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APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

WorldRemit Chooses Australia to Springboard Growth in Asia-Pacific

Sailing to success in Singapore Tall Ship Adventures Pte Ltd, is a Singapore-based company dedicated to delivering world-class experiences aboard its unique luxury tall ship, the Royal Albatross.

We invited CEO, Peter Pela to talk us through the company and its award winning yacht.

Launch of New Hong Kong -London Joint Venture

WGP Global and Mandarin Capital announce partnership to focus on South East Asian market.

Aiming for Total Dominance in the Philippines

Total and Philippine oil company Filoil have agreed to create a joint venture for the fuel sales business in the Philippines.

APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

Editor’sNote Welcome to the latest issue of APAC Insider Magazine.

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In this issue we profile one of the leading lights from our recently announced Maritime and Shipping Awards, Tall Ship Adventures, and explore their stunning and unique ship, The Royal Albatross, which is moored in Singapore harbour and provides the ideal location for a variety of occasions, including corporate teambuilding, networking events, private parties and even weddings.

Australia is becoming the destination of choice for firm’s looking to create an Asian base. We explore one such company, WorldRemit, and examine the ramifications of the firm’s choice of location.

Whilst Australia is fast becoming the APAC region’s corporate destination of choice, Malaysia is coming into its own in the biotechnology stakes, with a new collaboration with Oxford based biotechnology firm Oxford BioDynamics to examine the effect of diabetes on patients in Malaysia over a two year period.

Within the biotechnology sector, there is also news that Medidata has been selected by Shanghai Henlius Biotechnology to provide its industry-leading cloud based technology platform which will support the firm in their ongoing oncology study.

There are also exciting developments in Taiwan, as NCR Corporation enables E.Sun Bank to introduce the first ever financial kiosk solution, which will enable bill payment, statement printing, and notes exchange to ease counter queues.

We hope you enjoy this issue.

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Contents 4. News

Features 10. Sailing to Success in Singapore: Tall Ship Adventures Pte Ltd 16. Alibaba Group and New Zealand Government Form Strategic Alliance to Strengthen Trade with China 20. Bfinance Invests in Australian Expansion with New Hire 24. China-Based Biotech Selects Medidata Technology Platform to Simplify Complexity in Oncology R&D 26. Oxford Collaborates with Malaysia to Beat Diabetes 28. NCR Enables E.Sun Bank to Introduce First Bill Payment Kiosk in Taiwan 30. UK FinTech Firm Hello Soda Launches in South East Asia in Multi-Million Pound Deal 32. Launch of New Hong Kong-London Joint Venture 34. Kyc.com Expands Asia Pacific Footprint to Hong Kong and Singapore 36. Aiming for Total Dominance in the Philippines 38. WorldRemit Chooses Australia to Springboard Growth in Asia-Pacific

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APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

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Airways Aviation Going from Strength to Strength in Australia

Global aviation education and training provider receives EASA certification for its Australian schools and welcomes the regions first Boeing 737 flight simulator.

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Airways Aviation leads the way in Australia as its Gold Coast-based pilot training schools are awarded EASA certification; the only training provider in Australia to receive the European certification.

Airways Aviation already has a strong portfolio of pilot training academies and foundations schools across the globe, including EASA certified schools in the UK and Spain, and CASA certified schools in Australia. The addition of an EASA certification in Australia means that Asian students can qualify for EASA certification closer to home.

In another first for the region, Airways Aviation is taking delivery of a Boeing 737 static flight simulator in March 2016.

Laurence Beraldo, general manager, Australia, says: “Airways Aviation is fast becoming the global pilot training organisation of choice. With our global footprint and head office in the UK, we are able to offer training under EASA approvals across our academies. In Australia, we are proudly authorised to provide training under both CASA and EASA.”

Speaking at the Singapore Airshow, where Airways Aviation is exhibiting, he adds: “With the delivery of our brand new Boeing 737 MPS Fixed Base flight simulator, we will be able to offer the highest quality of training at extremely competitive prices. We pride ourselves in delivering high quality training through consultation with the airline industry, as well as engaging with highly regarded aviation professionals within the group.”

A relatively new name in the industry, Airways Aviation has made strong inroads to becoming a leader in the field. The pilot training provider has a robust model of student recruitment and support services across the globe with flight academies already established in the UK, Spain, Montenegro and Australia. Airways Aviation also has established foundation schools in China, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Dubai and Lebanon with plans for bringing another 30 online within the next 18 months.

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Singapore Set to Continue as Leading Insurance Hub in Asia Despite Competition from Emerging Rivals

Axco Insurance Information Services has released its latest country report on Singapore, underlining the city-state’s continued strength when it comes to the (re)insurance industry, and that it is likely to maintain its position as the preeminent (re)insurance hub in Asia despite the emergence of rival centres in the region.

Axco is the leading supplier of global insurance market information with over 40 years’ experience in researching and publishing industry intelligence on insurance and employee benefits. Its unique business model and methods of research have enabled the development of an extensive suite of products comprising in-depth reports, focused profiles, Q&A databases, intelligent questioning tools, and email services which are delivered to every corner of the globe.

There are two distinct forces driving the Singapore market which are diametrically opposed to each other. The Competition Commission is active in trying to ensure personal lines business remains as affordable as possible. At the same time, the regulator is under pressure from international financial institutions to ensure the enhanced solubility of the market by introducing stricter solvency rules and enterprise risk management regimes.

Capacity is increasing all the time in respect of the number of companies operating, both for domestic and regional business, and also in terms of individual company underwriting capacity and the scope and breadth of classes offered.

Offshore business increased in volume from $1.5bn to $6.1bn in the seven years to 2013 and much of this has been driven by reinsurance in the region.

Singapore is the largest reinsurance hub in Asia, not just amongst its ASEAN partners. Whilst the larger reinsurers maintain offices in other parts of Asia Hong Kong, Shanghai, Kuala Lumpur and Labuan Singapore remains the location of choice for a single Far East regional operation.

