APAC Insider Magazine Issue Q2 2019 Ansiderac Inside this issue: Southern Cross Cables Limited Partnerships and Proactivity are the Key to Enduring Success for Southern Cross Southern Cross Cables Limited owns and operates a Trans-Pacific submarine cable network that connects Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and the US West coast. In March, the company was recognised in the 2019 APAC Excellence programme as the Most Innovative Cable Solutions Provider. We spoke with Laurie Miller, CEO of Southern Cross, to find out how they are driving the telecommunication sector to even greater heights. Healthy and Locally Sourced Food for the Pickiest of Little Eaters Coco & Lucas’ Kitchen Giving Children the Best Possible Start Rainbow Station Early Education Centre
2 APAC / Issue Q2 2019 APAC Insider Magazine is dedicated to providing you with the latest news and updates from across the Asia Pacific region. For this Q2 issue we spotlight the region’s exceptional talent in the FinTech sphere. From digital banking innovations, to business-centric payment solutions, Asia is at the heart of the finance sector’s development, driving change and accelerating evolution. With this in mind, we have chosen to showcase two of the industry’s most promising FinTech firms: AsiaPay and MatchMove. MatchMove Pay is, by all considerations, Singapore’s fastest growing technology company, and one of the world’s fastest growing – and most disruptive – fintech companies. Seeking to offer a solution to the ‘unbanked population’, whilst simultaneously supporting banks who want to digitise their services but don’t want to develop their own technologies, MatchMove developed their Banking Wallet OSTM. We spoke with CEO and Founder Mr Shailesh Naik to find out more. Founded in 2000, AsiaPay was one of the first to realise the importance of digitisation in the banking industry at a time when traditional brick and mortar establishments dominated the playing field. Embracing an innovation-first mindset, the firm have capitalised on their proactivity and foresightedness to become one of the key drivers of the sector. Following their well-deserved recognition as the ‘Electronic Payment Solutions Provider of the Year’, we spoke with Associate Director Max Ng, who provided more insight into AsiaPay’s exceptional growth. Here at APAC Insider Magazine, we hope that you enjoy reading this month’s insightful issue and hope to hear from you soon. Laura Brookes, Editor Phone: +44 (0)20 3970 0082 Email: [email protected] Website: www.apac-insider.com AI Global Media, Ltd. (AI) takes reasonable measures to ensure the quality of the information on this web site. However, AI will not assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, correctness or completeness of any information that is available through this web site. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them. The information available through the website and our partner publications is for your general information and use and is not intended to address any particular finance or investment requirements. In particular, the information does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by us or any of our partner publications and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making or refraining from making any investment or financial decisions. Appropriate independent advice should be obtained before making any such decision. Any arrangement made between you and any third party named in the site is at your sole risk and responsibility.
APAC / Issue Q2 2019 3 , 4. News 6. Helping to Steer Your Company to Success 7. Giving Children the Best Possible Start 8. Letting anyone Spend, Send and LendTM Seamlessly with MatchMove 9. Healthy and Locally Sourced Food for the Pickiest of Little Eaters 10. Continued Growth Through Unstoppable Innovation 12. Partnerships and Proactivity are the Key to Enduring Success for Southern Cross 14. Alpha Aviation Academy to Expand to Australia 16. George Clinical Strengthens AsiaPacific Presence with New Singapore Location 18. China Eastern Airlines Kicks Off the New A350-900 Service for its Shanghai-Roman Route 20. Spiceworks Opens Development Center in Hyderabad, India 22. The Challenge - Localising UN SDGs for Inclusive Smart Cities 24. Data Security Now the Top New Zealand Consumer Priority When Choosing a Bank - New Unisys Research Finds 26. GXC Logs onto Bithumb, South Korea’s Largest Digital-Currency Exchange 28. PINTEC-backed Avatec Gets Greenlight to Participate in Indonesia’s Digital Financial Innovation Sandbox Program 30. AXA Investment Managers - Real Assets Acquires 831 Room Australian Hotel Portfolio for A$330.4 Million
4 APAC / Issue Q2 2019 NEWS , Beacon Hospital Treats First Patient in Malaysia on Varian Halcyon System Varian (NYSE: VAR) announced a 62-year-old male with thyroid cancer was the first patient in Malaysia to be treated on the Halcyon™ system at Beacon Hospital in Selangor. Halcyon simplifies and enhances virtually every aspect of image-guided volumetric intensity-modulated radiotherapy (IMRT), including improved patient comfort and shortening the time from installation to first-treatment without sacrificing quality. The system is well suited to treat a majority of cancer patients, offering advanced treatments for lung, prostate, breast, head & neck, and many other forms of cancer. "We are proud to be the first hospital in Southeast Asia equipped with the Halcyon system, and now local cancer patients no longer have to travel abroad to seek advanced cancer care," said Dato' Dr. Ibrahim Wahid, medical director and consultant clinical oncologist at Beacon Hospital. "At Beacon Hospital, we strive to provide advanced cancer care to our patients, and we understand the anxiety and fear patients go through during treatment. The speed of treatment with Halcyon combined with the patient-focused features like the ambient lighting in the gantry opening, the integrated sound system and the couch-mounted camera, help alleviate patient concerns." "Varian is dedicated to increasing access to advanced cancer care globally," said Kenneth Tan, president Asia Pacific, Varian. "Halcyon was designed to deliver high-quality treatments and empower clinicians to care for more patients. It is great to see Beacon Hospital now treating patients on the system and offering these advanced treatments to patients in Malaysia." Halcyon features a streamlined workflow that only requires nine steps from the start to the end of treatment compared to up to more than 30 steps with older technologies. To assist in the reduction of time and construction costs from installation to first patient treatment, Halcyon offers expedited commissioning, requires less shielding than traditional systems, can fit in the majority of existing small vaults and can be installed in two weeks or less.
