will unfold in three stages:

November 2026 to April 2027: Public voting will determine a longlist of 77 participants, from which New7Wonders will select and reveal 28 finalists based on its defined criteria.

May to October 2027: The 28 finalists will compete through three qualifier stages, with millions of votes expected to decide the outcome.

Oct. 31, 2027: New7Wonders will confirm, validate and declare the "7 Wonders of Future Cities."

Three pillars, one vision

Measured against the campaign's criteria, Vinhomes Green Paradise is built on three core pillars.

Environment & Nature. The development occupies a rare coastal site in Can Gio, adjacent to the sea and the UNESCO-recognized Can Gio Mangrove Biosphere Reserve. Construction density across the 2,870-hectare site is planned at just 16%, leaving most of the land for green spaces, water bodies and ecological landscapes.

Smart City. The project is designed to integrate the Internet of Things (IoT), big data and artificial intelligence (AI) into urban governance, operations and environmental monitoring. By embedding technology in its infrastructure, it aims to optimize resource use, improve operational efficiency and foster a modern, safe and civilized living environment.

Human-Centric Development. Amenities and services are planned around a people-first philosophy, with an ecosystem of internationally benchmarked services spanning healthcare, education, senior living, culture, sports, entertainment and dining, designed to support a high quality of life for residents.

Vote for the future

Following an on-site visit, Jean-Paul de la Fuente, director of New7Wonders and chairman of the "7 Wonders of Future Cities" campaign, noted that the Can Gio setting places the relationship between development and nature at the center of the discussion. Vinhomes' stated ambition to build that relationship into its vision is an important starting point, he said, while the project's lasting value will depend on how planning decisions, environmental safeguards and long-term management support the ecosystem as the development progresses.

"For me, this is where the idea of a future city becomes particularly meaningful: understanding the natural systems on which a place depends and explaining how they will be cared for," he said. In his view, Green Paradise has an opportunity to demonstrate its approach through evidence of progress and outcomes over time, contributing to a valuable international exchange on responsible development in sensitive natural settings.

Reflecting on the visit, he added: "A visit brings the physical context into focus: the relationship between the site and its surroundings, the scale of the urban vision, and the practical questions involved in connecting infrastructure, services and public spaces. Those relationships are easier to appreciate in person than through individual drawings or presentations."

From Ha Long Bay to Can Gio, Vietnam's story of wonders is being written in a new language: cities that listen to nature, use technology in service of people and measure success by quality of life. The project's participation is expected to inspire national pride and rally support from communities in Vietnam and abroad, strengthening Vietnam's voice in the global conversation on the future of cities.

Hashtag: #Vinhomes

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Hainan economic, trade delegation visits Hong Kong for investment promotion, 2 cooperation memoranda signed

2026-10-29T18:30:00+08:00

HONG KONG SAR - Media OutReach Newswire - 29 October 2026 - From October 19 to 20, an economic and trade delegation from Hainan Province paid a visit to Hong Kong. The delegation signed memoranda of cooperation respectively withThe Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong (CMA)and the Federation of Hong Kong Industries (FHKI) to advance pragmatic cross-border collaboration between Hainan and Hong Kong in trade and investment, manufacturing industrial chains and professional services.

Signing ceremony for the cooperation memoranda

During its stay in Hong Kong, the delegation visited the CCPIT Representative Office in Hong Kong. It held discussions with CMA and co-hosted the Hainan Free Trade Port (Hong Kong) Economic and Trade Cooperation Exchange Meeting with FHKI. The event showcased the policies, key industrial layout and investment opportunities of the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP), and arranged one-on-one business matchmaking between Hainan and Hong Kong enterprises.

Wang Yuyuan, Vice President of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Hainan Sub-council (CCPIT Hainan) and China Chamber of International Commerce Hainan Chamber of Commerce, noted that since the official launch of island-wide special customs operations at the Hainan FTP on December 18, 2025, 174,000 new enterprises have been registered, representing a year-on-year surge of 95.9 percent. Newly established foreign-invested enterprises rose by 35.8 percent year on year. In the first half of this year, inbound and outbound tourist arrivals exceeded 70 million, up 28 percent year on year, with the number of visa-free entry countries expanding to 88. From January to August, the province's total goods import and export volume hit 250 billion yuan, growing by 61.5 percent year on year. Hainan is rapidly emerging as a critical gateway connecting China with the rest of the world and a prime channel for two-way investment.

According to CCPIT Hainan, Hong Kong ranks as a major source of foreign investment for Hainan. In the first half of this year, Hainan registered 1,303 new foreign-invested enterprises, an increase of 38.62 percent year on year, with Hong Kong-funded enterprises accounting for the lion's share. Hainan has issued offshore RMB local government bonds in Hong Kong for four consecutive years, with a cumulative issuance volume reaching 18 billion yuan.

CMA is one of Hong Kong's most representative non-profit industrial and commercial bodies, with around 3,000 member enterprises. It has long provided members with business services including exhibitions, brand promotion, testing and certification. FHKI, one of Hong Kong's four major chambers of commerce, has approximately 2,000 corporate members. It focuses on boosting the sustained development of Hong Kong industry and manufacturing through policy advocacy, business matchmaking, certification services and youth talent cultivation.

The two memoranda explicitly stipulate that the two sides will establish a regular liaison mechanism, build a long-term cooperation platform covering information sharing, business matchmaking, exhibition collaboration and professional services, and provide solid support for pragmatic business cooperation between Hainan and Hong Kong enterprises.

Source: China Council for the Promotion of International Trade Hainan Provincial Committee (CCPIT Hainan)

Hashtag: #CPITHainan

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

OPPO Reaches the Next Level of Making with Find X10 Series

2026-10-29T18:00:00+08:00

From design and camera to AI, OPPO has taken R&D, testing, and manufacturing to the next level in the making of its latest flagship series.

SHENZHEN, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – Following the global debut of Find X10 Series—featuring industry-leading camera hardware, including the industry-first Triple 200MP Camera System on Find X10 Pro Max, the next-generation LUMO True Image Engine, an all-new flagship design, and the latest AI-powered ColorOS 17—OPPO today invited members of the media for a closer look at the next-level making behind its new True Camera Phone. From what users see and feel on the outside, to the technologies and intelligence inside, and the manufacturing behind them, the Next Level of Making tour revealed OPPO's integrated approach to product design, mobile imaging, and AI, where each technology and feature is developed, tested, and verified through rigorous processes designed to deliver exceptional levels of quality and consistency on a global scale.

"Quality is the foundation of OPPO's entire product portfolio, and our control over the product creation process is what allows us to realize this commitment at scale," said Ling Liu, Overseas CMO of OPPO. "Last year, we introduced Apex Guard to show how our commitment to quality goes beyond everyday use, product lifespans, and industry standards. This year, we are opening up our development, testing, and manufacturing processes to unveil how that vision translates into the Next Level of Making, and ultimately elevates the products and experiences we deliver."

The Making of Clean and Sophisticated Design

For OPPO, achieving the Next Level of Making starts with product design, where purposeful functionality, signature aesthetics, and meticulous craftsmanship merge the latest technology and timeless style intuitively into one.

At the heart of this vision is OPPO's Clean and Sophisticated design language, exemplified on Find X10 Series by the phone's One-Piece Sculpted Glass design. The glass back cover gradually rises toward the camera area, introducing a finely sculpted transition before reaching the camera module. This subtle, three-level design softens the visual impact of the camera, creating a clear visual hierarchy that allows the camera to blend more naturally into the overall body of the phone.

OPPO Find X10 Pro Max in Luna White

On the Luna White edition of Find X10 Pro Max, this philosophy is taken further through a unique design drawing inspiration from classic cameras. Lining the vertical edge of the camera module, a fluted texture crafted through high-precision CNC engraving makes a nod to the focus ring seen on classic lenses. Complementing this, Luna White introduces a distinctive two-tone treatment with a delicate woven texture recreated within the matte glass surface. At first glance, the rear cover appears clean and pure white, but as the phone turns with the light, the fine woven pattern gradually comes into view, adding subtle depth and warmth beneath the minimalist surface.

The final design is the result of continuous testing, refinement, and close collaboration between OPPO's Industrial Design and CMF teams. The Luna White colorway alone has undergone over 40 rounds of fine-tuning to achieve the desired tone, and a single rear-panel pattern requires more than 10 rounds of refinement across multi-stage precision treatments to achieve the intended appearance and durability needed to bring the design of the True Camera Phone to life.

The Making of a "Hasselblad True-to-Life Camera"

The same commitment to next-level making that shapes the product's exterior extends to the camera system within.

Building on the co-development with Hasselblad that began in 2022, OPPO continues to reimagine its optical expertise for mobile. On Find X10 Series, three Hasselblad modes—Master Mode, Hi-Res Mode, and Portrait Mode—enable professional control, crystal-clear quality, and optical-quality bokeh, while industry-leading camera hardware combined with a next-generation LUMO True Image Engine bring natural color, fine detail, and lifelike tone to visual content.

The LUMO True Image Engine operates across three primary imaging architectures: the LUMO Natural Tone Engine delivers linear tonal rendering in default photo mode, the LUMO True Color Engine gains more accurate source information from the 24-channel multispectral sensor to reproduce color naturally, and the LUMO Hyper Pixel Engine enables continuous 26MP output by default across the main, telephoto, and ultra-wide cameras from ultra-wide to 9.9x zoom in Auto Mode, and uses multi-frame fusion to produce full-resolution 200MP photos with fine details at native focal length supported by 200MP sensors in Hasselblad Hi-Res Mode.

Reaching this level of realism requires extensive testing and validation at both the technical and perceptual levels. OPPO evaluates image quality against established industry benchmarks while applying its own True-to-Life criteria to ensure light and shadow appear vivid, colors remain faithful, and details appear lifelike in every image. HDR performance, facial brightness, and skin-tone gradation are assessed across 40 different lighting conditions to ensure tone remains balanced. For color testing, OPPO goes beyond the industry-standard 24-color chart, testing instead against 140 different colors to achieve more precise color reproduction across different hues and saturation levels. Lifelike human head models with real hair and wrinkles provide even more insights into how well the camera preserves intricate details and authentic textures without introducing overprocessed artifacts.

140-color chart at the OPPO True-to-Life Image Lab

Laboratory testing is complemented by real-world shooting scenarios, combining objective metrics with human-led visual tuning to create the True Camera Phone. To simulate the challenges of filming a live concert, OPPO uses a dedicated stage setup that recreates demanding lighting and shooting conditions, while multi-axis robotic arms simulate natural hand movements and vibrations to assess image stabilization, with additional telephoto testing to help ensure consistent performance at different zoom levels.

