2007'02.04.Sun
Legend Capital Invests in Leading Video Games Outsourcing Provider Virtuos
June 29, 2006
SHANGHAI, China, June 30 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Virtuos, one of the world's largest outsourced services
provider in the games industry, announced today that it has
closed a Series A stock financing round with Legend capital,
the independent VC firm under Legend Holdings, owner of
Lenovo group. New Access Capital is the exclusive financial
advisor for this transaction.
According to independent market research firm
Screendigest, "a quiet revolution is transforming the
games industry as developers turn to outsourcing. The
global market for games outsourcing will reach $1.1bn by
the end of 2006 and is set to grow to $2.5bn by 2010 -
representing 40% of total games development spend".
Focusing exclusively on providing outsourced services
to international clients, Virtuos is uniquely positioned to
address this opportunity.
In just 18 months since inception, Virtuos has become
one of the key players in games outsourcing with over 100
fulltime in-house game specialists. Underlying Virtuos'
success are an international management team, proven
processes, strong IT systems and focus. The company intends
to expand the size of its teams as well as nurture a spirit
of excellence to deliver the new service quality standards
which the game industry requires to tackle the challenges
of next generation game development. "While Virtuos
has been profitable since inception, we are excited to
partner with a group as strong as Legend. We plan to use
the new funding to triple the size of our teams in the next
2 years. Virtuos will also invest further in training,
processes, security and IT to create a level of service
never seen before in our industry," said Gilles
Langourieux, CEO, Virtuos.
The partnership with Legend Capital is a major step
towards giving the company new means and methods to become
the partner of choice for major game companies.
"Legend Capital has made a series of successful
investments in the outsourcing industry. This team has a
unique vision for where the games industry is headed, so we
are eager to share our experience base with them and help
grow their business globally," said XIA Yang,
Executive Director, Legend Capital.
About Virtuos
Based in Shanghai, Virtuos was founded in December 04
by a group of veteran game developers led by former Head of
Ubisoft China, the largest offshore game studios in the
world, Gilles Langourieux. Virtuos was the first
independent foreign game company in China; its clients now
include over half of the top 10 game publishers as well as
renowned developers. Virtuos is specialized in providing
game production services in the fields of 3D Art,
programming and QA to international clients who are looking
to increase their production capacity, while keeping costs
under control. For more information, please visit
http://www.virtuosgames.com .
About Legend Capital
Legend Capital, a subsidiary of Legend Holdings Ltd.,
started in April, 2001 with a mission to become a top-notch
and the most respected venture capital investment manager in
China. Managing up to US$300 million across three funds,
Legend Capital focuses on driving high-growth ventures with
operations substantially based in China or on markets
related to China. Legend Capital mainly invests in the IT
industry, specifically, Internet applications &
services, wireless applications & services,
outsourcing, digital media and IC design/key components.
Currently, it holds interest in about 40 portfolio
companies. Successful investments include Joyo.com
(acquired by Amazon.com in 2004) and outsourcing company
SinoCom (HKEX: 299). For more information, please visit
http://www.legendcapital.com.cn .
About New Access Capital
New Access Capital is a boutique corporate finance
advisory firm that focuses on private equity/venture
financing and cross-border M&A transactions in China.
Since 2003, New Access Capital has closed venture
financings and M&A deals with transaction amount over
$180m. One of the deals (Focus Media) was voted "The
Deal of the Year" of International Private Equity in
2004.
For more information, please contact:
Zhang Zhuo Dan
Assistant Manager
Virtuos Ltd
Tel: +86-21-6464-1860
Fax: +86-21-6464-2322
Email: pr@virtuosgames.com
Web: http://www.virtuosgames.com
SOURCE Virtuos
PR
2007'02.04.Sun
Valeo Establishes New Joint Venture in China, With Ichikoh, and Increases Shareholding in Hubei Valeo to 100%
June 29, 2006
PARIS, June 29 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Valeo today
announced the establishment of a Chinese joint venture with
Ichikoh, one of Japan's largest lighting systems
manufacturers. This operation, the Group's thirteenth in
China, demonstrates Valeo's continuing commitment to the
Chinese automotive market and further strengthens its
presence in the country.