APAC / Issue Q2 2019 5 NEWS , This will be a wide-ranging partnership covering from product development to sales and marketing. Further, China Merchants Group’s shipbuilding subsidiaries will partner with the joint venture to design and build new ocean cruise ships dedicated to the Chinese market. “China is a dynamic outbound tourism market, and we are pleased to be partnering with China Merchants Group in this joint venture to drive the development of the cruise industry – we see Viking’s way of cruising less as a trip and more as a lifestyle,” said Torstein Hagen, Chairman of Viking. “For more than 20 years, we have led the industry in developing a fleet of ships and a range of cruise itineraries that we believe provide guests with the most comfortable and enriching way to explore the world. Our partnership with China Merchants Group will allow us to bring this Viking travel lifestyle to more Chinese travelers more quickly, satisfying the Chinese market’s unmet deFounded in 1987 and based in Melbourne, Staysafe is today one of the largest monitoring companies in Australia with MAUD 11 (72 MSEK) annual sales, 73 employees and 28,000 monitoring connections managed through two grade A1 monitoring centers located in Melbourne, Victoria and Adelaide in South Australia. The purchase price is estimated to MAUD 19 (123 MSEK). “Staysafe is a strong organization built on many years of successful entrepreneurship. We are very pleased to welcome the Staysafe team onboard to an exciting journey together with Securitas says Andreas Lindback, Divisional President, Securitas AMEA. Through the acquisition of Staysafe we are building on our proSecuritas Acquires Leading Alarm Monitoring Company in Australia mand for a greater choice of sophisticated travel.” “China Merchants Group treasures this cooperation with Viking. This is a full scale, multi-dimensional cooperation that covers all three main business sectors of China Merchants group,” said Gangfeng Fu, president of China Merchants Group. “Viking has gained tremendous experience in cruise operations and branding strategies during its 20 years of rapid growth. We sincerely hope that the alliance of the two powerful brands will create synergies and innovative business models that will lead the cooperation into a market-leading cruise brand. Viking operates a current fleet of 78 vessels, offering scenic cruising on rivers and oceans around the world. China has been a part of Viking’s destination portfolio since 2003, and since setting up local operations in China in 2016, the company has seen strong momentum in its European river cruise product tailored for Chinese-speaking guests. Viking and China Merchants Group to Join Forces in Expanding China’s Cruise Industry Securitas is strengthening its client value proposition in the Australian security market through the acquisition of Staysafe, a leading alarm monitoring company in Australia. tective service offering in the Australian security market which will strengthen our service delivery and innovative solutions to our clients. We are looking forward to continue engaging with our existing and new clients in Australia on how we can drive further value through the acquisition of Staysafe announced today.” Securitas is the world leading protective services company with the ambition to lead the industry into the next generation of intelligent security solutions. Since entering the Australian market in 2017 Securitas has experienced strong growth and expanded its geographical footprint and capabilities across the country. The acquisition will be consolidated into Securitas in the second quarter 2019. On April 8, Viking® and China Merchants Shekou, representing China Merchants Group, announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding to form a joint venture focused on building a cruise line with worldwide cruise offerings for the Chinese cruise market.
6 APAC / Issue Q2 2019 , Helping to Steer Your Company to Success Sometimes a company has to think small to experience truly extraordinary growth. As a boutique firm, Magnetic Alliance have chosen to specialise in working with a select few clients closely, rather than do a little for a larger client base. It’s this diligent ethos which, on the whole, defines Magnetic Alliance, as they look to ‘take the pain away’ from their clients, allowing them to focus on their company’s unique strengths whilst leaving their weaknesses to Magnetic’s expert management. To begin the interview, Mark takes a moment to outline his company’s core mission: “Through Magnetic Alliance’s first-class head office, entrepreneurs can spend more time on their core capabilities, than doing the thing they’re not good at. We provide a very unique suite of services that connect the dots for entrepreneurs across their entire business. Some of our clients like to say: while others help to do bits, we help them steer the whole ship. We get into the deep work with our clients. We get into their business and help them through their toughest challenges. As a result, many of our clients achieve real tangible and bankable results. Magnetic Alliance was not built on the back of marketing and branding, but though achieving results.” “We exist to help power your business, fuel your lifestyle and help make your dreams come true” Magnetic Alliance works primarily with business owners and Chief Executives who are passionate about what they do, but perhaps might not have the skills to best realise their company goals or establish an actionable roadmap. “We approach our clients more like a business partner and give them our best – as if we owned their business ourselves. Equally, we are in a position to see what needs to be done, which is usually what our clients struggle with. Through this approach, we can help them tackle the ‘hard stuff’ which is what helps them get the results.” “Ultimately, we help people make it through tough times. Everyone experiences it, even big corporations. We have experienced it ourselves in running our own business. Growth comes with risks, it comes with blood, sweat and tears… and you don’t always win all the time, despite the effort.” Saying that, Magnetic Alliance’s growth has been incredibly impressive, acting as testament to their considerable ability and success. “We have grown our business between 30% and 300% year on year for seven years straight, and the first five years of that was driven with no marketing – we barely even had a website.” As you can imagine, Magnetic Alliance’s staff has played a crucial role in securing the firm’s enduring success, as they act in the best interests of the company’s discerning clientele, as Mark explains further. “Our staff are integral to the success of our firm. We have to have a high calibre of staff because they are helping CEOs, directors and entrepreneurs to succeed in highly challenging industries. As such we invest a great deal in our team as far as personal and professional development goes, week in week out.” In his closing comments, Mark offers some insight into Magnetic Alliance’s