Tim Yeates, Managing Director at Axco commented: “Singapore has long been the destination of choice for (re)insurers looking to establish a foothold in Asia and this status is unlikely to change in the near future thanks to a stable government, a favourable tax regime, excellent communications and well trained staff.

“The implementation of freedom of services across the 10 ASEAN member states which is predicted to apply to (re)insurance in the next few years will further boost an already strong market.”

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APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

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Axioma Expands Asia Footprint with Japan Office and Senior Hire

Axioma launches Tokyo office to meet client demand for innovative solutions for risk management and portfolio construction workflow that provide long-term value.

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Axioma, a leading provider of innovative risk management and portfolio construction solutions to financial institution, has announced the launch of their Japan office and the appointment of Kiichi Takai as senior consultant for their multi-asset class risk division. Takai will be based in Tokyo.

The Tokyo office launch meets increasing demand from clients across Asia for innovative risk management tools to construct and analyse their investment strategies. The new office will also support domestic institutional clients with equity portfolio construction solutions in the wake of recent market volatility and regulatory reform in the region.

“Our Tokyo office is in direct response to the unprecedented growth in demand we are seeing among institutional and Japanese clients in Asia, particularly for multi-asset class risk solutions. “The prolonged period of low-yield following multiple QE programs have forced many institutional asset owners up the risk curve and across new and alternative asset classes. This in turn has increased demand for innovative solutions to better assess those risks and deliver greater insight into their ability to generate returns across the portfolio,” said Olivier d’Assier, Asia-Pacific Managing Director.

“Our advanced and flexible tools are able to support these clients in portfolio construction and strategy optimisation across multiple asset classes and in an increasingly complex risk environment,” said d’Assier.

Takai will be responsible for supporting growth in the region, including working with existing institutional clients to provide counsel on multi-asset class risk and portfolio management. Takai brings almost 12 years of risk management experience to this role.

Prior to Axioma, Takai worked for RiskMetrics® – an MSCI Inc. brand - where he managed product support and led pre-sales activity for their multi-asset class risk tools covering both Market and Credit risks.

Commenting on his appointment, Takai said, “I look forward to working with Axioma’s clients locally to better understand the challenges and opportunities that are impacting their portfolio construction needs.

Japanese investors today are increasingly focused on diversifying their investments across multiple asset classes while also ensuring they are managing risk in a holistic manner.”

“Increased regulatory requirements for transparency and stress testing is driving many institutions to demand greater insights from their external managers. Axioma’s integration of both the granular and factor views of risk into a single system will provide invaluable and actionable attribution critical to their risk management process,” said Takai.

Takai will report to Olivier d’Assier, Asia Pacific Managing Director.

“Takai’s experience will be instrumental as we expand our footprint in Asia in response to increased customer demand for our innovative solutions. His local market expertise and hands-on experience with multi-asset class solutions will be an asset to our institutional clients,” explained d’Assier.

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Egencia Opens Singapore Office

Asia Pacific continues to be firm’s fastest growing region.

Egencia, the business travel company of the Expedia Group, has announced an expansion of its already global operation by opening an office in Singapore.

Egencia President Rob Greyber, who was on the ground to mark the occasion, said opening the local office in the company’s fastest growing area aligns well with its mission.

“At Egencia, we’re focused on the growth and development of the Asia Pacific region. Growing in Asia means we can provide our world-class customer service and intuitive technology to modern business travellers throughout the region. As part of that growth, we are excited to officially open our Singapore office. Singapore has a well-deserved international reputation for being a business-friendly city, and an important travel hub, and we’re delighted to be here,” Mr Greyber said.

Egencia Singapore launches with over 30 clients, including Takeda, a leading pharmaceutical company.

Egencia Asia Pacific Managing Director Kyle Davis said that Singaporean customers will now have access to the same online booking technology experi-

ence and mobile applications as Egencia business travellers all over the world.

“Our offering supports a number of clients building their footprint within the APAC region and Asian businesses looking to expand internationally, so it’s only natural that we expand as they do,” Mr Davis said.

“We aim to provide the Asia Pacific business traveller a similar experience across all devices, platforms and geographies, improving business traveller productivity and corporate cost-saving initiatives in the process,” he said.

With a team of experienced business travel specialists, consultants and account managers, the Singapore office will provide Egencia clients access to local customer service teams with local insight and knowledge.

Singapore becomes Egencia’s 4th full service point of sale in Asia Pacific offering both Egencia proprietary technology and local service. Egencia operates in 65 countries worldwide.

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APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

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Navigant Global Legal Technology Solutions Practice Expands in Asia

Navigant has announced the expansion of its Global Legal Technology Solutions (GLTS) practice presence in Asia.

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Navigant’s GLTS practice helps clients mitigate risk through data management solutions. Its clients include a spectrum of global organizations that contend with complex challenges associated with disputes, investigations, and broader regulatory concerns. Through the transfer of experienced Navigant staff to Hong Kong, the GLTS practice now offers full processing and hosting capabilities across the region to meet the growing digital demands of its clients.

“The addition of data management and technical capabilities in Asia is part of our strategy to leverage the platform we have built over the past several years in serving our clients’ economic expansion and regulatory challenges in the region,” stated David Tortorello, leader of Navigant’s Disputes, Forensics & Legal Technology segment. “Our Asia-based team is well placed to understand our clients’ objectives and execute the full range of services required for complex investigations in the market.”

“Navigant’s expanded presence in Asia will be a key benefit to our global clients, particularly in light of increasing cross-border regulatory investigations,” states Craig Freeman, Global Leader of Navigant’s GLTS practice. “It is important clients have the ability to review content locally due to strict data privacy rules and have access to a team that understands the local culture and local jurisdictions, and works in the clients’ own time zone.”

The Asia team will be led by Tanya Gross, a Director within the GLTS practice, who has fourteen years of experience directly leading and building teams to support investigations where data has been of critical importance. She has relocated from Navigant’s London office to Hong Kong to support the expansion.

Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: NCI) is a specialized, global professional services firm that helps clients take control of their future. Navigant’s professionals apply deep industry knowledge, substantive technical expertise, and an enterprising approach to help clients build, manage and/or protect their business interests. With a focus on markets and clients facing transformational change and significant regulatory or legal pressures, the Firm primarily serves clients in the healthcare, energy and financial services industries. Across a range of advisory, consulting, outsourcing, and technology/analytics services, Navigant’s practitioners bring sharp insight that pinpoints opportunities and delivers powerful results.

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Oxifree Global Appoints New Business Development Manager to Expand Its Asia Pacific Network

Oxifree Global has appointed Marcus Yap as business development manager, to support its growth in the Asia Pacific region. The firm is a global provider of patented solutions to complex corrosion and contamination situations in many sectors including oil and gas, food processing, manufacturing, mining and power industries.

Based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Marcus joins with more than 11 years’ experience in sales and business development, and will lead the company in developing current and future opportunities across a range of industries, particularly in oil & gas.

Having previously worked as an Oxifree distributor in Asia, Marcus is already well-versed in the market and the benefits and transferability of Oxifree across the energy sector. He is responsible for securing and supporting new license distributors, with a key focus for the year being to develop new partnerships in China.

“Joining Oxifree made perfect sense to me,” explains Marcus. “As a distributor of its protective coatings for two years, I have first-hand knowledge of its products, which provide a long-term solution to the challenges of corrosion and contamination.”

Sales director of Oxifree Global, Nigel Thomson, adds: “Marcus is an exciting addition to our growing team and brings with him a wealth of experience.

We look forward to him leading the company in developing future opportunities in the Asia Pacific region.”

Oxifree products provide a simple solution to protect metal assets against corrosion and contamination problems in harsh environments where existing solutions are not sustainable. Proven to significantly reduce the cost of maintenance, whilst extending the life cycle of components, Oxifree coatings are used in sectors as diverse as oil & gas, mining, recycling and food processing.

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APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

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Alibaba Group and New Zealand Government Form Strategic Alliance to Strengthen Trade with China

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Leveraging Alibaba’s Ecosystem and NZTE’s Resources to Support New Zealand Companies to Enter China.

Alibaba Group, the world’s largest online and mobile marketplace, and New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), the New Zealand Government’s international business development agency, have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to formalize discussions for strengthening trade between China and New Zealand and support the growth of New Zealand brands in China.

The signing ceremony of the MOU was witnessed by New Zealand Prime Minister, Rt Hon John Key, and Alibaba Group’s Founder and Executive Chairman, Jack Ma, soon after their keynote speeches at an event held by the China Entrepreneur Club, the premier business leader platform in China. The cooperation between Alibaba and NZTE will foster greater trade opportunities for New Zealand businesses seeking to enter the vast Chinese consumer market, by leveraging services and platforms offered by Alibaba’s ecosystem.

The MOU aims to broaden Alibaba’s existing partnership with NZTE and is a significant step in establishing a closer cooperation to promote trade and online commerce between China and New Zealand. Under the MOU, the parties will explore different collaboration opportunities, including Alibaba providing support for New Zealand companies to enter the Chinese consumer market through its various e-commerce channels, while NZTE will assist local companies to understand and optimize the opportunities Alibaba’s ecosystem offers in terms of business growth in China.

“We are excited to extend our cooperation with the New Zealand Government by collaborating with NZTE to support local businesses to enter China through Alibaba’s platforms,” said Maggie Zhou, the newly appointed Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, who also represented Alibaba at the MOU signing ceremony. “With our strong networks in China and expertise in e-commerce, we will enable Chinese consumers to benefit from the premium products and fresh foods that New Zealand businesses can offer.”

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APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

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Peter Chrisp, Chief Executive of NZTE, said: “New Zealand businesses are already using Alibaba’s channels to sell a wide range of products including dairy, meat, seafood, fruit, wine, beverage, cereal, skincare and health supplements. By providing dedicated services for New Zealand products, this new arrangement offers significant opportunities for New Zealand businesses to reach more consumers as well as advocating New Zealand’s reputation as a place of open spaces, open hearts and open minds.”

Alibaba and its wider ecosystem will offer New Zealand businesses a wide range of services to help cultivate opportunities in China via its major e-commerce platforms. These key services will enable merchants to sell into China through retail (B2C) or wholesale (B2B) platforms, cross-promote tourism between China and New Zealand, and provide seamless payment solutions to both consumers and merchants. These services include:

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• Tmall.com (http://www.tmall.com), China’s largest third-party B2C platform for brands and retailers; • Tmall Global (http://www.tmall.hk), a cross-border solution and an extension of Tmall’s B2C business for overseas imports; • Tmall Fresh Food (http://miao.tmall.com), a vertical dedicated to fresh foods sourced from around the world; • Alibaba.com (http://www.alibaba.com), China’s largest global online B2B wholesale platform; • 1688.com (http://www.1688.com), leading online B2B wholesale marketplace in China; • Alitrip (http://www.alitrip.com), leading online travel service platform; and • Alipay (http://www.alipay.com - via its associated companies), secure, trustworthy, and convenient online and mobile payment services.

NZTE will work closely with New Zealand companies to promote local specialties and fresh produce in China. With New Zealand’s reputation for producing exceptional quality fresh food including dairy, meat, seafood, fruit and wine, there are significant opportunities for this sector as Chinese consumers increasingly demand high quality fresh products.

To better support Australia and New Zealand markets, Maggie will be leading a team with the addition of a New Zealander, John O’Loghlen as Director, leading business development for the two regions. John has extensive cross-border trading experiences and knowledge to support the company’s developments focusing on assisting Australia and New Zealand businesses to connect with Chinese consumers via Alibaba platforms.