The Making of a Truly Personal AI Experience

The Next Level of Making is ultimately about creating technology that better serves the people who use it. Through the latest ColorOS 17, OPPO has brought system-level AI to Find X10 Series, supported by a dedicated security framework that makes every interaction smarter, smoother, and more secure.

The updated AI Mind Pilot supplements the existing Ask Mode with a new Agent Mode powered by the third-party AI agent Manus to achieve a major breakthrough in system-level AI. Operating directly on the device across the photos and files, the new AI agent understands complex context and executes multi-step workflows in real time. For creative tasks, ColorOS 17 also introduces a new AI Photo Agent backed by OPPO's proprietary Visual-Language Model and six expert image models. By interpreting visual references and natural-language instructions provided by the user, or proactively suggesting suitable edits, AI Photo Agent makes the edits that users actually want, allowing the creative process to become more intuitive for everyone.

Behind these capabilities is a global computing infrastructure designed to ensure consistent, reliable AI performance for OPPO users around the world. OPPO operates nine Internet Data Centers across six regions, each deployed based on the specific regulatory requirements, network and cloud infrastructure in the local market. With 99.99% availability, these data centers support round-the-clock operations and coordinated services worldwide.

Alongside this growth in AI capabilities, OPPO's AI Security Framework prioritizes privacy and security by safeguarding user data at every stage of the AI lifecycle, from model training to everyday use. All OPPO data management practices align with local regulations and established operational controls, and OPPO's Private Computing Cloud, developed in partnership with Google, isolates and protects user data when processed in the cloud.

A Smart Manufacturing Ecosystem Built for Scale

Since becoming one of the first smartphone companies to introduce automated manufacturing in 2017, OPPO has continued to expand its intelligent production capacity, today operating nine smart manufacturing centers globally. Spanning China, India, Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey, Brazil, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, these facilities operate at a high level of automation, with over 95% of Surface Mount Technology (SMT) production lines and an average of 85% of final assembly lines fully automated.

At the Chang'an Intelligent Manufacturing Center in China, early-stage R&D concepts are tested using over 300 automated testing stations on final assembly lines, accelerating the time needed from initial innovation to high-quality production at scale. The center is also responsible for final assembly, shipping up to 7,200 finished OPPO Find X10 Pro Max devices every day.

Through continuous innovation in key manufacturing processes—including display assembly, automated camera module installation, airtightness testing, and battery compartment inspection—OPPO continues to improve assembly precision and manufacturing consistency, allowing it to bring more advanced and reliable products to users worldwide.

Hashtag: #OPPO #FindX10Series #NextLevelOfMaking

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About OPPO

OPPO is a leading global smart device brand. Since the launch of its first mobile phone - "Smiley Face" - in 2008, OPPO has been in relentless pursuit of the perfect synergy of aesthetic satisfaction and innovative technology. Today, OPPO provides a wide range of smart devices spearheaded by the Find and Reno series. Beyond devices, OPPO also provides its users with ColorOS operating system and internet services. OPPO has footprints in more than 90 countries and regions, with more than 40,000 employees dedicated to creating a better life for customers around the world.

Prudential forms new business partnership to offer instant doctor booking and pre-authorisation

2026-10-29T17:30:00+08:00

Technology-enabled collaboration connects healthcare, InsurTech and payment capabilities to deliver a more seamless customer journey while supporting Hong Kong’s InsurTech ecosystem

Key highlights

Prudential partners with local InsurTech firm MediConCen and global payment solutions provider Mastercard to enhance Medical Expenses Direct Billing.
Integrated digital journey on MediConCen's platform, from doctor booking and pre-authorisation to expense settlement, with no upfront payment required from customers for approved medical expenses.
Chiron Medical Group as the first provider partner, with broader rollout planned.
Driving innovation across healthcare, InsurTech, and payments.

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – Prudential Hong Kong Limited ("Prudential") today announced a collaboration with Hong Kong-based InsurTech start-up MediConCen ("MCC") and global payment solutions provider Mastercard to further enhance the medical experience for Prudential customers. Powered by MediConCen technology, which digitally connects medical appointment booking, expense pre-authorisation and B2B payment by Mastercard virtual card, the collaboration provides customers with a faster, more secure and seamless journey from accessing medical services to settling eligible medical expenses.

Representatives from Prudential, MediConCen, Mastercard and Chiron Medical Group mark the launch of a new collaboration to provide a more seamless healthcare journey for Prudential's eligible customers. Guests in attendance at the officiating ceremony include (from left to right): William Yeung, Co-founder and CEO, MediConCen; Helena Chen, Senior Vice President, General Manager, Hong Kong & Macau, Mastercard; Candy Au Yeung, Chief Customer Operations and Health Officer, Prudential Hong Kong Limited; Wallace Wong, Chief Executive Officer, Chiron Medical Group.

Chiron Medical Group joins as inaugural provider partner

In the initial phase, Chiron Medical Group ("Chiron") will serve as an inaugural provider partner, deploying the capability across their networks. This platform will expand to gradually include more providers including clinics, hospitals and medical networks across Hong Kong in the coming months, bringing the same effortless experience to even more customers.

The collaboration marks another step in Prudential's efforts to enhance its Medical Expenses Direct Billing Service through technology and strategic partnerships. Eligible customers can benefit from:

Instant appointment booking, making it easier to access medical services when needed.
Instant pre-authorisation, providing earlier confirmation of eligible coverage before treatment.
Cashless settlement of approved medical expenses, reducing the need to pay upfront and submit claims for reimbursement afterwards.

Together, these enhancements simplify the healthcare journey from booking and pre-authorisation to payment. Once an eligible medical expense is approved by Prudential, MCC facilitates settlement with the provider partner through the Mastercard virtual card. Provider partners will also have access to a dedicated portal for case handling and settlement, enabling prompt payment of approved claims with minimal paperwork.

Bringing together healthcare, InsurTech and payment expertise

Candy Au Yeung, Chief Customer Operations and Health Officer, Prudential Hong Kong Limited, said: "This collaboration goes beyond direct billing by extending the journey upstream to appointment booking and pre-authorisation. It is an example of guided care in action, connecting the different parts of the customer journey across healthcare, technology and payments to further enhance our services and deliver a simpler, more convenient experience. We are also pleased to support home-grown InsurTech innovation as we continue to explore new solutions that provide customers with better experiences and greater peace of mind."

"Nobody should have to worry about the bill when they are seeking treatment," said William Yeung, Co-founder and CEO, MediConCen. "We built the technology that makes the payment journey invisible. Booking, approval and settlement flow as one. The patient never pays upfront, the provider is paid securely, and Prudential Hong Kong keeps full control of every coverage decision. That is what cashless should feel like."

Enhancing efficiency and transparency in healthcare payments

"At Mastercard, we are committed to helping businesses move money more efficiently, securely and seamlessly. Through our virtual card capabilities, this collaboration enables a secure and streamlined digital settlement flow between insurers and healthcare providers, delivering greater efficiency, visibility and control to the claims process," said Helena Chen, Senior Vice President, General Manager, Hong Kong & Macau, Mastercard. "Together with Prudential and MediConCen, we are demonstrating how commercial payments innovation can simplify complex B2B payment flows and support a more connected healthcare ecosystem."

Wallace Wong, Chief Executive Officer, Chiron Medical Group, said: "We are extending the starting point of care even further — quality healthcare begins before patients even step into the clinic. From online appointment booking and consultation to claims settlement, the entire journey is seamlessly connected, allowing our teams to focus on clinical care."

Supporting Hong Kong's innovation ecosystem

Beyond this collaboration, Prudential continues to support Hong Kong's innovation ecosystem by working with local technology and InsurTech companies to bring home-grown solutions into real-world insurance applications, helping drive industry innovation while delivering enhanced experiences for customers.

Technology connects appointment booking, pre-approval and payment to enable a more streamlined medical expenses direct billing journey. With minimal change required on their part, customers benefit from enhanced backend connectivity that helps make the overall experience more seamless and efficient.

Hashtag: #Prudential

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Prudential Hong Kong Limited

Prudential has been serving the people of Hong Kong since 1964. Through Prudential Hong Kong Limited and Prudential General Insurance Hong Kong Limited, the Company provides a range of financial planning services and products, including individual life insurance, investment-linked insurance, retirement solutions, health and medical protection, general insurance, and employee benefits to protect over 1.41 million customers in Hong Kong. Beyond Hong Kong, Prudential serves the Macau community through its branch, offering health insurance and financial solutions to complete its footprint in the Greater Bay Area. Visit www.prudential.com.hk for more information.

Vision Engineering Brings 4K Inspection to Malaysia

2026-10-29T17:00:00+08:00

Vision Engineering Launches EVO Cam AURA, Bringing 4K Digital Inspection to Malaysia's High-Growth Manufacturing Sectors

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – Vision Engineering, a British microscope manufacturer with direct operations in Malaysia, has launched EVO Cam AURA, a 4K digital microscope platform built for the quality demands of the country's booming semiconductor, electronics and precision engineering sectors. The system succeeds EVO Cam II, which became an industry standard across electronics, automotive, aerospace, medical device and research applications worldwide.

The Pressure on Malaysian Production Lines

Malaysia's New Industrial Master Plan 2030 is driving the E&E sector toward the national RM1 trillion export target. IC packaging, PCB assembly and sensor production across Penang and Kulim demand finer defect detection at higher throughput. Inspection microscope manufacturers serving these sectors face mounting pressure, as ergonomic research indicates that inspection fatigue can reduce detection accuracy after just two hours of continuous work, affecting yields, scrap rates and operator retention.

Precision and Comfort in One System

EVO Cam AURA addresses both challenges. True 4K imaging resolves hairline cracks, contamination and pad geometry at the level that semiconductor packaging and medical implant tolerances demand. Operators work from a screen rather than through traditional eyepieces, so prolonged inspection places far less strain on eyes, neck and back, helping teams sustain accuracy across full shifts. When operators stay comfortable, defect detection remains consistent and production quality holds.

"Malaysia has firmly established itself as a sophisticated global manufacturing hub, particularly within the semiconductor and medical device sectors," said Ganesh Ramakrishnan, South East Asia Regional Director at Vision Engineering. "Components are shrinking and tolerances are tightening. EVO Cam AURA gives quality teams the imaging clarity and integrated digital workflow they need to protect yields while meeting standards such as ISO 13485 and IATF 16949."

Smart Manufacturing Integration

AURA software consolidates zoom, focus, lighting, capture, calibrated measurement and analysis into a single on-screen interface. Supervisor Mode locks critical parameters across systems and sites, while go/no-go overlays and golden-sample comparison reduce the steps between inspection and documentation.