future, as they look to expand into new markets and capitalise on their enviable success over the last seven years. “2019 is a big year: we are in the process of acquiring a business in the oil and gas industry, as well as launching an international retreat where business owners can meet highflying tycoons to help them grow their business- and themselves – Jan19146 Founded in November 2011, Magnetic Alliance is a boutique firm that provides business development and improvement services to entrepreneurs across Australia. In January, Magnetic Alliance was recognised in APAC Insider Magazine’s ongoing annual Business Excellence programme as Australia’s Leading Firm for Business Growth and Development for 2019. On the back of that win, we spoke with the firm’s Managing Director and Chief Strategist, Mark Lim, to find out more about their meteoric success in the industry. to handle their next ‘big step’. We also have a new three-day bootcamp, where business owners design at minimum, at least a seven- figure growth plan. Some we have helped to create another eight figures in revenue above what they’re already doing. We help them build a bridge from strategy to implementation, so that their plans can become reality.” Contact: Mark Lim Company: Magnetic Alliance Address: 147 Pirie Street, Adelaide, 5000, Australia Website: www.magneticalliance.com.au Telephone: +61 8 7071 3000
APAC / Issue Q2 2019 7 , Feb19306 Giving Children the Best Possible Start There can be no doubt: early education – in any form- is a vital cornerstone in childhood development. Here, the foundations are established and strengthened, paving the way for success down the line. Naturally, families are eager to attain the very best care for their children – care that encourages their creativity, inventiveness, and forges those early social skills that will carry them through their schooling years. More than that, early education centres rely on trust. Parents need to trust that their child’s best interests will be kept at heart, as they flourish into the people that they will eventually become. Rainbow Station has thrived through an ability to create a community of children, educators and parents acting towards one unified goal – to help children attain their full potential. To help achieve this, Rainbow Station specialises in play-based learning, which allows those under their care to test and develop all types of motor skills, as well as promoting an active, healthy lifestyle. Through this approach, the centre has amassed a loyal community, who stand by Rainbow Station’s methods and dedication to quality care. Based in Casino, New South Wales, Rainbow Station Early Education Centre provides educational care for children age six weeks to six years, as well as occasional care for children age six to twelve. In February, the centre was recognised in APAC Insider’s APAC Excellence program on the back of their commitment to excellent care. Following this win, we decided to take a closer look at Rainbow Station to find out how they have created one of the finest early education centres in the region. “We want all families and children to feel supported in their environment and in doing so they need to have access to an inclusive service with quality education and care.” This idea of an inclusivity really forms the backbone of Rainbow Station’s work, with every member of staff internalising an ethos defined by the idea of creating well-formed individuals, with the skillset to tackle the years ahead. On that front, the centre has a School Readiness Preschool program that is taught by Rainbow Station’s Qualified Educators and Early Childhood/ Primary Teachers. “Our educators and teachers play a vital role in the success of our centre. High Quality Early education program helps every child and family feel that they belong. Their knowledge, skills and expertise in child development ensures all families have access to inclusive child care” Address: 48 Colches Street, Casino NSW 2470, Australia Website: www.rainbowstation.net.au Telephone: +61 02-6662 4209
8 APAC / Issue Q2 2019 , Letting anyone Spend, Send and LendTM Seamlessly with MatchMove Fintech has become the dominant disruptor in the financial and banking industries, adapting to the ever-changing needs of emerging consumer markets at a pace that traditional brick and mortar establishments struggle to service. Further, it would perhaps be an understatement to say that technological development has heralded in a new age of digitalisation, as more and more banking services are turning to paperless processes. With these two distinct but related core constituencies in mind, - large, connected populations in need of mobile banking services but don’t want to or cannot go to a traditional bank and leading organisations wanting to digitalise their entire customer experience but don’t want to develop their own technologies - MatchMove has developed a proprietary Banking Wallet OSTM that enables ‘Banking As A Service’ to be inserted easily inside any app on any phone. As Mr Naik explained in more detail. “The platform empowers businesses and brands, in the private and public sectors to enable their customers to ‘Spend’ both online and offline easily and safely, via instantly issued prepaid cards on major card networks. Our ‘Send’ capabilities include P2P domestic transfers, crossborder remittances, P2M and mass disbursements to global recipients. The MatchMove platform further extends to ‘Lend’, where credit scores are assigned based on customers’ spending and sending patterns to offer customised lending solutions.” This way, consumers never have to go to a bank branch, their favourite brands can bring the bank to them, inside the phone, instantly. As one of the world’s leading fintech firms, MatchMove has partnered with some of the largest companies in the financial and mobile landscape to ensure that their customers receive best in class services. “Currently, more than 60 organisations from different segments, including micro-lending, e-commerce, shipping, airline, transportation, chat, logistics and even other wallets and banks in Asia are partnering with MatchMove to rapidly digitalise payments, remittances and loan disbursements as well as other value add services ranging from e-gifting to loyalty management.” There’s certainly a growing market for MatchMove’s product, as consumers start to realise that online infrastructure can streamline their payment behaviour. “There can be no doubt that digital transformation is seeping into every industry, with businesses eager to understand their users’ transaction patterns to better serve them over time, and to anticipate their needs in advance.” This high growth model forms the backbone of the company strategy as it looks towards growth and expansion over the rest of the year and beyond. “We started looking abroad early in our journey, identifying new geographies where there is a huge demand for prepaid payment solutions due to a large unbanked population, but with high internet and smartphone penetration rates. As a