Tag: award

  • Hyundai takes top honors at Nactoys

    Hyundai takes top honors at Nactoys

    Hyundai Motor Group took home the top prizes in two of three categories at the 2019 North American Car, Utility and Truck of the Year Awards (Nactoy), the company said last Tuesday. It is the first time a Korean carmaker has won in two categories at the annual awards. Hyundai Motor’s Kona and Kona Electric crossover utility vehicle won in the utility category, while the G70 sedan sold under the carmaker’s Genesis brand won in the car category.

    A jury consisting of journalists and analysts based in the United States and Canada voted for the winners of each category, choosing between three finalists. This year, 54 journalists from print, online and broadcast media participated in the assessment.

    The award organizer said in a press release that jurors voted on the finalists based on segment leadership, innovation, design, safety, handling, driver satisfaction and value for the dollar.

    Hyundai’s Kona competed with Honda’s Acura RDX and the Jaguar I-Pace.

    “The Kona Electric is the first mass-market electric car that truly works for the mass market,” said Jamie Page Deaton, executive editor at U.S. News & World Report Best Cars. “A livable EV range, affordable price and practical cabin combine with lively driving dynamics to make the Kona EV a true pleasure.”

    The G70 competed with the Honda Insight and Volvo S60. The Genesis-brand was evaluated to exceed luxury segment mainstays like the BMW 3 Series, Audi A4 and Mercedes-Benz C-Class in driver engagement and value for the dollar.

    The last Hyundai car to win top honors at the awards was the Avante sedan, sold as the Elantra in North America, in 2012.

    Previously the award only had two categories – car and truck – however, utility vehicles earned an independent category from 2017, considering the rising popularity of the segment.

    A Hyundai spokesperson said it will market the Kona and G70 more actively in the North American market with boosted presence from the awards.

    The winners were announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit on Monday. Hyundai also introduced its Veloster N TCR high-performance racing car at the show, while Kia Motors premiered its Telluride SUV. The SUV will only be sold in the North American market.

  • Strawberrynet celebrate its 20th anniversary

    Strawberrynet celebrate its 20th anniversary

    Hong Kong online beauty pioneer Strawberrynet is celebrating its 20th anniversary. Since its launch in 1998, the e-commerce retailer has expanded to sell to more than 200 markets in 38 languages, with 24-seven pick and pack and customer services. The strawberrynet.com site carries more than 800 established international brands from Europe, the US, Japan and Korea, offering more than 30,000 items across a wide range of categories.

    Its 20-year business span makes it one of the longest-running e-commerce firms globally, launching in the same era as Amazon, eBay and PayPal. The site enjoys top rankings for a beauty-focused international platform on Alexa, ComCore and Internet Retailer.

    Strawberrynet began accumulating big data-style tracking since the early days of the science, making it an early adopter in using AI to understand not only its shopper behaviour, but also product trends for every category and region it traded in, allowing it to optimise and personalise offers for a better user experience.

    According to a statement put out by the firm, “Strawberrynet’s partnership with the world’s major platforms gives more shoppers around the globe access to products that are authentic, and offers that range from classic to chic and newly launched items”.

  • Maybank Malaysia bags ‘The Banker’s Bank’ award

    Maybank Malaysia bags ‘The Banker’s Bank’ award

    Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) clinched The Banker’s Bank of the Year 2018 in Malaysia award with its fresh thinking on how to provide the best service quality to previously underserved consumers. In a statement, The Banker Editorial said Maybank launched HouzKEY, an innovative rent-to-own product, the first of its kind in Malaysia, recognising a gap in the market to provide services to Islamic banking customers.

    “With a growing demand for affordable homes in the country, Maybank created this alternative solution, which allows for home ownership through a leasing scheme that does not require a deposit.

    “Customers have a flat rate rental payment for five years, and at the end of that time, have the option to purchase the property at a price agreed at the start of the contract, continue to rent with a 2% annual rent increase, or to terminate the contract with no obligation,” it said.

    The scheme is Shariah-compliant, being based on the Ijarah principle of leasing.

    Maybank president/CEO Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said the bedrock of its success is predicated on the bank’s mission of humanising financial services, which drives it to innovate and offer financial solutions that enrich the lives of customers.