EVO Cam AURA comes in three models, 4K Touch, 4K and HD, and operates standalone with no PC required. Secure variants are available for facilities where wireless connectivity, Bluetooth or removable storage cannot be permitted. Wi-Fi and LAN connectivity support live streaming and remote oversight, aligning with Malaysia's push toward smart manufacturing and Industry 4.0 readiness.

The Shift Already Under Way

The move from traditional eyepiece inspection to integrated digital precision is gaining ground across Malaysian manufacturing, and choosing the right digital microscope supplier matters more than ever.

To book an on-site demonstration using your production samples, visit my.visioneng.com, email info@visioneng.asia, or call +6012710266.

Hashtag: #VisionEngineering

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Vision Engineering Ltd

Vision Engineering Ltd provides inspection and metrology solutions across industry, science and research, from ergonomic optical magnification to advanced digital microscopy and non-contact measurement systems. Its product range includes the Mantis and Lynx EVO ergonomic stereo microscopes, the ProteQ VISO and EVO Cam series of digital microscopes, and a range of vision measurement systems for non-contact dimensional inspection and verification. Vision Engineering is certified to ISO 9001:2015 for its quality management system.

Vision Engineering's contract manufacturing division offers comprehensive contract manufacturing, design, and commercialisation packages, giving customers access to the latest technology, as well as a team of experienced designers and engineers.

Founded in 1958 and wholly British-owned, Vision Engineering's Global HQ, design, and manufacturing facilities are based in state-of-the-art modern premises in Woking, Surrey, UK, with extensive manufacturing facilities in the UK and the US. Regional sales and tech support offices are located throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, supported by a fully trained network of distributors.

Alibaba Cloud Launches First Public Cloud Region in the Netherlands

2026-10-29T17:00:00+08:00

Two new data centres aim to bring robust infrastructure, lower latency and in-region data residency to local and European customers
New AI and cloud products unveiled to meet the growing demand of enterprise AI in Europe

AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – Alibaba Cloud, a leading global provider of AI infrastructure and the intelligence backbone of Alibaba Group, today announced the launch of its first public cloud region in the Netherlands, located in Amsterdam, with two new data centres now available to meet growing European demand for cloud and AI services. The announcement was made at the first International Apsara Conference, Alibaba Cloud's flagship technology event in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

"The Netherlands is one of Europe's most vibrant digital economies, and our first region here is a direct response to the strong demand we see from local businesses building and scaling with AI. By bringing our advanced AI and cloud capabilities to Amsterdam, we are giving customers the in-region infrastructure, performance and data residency they need to innovate faster, scale securely and operate with greater efficiency in the AI era," said Dr. Feifei Li, Chief Technology Officer and President of International Business, Alibaba Cloud Intelligence.

The launch reflects surging customer demand as European businesses scale cloud-native operations and integrate AI at scale. By establishing infrastructure locally, Alibaba Cloud can deliver more resilient, low-latency services, strengthen disaster recovery, and support customers who require their data to be processed and stored locally in Netherlands and within Europe.

The new region offers a comprehensive suite of cloud computing products—spanning elastic computing, storage, container, networking, big data, security, database and cloud-native services. To meet the growing demand for enterprise agents across Europe, Alibaba Cloud also plans to bring a suite of agentic AI services to the region.

These products include ACS Agent Sandbox, which provides hardware-level security isolation while reducing the operational cost of AI agents; Agent Security Center, an integrated defense platform for AI agents; AI Security Guardrails 2.0, an upgraded security solution with end-to-end risk detection capabilities; Agentic SOC, an enterprise-grade, AI agent-driven security operations platform; and STAROps, a comprehensive intelligent operations platform. Together, these products are designed to streamline the building and running of enterprise-scale agents in a secure environment, giving enterprises full-cycle management of agent engineering.

During the conference, Alibaba Cloud also unveiled the latest generation of Apsara Stack, a flexible hybrid cloud solution built on public cloud architecture for public sector and enterprise AI workloads. The new solution delivers more than 80 cloud and AI products and provides round-the-clock service to customers worldwide. Powered by AI-driven operations and maintenance, it has improved operational accuracy to 92.5% and increased automation rates to 70%.

Apsara Stack offers a seamless hybrid cloud experience by bringing full-stack capabilities on premises. The platform combines flexible deployment and licensing with robust disaster recovery and enhanced security. This enables finance, telecom and public sector organizations to maintain controlled asset ownership and compliance while benefiting from agile cloud scalability.

Building a Robust Ecosystem with Customers and Partners to Thrive in the AI-powered Digital Era

As AI and cloud adoption accelerate, the new Netherlands region enhances Alibaba Cloud's ability to deliver AI-ready infrastructure to European businesses—improving resilience, reducing latency, strengthening data localisation and supporting broader digital transformation goals. A growing ecosystem of Netherlands-based innovators is already building on Alibaba Cloud's advanced and secure cloud and AI technologies.

JetBrains, a software development company is working with Alibaba Cloud to explore the integration of Qwen models to power Junie, JetBrains AI coding assistant, across both cloud and local scenarios. The collaboration gives JetBrains and its developers strong cost-to-performance, early access to frontier Qwen models, and the flexibility to choose where models run — from in-region cloud to fully local, on-device setups.

Kirill Skrygan, CEO of JetBrains.

Netherlands-based LLM platform orq.ai has partnered with Alibaba Cloud to integrate Qwen models into its hosted model garden, served natively from Alibaba Cloud's AI development platform Model Studio. This integration allows orq.ai's customers to access diversified cutting-edge generative AI while maintaining strict EU data localisation.

Anthony Diaz, Co-Founder and CPTO, orq.ai.

Monks, a global digital-first marketing and technology services company headquartered in Amsterdam is integrating Alibaba's latest generative AI models into Monks.Flow, its proprietary end-to-end AI marketing platform through Alibaba Cloud Model Studio platform. By leveraging Alibaba Cloud's advanced AI capabilities, Monks can deliver highly ambitious creative assets faster, providing global brands with greater speed-to-market and flexible token optionality. The companies plan to expand the use of these models beyond content creation into wider marketing workflows, with Monks adopting Alibaba latest AI models in the future.

Wesley ter Haar, Co-Founder of Monks and Chief AI Officer.

Magnific, the world's leading AI platform for creatives serving more than one million subscribers and thousands of enterprise clients worldwide, has integrated Alibaba's advanced AI models into its platform to help content creators generate, enhance, and refine content more efficiently, while unlocking new levels of creativity and productivity.

Jose Florido, CGO from Magnific.

Idea.ai, an Amsterdam-based digital design marketplace, has leveraged Alibaba's advanced AI models to power its next generation of generative media inside idea.ai, delivering high-quality, cost-competitive creative tools to its tens of millions of registered users. The two companies plan to deepen their collaboration across the full creative spectrum.

Roemie Hillenaar, CEO and Co-founder, Idea.ai.

Alibaba Cloud's Growing Presence Across Europe

As part of Alibaba's previously announced US$53 billion investment in AI and cloud infrastructure, the new Netherlands region expands Alibaba Cloud's global infrastructure to 109 availability zones across 32 regions worldwide, providing secure, scalable and robust cloud and AI infrastructure to support customers everywhere on their digital innovation journeys.

Joining Alibaba Cloud's existing European regions in Germany (Frankfurt), the UK (London) and France (Paris), the Netherlands becomes the company's fourth region in Europe, giving businesses more in-region options for data residency and keeping their data and AI workloads within Europe.

In addition, Alibaba Cloud is also planning to establish its first cloud regions in Finland, while expanding its data center footprints in Germany and France over the next 12 months. The expansion will further increase Alibaba Cloud's global computing capacity and strengthen its ability to provide localized cloud and AI services to customers across key European markets.

Hashtag: #AlibabaCloud

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Alibaba Cloud

Alibaba Cloud (www.alibabacloud.com) is a global leader in full-stack AI+Cloud solutions. It offers a comprehensive suite of flexible, scalable and secure cloud services built on a three-tiered architecture of Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS), Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) and Model-as-a-Service (MaaS). Alibaba Cloud empowers enterprises worldwide with its full-stack AI capabilities, powered by Qwen (Chinese: Qianwen), a family of large language and multimodal AI models developed by Alibaba. Debuted in 2023, Qwen models are available to global developers via HuggingFace (open-weight) or through API on Model Studio, Alibaba's one-stop, enterprise-grade AI development platform offering access to the full suite of Qwen foundation models.

CPA Australia Congress 2026 in Hong Kong brings think tanks to shape the future

2026-10-29T17:00:00+08:00

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – Hong Kong's strengths in finance and innovation, the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI), and the changing role of professionals took centre stage at CPA Australia Congress 2026 in Hong Kong today, as government, business and global thought leaders explored how organisations can turn disruption into opportunity.

The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, speaks at the CPA Congress 2026

Held under the theme "Lead the Outcome: Shape What's Next", the Congress brought together policymakers, business leaders and industry experts to examine some of the forces reshaping the global business landscape, from AI and innovation to governance, leadership, organisational resilience and the skills needed to build future-ready organisations.

The Congress featured opening remarks from The Honourable Paul Chan, GBM, GBS, MH, JP, Financial Secretary of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; Gareth Williams, Australian Consul-General in Hong Kong and Macau; and Dr Asheley Jones, Chief Learning and Innovation Officer at CPA Australia.

Preparing professionals to lead in a changing world

Dr Asheley Jones said the profession must prepare the next generation of accounting and finance professionals not simply to adapt to change, but to help shape what comes next. "We are not simply preparing the next generation of accounting professionals for the world as it is today. We are preparing them to lead in a world that is still being imagined."

"Our ambition extends beyond knowledge. It is about preparing future accounting and finance professionals to apply judgement, question assumptions and respond confidently to a changing world. As information becomes increasingly accessible, professional value will not be measured by what you know alone, but by how you interpret it, act on it and create trust through the decisions you make."

(From second left to right) Mr George Kapitelli, Chief Financial Officer of CPA Australia; Mr Cyrus Cheung, Greater China Divisional President; Mr Paul Chan, The Financial Secretary; Mr Gareth Williams, the Consul-General of Australia to Hong Kong and Macao; Dr Asheley Jones, Chief Learning and Innovation Officer, CPA Australia.

Hong Kong turns capital and innovation into new growth

Opening the Congress, Financial Secretary Paul Chan reflected on the theme "Lead the Outcome" and the increasingly strategic role played by accountants in business decision-making.

"As an accountant myself, it is good to see accountants being invited into the conversation before decisions are made, and not just afterwards to explain what happened."

Chan highlighted finance and innovation and technology as two interconnected priorities under Hong Kong's first Five-Year Plan, pointing to the city's ability to turn its strengths in capital, innovation, enterprise and professional expertise into new engines of growth.