result, we set up our first overseas office in India, quickly followed by The Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia. We focus on addressing the pain points of Feb19166 MatchMove Pay is Singapore’s fastest growing technology company, and one of the world’s fastest growing – and most disruptive – fintech companies. On the back of their recognition in the 2019 APAC Excellence Awards, where MatchMove was named ‘Singapore’s Most Outstanding Fintech Firm’, we spoke with CEO and Founder Mr Shailesh Naik to find out more. strategic verticals with highgrowth impact such as retail, e-commerce, logistics, peerto-peer lending and gaming. This remains the fundamental plan for the future, even as we concurrently explore growth opportunities inorganically.” In 2018, the company reported a doubling of new customers signing up multi-year contracts to use the platform while it also reported triple digit percentage growth on transaction volumes based on 2017 contracts signed. A similar growth trajectory is expected in 2019. Company: MatchMove Pay Contact: [email protected] Address: 137 Telok Ayer Street #03-03 Singapore 068602 Website: www.matchmove.com
APAC / Issue Q2 2019 9 , Healthy and Locally Sourced Food for the Pickiest of Little Eaters By all regards, the world is being consumed by an obsession with all things health, fitness and wellness, creating a new global goliath on the business landscape. From wellness retreats and mindfulness, to yoga, meditation and spin classes, the health market continues to expand and find new opportunities for growth. Equally, people are more eager to learn about the food that they put into their bodies, realising that, to put it simply, what we eat matters – beyond trying to lose that extra couple of pounds. Children have, for the most part, been stereotyped for their picky eating habits, as true as it might be. It can be notoriously difficult to help these picky individuals to branch out and explore new taste horizons, as they stubbornly cling to tried and tested favourites. Coco & Lucas’ Kitchen was designed, from the ground up, to offer international cuisine in a way that was new, different and – above all – healthy. Vitally, each of the company’s recipes are gluten and lactose free, and use natural, locally sourced ingredients to ensure the highest quality product. Based in Australia, Coco & Lucas’ Kitchen has grown an impressive reputation on the back of a relatively simply premise: creating good quality food for the pickiest of eaters, and suitable for a variety of food intolerances. In January, Coco & Lucas’ Kitchen was recognised as ‘Australia’s Leading Provider of Nutritionally Balanced Meals’ in APAC Insider’s 2019 Business Excellence programme. We took a deeper look at the firm to find out more. For Diem Fuggersberger, CEO and Co-Founder of Coco & Lucas’ Kitchen, creating healthy options for kids was the priority, realising that there were a number of unhealthy alternatives on the market. By considering food intolerances and preferences, she has further distinguished the company, becoming one of the premier brands on the Australian consumer landscape. Naturally then, Coco & Lucas’ Kitchen is the perfect recipient of the ‘Leading provider of Nutritionally Balanced Meals’ accolade, as they look to strengthen their position in this important sector. Address: 2/17 Willfox St, Condell Park, NSW 2200, Australia Website: http://cocoandlucas.com.au Telephone: +61 297 098 893
10 APAC / Issue Q2 2019 , Continued Growth Through Unstoppable Innovation The e-payment sector is booming, marching along at the same breakneck pace as the greater technological space. Here, the industry’s goliaths wrestle to stay at the cutting edge, as innovation and evolution continue to be the sector’s buzzwords. Few, however, have adopted the idea of innovation to the lengths that AsiaPay have – and the effort has certainly paid off. As Asia’s leading e-payment solutions and service provider, AsiaPay play a fundamental role in all of the region’s industries and markets, helping their business partners grow through constant innovation and development. This, throughout the company’s nineteenyear history, has remained a fundamental cornerstone of their ethos and helped to distinguish themselves from challenging competition, as Max emphasises. “We have a steadfast dedication to create and offer better value-driven services that has significantly improved our product capabilities across markets. AsiaPay always ensures that we adopt the latest e-Payment technologies and standards, and forge product and technological partnerships with leading players in the market. Besides, we’ve specifically designed our multi-lingual and multi-currency payment gateway platform to deliver unparalleled customizability, scalability, and reliability,” adds Max. Recognized by acquiring banks and card associations worldwide, AsiaPay is one of the few payment providers to be PCI DSS Level 1 certified. This steadfast dedication to innovation finds it roots at the employee level, with a company culture that always aims for collaborative adaptation. Ultimately, the employees are the people who connect with the clientele on a daily basis - they are the lifeblood of a company, acting as ambassadors to the company’s values and commitments. “The happier the team, the better the performance of the company. It’s therefore important to have a group of employees that fit the mission, core values, and proposed company culture.” When it comes to the future of AsiaPay, they plan to utilise this innovative core to drive their growth, becoming not only the leading player in the greater electronic payment service and technology sector in Asia, but also beyond. “We will continue our commitment to continually support the market and safeguard the payment industry. Moreover, we plan to expand out footprint in the market through our coverage, as well as new payment solution research and Feb19348 Founded in 2000, AsiaPay is an electronic payment solution and technology service provider with offices in APAC and the UK. Earlier this year, AsiaPay was deservedly recognised as the ‘Electronic Payment Solutions Provider of the Year’ in APAC’s 2019 Singapore Business Awards. Following that well-deserved recognition, we spoke to Max Ng, Associate Director, Sales & Marketing for the company, to find out more about their formidable reputation in the Asian e-payment market. development. Ultimately, we look forward to empowering businesses and financial institutions to keep pace with market disruptions by offering a comprehensive suite of products across channels, markets, devices and technologies.” Company: AsiaPay Address: 20 Collyer Quay #23-01 Singapore 049319 Website: http://www.asiapay.com/ Telephone: +65 6653 1929
APAC / Issue Q2 2019 11 WR180119 No. 2928 & 2929, Jalan PJS 3/1, Bandar Petaling Jaya Selatan, 46000 Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia. tel: +603 - 7497 3595 e-mail: [email protected] patent.trademark.industrialdesign.copyrights. licensing.franchising.commercialization.