  • Korea’s car take top safety awards

    Korea’s car take top safety awards

    Vehicles from Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors were awarded three top safety prizes in the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport’s 2018 Korean New Car Assessment Program (Kncap) on Wednesday in a ceremony held at the InterContinental Seoul Coex in southern Seoul.

    Hyundai Motor’s hydrogen-powered sport-utility vehicle (SUV) Nexo, mid-sized sedan Genesis G70 and Kia Motors’ large-sized sedan, the K9, were awarded top Kncap prizes in their size segments.

    Vehicles were tested in three key areas – collision, pedestrian and accident prevention safety. The program assessed 11 vehicles this year, including four imported models.

    Hyundai’s eco-friendly vehicle, the Nexo, received perfect scores in front and side collision safety, pedestrian leg protection and advanced driver assistance system to not only win the top safety prize in its segment but also to win two other special awards: the top safety eco-friendly vehicle award and the top children’s safety award.

    Hyundai Motor said that the automaker conducted a variety of tests on the hydrogen-powered Nexo to ensure the safety of its high-pressure hydrogen tank such as shooting it with a bullet along with other fire-safety tests.

    Kia Motors’ flagship large-sized sedan, the K9, also scored top marks to receive a special award in top accident prevention on top of its top award for segment size.

    Meanwhile, the Genesis G70, awarded the top prize in the mid-sized sedan segment, ensures pedestrian safety with an active hood system that automatically lifts the hood of the vehicle if it collides with a pedestrian.

  • Bolloré Logistics Awarded at the 5th FPSO & FLNG & FSRU Asia Pacific Summit

    Bolloré Logistics Awarded at the 5th FPSO & FLNG & FSRU Asia Pacific Summit

    From October 18th – 19th, 2018, Bolloré Logistics participated in the 5th FPSO & FLNG & FSRU Asia Pacific Summit held in Shanghai – China.  This event gathered more than 800 decision makers from the FPSO, FLNG and FSRU industry sectors to discover the latest industry trends, technological wave for digitization and business model innovations.

    Bolloré Logistics, represented by their Chinese entity, was awarded the “Outstanding FPSO Logistics Contractor of the Year”. Bruce BOUDAILLER, Oil & Gas Regional Director at Bolloré Logistics Asia-Pacific, who received the award on behalf of the team, said: “We are very appreciative of the confidence and loyalty shown by our customers and partners. Bolloré Logistics has been a leader for the last 15 years in supporting the FPSO industry, with a track record of more than 20 FPSO conversion projects handled, and contract logistics for around the same number of FPSOs in production.”

    This experience allowed Bolloré Logistics to be entrusted with a high profile FSRU project which was completed last year. The award comes as earned recognition of the professionalism shown by Bolloré Logistics’ Oil & Gas teams located in the construction and conversion countries, as well as in the countries from where all materials originate.

    “Our valuable and experienced long lasting colleagues, which must be seen as our main asset, are prepared to face the industry upturn after the challenging last three years that the industry went through,” added Bruce BOUDAILLER.

    Kari GU, Oil & Gas Product Manager at Bolloré Logistics China, confirms the readiness of the teams to cater for any new opportunity: “China is becoming the main location in terms of conversions and construction, with what appears as a shift from Singapore and South Korea. Together with our Oil & Gas teams of specialists, we are ready to support locally and internationally any new project related to FPSO, FLNG or FSRU,” she highlighted.

    An expert in Oil & Gas solutions and services

    Present in the major global hubs, as well as in most of the oil and gas producing countries, with a strong implementation in Africa and Asia, Bolloré Logistics offers tailor-made solutions on contract or project basis. It prides itself in delivering simple or complex solutions to its oil & gas customers, sometimes in the most challenging areas of the world, in full compliance with Ethics and the QHSE standards. Differentiating itself from the other major international freight forwarders, Bolloré Logistics has developed a very strong expertise and track record in handling very big capital asset projects onshore and offshore, and extended the logistics chain beyond the entry gates of the supply bases.

    As an extension of the supply chain, Bolloré Logistics has been integrating for many years in its solutions marine services as well as supply base services. With reference to the Oil & Gas players and many industry suppliers in its portfolio, Bolloré Logistics also created a movie showcasing its technical expertise of logistics operations dedicated to the Oil & Gas in Port Gentil, Gabon.