The new company, Foshan Valeo Ichikoh Auto Lighting
Systems Co., Ltd., is a 50/50 joint venture between Valeo
and Ichikoh. It will initially manufacture advanced
automotive lighting systems for Japanese carmakers based in
China. A new 34,000 sq. m. plant, located in Foshan, near
Guangzhou, will start production in April 2007. When fully
operational, it will employ 400 people.
The Group also announced that it had increased its
shareholding in its other Chinese joint venture Hubei Valeo
Auto Lighting Systems Co., Ltd. from 75% to 100%.
The Foshan Ichikoh Valeo and Hubei Valeo lighting
plants will work closely with the 70 engineers at the Valeo
Automotive Lighting Systems China Technical Center in
Wuhan.
"The Chinese market represents a key part of
Valeo's future growth. By creating this new joint venture
with Ichikoh and taking the full control of Hubei Valeo,
the Group reinforces its presence in Asia and its strategic
position as a supplier of world class lighting technology to
all customers", said Thierry Morin, Valeo Chairman
& CEO.
Valeo is an independent industrial group fully focused
on the design, production and sale of components,
integrated systems and modules for cars and trucks. Valeo
ranks among the world's top automotive suppliers. The Group
has 134 plants, 68 R&D centers, 9 distribution centers
and employs 70,400 people in 27 countries worldwide.
For more information, please contact:
Alexandre Telinge,
Group Media Relations & PR Manager
Valeo
Tel: +01-40-55-20-74
Matthieu de Crevoisier,
Group Media Relations Coordinator
Valeo
Tel: +01-40-55-37-68
SOURCE Valeo
2007'02.04.Sun
GE Healthcare Collaborates With Manipal Health Systems to Conduct Clinical Studies of Medical Diagnostic Products in India
June 29, 2006
Company's First Integrated Development Center (IDC) Opens in Bangalore as Part of Strategic Development of its Global Clinical Studies Program
BANGALORE, India, June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- GE
Healthcare, a division of the General Electric Company
(NYSE: GE) today announced the opening of its first
Integrated Development Center (IDC) at Manipal Hospital in
Bangalore, India.
The IDC in Bangalore is expected to conduct around
1,000 scans annually as part of the planned clinical trials
and will be part of a series of global multi-country
clinical studies in the United States, the European Union
and several other countries. Over time, GE Healthcare will
create more IDCs in key strategic locations globally.
Information obtained from this site will be combined
with data from other centres globally and contribute
towards the development of new contrast and molecular
imaging agents or new indications for existing agents.
The first studies will focus on Visipaque(TM)
(iodixanol) an isosmolar contrast agent that was launched
globally by GE Healthcare in 1996. Visipaque has been used
in millions of X-ray and computer tomography procedures to
date. Contrast agents are used during medical diagnostic
procedures to provide image enhancement of tissues and
organs. Future studies will be extended to cover the
company's entire diagnostic imaging portfolio.
Under the terms of the collaboration, physicians at
Manipal Hospital will act as study investigators and
provide clinical and imaging services and administration in
the hospital.
The IDC in Bangalore will play a crucial role in GE
Healthcare's ongoing global clinical research program and
support its vision of "Early Health" by helping
to bring new diagnostic imaging agents to market and
working to address serious unmet medical needs in oncology,
neurology and cardiology.
Together, the collaboration between GE Healthcare and
Manipal Hospital will benefit local patients in a number of
ways. Particularly, the investment in imaging infrastructure
will increase access to the most advanced medical diagnostic
technology available.
Manipal Hospital will conduct clinical research trials
using a wide range of GE Healthcare's innovative diagnostic
imaging technologies including its LightSpeed VCT, Discovery
STe 16 slice PET/CT scanner, Dual Head Gamma Camera with CT
(SPECT/CT) and TwinSpeed High Definition Magnetic Resonance
(HDMR) imaging system.
Dan Peters, President and CEO of Medical Diagnostics at
GE Healthcare said, "The clinical studies in India are
a key part of our global strategy. We want to use our
unique abilities in biology and engineering to develop
novel imaging agents that will provide groundbreaking
molecular diagnostic options for physicians and their
patients. The research efforts of GE Healthcare's Medical
Diagnostics R&D team are currently focused on
functional and molecular imaging agents that help doctors
evaluate the physiology of disease and make treatment
decisions earlier with confidence."