12 APAC / Issue Q2 2019 , Mar19521 Partnerships and Proactivity are the Key to Enduring Success for Southern Cross The world relies on technology. Perhaps this has never been more true than in the modern age. As daily life moves ever more onto a digital landscape, technology’s importance only becomes ever more concrete. After all, people all over the world fundamentally rely on telecommunication services, and with that growing demand, comes a need to establish robust infrastructure to support it now and moving forwards into the future. In Australasia there’s only really one name that has come to differentiate itself in an incredibly proactive market, and that is Southern Cross Cables. Here, Laurie takes a moment to explain more: “We provide Layer 1 and Layer 2 capacity connectivity services to a range of customers across the region to telecommunications providers, ISPs, enterprises and content providers. Southern Cross specialises in SDH, OTN and Ethernet international connectivity, and in particular, protected and Southern Cross Cables Limited owns and operates a Trans-Pacific submarine cable network that connects Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii and the US West coast. In March, the company was recognised in the 2019 APAC Excellence programme as the Most Innovative Cable Solutions Provider. We spoke with Laurie Miller, CEO of Southern Cross, to find out how they are driving the telecommunication sector to even greater heights. restored services that leverage the diverse and loop nature of our underlying system design. This has, ultimately, been a key differentiator of Southern Cross to single strand cable systems.” Yet, not surprisingly, Southern Cross’ success has been more than simply providing better quality products. It has, by all considerations, adopted a strong focus on customer satisfaction. “As the international capacity market is not a “mass market” type environment, it allows Southern Cross to forge strong partnerships with our customers.” This customer focus is only more impressive when you consider Southern Cross’ relatively small team, as Laurie moves on to discuss: “We have around nineteen direct employees, so the staff play a critical role in the success of Southern Cross, from initial engagements through to the quality and operation of the service, and the accessibility and proactive attitude to try and resolve any issues on the rare occasion that something goes wrong. It all comes down to the staff and the customer-focussed attitude.” At the end of the day, proactivity and innovation define the future of this industry. As technology continues to evolve, and new products are put onto the market, paradigm shifts look likely. As such, the key to enduring success hinges on an ability to adapt, improve and evolve – become better. “The industry (like all) is evolving over time. Content Provider requirements grow and are projected to become larger than traditional telco providers within the next ten years, and the effect of the Internet of Things (IoT) is forecast to continue to increase as the technology becomes more pervasive. Exactly where it will lead us is unknown, much like the impact of the smart phone would have been very difficult to predict when it was introduced only twelve years ago. “The challenge is to try and be adaptable and continue to grow and enhance our product offerings to meet changing requirements. One thing that doesn’t ever seem to change is the need to focus on the customer experience and satisfaction.” Southern Cross are embodying this idea of constant improvement over the next few years, moving to reinforce their position as one of the industry’s leaders. In his closing comments, Laurie offers more insight into the company’s plans. “We are in the process of a new submarine cable build project, Southern Cross NEXT, which will further augment the capacity and resiliency of international connectivity out of Australia and New Zealand to the Pacific Islands and the United States of America, which represents a significant infrastructure investment in the region. The NEXT cable will also provide new branches into Tokelau and Kiritimati islands providing their first cable links to the world. “The system will provide a third high capacity low latency route to the existing Southern Cross ecosystem, providing our customers with even more resiliency options. The marine route survey and a number of other project milestones have been completed (such as Sydney landing facilities), and the project is due for completion by end-2021.”