In honouring the new partnership with New Zealand government, Tmall.com, Tmall Global, and Alitrip are jointly hosting a New Zealand campaign from April 17-19, showcasing primarily honey, cosmetics and personal care products from New Zealand.

• Top 20 R&D Spenders: Within the Top 20 R&D spenders of 2015, the top three companies have remained fairly consistent over the years – Volkswagen, Samsung, Intel. For the first time Apple has joined the Top 20 R&D spenders 0f 2015 list at #18.

• Top three Most Innovative companies in the world for 2015: Global innovation professionals have ranked Apple, Google, and Tesla as the three most innovative companies in the world, with Tesla jumping to third place from fifth in 2014.

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APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

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Bfinance Invests in Australian Expansion with New Hire

Appointment of institutional investment specialist builds on recent client wins to strengthen fast-growing APAC presence.

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bfinance, the independently owned investment consultancy, has announced an appointment to the firm’s new Sydney office. Frithjof van Zyp joins as Director of bfinance Australia, to lead the company’s expansion as it launches its first office in the APAC region.

Frithjof, also known in the industry as Fridge, was previously and most recently Senior Vice-President and Head of Data Services at eVestment, the investment intelligence data firm serving the institutional market, where he worked for 10 years. In this role he led a newly formed global data team in developing and enhancing financial data services, with an emphasis on alternatives.

His leadership of the team included overseeing post-merger integration with hedgefund.net and building a global team of associates to deliver eVestment’s financial software.

As Vice-President, Asia Pacific, Fridge founded eVestment’s first office in the APAC region and later established the Hong Kong division of the business. His experience in successfully navigating the local regulatory environment and building a deep network of institutional investors, asset managers and investment consultants will be critical to bfinance’s launch in Australia. Fridge is a Chartered Financial Analyst and holds a first class Master’s degree in Finance and Economics from Edinburgh University.

At bfinance, Fridge’s responsibilities will focus on the development of client relationships, engaging with major institutional investors across public and private pension funds, insurers, sovereign wealth funds, family offices and endowments. This follows a period of client wins, with bfinance Australia recently recording its fifth contract with an institutional investor. Alongside business development with prospective clients, Fridge will work with managing director Pal Sarai and newly hired bfinance adviser Melda Donnelly to build bfinance’s brand and engage with the institutional investment community, with whom bfinance communicates closely in all its global offices. This marks the beginning of a long term presence in Sydney and Melbourne, adding to a global network of offices across London, Paris, Munich, Montreal and Amsterdam.

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APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

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Supporting this investment in Australia is a propitious market which presents opportunity for new entrants. In light of recent global market volatility which has heavily affected markets in the APAC region, asset owners are more than ever concerned to find the right managers for their own portfolio needs and secure value for money in their investments. Against the backdrop of a small number of incumbents, the continued expansion of the superannuation funds due to significant and growing employer contributions fuels demand for expert advice in managing new investment decisions. bfinance sets itself apart in this market by virtue of its unique approach. Rather than draw from pre-determined buy lists, the company examines all suitable managers with each fresh mandate, opening the search process to a wider selection of candidate managers which grants access to innovative strategies to unlock value for investors.

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Fridge’s appointment and the expansion into Australia follow a strong period of successes worldwide for bfinance. Recent high-profile mandates include advising on a USD 1bn alternative beta strategy programme for a U.S. corporate pension plan, a USD 1.2bn private equity search for Swedish State pension fund AP7, and multiple searches across asset classes on behalf of Australian superannuation funds.

Pal Sarai, managing director at bfinance and head of client consulting, EMEA, Australia & Asia said: ‘We are delighted to welcome Fridge to the team as we respond to growing client demand in the Australian market. Fridge’s track record in launching international offices and initiating long term relationships with asset owners and investment managers will guide the team and help us continue our fast pace of growth as we see a significant opportunity in the local institutional investment market.

Fridge brings 10 years’ experience in delivering high quality financial software and data to asset owners, with an established record in building systems and teams from the ground up, from which I am confident both our clients and our firm will benefit.’

Commenting on his appointment Fridge van Zyp, Director, bfinance Australia, said: ‘It’s an exciting time to be joining bfinance and I look forward to working closely with Pal, Melda and my many new bfinance colleagues worldwide to expand our presence in Australia.

The local market is ripe for disruption - now more than ever, Australian asset owners must seek value for money when making investment decisions. They will stand to benefit from bfinance’s unique methodology and innovative approach.

With several client wins behind us, this is the beginning of a long term investment in Australia and I am eager to grow the team further in the near future.’

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APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

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China-Based Biotech Selects Medidata Technology Platform to Simplify Complexity in Oncology R&D

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Shanghai Henlius Biotechnology Optimizes Phase III Oncology Study with Medidata’s Unified, Cloud-Based Solution for Electronic Data Capture, Randomization and Supply Management.

Medidata, the leading global provider of cloud-based solutions for clinical research in life sciences, has announced that its industry-leading technology platform has been adopted by China-based Shanghai Henlius Biotechnology Co. Ltd (“Henlius”). Focused on monoclonal antibody drug development, Henlius is utilizing the Medidata Clinical Cloud® platform to bring operational efficiencies to its complex Phase III oncology clinical trial in China.

Medidata is the leading global provider of cloud-based solutions for clinical research in life sciences, transforming clinical development through its advanced applications and intelligent data analytics. The Medidata Clinical Cloud® brings new levels of productivity and quality to the clinical testing of promising medical treatments, from study design and planning through execution, management and reporting. The firm are committed to advancing the competitive and scientific goals of global customers, which include over 90% of the top 25 global pharmaceutical companies; innovative biotech, diagnostic and device firms; leading academic medical centers; and contract research organizations.

“To meet the specific and intricate requirements of our oncology study, as well as continue driving innovation for the patients we serve, it’s imperative that we combine our therapeutic expertise with the industry’s most cutting-edge technology,” said Dr. Yin Liu, director of Henlius’ clinical and medical department.