Mr. V. Raja, President, GE Healthcare India, said:
"We are extremely pleased to collaborate with Manipal
Hospital which is one of India's most respected
institutions. GE Healthcare and Manipal Hospital are both
driven by a desire to change the future of healthcare by
helping patients experience "Early Health," which
focuses on early diagnosis rather than late disease.
Together, we will be able to create one of the most
advanced Integrated Development Centers in the world. We
will also be tapping into the resources of the GE Global
Research Centre here in Bangalore, as well the expertise of
our global Medical Diagnostics team."
Peters added, "This collaboration highlights our
commitment to supporting the development of the Indian
healthcare system. India is a great home for these clinical
studies due to its rich R&D capability, highly skilled
medical professionals and sophisticated medical
infrastructure."
Dr. Ranjan Pai, Chief Executive Officer, Manipal
Education and Medical Group, said, "GE Healthcare has
been our partner for a number of years and we are excited
to team up with them again to drive such an important
program forward."
The unique combination of a super speciality healthcare
institution -- Manipal Hospital -- with pharmaceutical
development resources and imaging equipment support -- GE
Healthcare -- and scientific expertise -- GE Global
Research Centre -- in one locality creates the excellent
opportunity for successfully carrying out complex trials
more efficiently and effectively, and thereby helping bring
new diagnostic pharmaceuticals to market sooner.
About GE Healthcare
GE Healthcare provides transformational medical
technologies and services that are shaping a new age of
patient care. Our expertise in medical imaging and
information technologies, medical diagnostics, patient
monitoring systems, performance improvement, drug
discovery, and biopharmaceutical manufacturing technologies
is helping clinicians around the world re-imagine new ways
to predict, diagnose, inform and treat disease, so their
patients can live their lives to the fullest.
GE Healthcare's broad range of products and services
enable healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat
cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases, and other
conditions earlier. Our vision for the future is to enable
a new "early health" model of care focused on
earlier diagnosis, pre-symptomatic disease detection and
disease prevention.
Headquartered in the United Kingdom, GE Healthcare is a
US$15 billion Unit of General Electric Company (NYSE: GE).
Worldwide, GE Healthcare employs More than 43,000 people
committed to serving healthcare professionals and Their
patients in more than 100 countries. For more information
about GE Healthcare, visit our website at
http://www.gehealthcare.com.
About Manipal Health Systems
Bangalore based Manipal Health Systems is the pinnacle
of the dreams of the inimitable Dr. T M A Pai, a Gandhian
and philanthropist, who served the country with a mission
to provide quality education and medical facilities at
affordable prices. He laid foundation of India's first
private medical college in 1953 at Manipal, and in a span
of 50 years, his pioneering effort has emerged as Manipal
Education and Medical Group (MEMG) which comprises over 57
institutions today. Manipal Health Systems is the
healthcare division of this pioneering institution.
The over 5000 bed Manipal Health Systems is by far the
largest (in terms of bed strength and single ownership),
deepest (in terms of rural reach) and most integrated (from
rural welfare and corporate clinics to tertiary care
hospitals) Hospital Management Group in Asia. Two of the
health systems with hubs at Mangalore and Manipal serve
entire west coast of India from Goa to Kerala while the
flagship Bangalore health system serves patients from 20
countries across the globe.
Manipal Health Systems has three tertiary care hospital
located at the hubs, 9 secondary care hospitals, 19 Primary
Healthcare Centres, 7 rural welfare centres, Complimentary
Clinics at Bangalore International Airport and Mangalore
domestic airport and over 55 Community Development
projects. Manipal Health Systems treated 1.5 million
patients as Out Patients and 0.4 mn as In Patients in
2005-06.
About Visipaque(TM):
X-ray/CT product for diagnosis of a wide range of
diseases including coronary heart disease and to aid in
stent placement. The only contrast media available for
intravascular use that is isosmolar (has the same
osmolality as blood) at all iodine concentrations. It is
also formulated with the important electrolytes sodium and
calcium at physiological levels, to maintain electrolyte
balance.