APAC / Issue Q2 2019 13 Company: Southern Cross Cables Limited Name: Laurie Miller, CEO Address: L9 123 Epping Road, Sydney, New South Wales, 2113, Australia Website: www.southerncrosscables.com Telephone: +61 2 8875 7870 Partnerships and Proactivity are the Key to Enduring Success for Southern Cross
14 APAC / Issue Q2 2019 , Alpha Aviation Academy to Expand to Australia Alpha Aviation Academy (AAA), the Middle East’s leading pilot training provider, and one of the largest and most recognized providers of the Multi-Crew Pilot Licence (MPL) in the world, is to partner with international flight training provider Airways Aviation. The partnership will see batches of AAA cadets undertake the 3 months core flying phase of their MPL training at Airways Aviation’s Australia campus each year, where they will train to the highest possible standards before returning to the UAE to commence the Advance Flight Simulator training phases. The core flying phase involves cadets undertaking 70 hours of flight training in a single-engine aircraft, where they learn how to effectively handle and fly the aircraft in preparation for a career with Air Arabia, the Middle East’s leading low-cost airline. To date over 360 AAA graduates have gone on to fly for Air Arabia. AAA has partnered with Airways Aviation given their proven track record in successfully training cadets to the highest standards across Europe and Australia, from entry-level theory right through to the Airline Transport Pilot Licence (ATPL). The partnership between AAA and Airways Aviation has been Leading ME pilot training provider partnering with Airways Aviation. signed by Captain Nadhem AlHamad, General Manager of AAA and Mr. Ted Kabbout, CEO of Airways Aviation Australia, with the first batch of AAA cadets to start their training in Australia in late March 2019. AAA have established a number of other partnerships over the past year, including with Etihad Aviation Training in July 2018, and with AAA’s sister academy in Philippines (Alpha Aviation Group) in January 2019. AAA’s continued drive to get more pilots into the skies comes as the aviation industry predicts that close to 800,000 more commercial pilots will be required over the next 15 to 20 years to meet growing industry demand. Mr.Ted Kabbout, Airways Aviation’s CEO, said: “Over the past decade Alpha Aviation Academy has emerged as the Middle East’s pre-eminent pilot training provider, and we look forward to working with them helping train their next generation of ambitious cadets.” Captain Nadhem AlHamad, Alpha Aviation Academy’s General Manager, said: “Our partnership with Airways Aviation is the next phase in the expansion of our international core flying training providers. “We are committed to ensuring our ambitious cadets receive the world’s best training, and all the skills needed for a successful career in the skies.”
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16 APAC / Issue Q2 2019 , George Clinical Strengthens Asia-Pacific Presence with New Singapore Location The new office and entity in Singapore, which was established in July, were requisites for George Clinical to act as a local clinical trial sponsor for the firm’s international client base. James Cheong, appointed last month as COO, is now based out of the office. This move broadens the geographic footprint of George Clinical in the Asia-Pacific region and the firm can now provide project management, site management, local sponsorship and drug/medical device importation and exportation clinical trial services in Singapore. “As a major trade center in the region, our presence in Singapore represents several new opportunities for our clients which they may not have thought we’d have access to previously,” said Evon Hui, Head of Business George Clinical, a global scientifically backed clinical research organization, (CRO) has expanded its footprint in Asia with the addition of a new presence in Singapore. Operations, East Asia. “Similarly to what we provide in Hong Kong and Taiwan, we can now offer regulatory services include acting as local sponsor while managing IP importations, project management, safety and pharmacovigilance (PV) reporting services.” Key advantages of conducting clinical trials with George Clinical in Singapore include a short start up timeline of only one to three months; a well-established regulatory and ethics review framework; access to high quality data; and the company’s experienced clinical trial staffs. Clients can benefit from the fact that the majority of health services institutions have clinical trial centers which can assist in the setup, execution and coordination of clinical trials within the country. Commercially, clients also have the convenience of doing business in the Asian market where English is the official language.
APAC / Issue Q2 2019 17 George Clinical Strengthens Asia-Pacific Presence with New Singapore Location
18 APAC / Issue Q2 2019 , China Eastern Airlines Kicks Off the New A350-900 Service for its Shanghai-Roman Route China Eastern Airlines recently announced that its round-trip route between Shanghai and Rome (MU787/788) uses the latest Airbus A350-900 aircraft from March 31, 2019, providing an elegant and comfortable trip to and from Italy at the 8th anniversary of launching this route. Flight MU787 is estimated to depart from Pudong Airport, Shanghai at 12:35, and arrive at Rome Fiumicino Airport at 19:10 local time. Meanwhile flight MU788 would depart from Rome at 21:10 local time, and arrive at Shanghai Pudong Airport at 14:35 the next day. China Eastern Airlines addressed that since the opening of the route in March 2011, the ShanghaiRome flight has increased from the initial three shifts per week to seven shifts per week. Over the past eight years, more than one million passengers have chosen China Eastern Airlines to travel between China and Italy, which formed The “Silk Road” in the air for the exchange between the two countries. In order to better serve passengers and increase travel comfort, China Eastern Airlines Service integrated with Chinese and Italian cultural characteristics. replaced the aircraft for ShanghaiRome route with the latest A350 aircraft, providing high-quality travel services to passengers with new on-board hardware, software and entertainment facilities. The Airbus A350-900 has a total of 288 seats, including 4 Luxury Business Class seats equipped with two movable sliding doors that can form an independent private compartment when closed, and it could become a “social area” that accommodates four people when necessary. There are 36 Business Class seats with a length of 196cm when fully lied down, equipped with mini bar and 18-inch display with Bluetooth headset module. Besides, there are 32 Premium Economy Class seats and 216 Economy Class seats, all equipped with 4D headrests, power supply and the largest 13-inch display in the industry. The aboard entertainment system provides travellers with personalized entertainment resources such as latest movies, popular TV shows, games, etc., making the journey full of fun. In the meantime, the Air-Ground Internet connection on China Eastern Airlines’ A350 aircraft is faster with maximum access speed at 200 m/s, which supplies better Internet surfing experience to passengers. China and Italy are among the countries with the most cultural heritages in the world, witnessing rapid development of bilateral cultural and economic exchanges. Teachers and students of an Italian boarding school, Rome Convitto Nazionale Vittorio Emanuele II, wrote to Chinese President Xi Jinping ahead of his state visit to Italy and received the president’s reply. The school is a prestigious school and its students are keen to learn Chinese and Chinese culture. China Eastern Airlines launched cooperation with the school for six consecutive years since 2013, providing service such as direct flights to China for almost 1000 teachers and students to assist them in Chinese language training since then. In November 2015, China Eastern Airlines recruited Italian flight attendants in Italy. 12 beautiful and talented women became attendants of China Eastern Airlines at last. Among them, an Italian girl named Giada who participated in the “49th World Tourism Ambassador” competition and crowned “Miss Italy”, has turned to become a part of the beautiful landscape in China Eastern Airlines together with her other 11 Italian colleagues and over 10 Italian ground staff, with their efforts and enthusiasm to be part of Sino-Italian cultural promotion activities in the Airlines such as “Foreign Staff celebrating China Year” and “Italian Food Year”. At the end of 2018, Rome Airport, local tourism department and the leaders of China Eastern Airlines jointly held a celebration to congratulate a Chinese female tourist to become the 15 millionth arrival passenger at the airport in 2018. In 2018, Italy attracted more than 2 million Chinese tourists. It has become one of the most popular tourist destinations for Chinese tourists in Europe. The per capita consumption of Chinese tourists in Italy is also ranked among the top foreign tourists. 2019 is the 15th anniversary of the establishment of ChinaItaly comprehensive strategic partnership, which brings new development opportunities for economic and cultural exchanges between two countries, which also offers chances of development in Italy for airlines including China Eastern Airlines.