“Medidata’s unified, robust technology platform provides our team with real-time visibility into clinical data and trial operations. This visibility enables better trial oversight and opportunities to make earlier, more informed decisions.”

A joint venture between Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical, one of the largest pharma companies in China, and Henlius Biopharmaceuticals, a top Chinese biotechnology company, Shanghai Henlius Biotech was founded in 2009. The organization focuses on the development, production and commercialization

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of monoclonal antibody drugs for a number of therapeutic areas, including oncology and auto-immune diseases. To optimize trial operations and streamline process workflows in an upcoming Phase III oncology study, Henlius is using Medidata’s unified cloud-based solution for electronic data capture (Medidata Rave®) and randomization and trial supply management (Medidata Balance®).

“By offering a single, integrated system for capturing clinical data, randomizing patients and dispensing treatment doses, Medidata’s cloud-based platform is enabling Henlius to streamline study operations and easily make midstudy supply adjustments—reducing costs, trial risk and overall timelines,” said Edwin Ng, Medidata’s vice president of field operations, APeJ (Asia Pacific except Japan). “We look forward to enriching Henlius’ deep therapeutic expertise with our robust technology, helping its research team conduct faster, more efficient and more meaningful trials that ultimately result in more effective treatments for patients.”

Shanghai Henlius Biotech Co., Ltd. is a joint venture company formed by Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. and Henlius Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. in December 2009. The company focuses on the development, production and commercialization of mAb biosimilar drugs, bio-betters and novel mAbs using cutting-edge technology. Registered in Shanghai Zhangjiang, the company has so far invested over 400 million RMB in the early development of monoclonal antibody drugs.

Products currently in development cover a variety of therapeutic areas including oncology and autoimmune diseases. Henlius’ R&D management team has extensive experience in the development and commercialization of a range of monoclonal antibody drugs in such leading international pharmaceutical and biotech companies as Genentech, Amgen, BMS, Eli Lilly and Chiron. The concept of Henlius’ drug development lies in global integrative innovation, and the company has a total of 3 R&D laboratories located in China (Shanghai), the US (California) and Taiwan (Taipei).

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APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

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Oxford Collaborates with Malaysia to Beat Diabetes

Oxford BioDynamics is sponsoring the study, and will be working together with Hospital Seberang Jaya, Penang Adventist Hospital and the Diabetes Malaysia in Penang to recruit patients to the study.

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Oxford BioDynamics, an Oxford, UK-based biotechnology firm, has announced the launch of its landmark study of diabetes progression in Malaysia. The study will look at the development of diabetes among 480 Malaysians over a two-year period. Using data from the study Oxford BioDynamics will develop a test to provide a prognosis for people at risk of and suffering from the disease.

The study will take a baseline measurement of participants’ glucose regulation and separate them into four groups based on their glucose levels; healthy, pre-diabetic, untreated diabetic, and patients being treated for diabetes. Over the following two years subjects will provide blood samples at six month intervals, from which Oxford BioDynamics will monitor the development of type-2 diabetes in all participants, and build a model of prognosis for the disease. The model and prognostic tool will be based on epigenetic biomarkers taken from the subjects’ blood samples.

Dr Lim Chun Ren, OBD Malaysia Director, and study leader said, “The International Diabetes Federation has described diabetes as an immense global challenge and in Malaysia, where one in five of the population over thirty has been diagnosed with the disease, this challenge is especially acute. We hope the outcomes of this study will have a real impact on the quality of life for Malaysians living with and at risk of type-2 diabetes. We are grateful to Diabetes Malaysia, and the Hospital Seberang Jaya for their collaboration and help to deliver this important study.”

Dr Alexandre Akoulitchev, chief scientific officer at Oxford BioDynamics said, “There is a significant unmet clinical need for a companion tool to provide patients with diabetes and those in a pre-diabetic state with a prognosis of their disease. Diabetes is a severely debilitating disease for individuals living with it, and as such, costly for the societies they live in. Clearer prognosis of the disease will mean better treatment for individuals at a more reasonable cost for societies. We are delighted to be advancing the opportunity for type-2 diabetes patients to have a clearer understanding and better treatment of their disease.”

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“Most clinical studies involving type-2 diabetes are biochemical and we are particularly excited now to collaborate with Oxford BioDynamics to study the epigenetic aspect of this disease,� said Dr. Ang Hock Aun, endocrinologist of Hospital Seberang Jaya.

At each stage of the trial participants will provide a 15ml sample of blood, taken at the health clinic through which they were recruited. The frozen samples will be delivered to the OBD reference facility in Penang where a profile of chromatin conformation signatures (CCSs) will be constructed, and added to their definition in the glucose levels stratification. CCSs indicate where environmental factors have been integrated by the body into gene expression, as such their binary nature offers a more robust and consistent biomarker target than typical DNA methylation or histone regulation analyses. A chromatin conformation signature is either there, because environmental factors have contributed to gene expression, or it is not. It is this epigenetic biomarker that Oxford BioDynamics will use to develop the prognostic tool for type-2 diabetes sufferers.

There are currently 3.3 million diabetes patients in Malaysia, in a population of 20 million adults over aged 20-79, a prevalence rate of more than 16.6%.

Global prevalence is around 9%, and growing. Prevalence of type-2 diabetes is rising in the world as diets change and waistlines grow, though because of the cost of seeking treatment, many people remain undiagnosed. Whilst the onset of type-2 diabetes cannot be reversed, the condition known as pre-diabetes, where glucose levels in the blood are abnormally raised, but not by enough to cross a threshold that would indicate the disease, can be alleviated by healthy diet and lifestyle changes.

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APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

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NCR Enables E.Sun Bank to Introduce First Bill Payment Kiosk in Taiwan

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NCR APTRA Connections to run on the bank’s multiple self-service touchpoints to deliver personalized ATM transactions and customized advertisements.