  • Mekong Capital Has Won an Award From Private Equity International

    Mekong Capital Has Won an Award From Private Equity International

    Mekong Capital announced that it was awarded the 2018 Private Equity International (PEI) Award for Operational Excellence for a Lower Mid-Market/Small Cap investment in Asia Pacific, based on the performance of Traphaco.

    This is the sixth year in a row of Mekong Capital winning an award by Private Equity International, after having won the Operational Improvement Firm of the year for the Asian Small Cap category in 2013, 2015 & 2017, and Frontier Market Firm of the year for 2014 & 2016.

    Mekong Capital is well-known for its Vision Driven Investing framework – the secret sauce for its series of consistently successful investments. Traphaco has applied certain elements of the framework and was one of the best performers in Mekong Capital’s Vietnam Azalea Fund.

    Mekong Capital worked closely with Traphaco on projects covering areas such as establishing a clear vision and organizing around achieving the vision; optimizing working capital; aggressively expanding the nationwide distribution network; bonus system; consolidation of subsidiaries by acquiring minority interests; improving corporate governance; etc.

    As a result, during the 10-year lifecycle of Vietnam Azalea Fund’s investment in Traphaco, Traphaco developed from the 5th largest into the 2nd largest pharmaceutical company in Vietnam. The company possesses one of the largest direct-to-pharmacy distribution networks in Vietnam and is #1 in traditional medicine. In 2017, Traphaco delivered $82.6 million net revenue and $11.4 million net profit.

    In November 2017, the Vietnam Azalea Fund successfully divested the entire 24.99% holding in Traphaco for $64.5 million, realizing a gross IRR of 27.7% and a gross return multiple of 6.3 times.

  • AirAsia wins IDC Digital Transformation award

    AirAsia wins IDC Digital Transformation award

    AirAsia was named Operating Model Master for Malaysia at the IDC Digital Transformation Awards (IDC DXa).

    In a press statement, it said, the award honours companies that have enabled discernible and measurable excellence in their ability to make business operations more responsive and effective by leveraging digitally connected products/services, assets, people and trading partners.

    AirAsia won the award for its deployment of Alibaba Cloud’s Content Delivery Network (CDN) and Web Application Firewall (WAF) solutions to distinguish legitimate customers from crawlers and bots that negatively impacted bookings and revenue, and reduce massive traffic flows from bots that led to additional operational costs.

    Using CDN in China, the airline was able to improve the latency and Round Trip Time (RTT) of airasia.com, and optimise traffic to the website based on user profiles.

    AirAsia also worked with Alibaba security teams to block illicit traffic using an extensive database of known hackers and their patterns, before customising rules and applying them to the WAF.

    The award was presented during the IDC Digital Transformation Summit 2018 held in Aloft Kuala Lumpur Sentral on Tuesday.

    AirAsia Group chief information officer Declan Hogan said, “We tried many security tools, with limited success, prior to moving to Alibaba.

    “Only Alibaba made a consistent, long-lasting impact, and they proved that they’re willing to take the risk to try it. And we appreciate that they were willing to make the investment to prove that they have the technology that
    works.”

    IDC DXa honours the achievements of organisations that have successfully planned and executed the digital transformation of one or multiple areas of their business through the application of digital and disruptive technologies.

  • InterContinental Danang wins top World Travel Awards

    InterContinental Danang wins top World Travel Awards

    InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort has reaped a bumper harvest of prestigious awards at the World Travel Awards 2018.

    The resort, developed by the Sun Group, won Asia’s Leading Green Resort, Asia’s Leading Luxury Hotel Villa, Asia’s Leading Luxury Resort, Asia’s Leading Luxury Wedding Resort and Vietnam’s Leading Luxury Resort awards for this year.

    It also surpassed numerous other heavyweight competitors to retain the Asia’s Leading Luxury Resort title for the fifth consecutive year since 2014.The high-end property beat the winner of the previous four consecutive years, Mission Hills Shenzhen (China) and seven other competitors to become Asia’s Leading Green Resort 2018.