APAC / Issue Q2 2019 19 China Eastern Airlines Kicks Off the New A350-900 Service for its Shanghai-Roman Route
20 APAC / Issue Q2 2019 , Spiceworks, the marketplace that connects the IT industry, announced the opening of its India Development Center in Hyderabad, India. The new office expands Spiceworks product, engineering and development footprint beyond North America and furthers the company’s focus on building products and experiences that deliver greater insights for technology buyers, intelligence for technology vendors, and direct connections between buyers and sellers in the $3 trillion IT industry. Additionally, Spiceworks announced the appointment of Talgan Kumar Rao as head of its new Center. With more than 15 years of experience in IT, including senior positions at Microsoft, Syngenta, and Infosys, Talgan will oversee operations, hiring, and day-today management of the Center. “I’m excited to lead our operations in India and a team that will help build the IT marketplace technology buyers and sellers across the world use to connect with one another,” said Talgan. “By applying New office will focus on developing products and experiences that enable direct connections between technology buyers and sellers in the global IT market. artificial intelligence, natural language processing, and the latest analytics technologies to our unique data set, we have an enormous opportunity to reshape how technology buyers and sellers get their jobs done.” Hyderabad, India will serve as Spiceworks third office — joining its headquarters in Austin, Texas and its European hub in London, in addition to remote employees throughout the United States, Germany, Spain, and Australia. The new Development Center will be comprised of software engineers, product managers, and data scientists. “As an organization serving technology buyers and sellers around the world, it’s imperative our Product and Engineering team is thinking, executing, and working globally as well,” said Manish Dixit, senior vice president of Products and Engineering at Spiceworks. “Our India Development Center will be instrumental in furthering our mission to provide technology buyers and sellers with the insight, intelligence, and connections they need to support their businesses and drive growth.” Spiceworks Opens Development Center in Hyderabad, India
APAC / Issue Q2 2019 21 Spiceworks Opens Development Center in Hyderabad, India
22 APAC / Issue Q2 2019 , The Challenge - Localising UN SDGs for Inclusive Smart Cities The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (“UN SDGs”) was launched in 2015 to shape the universal development agenda to 2030, building on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to achieve global sustainable economic, social and environmental development. Now, more than three years later, what is the situation on the ground? Can the visions and strategies of Smart Cities around the world play a key role to help achieve these global goals?” When world leaders gathered at the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in 2015 to launch the UN SDGs, there were concerns that the 17 goals were too ambitious, too general, not focused, and unrealistic. After all, the SDGs expanded on the 8 Millennial Development Goals (adopted in 2000), and recurring goals like poverty, hunger, universal education, gender equality, and environment sustainability remained. There are valid reasons to be sceptical. Take poverty as an example. According to World Bank statistics, in 2015, 736 million people lived on less than USD1.90 a day, down from 1.85 billion in 1990. While that was a great achievement, the progress made had been somewhat uneven. By Tay Kok-Chin, Chairman, Smart Cities Network & Bernard Faustino Madrid Dy, Mayor of the Cauayan City, Isabela, Philippines East Asia and Pacific (with 47 million extreme poor) and Europe and Central Asia (seven million) have reduced extreme poverty to below three per cent, projecting to achieve the 2030 target. Alarmingly, for Sub-Saharan Africa, the number of poor actually increased, to 413 million in 2015. In India, around 170 million people lived in poverty in 2015, at 12.4% of the population, a reduction from 29.8% in 2009. According to World Bank, more than 500 million people were lifted out of extreme poverty as China’s poverty rate fell dramatically from 88% in 1981 to 6.5% in 2012. It was further projected to fall to about 2% in 2018 with hopes of totally eradicating poverty by 2020. In ASEAN, the percentage of population in extreme poverty fell from 47% in 1990 to 14% in 2015. Based on these statistics and current state, the uneven progress would mean that trying to achieve the UN SDGs globally by 2030 would be a tremendous challenge. We would like to offer two approaches to address this challenge – by localising the UN SDGs and developing Inclusive Smart Cities. 1) The Experiences by Cauayan City (Isabela, Philippines) We believe that city leaders around the world should embrace the UN SDGs as an integral part of their strategy for sustainable development. To do so, the UN SDGs must be localised and mapped to existing development projects, and monitored to achieve specific goals. The participation of Cauayan City in the “Digital Twinned Smart Cities” Initiative by Smart Cities Network is to achieve SDG#17 – Partnerships for the Goals, by collaborating with others and learning from the network. 