NCR Corporation, the global leader in consumer transaction technologies, has announced that it has customized the first ever financial kiosk solution in Taiwan for E.Sun Bank - “E.Sun iPayment Kiosk” - which includes bill payment, statement printing, and notes exchange to ease counter queues. The bank also selected NCR APTRA Connections software to run on the kiosk and a fleet of newly purchased NCR SelfServ ATMs to provide personalized ATM transactions and customized ATM advertisements to promote customer experiences and deliver targeted marketing programs.

The “E.Sun iPayment Kiosk” initially runs at one to two select branches in the first quarter. E.Sun Bank has a growing credit card business that has resulted in huge demand for credit card payment transaction volumes at teller counters. By integrating the NCR SelfServ 4 financial kiosk featuring 19-inch multi-touch screen together with other localized parts, NCR has customized a secure self-service option for settling credit card payments to reduce queues at counters. Customers can settle credit card bills by entering card numbers or identity card number, scan the barcode on the statements or pay by cash; customers can also settle bill payments at the kiosk directly to merchants’ virtual accounts via pre-selected debit accounts or by cash. Customers also can make account balance and reward points enquiries, as well as printing out credit card statements and other application forms at the kiosk.

In March last year, NCR deployed NCR APTRA Connections to run on 60 NCR SelfServ ATMs. NCR APTRA Connections enables E.Sun Bank to recognize their customers and display personalized greeting message, or even birthday greetings. Customers can customize their ATM menu by pre-selecting favorite transaction options that include their usual cash withdrawal amount, bill payments and bank transfers. A customized menu results in fewer screens to navigate and saves time – as much as 33 percent faster than a typical transaction. E.Sun Bank also can conduct region-based target marketing according to its own requirement by customizing the types of ATM advertisements to be displayed at any timeslot or any ATM locations. The bank plans to introduce more innovative marketing features in the near future.

“In today’s competitive banking environment, a bank’s winning strategy includes transforming the customer experience and improving operations to create brand differentiation,” said Keith Au, general manager of Hong Kong & Taiwan, Financial Services, NCR Corporation. “E.Sun Bank has been a pioneer in delighting customers with innovative services. NCR is excited in partnering with E.Sun Bank for the first time in entering this industry-leading project to transform the self-service banking landscape in Taiwan to a new level.”

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APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

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UK FinTech Firm Hello Soda Launches in South East Asia in Multi-Million Pound Deal

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UK FinTech firm Hello Soda, headquartered in Manchester, has launched ‘Hello Soda Asia’, its new South East Asian venture.

Hello Soda was founded in 2013 by CallCredit trio, CEO James Blake, commercial director, Will Ellis and operations and client services director, Ben Allott. After leaving the UK’s second largest credit reference company, the trio now make up a team of 24 which includes leading data scientists, engineers, psycholinguists, natural language processors and unstructured data analysts with an average 2.5 first class Master and PHD degrees between them.

Having won many Awards including a Northern Tech Award, the rapidly expanding Manchester start-up has represented the Northern Powerhouse at the Palace and 10 Downing Street. Hello Soda operates in the finance, insurance, recruitment and gaming sectors, is well funded by European Investors and has ambitions to build to £100m analytics software over the next FIVE years.

The new FinTech venture which gives the firm a strategic foothold in South East Asia, will operate out of Bangkok, Thailand and Singapore, and will specifically target key ASEAN economies, including Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam and Singapore. In each of these markets, Hello Soda’s technology will provide unparalleled insights into customer behaviours, preferences, risks and aspirations, and will enable its clients to deliver a markedly superior customer experience.

South East Asia is experiencing an accelerating penetration of mobile technologies, internet access, and smartphone usage. There are approximately 600 million phones in circulation, carried by 530 million individuals, over half of which are already engaged in social media, including 230 million active Facebook users.

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The accelerated adoption of mobile technology is changing consumer behaviour, including purchasing patterns, now significantly influenced by social networking, online research, and peer reviews of products. Digital payments are becoming significant in Asia, and the impact of digital disruption is mounting across industries. In this rapidly changing market context, Hello Soda’s proprietary technology ‘PROFILE’ offers unique data analytics capabilities, with the speed and scale to unlock the value embedded in the vast expanse of social media, user and machine-generated unstructured data. Hello Soda’s ability to understand and predict user behaviour, preferences, fraud and credit risks, provides an enormous opportunity to businesses in Asia.

The Hello Soda Asia joint venture is a strategic alliance between Hello Soda UK and the Asia-based team of analytics services director Marcello Fontana and distribution and implementation director Gary Pound. The pair bring a wealth of global business experience in banking, insurance, marketing and distribution, technology and the overall deployment of data science platforms.

Hello Soda Asia will focus primarily on financial services (including banking, insurance, consumer and SME finance), telco, retail, gaming and tenant vetting, and is projected to generate a substantial fraction of Hello Soda’s global revenues. The new venture follows the recent opening of a Hello Soda office in New York to support its accelerating growth in the US market.

Commenting on the strategic alliance, CEO and Founder of the Hello Soda group, James Blake (left) said: “There are big opportunities in Asia for us as a company. For example, in Indonesia, there are 60million people who don’t have a credit footprint. Lenders and financial intermediaries, such as brokers, insurers and asset managers, need ways to carry out ID verification and assess customer risk; this is where Hello Soda steps in. We are helping to pioneer a revolution using big data analytics which will help our South East Asian businesses innovate and take major steps forward within their sectors.”

Hello Soda analytics services director Marcello Fontana commented: “the introduction of Hello Soda’s technology in developing Asian economies will increase access to credit and other financial services for near- and sub-prime customer segments that are currently underserved in the formal financial sector. This is a very exciting new development, bringing new growth opportunities for markets in which lack of data historically translated into lack of access to affordable services”.

Hello Soda distribution and implementation director Gary Pound added: “There is a global demand for maximizing big data insights which has accelerated our growth from a startup in the UK to an international business. We know that demand will only continue and this new venture will ensure we can offer the very best technology and service across South East Asia.”