Highlighting Hong Kong's role in connecting the Chinese Mainland with international capital and global markets, Chan pointed to the strong momentum in the city's capital market.

"The momentum is encouraging. In the first nine months of this year, IPOs in Hong Kong raised some HK$388 billion, more than double the amount a year earlier. International investors from the US, Europe, Southeast Asia and the Middle East are major players here, while capital from the Mainland continues to flow in."

Turning to innovation and technology, Chan highlighted the Northern Metropolis as a key part of Hong Kong's future growth, with ambitions extending beyond physical infrastructure to establish an ecosystem connecting education, research, talent, enterprises and industry.

"We are bringing education, research, talent, enterprises and industry together to create a new engine of growth. By shortening the time to take discoveries to market and supporting them with patient capital, we give start-ups and young companies room to grow and scale."

AI will redesign jobs, not simply replace them

Internationally recognised futurist Dr Ben Hamer urged businesses and professionals to focus less on predicting precisely what will happen and more on building the capabilities needed to respond to change.

"Nobody can predict the future with certainty. But while we can't predict it, we can prepare for it. The future is not about being right, but about being ready."

Internationally recognised futurist Dr Ben Hamer urged businesses and professionals to focus less on predicting precisely what will happen and more on building the capabilities needed to respond to change.

"AI is less a story about job loss and more a story about job redesign. As routine tasks become increasingly automated, professional roles will evolve towards the judgement, insight and trusted advice that clients value most."

"The firms that succeed won't be those with access to the latest technology, but those that invest in their people. Building AI fluency alongside human skills such as curiosity, adaptability and sound judgement will be critical to helping professionals thrive in a rapidly changing world."

AI could be obsolete within 18 months

Dr Catherine Ball, scientific futurist and globally recognised innovator of influence, offered a provocative vision of what she described as the sixth Industrial Revolution, predicting that the way society thinks and talks about artificial intelligence could change rapidly.

"Welcome to the sixth Industrial Revolution, where passive, ambient intelligence predicts and protects, and the very term 'AI' will be dead within 18 months. Governing this shift means recognising that all AI strategies are actually data strategies, and that global oversight must mirror our financial regulatory system."

Ball also highlighted a new challenge as AI is increasingly used to manage other AI systems.

"Using AI to manage AI is both the next frontier of financial security and a new attack layer, reminding us that humans are the loop, not just in it. Leaders should weigh what is possible, probable, and preferable while asking whose local cultural ethics and frameworks apply."

Looking beyond technology, Ball said genuine human relationships and the ability to navigate uncertainty would become increasingly valuable.

"Ultimately, in a world where systems make everything expected, human value will shift from what you know to who you know, defined by real connections, effort signalling, and the courage to be unpredictable in the face of the unknown."

CPA Australia will continue to support members and business professionals through thought leadership, professional development and its global network, helping them build the professional, technological and human capabilities needed to navigate change and contribute to sustainable business growth.

Hashtag: #CPAAustralia

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About CPA Australia

CPA Australia is Australia's leading professional accounting body and one of the largest in the world. We have more than 176,000 members in over 100 countries and regions. Our core services include education, training, technical support and advocacy. CPA Australia provides thought leadership on local, national and international issues affecting the accounting profession and public interest. We engage with governments, regulators and industries to advocate policies that stimulate sustainable economic growth and have positive business and public outcomes. A CPA is a Certified Practising Accountant. More at cpaaustralia.com.au

Huawei Wireless Unveils Innovation Breakthroughs to Pioneer New Communications Networks

2026-10-29T15:15:00+08:00

The innovation breakthroughs for pioneering new communications networks include RetinaMIMO, new materials, and OSCAR solution among other root technologies. By tackling coverage, energy consumption, and capacity challenges, the breakthroughs drive ubiquitous experience, simplified and green networks, and superior spectral efficiency. The breakthroughs have unlocked a wealth of new capabilities, including the world's first commercial U6 GHz device VitaAAU, GigaGreen Plus series, and UBBPi series.
Huawei promotes A2A-T standards and drives commercial open-source OpenAN through extensive partnerships to build an open telecom agent ecosystem.

SHANGHAI, CHINA - Media OutReach Newswire - 29 October 2026 - At Huawei Decoding China 2026, Fang Xiang, Corporate Vice President and President of Wireless Network Solution of Huawei, unveiled a series of innovation breakthroughs to pioneer new communications networks. The innovation breakthroughs mark major leaps in root technologies focused on ubiquitous experience, simplified and green networks, and superior spectral efficiency. With the breakthroughs, Huawei has launched the world's first commercial U6 GHz device VitaAAU, GigaGreen Plus series, and UBBPi series. Additionally featuring the new progress in open ecosystem for telecom agents, the breakthroughs will lay a solid foundation for new communications networks.

Xiang Fang, Corporate Vice President and President of Wireless Network Solution of Huawei, unveiling innovation breakthroughs for new communications networks

With booming intelligent devices and services, new devices, traffic, and applications are taking shape in the mobile industry. The new devices are expanding network connectivity from people to things and agents, increasing the number of connections by 100 times. Device-cloud synergy for intelligent services calls for stronger uplink capabilities to support training and inference, shifting network focus from downlink dominance to both uplink and downlink. With new applications, come a diversity of new interaction modes, calling for higher standards in experience and driving networks to support ubiquitous steady ultra-low latency with a high reliability.

As the world steps into an intelligent era, the value of connectivity is not only about quantity—it's more about quality. This has been inspiring Huawei to convert cutting-edge breakthroughs into the commercial practices of new communications networks by focusing on root technologies for ubiquitous experience, simplified and green networks, and superior spectral efficiency.

Pioneering ubiquitous experience

RetinaMIMO is a new pioneering technology designed to solve the challenge of concurrent ultra-high bandwidth and ubiquitous coverage. It features the industry's first Retina scanning system that allows RF link topologies to be reconstructed to eliminate coverage collapse in the vertical direction. It also adopts a reconstructed antenna array architecture to address the diminishing marginal gains as array elements (AEs) increase.

Based on RetinaMIMO, Huawei has launched the world's first commercial U6 GHz device VitaAAU. Compared with similar products with 1024 AEs, VitaAAU widens coverage by about 30%, enabling U6 GHz to match C-band in both horizontal and vertical directions. This enables operators to deliver U6 GHz coverage for new communications networks on their C-band sites, minimizing overall TCO. To date, VitaAAU has seen commercial adoption in the UAE and other markets, with peak downlink speeds exceeding 10 Gbps, making ubiquitous premium experience a reality.

Pioneering simplified, green networks

Huawei's pioneering EP power amplifier (PA) architecture capitalizes on new materials and technologies to solve the problem of energy efficiency decline on higher frequency bands, maximizing energy conversion efficiency. The industry's first-ever multimode dielectric filters allow antennas to have small dimensions and low power consumption on multi-channel networks with high frequency bands. Powered by new materials, technologies, and architectures, VitaAAU antenna is reduced to 1.5 m in diameter while supporting "0 Bit 0 Watt 0 Loss", delivering superior energy saving efficiency. These innovations enable Huawei's GigaGreen Plus series products to achieve significant reductions in dimensions, weight, and power consumption, better positioned to power simplified and green networks.

Pioneering superior spectral efficiency

Multi-band, multi-cell, and multi-user interference is a major restrictive factor of capacity. The time scaling of the Tau (τ) law is introduced to base stations for the first time to realize optimal dynamic resource scheduling across all domains based on the OSCAR solution. With low-latency bus and high-speed interconnect technology, a high-speed architecture is built to enable the real-time exchange of massive data. Thanks to software and hardware synergy, new UBBPi series products improve average user experience by 1.3 times while reducing power consumption by approximately 40%, further improving spectral and energy efficiency.

Pioneering open-source autonomous networks

Autonomous networks have emerged as an inevitable choice to deal with the growing AI services and increasing network complexity. RANSpirit is another industry first from Huawei, implementing single-domain network autonomy based on the telecom foundation model and digital twins. To date, RANSpirit is serving more than 1.2 million cells across 25 networks around the world, providing assistance to more than 2,000 engineers.

Extensive agent collaboration relies on an open, win-win ecosystem. This galvanizes Huawei to join industry partners to develop ecosystem standards, communities, and industry alliances. In terms of standards, Huawei adapts to the TM Forum, building a cross-agent foundation on the A2A-T standard and framework agreed upon by the industry. In terms of communities, Huawei jointly promotes neutral open-source communities and donates open-source agent components to the Linux Foundation, driving global collaboration and innovation. With regard to industry alliances, Huawei has taken the initiative to pool ecosystem strengths to accelerate business implementation based on the GSMA industry platform.

Fang concluded with the reiteration of Huawei's unswerving pursuit of dual-drive innovation to promote new breakthroughs in mobile networks and work with partners from around the world to deepen the OpenAN ecosystem, advancing new communications networks through technological innovation and open collaboration.

FAQs

Q1: Why is it challenging to balance ultra-high bandwidth and ubiquitous coverage?

Ultra-high bandwidth depends on higher frequency bands. As we know, a higher frequency leads to a greater propagation loss of electromagnetic waves and a weaker ability for them to penetrate obstacles, because high-frequency signals attenuate fast and have short coverage distances, while ubiquitous coverage requires signals to travel a long distance in complex environments. Inherently, the two priorities pull in sharply opposite directions.

Hashtag: #Huawei

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

BioVersys announces first patient first visit in Phase 2b RIV-CARE trial of BV100

2026-10-29T15:20:00+08:00

Ad hoc announcement pursuant to Art. 53 LR

BV100 is a potential best-in-class anti-infective agent in treating hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia (HABP), ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (VABP) and bloodstream infections (BSI) caused by carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus complex (CRABC).
RIV-CARE (NCT07431307), an open label Phase 2b clinical trial, aims to compare BV100 plus low-dose polymyxin B plus ceftazidime/avibactam, or plus cefiderocol to best-available-therapy (BAT) in multiple geographies with very high drug resistance levels.
RIV-CARE complements the ongoing Phase 3 RIV-TARGET trial of BV100, and is expected to broaden evidence based treatment in clinical practices, ahead of potential commercialisation.
RIV-CARE is conducted by ADVANCE-ID clinical trial network with funding support from Wellcome
Interim read-out is expected in H1 2027.

BASEL, SWITZERLAND - EQS Newswire - 29 October 2026 - BioVersys AG (SIX: BIOV), a multi-asset, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focusing on research and development of novel antibacterial products for serious life-threatening infections caused by multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria, announced today the first patient first visit in RIV-CARE, an open label Phase 2b differentiation trial of BV100.

