Anuradha Gupta is Sabin Vaccine Institute Global Immunization President

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 (Bernama) -- Veteran public health leader Anuradha Gupta, who has spearheaded a host of successful global initiatives to improve the health of women and children and boost vaccine access and uptake, has joined Sabin Vaccine Institute as President of Global Immunization.

Her record of crafting and implementing creative solutions to seemingly intractable health challenges is particularly significant now with life-saving childhood immunisations sustaining their largest backslide in decades, fuelled largely by the pandemic.

Gupta comes to Sabin after eight years with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, where she served as Deputy CEO and led efforts to centre policies, programmes and partnerships around vaccine equity, gender and communities. She also pioneered the concept of zero-dose children – those who have not received a single dose of the most basic vaccines – and drove efforts to create a new model of country-level partnerships.

Anuradha Gupta is a stellar addition to Sabins executive management team at a time when vaccine access and equity, as well as misinformation, remain enormous challenges worldwide,” said Sabin CEO Amy Finan in a statement.

“Anuradha’s visionary approach, expertise, and deep commitment to those we serve will help move the needle for global vaccination rates.”

Gupta said she’s excited for her role and will use her extensive experience to advance innovative approaches to improve vaccine access and uptake. “This is a watershed moment for immunisation, and we must ensure that vaccines remain front and centre on the global public health agenda.”

Gupta’s most recent initiative to focus on children who have not received a single shot is audacious for its ambition and scope. She was the guiding force behind Gavi’s US$500 million Equity Accelerator Fund which includes an innovative programme aimed at reaching zero-dose children in conflict zones and drought-afflicted areas in the Sahel region and the Horn of Africa. (US$1 - RM4.646)

Gupta holds an MBA from the University of Wollongong in Australia and received executive education from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Stanford Graduate School of Business and Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

The Sabin Vaccine Institute is a leading advocate for expanding vaccine access and uptake globally, advancing vaccine research and development, and amplifying vaccine knowledge and innovation.

For more information, visit http://www.sabin.org.

-- BERNAMA

NAVER ENTERS AGREEMENT TO ACQUIRE POSHMARK

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 (Bernama) -- Naver Corp (Naver) and Poshmark Inc (Poshmark), announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement under which Naver will acquire all of the issued and outstanding shares of Poshmark for US$17.90 in cash, representing an enterprise value of approximately US$1.2 billion. (US$1 = RM4.646)

Naver is Korea’s largest internet company, while Poshmark is a leading social e-commerce marketplace for new and secondhand style.

This represents a premium of 15 per cent to Poshmark’s closing stock price as of Oct 3, 2022, a 34 per cent premium to the 30-day volume weighted average price, and a 48 per cent premium to the 90-day volume weighted average price of Poshmark’s shares.

“The combination will create the strongest platform for powering communities and re-fashioning commerce,” said Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Naver, Choi Soo-Yeon in a statement.

“Poshmark is the definitive brand for fashion in the United States that provides a social network for buying and selling apparel. Naver’s leading technology in search, AI recommendation and e-commerce tools will help power the next phase of Poshmark’s global growth.”

The transaction will create a global player in online fashion re-commerce by combining Poshmark’s unique discovery-based social shopping platform and deeply engaged community with Naver’s technological prowess in uplevelling the e-commerce experience. 

Poshmark will also leverage Naver’s proven expertise and track record in Asia and its significant expertise from backing and investing in other fashion and consumer-to-consumer (C2C) e-commerce platforms globally.

The combination accelerates Naver’s strategy to build a global e-commerce community portfolio to capture the growth in large markets around the world, including Poshmark’s home market of North America.

Upon completion of the transaction, Poshmark will become a standalone U.S. subsidiary of Naver and will continue to be led by CEO Manish Chandra and Poshmark’s current management team.

Poshmark will continue to operate under its existing brand, as well as maintain its employee base, Poshmark community, and headquarters in Redwood City, California.

-- BERNAMA

Country Garden's Forest City ready for tourists

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 (Bernama) -- As the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture has set a new target of attracting 9.2 million tourists this year, Country Garden’s Forest City, one of the tourist cards of Johor Bahru, is ready for tourists.