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APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

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Launch of New Hong Kong-London Joint Venture

WGP Global and Mandarin Capital announce partnership to focus on South East Asian market.

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The move follows the formation of a joint venture between Hong Kong based independent asset managers Mandarin Capital Limited and London corporate advisors WGP Global, and will help both firm to expand their international reach and gain valuable experience in investing in new regions.

Sector and project management experience includes technology and gaming, sports and media, Government relations, health, life sciences and infrastructure. WGP Global is represented by a team of legal, compliance and regulatory experts, captains of industry, diplomats, academics and thought leaders in geo-politics and international affairs The two top-tier independent specialists can now collectively offer regulatory expertise and forward-thinking corporate advice as a combined entity with the spotlight on the UK and Europe, China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Japan, Korea and Vietnam.

London based WGP Global is an international corporate finance and advisory practice that has specialised in the Chinese market for more than a decade.

The senior team works with sophisticated corporate and private clients across Europe, Middle East, Africa and South East Asia. Their experience and contacts network spans a diverse range of sectors including infrastructure, sports, technology, finance, and health and life sciences.

WGP Global is a fast growing, independent corporate advisory business.

Founded in London in 2010 by internationally renowned commercial lawyer David Orchard and corporate specialist Chris Orchard, the organisation is headquartered in London with strategic operations Hong Kong and Malta, South Korea and Spain.

It provides practical support and sound advice on all aspects of business, law and finance to help clients achieve their global expansion and investment plans. It is rooted in a strong entrepreneurial, personal approach harnessing the experience and energy of the senior team who have an unrivalled network of contacts. The firm provides an innovative alternative to traditional corporate advisory models connecting Asia with the rest of the world. It advises on project finance, IPOs, cross-border transactions, global expansion and corporate acceleration.

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David Orchard, president and co-founder of WGP Global, said: ‘We are thrilled to have formalised our professional relationship with Mandarin Capital. It is a natural fit as we can advise on global expansion plans such as raising capital for cross border transactions and corporate acceleration. Whilst the focus of this joint venture is on South East Asia, we have extensive contacts in Europe, South Korea and Australia too.’

Mandarin Capital Limited is a Hong Kong based asset Management Company licensed and regulated by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.

Set up by its four founding partners has unrivalled market expertise in Asia, the firm was incorporated in 2012 and acts as a Hong Kong based Asset Management Company, established through the insight and vision of its four founding partners. Mandarin Capital is licensed and regulated by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (Type 9-Asset Management and Type 4-Advising on Securities). The company provides a gateway by connecting regional investors with global opportunities and global investors with regional opportunities.

At the core the company lies an experiences and qualified group of professionals with over 80 years of investment and operational experience spanning different asset classes within the finance industry. Mandarin Capital Limited is a diverse, energetic and experienced group of professionals where six nationalities are represented and seven languages are spoken.

Samuel Faveur, Chief Executive Officer, gave his opinion on the venture: ‘London is the financial capital of the world and capital is the lifeblood of any business. We can now offer our clients extensive regional knowledge with a truly global perspective for investment strategies.’

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APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

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Kyc.com Expands Asia Pacific Footprint to Hong Kong and Singapore

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Kyc.com, the joint venture between Markit Ltd. and Genpact Limited has announced the expansion of its service to Hong Kong and Singapore. This roll out is in addition to jurisdictional coverage in the US, UK and Australia which launched in 2014.

Standard Chartered, the UK headquartered bank with a large footprint in Asia, is supportive of kyc.com and in the process of joining the service. In addition, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, Morgan Stanley and UBS are already signed up and will be using the service to support their due diligence in the region. Over 1,500 buyside firms and corporations, representing 37,000 legal entities are also using kyc.com to simplify the provision of know your customer (KYC) and other documentation to their banks.

Kyc.com is a centralised service enabling investment managers, corporates and banks to streamline the KYC process by collecting the required documentation and data once, to create a reusable profile. With over 169,000 entities and 350,000 documents across kyc.com and Markit’s Counterparty Manager, customers benefit from validated information to determine beneficial ownership.

Commenting on the exciting developments around the uptake of the service, David Deane, managing director of client and data services at Deutsche Bank said, “We actively support the use of KYC utilities and have been investing in the development of the kyc.com service as a founding design partner since its inception. Now that the service has been developed, we want to encourage market adoption. Deutsche Bank is inviting customers to subscribe to this service and contribute their KYC documentation and data to kyc.com”.

“HSBC is committed to a consistent, comprehensive approach to financial crime risk assessment and regulatory compliance, and that requires a robust KYC process,” said Greg Watson, global head of banking middle office at HSBC. “Using kyc.com improves the client experience while standardising and simplifying data gathering and validation.”

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A recent survey commissioned by kyc.com revealed that 63% of financial institutions across Asia believe varying KYC standards across the region is the biggest factor impacting their level of regulatory risk. When conducting due diligence checks on customers, 58% surveyed have either terminated existing customers or refused new customers given due diligence concerns.

“One of the biggest challenges to conducting KYC in Asia is the regional variation for cross border compliance, which adds a layer of complexity to managing our customer relationships,” said David Fleet, managing director of client onboarding and management, Standard Chartered. “For us it’s about establishing best practice and mutualising efforts to remove some of the regional anomalies. Kyc.com supports this and provides a more cost effective way to conduct our business.”

“As design partner of kyc.com, we welcome and support Markit and Genpact on this development. At UBS, we actively encourage the adoption of KYC utilities to drive industry simplification; and improve the delivery of services to our clients,” said Daniel Haid, managing director of client onboarding, UBS. “Current practices are complex and time consuming. Gathering client information in a single place benefits both clients and financial institutions.”

“We are seeing a coming together of standards for connected due diligence processes, whether it’s client onboarding or meeting tax requirements,” said Jon May, chief executive officer, of kyc.com. “This roll out coupled with our support for Australia in this region increases efficiency, utilises repeatable KYC processes and enables our customers to focus on other higher value areas such as innovation to strengthen their competitiveness and compliance in the financial sector.”