RIV-CARE will enrol approximately 100 patients with suspected or confirmed hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia (HABP), ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia (VABP) and bloodstream infections (BSI) caused by carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii-calcoaceticus complex (CRABC). RIV-CARE aims to compare BV100 plus low-dose polymyxin B in combination with different background antibiotics (ceftazidime/avibactam or Cefiderocol) versus best available therapy across multiple geographies, to provide real-world evidence of clinical practice in settings with very high levels of drug resistance.

Dr. Glenn E Dale, Chief Development Officer of BioVersys: "CRABC remains amongst the most difficult to treat bacterial pathogens in hospitalized patients, with mortality reaching up to 50% globally due to very limited treatment options. Our RIV-CARE study allows us to bring a promising and novel treatment option, BV100, to patients who need it most. Importantly, RIV-CARE allows us to generate evidence exactly in settings with the highest resistance and greatest need."

Professor David Paterson, Director of ADVANCE-ID, said: "Half of people with serious CRAB infections will die. Doctors desperately need new antibiotic options for treating these infections so we can lower the death rate. We hope that the RIV-CARE trial will help determine if BV100 plus low-dose polymyxin B is a safe and effective option for these infections."

The last patient enrolled is anticipated towards end of 2027. RIV-CARE is conducted by the ADVANCE-ID clinical trial network, thanks to the generous contribution of Wellcome with SGD 22 million (c. USD 17m or CHF 14m). The non-dilutive funding from Wellcome offsets approximately 2/3 of the trial cost.

Dr. Florian von Groote-Bidlingmaier, Head of Clinical Research, Infectious Disease at Wellcome, said: "Antimicrobial resistance remains an urgent global health threat, and accelerating the development of new antibiotics into clinical use is a high priority. Partnerships like the one for this trial, that bring together industry, academia, clinical expertise and philanthropy, are vital for accelerating antibiotic R&D. The enrolment of the first patient in RIV-CARE is an important milestone, and it is exciting a potential new treatment is being evaluated in settings and communities already bearing a high burden of drug resistance."

In September 2026, BV100 was granted Fast Track Designation by the US FDA, under the Qualified Infectious Disease Product (QIDP) Designation received in 2019. These designations make BV100 eligible for priority FDA review, increased communication on clinical trial design and data requirements, and a five-year extension of market exclusivity in the US.

BV100 is currently being studied in two clinical trials: the pivotal Phase 3 global registration trial, RIV-TARGET, which announced first patient first visit in April 2026, and the open-label Phase 2b differentiation trial, RIV-CARE. First submissions for regulatory approval are anticipated by mid-2028.

Dr. Marc Gitzinger, Chief Executive Officer of BioVersys, said: "We are pleased to report first patient first visit in RIV-CARE, our Phase 2b differentiation trial which is now recruiting in parallel with our RIV-TARGET Phase 3 trial. Together, RIV-TARGET and RIV-CARE represent a focused dual-trial strategy intended to support both regulatory approval and future commercial uptake of BV100. RIV-Target will deliver the pivotal data for registration, while RIV-CARE is designed to help answer the questions physicians will ask at the bed side, providing evidence on how BV100 performs in comparison with best available therapies in multiple geographies. The interim analysis of RIV-CARE, anticipated for H1 2027, will provide an important early read-out."

RIV-CARE Phase 2b study design

RIV-CARE aims to evaluate the safety and efficacy of BV100 in combination with low dose polymyxin B plus ceftazidime/avibactam or cefiderocol in patients with suspected or confirmed CRABC nosocomial pneumonia (VABP and HABP) and BSI of non-urinary tract origin. This is an open-label study, and therefore, no blinding will be done.

The study is divided into two parts (Part A and Part B), recruiting in parallel. Approximately 90 patients will be recruited in Part A, and approximately 10 subjects will be recruited in Part B, with enrolment ending once Part A enrolment is complete.

In Part A, patients will be randomized 1:1:1, to one of the three treatment groups until the CRABC m-MITT population includes 30 evaluable subjects per group:

Group 1: 300 mg BV100 in combination with 500,000 IU (50 mg) polymyxin B infused over 2 hours every 12 hours (q12h), plus 2 g/0.5 g ceftazidime/avibactam, infused over 2 hours every 8 hours (q8h).
Group 2: 300 mg BV100 in combination with 500,000 IU (50 mg) polymyxin B infused over 2 hours every 12 hours (q12h), plus 2 g cefiderocol infused over 3 hours every 8 hours (q8h).
Group 3: Best Available Therapy, which is determined by the site for each individual patient according to local epidemiology and the patient's antibiotic history.

Part B is a prospective multicentre, open label, non-randomized, additional single cohort to evaluate the PK, safety, and efficacy BV100 in combination with both low dose polymyxin B and cefiderocol in patients with CRABC ventriculitis or meningitis. After 14 days of treatment with BV100 and low dose polymyxin B, the BV100 therapy must be stopped, but patients may continue therapy with cefiderocol and best available additional therapy at the discretion of the investigator and as needed.

This study follows the successful completion of a Phase II study that showed that BV100 plus polymyxin B halved all-cause mortality compared with best available therapy, meaning 28-day mortality of 25% compared to 28-day mortality of 60% in best available therapy. In vitro, the combination of BV100 with low-dose polymyxin B and cefiderocol showed synergy and a reduction in the emergence of resistance, suggesting improved treatment outcomes in patients.

Hashtag: #BioVersys

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About BioVersys

BioVersys AG is a multi-asset, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on identifying, developing and commercializing novel antibacterial products for serious life-threatening infections caused by multi-drug resistant ("MDR") bacteria. Derived from the company's two internal technology platforms (TRIC and Ansamycin Chemistry), candidates are designed and developed to overcome resistance mechanisms, block virulence production and directly affect the pathogenesis of harmful bacteria towards the identification of new treatment options in the antimicrobial and microbiome fields. This enables BioVersys to address the high unmet medical need for new treatments against life-threatening resistant bacterial infections and bacteria-exacerbated chronic inflammatory microbiome disorders. The company's most advanced research and development programs address nosocomial infections of Acinetobacter baumannii (BV100, Phase 3), and tuberculosis (alpibectir, Phase 2, in collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and a consortium of the University of Lille, France). BioVersys is located in the biotech hub of Basel, Switzerland.

About ADVANCE-ID

ADVANcing Clinical Evidence in Infectious Diseases (ADVANCE-ID) is a clinical research network involving more than 200 hospitals across Asia, with a base at the National University of Singapore (NUS). The mission of ADVANCE-ID is to conduct high-quality clinical trials that have a global impact on management of infections. ADVANCE-ID was set up in March 2022 with a grant from Wellcome and funds from other institutions including, NUS Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Duke-NUS Medical School, NTU Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, and the National Centre for Infectious Diseases. Email: hello@advance-id.network Tel : +65 6516 4988 https://www.advance-id.network/

About Wellcome

Wellcome supports science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone. We support discovery research into life, health and wellbeing, and we're taking on three worldwide health challenges: mental health, infectious disease and climate and health.

About BV100

BV100 is a novel formulation of rifabutin suitable for intravenous administration, with a recently discovered novel mode of action showing an active uptake of rifabutin into the Gram-negative bacterial species, Acinetobacter baumannii. For the first time, BV100 allows for the targeting of the RNA-polymerase enzyme in Gram-negative bacteria with a human-suitable dose. BV100 is being developed for the treatment of infections caused by Acinetobacter baumannii calcoaceticus complex (ABC), including carbapenem-resistant ABC (CRABC) in critically important indications of ventilator associated bacterial pneumonia (VABP), hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia (HABP) and bloodstream infections (BSI). BV100 was granted US FDA Fast Track Designation in 2026 and QIDP Designation in May 2019, making BV100 eligible for priority FDA review and a five-year extension of market exclusivity upon approval of the first QIDP indication.

About Acinetobacter baumannii

Acinetobacter baumannii calcoaceticus complex (ABC) are Gram-negative bacteria found in the environment (e.g., in soil and water) and an opportunistic pathogen in humans, typically infecting critically ill and immunocompromised patients, that can result in severe pneumonia and bloodstream infections in addition to affecting other parts of the body. ABC is considered a significant worldwide threat in the healthcare setting given its ability to survive for prolonged periods on surfaces, combined with its ability to develop or acquire resistance to standard of care antibiotics, e.g. carbapenems. Carbapenem-resistance as well as multi-drug resistance (MDR) rates for ABC are among the highest recorded for any bacteria in current times (The Lancet 2022; 399: 629–55). Incidence and resistance rates for ABC are trending upwards and COVID-19 has exacerbated this significantly. BioVersys forecasts the annual number of carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii infections in hospitals to have surpassed one million globally and due to the limited treatment options, such infections come with high (up to 50%) mortality rates.

HKSTP Releases First-Ever Battery and Energy Storage Strategy Analysis Report

2026-10-29T15:00:00+08:00

Leveraging Hong Kong’s Leading Four-Stage Value Chain in Asia to Capture Significant Market Opportunities

Responding to Global Energy Transition Demands: Energy security, renewable energy grid integration, accelerating electrification, and surging power demand from AI infrastructure are jointly propelling the growth of the battery and energy storage (BES) industry.
Demonstrating Hong Kong's Comprehensive Industrial Ecosystem: Boasting a comprehensive four-stage BES value chain, Hong Kong ranks among Asia's premier energy storage ecosystems, driving circular industry development. Three of the world's top ten energy storage giants—CATL, BYD, and Gotion High-Tech—have established a presence within HKSTP's ecosystem

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – Facing global energy security challenges, accelerating electrification, and massive power demands driven by artificial intelligence (AI) data centers, Battery and Energy Storage (BES) has emerged as a key driver of the low-carbon energy transition. Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) today officially released its inaugural BES Strategic Analysis Report at the international flagship event One Earth Summit 2026.

Mr Terry Wong, Chief Executive Officer of HKSTP hosts a media briefing, sharing key findings from the report and successful experiences in translating local battery R&D into commercial applications.

Mr Terry Wong, Chief Executive Officer of HKSTP, delivered a keynote address titled "Supercharging Battery and Energy Storage Innovation for Energy Transition" at the Summit, to share insights from the report and experiences in commercialising home-grown R&D. The report highlights the explosive growth of the global BES market while underscoring Hong Kong's position as Asia's leading Greentech hub, driven by a comprehensive four-stage value chain spanning frontier R&D, integration and intelligence, green finance, and end-of-life battery management.