According to a statement, based on Country Garden's 26 years of design concepts, Forest City has cooperated with international professional teams such as SASAKI to design and develop.

With a coastline of four kilometres, the city is designed with vertical green walls, sky gardens, and roof garden systems to form a multi-dimensional three-dimensional greening system.

With the recovery of tourism in Malaysia, all Forest City projects are running as usual. For example, Forest City Water Park has opened with programmes including Surf n Slide, Water Fun Challenge, and Water Maze.

On the other hand, this smart city has first-class hotels, including the Forest City Golf Hotel and the Forest City Marina Hotel. Both hotels offer hundreds of luxurious rooms and are equipped with facilities including restaurant, and fitness centre.

Forest City has also built two world-class courses, the Jack Nicklaus Legacy Golf Course and the Liang Guo Kun Classic Golf Course.

In typical Nicklaus style, multiple tees ensure that golfers of all levels can enjoy the game. The Classic Golf Course is a breakthrough in the traditional design concept. The various slopes on the fairway increase the difficulty and interest of the golf game.

Forest City strives to create various tourism projects to provide tourists with an unforgettable vacation experience.

More details at http://www.forestcitycgpv.com.

-- BERNAMA

EMGA completes EURO 9.4 million capital raise for Kashf Foundation

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 (Bernama) -- Emerging Markets Global Advisory LLP (EMGA), the emerging market investment bank has originated, structured, and negotiated EURO 9.4 million funding facility for Kashf Foundation with financing from Belgian Investment Company for Developing countries (BIO). (EURO 1 = RM4.549)

“It has been a pleasure to continue our long-term partnership with Kashf Foundation and deliver this new financing solution despite the volatile economic environment both within Pakistan as well as globally,” said EMGA’s Managing Director and Head of Investment Banking, Sajeev Chakkalakal in a statement.

Meanwhile, CFO of Kashf Foundation, Shahzad Iqbal said: “Just to share that it has always been a pleasure working with EMGA on new transactions to expand our network and outreach. This is the first ever transaction that we are doing with BIO and that too, in Euros.

“I believe BIO and Kashf will work together and build a strong relationship to increase the financial inclusion in Pakistan and particularly for women. This transaction will help Kashf Foundation to expand its outreach not only in its existing operational areas but also in the new geographical regions across Pakistan.”

Frédéric Vereecke, Investment Officer from the Belgian Investment Company for Developing countries (BIO) commented: “We welcome the opportunity to support Kashf Foundation in empowering women and their families by providing quality financial services to low-income households in Pakistan.”

BIO supports a strong private sector in developing and emerging countries, to enable them to gain access to growth and sustainable development within the framework of the Sustainable Development Goals.

With offices in New York and London, EMGA helps financial institutions and corporates that seek new debt or equity capital.

-- BERNAMA

CHINT wraps up global branding in sharing carbon reduction solutions

CHINT carbon reduction gets underway as the Global Campaign comes to a close (Photo: Business Wire)

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 (Bernama) -- CHINT Limitless has successfully wrapped up its global branding season, wherein it made strides in sharing carbon reduction solutions with more than 10 countries and regions, and set out to explore new paths for Chinese businesses to communicate with companies going abroad.

“CHINT is deeply rooted in the global electric power market, and is constantly exploring the greater potential for energy transformation.

“Our desire is to engage in the sharing of innovative concepts and opportunities related to electricity throughout the world, and to work hand-in-hand with others in creating a greener world.” said CEO of CHINT Electrics, Lily Zhang in a statement.

Spanning multiple continents from the East to the West, encompassing countries in both the northern and southern hemispheres, covering a period of nearly 100 days, through the combination of online and in-person methods, using brand summits, in-store visits and displays, live unboxings, green initiatives and other similar means, CHINT enthusiastically called on the participation of its global partners.

According to figures, nearly 100 CHINT exclusive shops across five continents, from Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America answered the call, and subsequently called on the support of client partners from fields such as solar solution, data centre, HVAC and LV components, all with the goal of uncovering solutions for carbon reduction within the industry.