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APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

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Aiming for Total Dominance in the Philippines

New partnership to increase Total’s network size and double market share in the Philippines.

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Total and Philippine oil company Filoil have agreed to create a joint venture for the fuel sales business in the Philippines. The combined business will grow Total’s network from 206 to 442 stations and its retail market share from 3% to 6%. The joint venture will also benefit from a strong supply infrastructure throughout the archipelago.

Total is a global integrated energy producer and provider, a leading international oil and gas company, and the world’s second-ranked solar energy operator with SunPower. The company’s 100,000 employees are committed to better energy that is safer, cleaner, more efficient, more innovative and accessible to as many people as possible. As a responsible corporate citizen, the firm has a firm focus on ensuring that its operations, which span more than 130 countries worldwide, consistently deliver economic, social and environmental benefits.

Filoil Energy Company, Inc. is a leading independent player in the Philippine downstream oil industry. Since entering the market 2001, the Filoil network has grown to 236 retail stations and 9 depot terminals nationwide. Filoil’s clients, composed of oil majors and independent players, benefit from the company’s end to end supply chain - from fuel importation, product storage and a combined machinery of road transport and waterborne services - resulting to optimum business economics.

“The synergy from Total’s operational expertise and Filoil’s excellent nationwide logistics will propel our growth in the Philippine market,” explained Francois Dehodencq, Senior Vice President of Total Marketing & Services and head of Total’s downstream business in Asia-Pacific. “This partnership allows Total to continue its development in Asia-Pacific and brings to 1,700 the number of service stations we have in the region.”

The partnership will create a marketing company and a logistics company and is subject to approval of government authorities.

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With close to 20 years presence in the Philippines, Total is engaged in the importation, distribution and marketing of fuels, lubricants and specialty fluids through Total (Philippines) Corporation. Total operates a growing network of over 200 service stations throughout Luzon and the Visayas.

Other affiliates in the Philippines include the Asia-Pacific Shared Service Center which supports the delivery of finance processes for subsidiaries across the region, Total E&P Philippines which is in the process of studying possible oil and gas exploration in the country and SunPower, a leading manufacturer of high efficiency solar panels for the global renewable energy market.

The firm also operates Total Marketing & Services headquarters for the Asia-Pacific region in Singapore. With over 4,000 employees across 20 countries, its teams are driven by innovation and growth, bringing customers a wide range of products and services including retail networks, lubricants, LPG, special fluids, aviation and transportation fuels.

In addition, Total has retail networks in China, Cambodia, French Polynesia, Fiji, Indonesia, New Caledonia, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Vietnam and the Philippines. The Philippine project increases its network to 1,700 service stations throughout Asia-Pacific.

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APAC Insider Magazine / May 2016

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WorldRemit Chooses Australia to Springboard Growth in Asia-Pacific

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Global leader in Mobile Money transfers appoints Michael Liu to drive growth in region, highlighting Australia’s growing corporate presence in the APAC corporate landscape.

Mobile Money transfer service WorldRemit, which is among the UK’s fastest-growing technology firms, has chosen Australia as its base in Asia-Pacific.

One of Europe’s biggest FinTech services, the WorldRemit app, lets those living in a foreign country send money instantly to their friends and family abroad in Latin America, Africa, Asia and the Pacific.

The firm is the leading sender of remittances globally to Mobile Money services, which have emerged as the payment system of choice in many developing countries, where large numbers of people lack access to traditional banking services. With Mobile Money, people can instantly receive money transfers on their phones instead of travelling to foreign exchange bureaus to collect cash. WorldRemit customers worldwide currently send 400,000 transfers each month.

WorldRemit has also made a number of other exciting announcements recently all of which highlight the importance of this exciting growth strategy: • Michael Liu has been appointed as Regional Director for Asia-Pacific - Based in Australia, Michael is responsible for business development, building relationships with banks, telcos and other partners, and driving customer growth.

Michael has over 20 years of experience in the financial services industry and was most recently an Executive Director at UBS Investment Bank. Michael brings to WorldRemit broad corporate and financial skills coupled with transactional experience in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Australia is now WorldRemit’s second biggest market after the UK - WorldRemit customers in Australia currently send around 80,000 transfers a month, which represents year-on-year growth of nearly 100%.

• A quarter of WorldRemit transfers from Australia are now received as Mobile Money - Migrants in Australia are increasingly turning to WorldRemit because it allows them to send money to the phones of unbanked friends and family in developing countries.

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Michael Liu, Regional Director for Asia-Pacific, WorldRemit, commented on his appointment as well as the firm’s move into Australia. “WorldRemit is a service that helps an often overlooked segment of the Australian population – the one in four people who have migrated here from overseas. I am excited to be part of a strong, fast-growing business that is also making a positive impact on financial inclusion and migrant lives.”

Ismail Ahmed, CEO and founder of WorldRemit, added his opinion on why the move was so vital for the firm’s growth plans. “Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific region play a critical role in our global expansion plans. Michael Liu’s deep knowledge of and connections with the financial sector will be invaluable as we cement our position as the leading digital money transfer service worldwide.

“Migrants in Australia already send tens of thousands of transfers to places like Ghana, Zimbabwe, India, the Philippines and the Pacific Islands. We see tremendous growth opportunities in sender countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Japan as well as key receiver countries across Asia-Pacific region.”

As the world becomes increasingly global and mobile thanks to technology and an increase in citizens moving abroad for work or travelling to see the world, the need for reliable, secure money transfer services is only growing, and as such the international growth strategy announced by WorldRemit is a shrewd plan.

In addition, selecting Australia as an APAC hub highlights the growing awareness in the business world of the country’s strong suitability for growth. With its proximity and travel links across Asia, the country makes for an ideal Asian base, offering access to a vast market whilst ensuring companies retain access to a skilled, predominantly English speaking workforce.

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