    In the framework of the event, the Bai Bac Bay Villa, the latest addition to the resort’s luxury collection of penthouses and villas designed by famed architect Bill Bensley, received the Asia’s Leading Luxury Hotel Villa Award for the first time.

    Combining the beauty of tropical landscapes, unique architectural space and international-standard service, InterContinental Danang Sun Peninsula Resort has been one of the ideal choices for couples to host breathtakingly luxurious weddings.Speaking at the awards ceremony held in Hong Kong earlier this month, Juan Losada, general manager of the resort, said: “Being named as Asia’s Leading Green Resort 2018 is a recognition of our efforts to maintain the sustainable development of the resort and protect the ecosystem of Son Tra Peninsula. This year’s award is a result of the world-class service and great experiences we deliver to our guests every day,” he said.

    This is a one-of-a-kind resort that redefines luxury by combining Vietnamese aesthetics with international standards. Set on 37 hectares of stepped gardens leading down to a private beach, each of the 200 rooms and villas guarantees a magnificent view of the crystal clear water of the East Sea.

    It has welcomed a veritable host of high-profile guests, including politicians and celebrities throughout the years. In October, 2017, it was selected to host the APEC Economic Leaders’ Week held in Danang.Decorated with wooden furniture and handmade silk and craft art pieces procured from many Vietnamese localities, this luxury resort was designed by star architect Bill Bensley.

    The World Travel Awards was launched in 1993 to acknowledge excellence in the travel and tourism industry and is now in its 24th year. Heralded as the “travel industry’s equivalent to the Oscar’s” by The Wall Street Journal, the awards are handed out based on votes by the public and travel professionals across the globe.

  • AEON receives the Best Design Excellence Award at  Money Expo 2018

    AEON receives the Best Design Excellence Award at Money Expo 2018

    Mr. Praphan Rangsiyopas (left), Executive Vice President of Marketing, AEON Thana Sinsap (Thailand) Public Company Limited celebrate on winning “The Best Design Excellence Award” on size 850 – 1,000 sq.m. in Money Expo Booth Design Awards 2018. The prestigious award was given to financial institutions and organizations participating in the 18th Money Expo 2018, ceremony will be presided over by Dr. Somkid Jatusripitak, Deputy Prime Minister (right) at The Athenee Hotel Bangkok.

    AEON booth was designed under the concept “AEON TO THE INFINITE WEALTH… Growth through Financial Technology” that demonstrates the continuous development of AEON through the outstanding structure and patterns. The continuous lines represent the growth of a large tree with a stable foundation, as well as soft curved lines that signify the infinity symbol of never-ending prosperity and wealth.

     

  • Bolloré Logistics Crowned Best Green Logistics Operator at the 2018 AFLAS Awards

    Bolloré Logistics Crowned Best Green Logistics Operator at the 2018 AFLAS Awards

    Present on May 15th at the 2018 Asian Freight, Logistics and Supply Chain Awards (AFLAS) organized by Asia Cargo News and held in Shanghai at the Wanda Reign on the Bund, Bolloré Logistics received – for the second consecutive year – the Best Green Logistics Operator award in front of the transport and logistics community.

    Mr. Stéphane GUESNIER, Regional Director at Bolloré Logistics Greater China, was honored to receive the award on behalf of the company from the hands of Mr. Eddie CHUI, Assistant General Manager, Aviation Logistics of Airport Authority Hong Kong. “Bolloré Logistics is truly honored to have received this ‘Best Green Logistics Operator’ award for the second year in a row, as we keep extending our efforts towards more sustainability throughout the region,” mentions Mr. Stéphane GUESNIER. “Our Asia-Pacific teams are fully engaged to promote green solution to customers, but also to raise awareness internally through various local green staff activities,” he adds.

    Organized annually by Asia Cargo News – the only newspaper covering logistics and cargo supply chains in the Asia-Pacific region – this event recognizes transport and logistics service providers for their excellence in service quality, innovation, customer relationship management and reliability. Thousands of shippers and customers voted for the 2018 AFLAS winners, therefore truly reflecting the opinion of the industry experts. The nomination criteria followed a technical evaluation. At first, the top eight firms in each category were short-listed; after which, the top three firms in each category made up the final shortlist.