Mr Terry Wong, Chief Executive Officer of HKSTP, said: "HKSTP is fully committed to supporting the nation's 15th Five-Year Plan, Hong Kong's first Five-Year Plan, and the HKSAR Government's Policy Address initiatives, as we work tirelessly to build Hong Kong into an international innovation and technology hub. The global energy transition is ushering in an unprecedented golden era for the BES industry. By taking the initiative to publish our inaugural Strategic Analysis Report, HKSTP is not only identifying global industry opportunities, but also showcasing Hong Kong's position as a leading energy storage ecosystem in Asia with a comprehensive value chain. HKSTP will continue to serve as both a 'super-connector' and a 'super value-adder', helping companies overcome commercialisation barriers, align with international standards, and capture the significant opportunities in the global multi-trillion-dollar energy storage market."

HKSTP regards green technology as one of its core strategic industries. Its ecosystem brings together more than 250 green tech companies, around 100 of which focus on BES. In response to the strong growth driven by the global energy transition, HKSTP aims to increase the number of BES companies by 60% to more than 160 over the next few years. Notably, three of the world's top ten battery and energy storage leaders—CATL, BYD, and Gotion High-Tech—have already established a presence within the HKSTP ecosystem. Their presence creates strong industrial synergies with park companies, deepening cross-disciplinary technology exchanges, supply chain integration, and business matching.

Two Key Insights Outlining Opportunities for Hong Kong's Energy Storage Industry:

The report provides an in-depth analysis of market data and compares BES development models and policies across major global economies. Drawing on interviews with local and overseas industry partners and park companies, it identifies two key insights:

1. Global Energy Opportunities Drive Rapid Growth in the BES Industry

As the world confronts a global energy transition, nearly 200 countries have pledged to expand renewable energy and phase down fossil fuel reliance, aiming to boost electricity's share of global final energy demand from approximately 20% today to 35% by 2035. Concurrently, the rapid rise of AI is driving an unprecedented surge in data center power demand. Global electricity consumption from computing infrastructure is projected to more than double, rising from 415 terawatt-hours (TWh) in 2024 to 945 TWh by 2030. Battery and energy storage technologies are becoming increasingly critical, with related industry investment expected to reach USD 5 trillion—equivalent to nearly HKD 40 trillion—over the next decade.

Mainland BES companies currently account for more than half of the global battery applications market. Leveraging its unique advantage of being backed by the Chinese Mainland while connected to the world, Hong Kong has become a preferred springboard for Mainland energy leaders expanding overseas. As European and US markets impose increasingly stringent trade and compliance requirements on new energy supply chains, Mainland companies can draw on Hong Kong's mature common law system, international certification standards, and leading green finance platform in Asia-Pacific to meet international compliance requirements and expand their global presence.

2. A Comprehensive BES Value Chain Among Asia's Leaders Supports Circular Industry Development

Hong Kong's BES development is supported by a four-stage value chain covering "Material and Battery", "Integration and Intelligence", "Project Management and Finance", and "End-of-Life Battery Management", enabling sustainable development and a green circular economy.

Material and Battery: Hong Kong is home to five of the world's top 100 universities and possesses world-class research capabilities. Its leading university network and open talent admission schemes have successfully attracted international talent. Several HKSTP park companies focus on cutting-edge R&D in next-generation batteries. For example, Luquos Energy, led by a team from The Chinese University of Hong Kong, has successfully developed the world's first sulphur-based flow battery. Technology significantly reduces costs while avoiding the fire risks associated with overheating in conventional lithium-ion batteries, enhancing safety.

Integration and Intelligence: Assembling batteries into battery packs or containerised energy storage systems enables wider deployment across communities. Hong Kong's exceptionally high-density urban environment offers abundant real-world application scenarios for energy storage technologies. The growing number of electric vehicles is driving demand for fast-charging infrastructure. With more than 60% of private buildings in Hong Kong over 30 years old and facing power supply capacity constraints, energy storage systems can store electricity during off-peak periods and discharge it during peak periods, providing a supplementary solution for ageing buildings. Park companies' technologies are also being deployed at construction sites to support the high-power demands of heavy machinery and reduce reliance on conventional diesel generators. Meanwhile, intelligent technologies are steadily maturing, including the use of AI to monitor battery condition and health.

Project Management and Finance: A range of large-scale projects in Hong Kong supports BES development, including a major local battery energy storage system under construction by a power company. The commercial sector is also accelerating the adoption of energy storage technologies. Park company Halo Energy, for example, has partnered with XPENG to introduce the world's first megawatt-level ultra-fast EV charging station in Hong Kong, setting a new benchmark for smart mobility in the city. As Asia's largest international green and sustainable debt arranging hub, Hong Kong also plays a distinctive role as a green finance gateway, with related issuance exceeding USD 76 billion in 2025. This month, HKSTP also signed a memorandum of understanding with the "Green Accelerator" to connect promising green tech companies with capital and financing channels, helping startups progress from R&D to commercialisation.

End-of-Life Battery Management: Market projections indicate that Hong Kong will generate nearly 6,700 tonnes of retired EV batteries in 2030, making proper treatment and the reduction of environmental pollution pressing priorities. Several park companies have already taken the lead in technology development. GRST, for example, has developed a non-toxic, water-soluble battery binder that eliminates the need for conventional incineration or strong-acid soaking during battery recycling, reducing carbon emissions at the recycling stage by up to 80%. Together with the HKSAR Government's introduction of the city's first large-scale EV battery recycling facility last year, which converts waste batteries into valuable mineral resources, these efforts demonstrate how industry, government, and the research community are working together to build a green circular economy.

HKSTP is committed to capturing the global energy transition opportunities identified in the BES Strategic Analysis Report and developing Hong Kong into an international green technology hub. HKSTP's GreenTech Hub in Kowloon Tong will continue to serve as a bridge, deepening cross-sector collaboration among companies, research institutions, and industry partners. It will help investors identify energy storage opportunities, advance the adoption of cutting-edge green solutions, and accelerate startup commercialisation, building a green innovation ecosystem with international influence and jointly tapping into the global market for the green energy transition.

HKSTP also showcased green solutions from six park companies at the summit, fostering exchanges among tech ventures, industry partners, and investors.

Exhibiting Park Companies:

Luquos Energy Limited
Syneric Technology (HK) Limited
CAS Testing Technical Services (Hong Kong) Company Limited
Nanofil Filtration Technology Limited
ECO Technologies Limited
i2Cool Limited

Hashtag: #HKSTP

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation

Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) was established in 2001 and has built a proven foundation as Hong Kong's leading innovation and technology (I&T) ecosystem. Established for 25 years, HKSTP is supporting 14 unicorns, has nurtured more than 17,000 research professionals and built a community of over 2,500 technology companies from 26 countries and regions across four strategic technology clusters: Life and Health Technology, AI and Data Science, Microelectronics and Advanced Manufacturing, and GreenTech and New Energy.

As an ecosystem orchestrator, HKSTP provides end-to-end support to attract and nurture talent, accelerate commercialisation and help technology ventures scale. Its innovation infrastructure spans over 240 hectares covering Hong Kong Science Park in Pak Shek Kok, InnoCentre in Kowloon Tong, and three modern InnoParks in Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long, advancing Hong Kong's vision for new industrialisation and smart manufacturing.

Hong Kong Science Park Shenzhen Branch in Futian, Shenzhen, strengthens cross-border collaboration by connecting Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and global innovation networks and propels Chinese innovators onto the world stage, while also delivering comprehensive GBA landing support to accelerate cross-border success for local and international ventures.

As HKSTP enters its next chapter with strong foundations, it continues to deepen impact, elevate quality and create value for innovators. As an ecosystem built to lead change, HKSTP is empowering Hong Kong to define what comes next in innovation, growth and opportunity.

More information about HKSTP is available at www.hkstp.org.

Uber Submits Application for Ride-hailing Service Licence

2026-10-29T14:45:00+08:00

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 –Uber announced today that it has formally submitted its application for a Ride-hailing Service Licence to the Transport Department.

Estyn Chung (back row, fourth from left), General Manager of Uber Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau, with the Hong Kong management team

Uber welcomes and supports the Government's introduction of the regulatory regime for ride-hailing services. This is an important milestone in the development of personalised point-to-point transport in Hong Kong and will help provide residents and visitors with safer and more diverse mobility options. In accordance with the Transport Department's invitation requirements, Uber has completed and submitted the relevant application form and required documents.

Uber has long been committed to providing Hong Kong residents with safe and reliable trip experience, and has built deep partnerships with the local taxi industry. Drawing on its global operational experience and local track record, Uber will work closely with the Government to implement the regulatory requirements.

Estyn Chung, GM of Uber Taiwan, HK and Macau said "We fully support the Government in establishing a clear and formal regime. Uber will continue to work closely with the authorities throughout the application process. We look forward to delivering a convenient and reliable experience to Hong Kong within the new regulatory framework. At the same time, we have expanded our dedicated support team to provide training and examination preparation assistance, helping driver-partners transition smoothly into the new regulatory environment."

Hashtag: #Uber

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Uber

Uber's mission is to create opportunity through movement. We started in 2010 to solve a simple problem: how do you get access to a ride at the touch of a button? More than 79 billion trips later, we're building products to get people closer to where they want to be. By changing how people, food, and things move through cities, Uber is a platform that opens up the world to new possibilities.

For more Uber news, please visit Newsroom:
https://www.uber.com/hk/en/newsroom/

Chubb Life Announces Australian Open 2027 Tickets Giveaway Social Campaign & Live Viewing Party

2026-10-29T13:50:00+08:00

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 –Chubb Life Hong Kong is bringing the excitement of world-class tennis closer to fans with the launch of its Australian Open 2027 Tickets Giveaway Social Campaign and the return of the Live Viewing Party at the iconic Central Market, Hong Kong. The initiative invites tennis fans and the wider community to come together and celebrate one of the world's most prestigious sporting events.

Chubb has been the Official Insurance Partner of the Australian Open since 2020 and the partnership has continued to grow in ambition and meaning. In 2025, Chubb became the Official Life Insurance partner, a reflection of the shared commitment to world-class standards and the spirit of excellence that unites Chubb with this iconic Grand Slam event.

Chubb Life Hong Kong will launch its Australian Open 2027 Tickets Giveaway Social Campaign across its official social media platforms in Hong Kong starting November 1, 2026. Participants are invited to share tennis-inspired stories of friendship and support for a chance to win two tickets to the Australian Open 2027 Men's Semi-Final, along with round-trip flights from Hong Kong to Melbourne and hotel accommodation for the winner and a companion.

Tennis enthusiasts and the public are also invited to experience the Australian Open 2027 at Chubb's Live Viewing Party at Central Market, a landmark in Hong Kong, from January 29 to 31, 2027. The venue will be transformed into a vibrant sports hub with live match screenings, photo opportunities and tennis-inspired games. Admission is free with no reservation required.