2) The Need for More Inclusive Smart Cities Countries and cities around the world have embarked on projects to make their countries and cities “Smart” or “Smarter”. It is now a trillion dollar market, offering solution and service providers tremendous business opportunities which could be turned into opportunities to help achieve the UN SDGs. Below would be the pre-requisites: • An Integrated Smart City and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Business Model – In August 2014, the Indian government passed a legislation that requires large companies (with average net profit of at least 50 million rupees over a period of 3 years) to spend at least two per cent of their profits every year on CSR. With the country embarking on Smart Cities in virtually every state in India, companies should work with the state government to integrate smart cities development with CSR projects. Such a business model would be a win-win partnership between the public and private sectors which should be replicated globally. • Identify “Bankable Projects for Smart Cities” – the World Bank and other regional Financial Institutions had spent trillions to assist developing countries achieve their SDGs. It is perhaps time to invest in projects that would attract the private sector to propose projects which are bankable in the development of smart cities. Projects like Smart Street Lighting (with integrated video cameras and sensors) with guaranteed 40% energy savings would help lay the smart infrastructure for cities with cost savings. 3) How to start localising the SDGs? c) The first step to embark on localising the SDGs would be a difficult one. Below is the advice from the Mayor of Cauayan City from the Philippines, Bernard Faustino Madrid Dy:
APAC / Issue Q2 2019 23 The Challenge - Localising UN SDGs for Inclusive Smart Cities “There are a lot of programs that are being implemented by the National Government but they would not being connected to the SDGs. So Local Government Units (LGUs) like Cauayan City should showcase how these projects are related to the SDGs. Another important factor is to inform the academic institutions and students on SDGs. We have also engaged partner agencies to relate their programs to the SDGs.” d) Cauayan City is a member city of the Digitally Twinned Smart Cities initiative. Partner cities would have the opportunity to learn from their city officials. If other cities are interested to know more, please register for ConnecTechAsia2019 and attend our Smart Cities Project Activation Workshop on 19 June 2019 at the Smart Cities Arena.
24 APAC / Issue Q2 2019 , Data Security Now the Top New Zealand Consumer Priority When Choosing a Bank - New Unisys Research Finds New research from Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS) reveals New Zealand bank customers rank data security as the issue that matters to them most about their bank – underscoring the importance of data security as banks prepare to work with third-parties to roll out new services in an Open Banking environment. The 2019 Asia Pacific Banking Insights: Trusting in the Banking Experience is a study of the attitudes of banking customers in New Zealand, Australia, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Taiwan. This year’s report identifies which bank attributes matter most to consumers and explores the delicate relationship between security, convenience and trust in financial institutions. The majority of New Zealanders (57 percent) cite the security and safety of customer data as the thing that matters to them most when engaging with a bank. More than half (54 percent) rank fast and efficient service as a priority, while 45 percent cite transparency. New Zealanders trust banks more than twice as much as the government with their personal data - Unisys Asia Pacific Banking Insights study. “In November, the Financial Markets Authority and Reserve Bank cleared New Zealand banks of the widespread abuses of customers identified in the Australian Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry. However, the FMA/RBNZ found New Zealand banks were error-prone and some used sales incentives which worked against customers’ interests,” said Ian Selbie, industry director, Financial Services, Unisys Asia Pacific. Of the five countries surveyed, New Zealand bank consumers have the second highest level of trust in banks to protect customer data with 41 percent of respondents citing banks as the organization they most trust to share personal data with, but the lowest level of trust in government (17 percent). Young people aged 18-24 represent the age group with the highest trust in banks (52 percent), but the lowest trust in government (17 percent). “Open Banking creates a significant shift in several elements of the security and risk landscape. However, the potential benefits of Open Banking include improved customer experience and new revenue streams in a sustainable service model. This research shows that New Zealand banks currently enjoy a high level of customer trust, but as security is such a priority for customers, banks will need to keep that trust by visibly enhancing their security, compliance and ethical standards,” said Selbie. New Zealanders are increasingly frustrated by inefficient bank interactions and not being able to fully complete transactions online. They rank having to repeat themselves to different consultants or bank channels as the most annoying thing about their bank with 32 percent annoyed by this issue – up from 24 percent in 2018. They also have the region’s highest level of frustration with online services that require a visit to a branch or printing a form (19 percent of respondents – up from 12 percent from the previous year). And those aged 18-34 are almost twice as annoyed by this as older New Zealanders. “While New Zealand banks provide a good digital experience, they still fail to provide a true omnichannel experience across all touch points. And younger Kiwis, the growing segment of their customer base, expect online services to be a complete and consistent end-to-end service,” said Selbie. The vast majority of New Zealanders are comfortable using voice, face or fingerprint recognition to access mobile banking apps (57 percent) or facial or fingerprint recognition at an ATM (67 percent). Slightly fewer (60 percent) are comfortable using voice recognition when calling the bank’s call center. However, they are yet to embrace behavioural biometrics with only 32 percent comfortable with a bank tracking the unique way a person scrolls through websites, types on a phone or presses buttons, to verify identity. Of those who don’t support using biometrics in banking, most say they are ‘just not comfortable’ (40 percent) or are concerned about data security (35 percent).
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