    A Glance at Bolloré Logistics’ Green Projects in Asia-Pacific

    Bolloré Logistics has been deeply committed to greener transportation by partnering with the bestin-class carriers, making the newest and greenest transport modes available to all customers. Our detailed in-house CO2 calculation methodology is a key tool for our customers to understand, monitor and reduce their environmental footprint.

    Innovative solutions have been imagined and implemented, with a focus on Asia road transportation and the opening of two road lines, Singapore – Kuala Lumpur and Singapore – Bangkok; a solid alternative to air shipment allowing a similar lead time paired with +90% reduction of CO2 emissions. Bolloré Logistics also joined Green Freight Asia, an industry-led program focused on lowering fuel consumption across Asia-Pacific, and a key partner on our road to greener transportation.

    As a key regional center and the largest warehousing location for Asia-Pacific, Bolloré Logistics Singapore has also been driving continuous efforts to promote greener solutions to its customers. Warehouses are implementing the “3R: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” policy across the city-state to minimize wastage and reduce the environmental impact on the environment. Offices and operations keep going more and more paperless; and our Green Hub in Singapore – Green Mark Platinum* and LEED Gold** certified – is getting even more energy-efficient with an upgraded IOT system.

    Bolloré Logistics’ SAVE PROGRAM

    With SAVE PROGRAM, Bolloré Logistics supports its customers aiming at reducing GHG emissions and atmospheric pollutants along the supply chain, thus limiting environmental impact. SAVE PROGRAM acts on two levers: improving air quality in urban areas and fighting against climate change.

  • Cypark awarded RM260.51 million solar plant project

    Cypark awarded RM260.51 million solar plant project

    Cypark Resources Bhd has bagged a RM260.51 million contract for the construction of a 30MW large scale solar photovoltaic plant at Empangan Kelinchi, Negeri Sembilan.

    The company told Bursa Malaysia it had on January 26 accepted the conditional letter of award dated January 26, 2018 from Cove Suria Sdn Bhd.

    The engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of the plant is for a period of 24 months, while operation and maintenance will last for 21 years.

    At 2.31pm, Cypark’s share price was unchanged at RM2.52 on some 227,300 shares done.

  • Yohji Yamamoto receives Asia’s Lifetime Achievement Award

    Yohji Yamamoto receives Asia’s Lifetime Achievement Award

    Japanese fashion designer Yohji Yamamoto is this year’s recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, awarded last Friday at the Design for Asia gala dinner in Hong Kong.

    The 74-year-old design giant — known for his avant-garde tailoring featuring Japanese design aesthetics featuring over-sized silhouettes and a restricted, dark palette — was celebrated for his contribution to luxury fashion. Today, his two main lines Yohji Yamamoto and Y’s are stocked in high-end department stores around the world.

    Moreover, the designer has been hailed for his pioneering of the fusion between athletic wear and luxury fashion. He began hid collaboration with Adidas in 2003, forming the now very popular athleisure brand, Y-3.

    “Let me say, I think I’m a good dressmaker, but I am not a very good talker,” said Yohji Yamomoto, when he received the award.

    “In my long career, in design, architecture, [I’ve been to] so many parties, this is the very first time that I have such a warm feeling, I really appreciate this. Please let me become your family,” said the designer, who spends most his time between Tokyo and Paris. The latter is where he shows his seasonal collections each year.

    The designer has stores in Japan, France and the UK.

    Yamamoto has received several other accolades in previous years, including the Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters back in 2011 — the highest honour in arts and culture in France.

    The Design for Asia gala dinner also paid homage to hotelier Adrian Zecha, founder of the Aman resorts, and a new affordable luxury hotel concept, called Azerai, for design leadership.

    During the same night, organisers also awarded scholarships to 17 young designers of up to 500,000 Hong Kong dollars (US$640,000).

  • Tuvia Italia under kerry logistics wins capital elite award at china awards in milan

    Tuvia Italia under kerry logistics wins capital elite award at china awards in milan

    Tuvia Italia under Kerry Logistics Network Limited, has garnered the Capital Elite Award at the China Awards 2017, in Milan, Italy.

    The China Awards, organised by the Italy-China Foundation, recognise and champion Italian and Chinese companies that have maximised opportunities of cross-border investment in both countries. Judges of the awards included senior members of the premier Italian financial newspaper MF-Milano Finanza, the Italian Chamber of Commerce in China, and the University of Brescia.