Follow Chubb Life Hong Kong on Facebook (Chubb Life Hong Kong), Instagram (@chubblifehk) and RedNote (@ Chubb安达人寿香港) for the latest updates. More photos can be downloaded from this link.

Chubb Life Hong Kong Australian Open 2027 Tickets Giveaway Social Campaign Details*

Campaign period: November 1 – 30, 2026
How to enter:

Follow Chubb Life Hong Kong's official Instagram, Facebook or RedNote account and submit either a carousel post of at least three visuals or a 30-second Reel answering: "How do you and your friend show teamwork and support in tennis?"
Entries must include the hashtags #chubblifehk #AO2027 #OfficialLifeInsurancePartner #BuiltForTheLifeAhead, tag Chubb Life Hong Kong's social media platform and tag one friend.
The most creative entry with the highest number of likes and saves/shares wins.

Grand Prize (2 winners): Two tickets to the Australian Open 2027 Men's Semi-Final, plus return economy flights from Hong Kong to Melbourne and accommodation in Melbourne for the winner and a guest.

Second Prize (10 winners): One Australian Open premium gift set

Third Prize (50 winners): One Australian Open koala plush bag charm

* Subject to terms and conditions. The information contained here is for reference only and will be updated without notice. Please refer to this link for details.

Australian Open 2027 Live Viewing Party Details

Date: January 29 – 31, 2027 (Friday to Sunday)
Time: 4:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Venue: G/F, Central Market, 93 Queen's Road Central and 80 Des Voeux Road Central, Central
Admission: Free entry, no reservation is required

Hashtag: #ChubbLifeHongKong

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Chubb

Chubb is a world leader in insurance. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. The company is defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb employs approximately 45,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: www.chubb.com.

Juungar Banner: Building a "Reserve of Seed Crabs" on Saline-Alkali Flats

2026-10-29T13:35:00+08:00

ORDOS, CHINA – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – Recently, 20,000-plus jin, or roughly 10 metric tons, of seed crabs raised in-house at the Yellow River Rice-Fish Eco-Tourism Park in Juungar Banner, Ordos, Inner Mongolia, have been lifted from their rearing ponds and moved into dedicated overwintering ponds, building the reserve that next year's rice-field polyculture will draw from.

Freshly harvested seed crabs are being transferred to the overwintering ponds.

In early winter, workers at the park are making the most of the season, hauling up the rearing cages and releasing the lively young crabs into purpose-built overwintering ponds. The 20,000-plus jin of quality seed crabs bred at the park are now in the critical stage of concentrated harvest and transfer, and the stock will carry the rice fields through next year's growing season.

Juungar Banner sits in the heart of the Yellow River's "Ji-shaped bend." The river runs 238 kilometers through the banner, 28 percent of its course in Inner Mongolia. As a major source area of coarse sediment for the Yellow River, the banner long suffered severe soil erosion, with eroded land at one point covering more than 70 percent of its total area.

Around Xiaotanzi Village in Dalu Town, geology has left some 80 percent of the land chronically saline-alkali. "For as far as the eye could see, the land was a stretch of white, and nine crops in ten failed." Traditional corn fields there yielded less than 300 jin per mu, or roughly 2.25 metric tons per hectare. A fragile ecology and poor livelihoods were the twin shackles on this stretch of riverbank.

In 2018, Dalu Town introduced a combined approach of "saline-alkali land improvement and integrated rice-fish farming." Ditches were dug to flush salts from the soil, organic fertilizer was worked into the soil, and salt-tolerant rice was planted on a trial basis. In 2022, the park began large-scale operations with an integrated polyculture of "rice, crab and fish": the rice shaded the aquatic animals, and their waste fertilized the fields, yielding "three harvests from a single field."

This May the park brought in 200 jin of megalopae, the post-larval stage, from Panjin, Liaoning, and released them into the rice paddies to grow out. After a full growing cycle under close, hands-on management, the park produced more than 20,000 jin of quality seed crabs. It is the third year the park has raised its own seed crabs, and the integrated system has come together from megalopa rearing and field management to overwintering and stock retention.

Lively seed crabs settle into the overwintering ponds, where they will spend the cold months as prime stock for next year's rice-field crab farming.

"Buying in megalopae to raise the seed crabs ourselves lowers the cost of stock, gives us a much better handle on quality, and has improved survival rates. It makes the rice-crab business steadier and easier to plan," said Qiao Sheng, who heads agricultural production at the park. Of this year's 20,000-plus jin of seed crabs, 10,000 jin is earmarked for the park's own rice fields and the rest will be sold, bringing returns from both in-house grow-out and external sales.

Overwintering care is critical to the survival of seed crabs. Survival rates have held steady over the past two winters. Those that come through will go back into the paddies next May to be grown to adult size and reach the market in autumn.

From bare saline-alkali waste to "three harvests from one field," Xiaotanzi's turnaround is one facet of Juungar Banner's broader shift from ecological governance to industrial transformation. In 2025, the village's collective income surpassed 500,000 yuan, and per-capita income reached 30,000 yuan.

Across the winter fields of the Yellow River's Ji-shaped bend, 20,000 jin of seed crabs lie quiet in their overwintering ponds, waiting for May and their return to the rice fields, while a deeper transformation, from "black-grey" to "green," keeps unfolding across this land.

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COP17 | Jiangsu Showcases Biodiversity Conservation in Action

2026-10-29T13:32:00+08:00

YEREVAN, ARMENIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – Jiangsu Day, a themed event at the China Pavilion during the 17th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP17), was held in Yerevan, the Armenian capital, on October 26, highlighting Jiangsu's efforts to protect biodiversity and promote ecological restoration.

Experts delivering presentation during a panel discussion

Over the course of the two-hour program, participants explored a central question: how can wildlife habitats be protected and restored in regions characterized by intensive development, high population density and increasingly fragmented natural spaces.

Balancing Development and Biodiversity

Jiangsu faces a distinctive set of environmental challenges. Covering just 1.1 percent of China's land area, the province is home to around 6 percent of the country's population and generates more than 10 percent of its GDP. Against this backdrop, Jiangsu has prioritized ecological conservation and green development, strengthened pollution control and pursued systematic ecosystem restoration.

During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021–2025), the province continued to improve its environmental quality. Average annual PM2.5 concentrations fell 16.5 percent from the end of the previous five-year period, while the proportion of nationally monitored river sections meeting good or excellent water-quality standards rose by 11.5 percentage points.

Biodiversity surveys have recorded 9,266 species across the province, including 2,363 newly discovered species. These findings reflect both the richness of Jiangsu's natural environment and the growing capacity to document and protect it.

Environmental DNA Offers a New Way to Monitor the Yangtze

Environmental DNA (eDNA) technology is providing a more sensitive, non-invasive way to track changes in aquatic ecosystems along the Yangtze River.

Unlike conventional monitoring methods, which often require capturing organisms for identification, eDNA monitoring collects water samples and analyzes genetic material left behind by aquatic life. DNA barcoding can then be used to identify species without directly capturing them.

Jiangsu began exploring the technology in 2012 and launched a dedicated pilot program in Taihu Lake in 2017. In 2019, it established the first specialized eDNA laboratory within China's ecological and environmental protection system. A provincial standard introduced in 2023 further standardized procedures for sampling, quality control and data annotation.

Today, 19 routine monitoring sections have been established along the Yangtze River in Jiangsu, covering eight cities. Monitoring is conducted four times a year.

Between 2021 and 2025, the number of fish species recorded through the program increased from 84 to 104. Protected species, including the Chinese sucker, Myxocyprinus asiaticus, the long-nosed gudgeon, Rhinogobio ventralis, and the long-snout catfish, Ochetobius elongatus, were detected again. Environmental DNA signals of the Yangtze finless porpoise were found at all 19 monitoring sections.

Protecting the Yangtze Finless Porpoise Through Public Participation

The Yangtze finless porpoise has become a symbol of the coexistence of urban communities and nature.

In Nanjing, a coordinated observation network has been established along key sections of the river. Volunteers regularly record sightings in the field, contributing more than 69,000 observation records and providing valuable data to support conservation efforts.

Public participation extends beyond monitoring. The "Fish for Finless Porpoises" initiative has held more than 100 fish-release events, releasing over six million juvenile fish and attracting more than 5,000 participants.

Another initiative, "Help Crabs Return Home," has conducted nighttime patrols for three consecutive years to protect the migration of Chinese mitten crabs. Eco-friendly crab passageways made from recycled materials have also been installed to help the crabs navigate barriers along their migration routes.

The conservation network has also drawn international volunteers. More than 300 participants from over 15 countries and regions have taken part in related projects, helping expand cooperation from the Yangtze River to marine ecosystems.

A Legal Framework for Protecting the Plain-River Network

Jiangsu's Biodiversity Conservation Regulation took effect on May 22, 2025, becoming China's first provincial regulation dedicated to biodiversity conservation in plain-river network regions.

Effective conservation also depends on a comprehensive understanding of local biodiversity. Since 2017, Jiangsu has taken the lead in conducting province-wide biodiversity surveys organized by county-level administrative units.

More than 20 professional teams have established 17,400 transects, 10,100 quadrats and 12,600 sampling sites, generating over 620,000 survey records. The first round of surveys was completed in 2025, documenting 9,266 species across the province.

Building on these findings, Jiangsu has designated 25 key biodiversity areas and established 20 biodiversity observation stations. Satellite remote sensing, eDNA analysis and AI-powered species identification are being integrated into a monitoring network designed to improve automation, digitalization and remote observation.

Restoration Efforts Deliver Tangible Results

Jiangsu has established 23 ecological island pilot zones and 171 ecological security buffer zones, while creating or restoring 3,735 hectares of wetlands.

The results are becoming increasingly visible. In 2023, crested ibises were released into the wild for the first time along China's eastern coast as part of a reintroduction effort. In May 2026, the birds achieved natural breeding in the wild. The Yangtze finless porpoise population in Jiangsu has also continued to recover, while the number of waterbirds wintering in the province has remained above 500,000.

Together, these efforts demonstrate how habitat restoration, scientific monitoring and stronger legal protections can support biodiversity recovery in a region under significant development pressure.

Building International Partnerships for Biodiversity

Jiangsu Day also provided a platform for dialogue between Jiangsu and Armenia, as well as other regions along the Silk Road.

Despite their different geographical settings, the two regions share several points of comparison. Both occupy important positions in their respective countries' economies and have connections to major migratory bird routes. Armenia is home to distinctive species such as the Armenian butterfly, while Jiangsu is known for the Chinese tiger swallowtail. Lake Sevan plays a critical role in Armenia's water security, while Jiangsu is responsible for protecting and managing ecosystems across the Yangtze, Taihu Lake and Huai River basins.