In Spain, CHINT and the local electrical associations jointly held a webinar to discuss the technical characteristics and application scenarios of the industry by taking CHINT products as an example; in Indonesia, CHINT and its local partners joined forces and engaged in sharing knowledge and expertise with over 150 electricians.

As it stands, sustainable development has become a global issue, and the power sector is at the forefront in terms of carbon reduction. CHINT is dedicated to becoming a global leader as a smart energy solutions provider.

It will put the 38 years of industry expertise to work in tackling the global need for green energy, smart electrics and smart carbon reduction, giving full play to the cumulative industry leadership and project engineering and implementation capabilities, proactively collaborating with the business partners in over 140 countries and regions worldwide, contributing to the global energy transformation of “CHINT Solutions”.

-- BERNAMA

TDCX CONTINUES EXPANSION PATH WITH NEW PHILIPPINE OFFICE

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 (Bernama) -- Singapore-headquartered TDCX Inc (TDCX or the Company), a high-growth digital customer experience (CX) solutions provider for technology and blue-chip companies, continues its expansion path with a new office in Iloilo, the Philippines.

According to a statement, this is TDCX’s sixth campus in the Philippines and strengthens the company’s capacity to serve Global English end-markets, such as North America, United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand.

The outsourced CX services market outside of Southeast Asia is expected to grow to US$86.3 billion by 2025. With the expanded operations in the Philippines, TDCX will meet the increasing demand for CX services. TDCX has signed on 25 new clients since January 2022, including a leading regional airline and one of Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platforms. (US$1 = RM4.635)

Eliza Acuña, Vice President for Business Strategy, TDCX Philippines, said: “As economies around the world recover from the effects of the pandemic and grapple with the current economic uncertainties, we are seeing increased demand for outsourced customer experience services.

“This is due, in part, to our ability to deliver superior customer experiences and to drive sales quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively for our clients. In the second quarter of this year, our total revenue across the Group was US$116.6 million, up 23.3 per cent year-on-year.

“The Philippines is known for its outsourcing capabilities and is an important node in TDCX’s network. Their highly skilled workforce coupled with a hospitable culture make the country a hotspot for us to hire the talent we need to resolve increasingly complex customer issues. Our new office in Iloilo will supplement our Manila and Cebu operations and create more job opportunities locally.”

TDCX’s strategic expansion into Iloilo enables it to entrench itself in the local innovation ecosystem and work with other stakeholders to enhance the outsourced customer experience industry’s competitiveness on the global stage.

TDCX’s online learning and training programmes known as "Flash Coach" and "Flash Learn" provide employees with access to training virtually and on-demand. In addition to job-specific training, employees also receive training in critical thinking, problem-solving and agility.

TDCX employs more than 17,000 employees across 26 campuses globally, specifically Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Mainland China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, India, Romania, Spain and Colombia.

For more information, visit www.tdcx.com.

-- BERNAMA

JUNIPER RESEARCH LAUNCHES MOST COMPREHENSIVE MARKET DATA SUBSCRIPTION

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 (Bernama) -- Juniper Research has launched its new market data subscriptions offering the Fintech & Payment industry unrivalled insights into future markets and opportunities.

“By providing market data and forecasts, harvest facilitates informed decisions and actionable insights for our subscribers,” said Chief Executive Officer & Founder of Juniper Research, Tony Crabtree in a statement.

“Our data platform is backed up by interviews with leading players in the market and Juniper Research’s extensive in-house market knowledge.”

With over 1.5 million market statistics covering 60 countries, the freshly upgraded online data platform ‘harvest’ offers continuous updates and incisive analytical tools.

New markets are frequently added, and include areas such as eCommerce Payments, Banking-as-a-Service, and Digital Identity.

The new market data subscriptions offer users the benefits namely historical and forecast data; coverage of 60 countries; continuously updated; and data comparison tool.

All data tables in the subscription comprise market statistics for the period 2019-2027 as standard. A subscription to these market statistics provides both a historic view of a market, in addition to Juniper Research’s view on its potential.

In addition, the harvest platform houses a powerful statistical analysis tool that enables users to compare and visualise data from any set of tables within their subscription.

-- BERNAMA