    Alessandro Canese, Managing Director of Tuvia Italia said, “Receiving the Capital Elite Award is a wonderful recognition of how investment opportunities for many sectors depend upon efficient logistics services. The tools to trade across borders and supply the international markets are increasingly important to today’s shippers, and we do our utmost to facilitate them, including acting as tax agent for non-EU customers wishing to set up operations in Italy.”

    Tuvia Italia was recognised for its work assisting the two most famous ‘non-docking’ bicycle Chinese companies to begin operations in Italy by using its new China-Europe rail services, launched this year.

    It also supported the launch of Chinese operations for an Italian e-retailer by integrating Chinese online platforms Alibaba, JD, TMall, and Yihaodian, into its own fulfilment software. Tuvia Italia was also appointed by a leading Chinese telecommunication company to run the downstream logistics operations for a strategic infrastructure project with a major telecommunication company in Italy. In November 2017, Tuvia Italia was welcomed as a member of the Italy-China Foundation.

    To support trade flow between China and Italy, Tuvia Italia participated in the business conference ‘Belt and Road Initiative: Building a Concrete Roadmap for Italy and China’s Joint Growth’ in Milan, Italy on 30. November 2017. Rio Lam, Assistant Manager Global Management Office of Kerry Logistics, illustrated to the audience the opportunities and challenges along the new Silk Road.

  • IDC names Smart City APAC Award winners

    IDC names Smart City APAC Award winners

    Hong Kong has been recognized in IDC’s third annual Smart City Asia Pacific Awards, scoring awards in two of the 14 categories.

    Hong Kong won in the transportation category for its Next Generation Intelligent Transport System, and in the smart building category for its Zero Carbon Building project.

    China meanwhile won in the smart meter category for its Shenzhen Smart Water project, and in the education category for its Hubei Public Services Platform of Education Resources.

    But the biggest winner was New Zealand, which picked up four awards in the smart grid, tourism/arts/culture, connected health and public works categories, followed by Singapore, which secured three awards in the administration, economic development and social services category.

    In total 18 smart city projects were represented across the 14 categories, due to ties in four categories – administration, education, land use/environmental management and smart buildings.

    “Asia-Pacific smart city projects in the past year have exhibited strong national development focus with an increasing citizen-centric personalization combined with ‘low investment-high impact’ agendas – all in hopes of attracting the right mix of manpower talents and lucrative foreign-direct investments,” commented Gerald Wang, head of IDC Government and Education Insights Asia Pacific.

    “This socioeconomic shift towards creating more localized and quality smart city ecosystems are notably influenced by new international and regional trade dynamics. The failure of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement and China’s increased efforts to boost its global leadership with endeavors such as the Belt and Road Initiative will continue to shape commerce and innovation drive in the region.”

    According to IDC, the key trends shaping the future of smart city programs in APAC include efforts to improve city economics and risk management, cybersecurity and compliance, socioeconomic growth and infrastructure as well as foreign investment and manpower development.

  • Motorola scores managed mobility win in Australia

    Motorola scores managed mobility win in Australia

    Victoria Police in Australia will adopt a new managed service mobility solution for at least 10,000 police officers across the state.

    The A$50 million ($37.6 million) solution from Motorola Solutions will help increase situational awareness, safety and productivity for frontline officers.

    Motorola Solutions will lead a consortium of service providers to deliver the contract, including Optus, the second largest mobile operator in the country, as well as local IT provider CompNow. The managed service contract will run for a minimum of five years.

    The service will place real-time information at the fingertips of at least 10,000 police officers equipped with iPads and iPhones, helping them manage their daily work more safely, efficiently and productively.

    The solution is designed to help reduce the duplication of data entry by officers while increasing workforce collaboration by sharing vital information between frontline personnel and their colleagues working in control rooms.

    The technology will also help Victoria Police to preserve its mission-critical radio communications for essential emergency communications by removing lower priority traffic from the radio network.

    This investment represents a major goal within Victoria Police’s Capability Plan 2016-2025, which highlights the way the force will transform its service delivery to be more “agile, responsive, people-focussed and connected.”