The event featured presentations and discussions on implementation pathways for the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, local conservation practices and opportunities for technological cooperation.

The discussions underscored a shared message: in economically developed and densely populated regions, biodiversity conservation need not come at the expense of development. Rather, a healthy natural environment is an essential foundation for sustainable, high-quality growth.

The program brought together experts from China and abroad. Tajik academician Saidov Abdusator delivered a presentation on preventing the introduction and spread of invasive alien species. Marietta Sakkalian, an expert with the United Nations Environment Programme, Nancy Malangu, an expert with a Kenyan foundation, Hao Haiguang, a researcher at the Chinese Research Academy of Environmental Sciences, and Jiang Meng, executive vice president and secretary-general of the Nanjing Yangtze Finless Porpoise Aquatic Wildlife Conservation Association, joined discussions on how major economic regions can balance development with biodiversity protection.

Jiangsu has been expanding its international conservation partnerships for years. Changshu, Yancheng and Suzhou have been recognized as International Wetland Cities, while Nanjing was included in the Nature Cities platform at COP16. Jiangsu has also joined Zhejiang Province in establishing a Taihu Lake regional alliance for implementing the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework and signed cooperation agreements on biodiversity conservation with neighboring regions in Shanghai, Zhejiang and Anhui.

Looking ahead, Jiangsu will continue to strengthen its legal framework, improve monitoring and supervision, enhance enforcement and deepen international cooperation. Through these efforts, the province aims to offer a model for advancing ecological conservation in China and contribute to global efforts to protect the planet's biodiversity.

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AOX recognised as APAC’s Top Collagen-Renewing Water Dispensers in 2026 by Healthcare Business Review

2026-10-29T13:00:00+08:00

Singapore-founded company marks 17 years of growth as it builds a new category around everyday hydration and wellness

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – Singapore-founded water brand AOX has been named 'Top Collagen Renewing Water 2026' by Healthcare Business Review APAC, marking a new milestone for a brand that has spent more than 17 years developing a differentiated approach to drinking water.

The recognition comes as AOX seeks to build the Collagen Renewing Water category – moving the conversation beyond the appliances that dispense water towards the properties of the water people drink daily.

Unlike conventional water dispensers, which tend to compete on temperature settings, design or convenience, AOX's central proposition is its proprietary approach to filtration and mineral formulation. Its systems combine filtration with a formulation that includes calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium, and silica to deliver what the company describes as Collagen Renewing Water.

This latest recognition reflects AOX's water-first approach, built around its proprietary mineral formulation, including the specific sourcing of minerals and the process used to create its final water profile. It adds to a long track record of business, brand and design awards accumulated over more than 17 years.

"A water dispenser can have all the features in the world, but ultimately, what matters most is the water you drink from it every day," said John Tan, Chief Executive Officer of AOX. "That belief has shaped AOX for more than 17 years and is why we continue investing in Collagen Renewing Water, our proprietary formulation and the research behind it. This recognition encourages us to keep building that category and challenging consumers to look beyond the machine."

The award also signals AOX's next chapter under John Tan's leadership. After working across finance, operations and marketing at AOX before becoming CEO, he is leading its next phase of research, product innovation and market growth, with a goal to reach new audiences and respond to changing consumer expectations around water quality and everyday wellness.

AOX has commissioned laboratory and preclinical research into the properties of its water, including collagen-related fibroblast activity, cell migration, antioxidant activity, and metabolic markers in preclinical models. The company will continue to invest in research while communicating its findings responsibly and within appropriate scientific boundaries.

Founder Jeffrey Tan said the recognition was a reminder of the original idea that shaped the business. "When we started AOX, we wanted people to think more carefully about the water they drink every day," he said. "Over the years, the technology, products and people's expectations have evolved, but that belief has remained the same. It is encouraging to see AOX recognised as we continue to build on that foundation."

AOX's product range includes direct-piped water systems for homes and organisations, spanning hot and cold, ambient and compact formats. The company's focus remains on growing its Collagen Renewing Water category while continuing to develop products around the needs of modern households and workplaces.

Hashtag: #AOX

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About AOX

Founded in Singapore in 2009, AOX is a homegrown water brand focused on the quality of the water itself. At the heart of AOX is Collagen Renewing Water, produced through its proprietary filtration and mineral formulation and delivered consistently across its range of water dispensers.

Over more than 17 years, AOX has grown to serve more than 10,000 households and organisations, while developing water systems that combine water quality, practical design and long-term after-sales support.

AOX has also commissioned laboratory studies using human cells and preclinical research into the properties of its water, including collagen-related activity, antioxidant activity, weight gain and liver-lipid accumulation. In 2026, AOX was recognised by Healthcare Business Review APAC as the Top Collagen Renewing Water Dispensers in APAC 2026.

Sun Group Facilities in Ha Long Connect Bay Cruises With Shore Activities Ahead of November

2026-10-29T12:00:00+08:00

Cruise port, cable car, night market and hot-spring resort serve visitors in Bai Chay and Quang Hanh

HA LONG, VIETNAM– Media OutReach Newswire – 29 October 2026 – Vietnam's Sun Group has developed a network of facilities in Ha Long that connects bay cruises with activities on shore. They include Ha Long International Cruise Port, Sun World Ha Long, VUI-Fest Ha Long, Sun Bavaria Ha Long and Hilton Quang Hanh Onsen Resort, available to visitors ahead of November, which international travel guides list among the favorable months to visit the bay.

Fireworks over the Bai Chay waterfront in Ha Long, near the lighthouse where Sun Group's VUI-Fest Ha Long night market is located.

Bay access

Ha Long International Cruise Port, developed by Sun Group in Bai Chay, serves as a departure point for day and overnight cruises. Activities on the bay include sightseeing from the deck, kayaking and cave visits. The port is located near the group's leisure and dining venues in Bai Chay, allowing visitors to continue their itinerary on shore after a cruise.

Shore facilities

At Sun World Ha Long, the Queen Cable Car crosses Cua Luc Bay to Ba Deo Hill, offering aerial views of the bay. In the evening, VUI-Fest Ha Long, near the Bai Chay lighthouse, offers street food, shopping and performances, while Sun Bavaria Ha Long, a beer restaurant on the waterfront, serves local seafood, barbecue and Sun KraftBeer.

In Quang Hanh, Hilton Quang Hanh Onsen Resort offers rooms and villas with private onsen supplied by natural hot springs, suited to the cooler weather northern Vietnam enters in November.

Seasonal context

In an Oct. 11 update to its guide on when to visit Vietnam, Travel + Leisure lists April, October and November as suitable months for Ha Long Bay, citing warm, sunny and dry weather, and recommends overnight cruises for travelers seeking quieter areas of the bay. Lonely Planet notes that October and November are well suited to exploring Ha Long and neighboring Bai Tu Long Bay, with dry days outnumbering wet ones.

With November among the months both guides recommend, visitors can combine the bay's heritage landscape, evening entertainment in Bai Chay and hot-spring stays in Quang Hanh within a single trip.

Hashtag: #SunGroup

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Regent Hong Kong Reimagines Hong Kong’s Iconic Char Siu Rice Through a Cinematic Lens at The Lobby Lounge

2026-10-29T10:45:00+08:00

Presented in collaboration with the Hong Kong Film Directors’ Guild, the new Char Siu Egg Rice merges nostalgic everyday comfort food with refined gastronomy against panoramic views of Victoria Harbour.

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 28 October 2026 - Forbes Five-Star Regent Hong Kong has announced the debut of A Cinematic Taste of Hong Kong, an exclusive culinary journey presented in collaboration with the Hong Kong Film Directors' Guild. Available at The Lobby Lounge, the experience translates familiar local flavours into elevated dishes inspired by emotional moments from classic and contemporary Hong Kong cinema, spotlighting beloved everyday comfort foods through a lens of precise craftsmanship.

Reimagining an Iconic Hong Kong Comfort Food

At the heart of this cinema-inspired collection is the char siu egg rice at Regent Hong Kong, an homage to one of the city's most enduring and recognizable dishes. At its simplest, char siu rice brings together deeply savoury roast pork, steamed rice, egg, and a rich house sauce. Its universal appeal lies in its familiarity and the unpretentious sense of home it evokes—qualities that have cemented its place in local food culture and everyday dining.

Here, house-roasted Spanish Ibérico pork collar delivers tender, smoky richness; the rice is tossed with applewood-smoked bacon oil, then topped with a crisp-edged free-range Italian Montagna egg, French chives, and homemade soy sauce. The result is recognisably char siu rice, but expressed with the precision expected of Regent Hong Kong. Rather than reinventing the dish beyond recognition, the composition preserves the familiarity that gives the original its emotional weight while adding refinement through ingredients and technique.

Cultural Memory and Cinematic Resonances

Everyday dining has long served as a storytelling medium in Hong Kong cinema, expressing themes of memory, identity, and shared human connection. The dish draws direct inspiration from a tender moment in the 2024 action epic Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In, in which Sammo Hung's character offers a hungry refugee a plate of char siu rice, asking, "Do I have to add a hat before you'll eat it?"

"Adding a hat" was vintage Hong Kong diner slang for topping a bowl of rice with a fried egg—the golden yolk resting like a cap over the barbecued pork below. By honoring these subtle cultural details, the dish connects culinary craft directly with local cinematic heritage.

A Cinematic Setting Overlooking Victoria Harbour

The Char Siu Egg Rice is served at The Lobby Lounge, long celebrated as a cinematic destination framed by floor-to-ceiling panoramic views of Victoria Harbour and the Hong Kong skyline. For visitors and local gourmands seeking to experience how everyday culinary traditions can carry cultural memory and culinary excellence simultaneously, the venue offers a natural meeting point between Hong Kong gastronomy, film, and place.

Hashtag: #RegentHongKong #TheLobbyLounge

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About Regent Hong Kong

Regent Hong Kong is an iconic luxury hotel situated on Kowloon's Victoria Harbour waterfront at 18 Salisbury Road.

Following the most extensive transformation in its history, the hotel returned to its Regent heritage with interiors by Hong Kong-born designer Chi Wing Lo. Its 497 guestrooms and suites are complemented by panoramic harbour views and a collection of dining destinations including Lai Ching Heen, The Steak House, Harbourside, The Lobby Lounge, Nobu Hong Kong and Qura Bar.

Regent Hong Kong builds on a hospitality legacy dating to its original Regent era from 1980 to 2001 while introducing a contemporary interpretation of the brand for today's guests.

For further information, visit Regent Hong Kong.