In the United States: Visipaque is not for Intrathecal
Use. All non-ionic, iodinated contrast media currently
available inhibit blood coagulation in vitro less than
ionic contrast media. Clotting has been reported when blood
remains in contact with syringes containing non-ionic
contrast media. Caution must be exercised in patients with
severely impaired renal function, combined renal and
hepatic disease, combined renal and cardiac disease, severe
thyrotoxlcosis myelomatosis, or anuria, particularly when
large doses are administered. (See Precautions).
Prescribing Information(1) Visipaque(TM) iodixanol
Please refer to full national Summary of Product
Characteristics (SPC) before prescribing.
Presentation
An isotonic, aqueous solution containing iodixanol, a
non-ionic, dimeric contrast medium, available in three
strengths containing either 150 mg, 270 mg or 320 mg iodine
per ml.
Indications
X-ray contrast medium for use in adults in
cardioangiography, cerebral angiography, peripheral
arteriography, abdominal angiography, urography,
venography, CT enhancement, studies of the upper
gastrointestinal tract, arthrography, hysterosalpinography
(HSG) and endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography
(ERCP). Lumbar, thoracic and cervical myelography in
adults. In children for cardioangiography, urography, CT
enhancement and studies of the upper gastrointestinal
tract.
Dosage and Administration
Adults and children: Dosage for intravascular and oral
use varies depending on the type of examination, age,
weight, cardiac output, general condition of patient and
the technique used (see SPC and package leaflet).
Contra-Indications
Manifest thyrotoxicosis. History of serious
hypersensitivity reaction to Visipaque.
Precautions, Warnings, etc.
A positive history of allergy, asthma, or reaction to
iodinated contrast media indicates need for special
caution. Premedication with corticosteroids or H1 and H2
antagonists should be considered in these cases. Although
the risk of serious reactions with Visipaque is regarded as
low, iodinated contrast media may provoke serious,
hypersensitivity reactions. Therefore the necessary drugs
and equipment must be available for immediate treatment.
Patients should be observed for at least 30 minutes
following administration of contrast medium, however
delayed reactions may occur. Non-ionic contrast media have
less effect on the coagulation system in vitro, compared to
ionic contrast media. When performing vascular
catheterisation procedures one should pay meticulous
attention to the angiographic technique and flush the
catheter frequently (e.g. with heparinised saline) so as to
minimise the risk of procedure-related thrombosis and
embolism. Ensure adequate hydration before and after
examination especially in patients with renal dysfunction,
diabetes mellitus, paraproteinemias, the elderly, children
and infants. Special care should also be taken in patients
with hyperthyroidism, serious cardiac disease, pulmonary
hypertension, patients predisposed to seizures (acute
cerebral pathology, tumours, epilepsy, alcoholics and drug
addicts), and patients with myasthenia gravis or
phaeochromocytoma. Particular care is required in patients
with severe disturbance of both renal and hepatic function
as they may have significantly delayed contrast medium
clearance. All iodinated contrast media may interfere with
laboratory tests for thyroid function, bilirubin, proteins,
or inorganic substances (e.g. iron, copper, calcium, and
phosphate). In diabetic patients metformin should be
stopped when contrast media are used. The timing of this
should be amended based upon serum creatine/renal function
levels. (refer to SPC) An increased risk of delayed
reactions (flu like or skin reactions) has been associated
with patients treated with interleukin-2 up to two weeks
previously. The safety of Visipaque in pregnancy has not
been established. The degree of excretion into human milk
is not known. Breast feeding should be discontinued prior
to administration and not recommenced until at least 24
hours after administration.
Side Effects
Usually mild to moderate, and transient in nature, they
include discomfort, general sensation of warmth or cold,
pain at the injection site or distally. Serious reactions
are only seen on very rare occasions. Nausea, vomiting, and
abdominal discomfort are rare. Hypersensitivity reactions
occur occasionally with symptoms such as rash, urticaria
and pruritus (immediate or delayed). Severe reactions such
as bronchospasm, angioedema, dyspnoea and fatal anaphylaxis
are very rare. Neurological reactions, headache, dizziness,
seizures, and transient motor or sensory disturbance (e.g.
taste or smell alteration) are very rare. Also reported
very rarely; vagal reactions, cardiac arrhythmia,
hypertension and `iodide mumps'. Arterial spasm may follow
injection. A minor transient rise in creatinine is common.
Renal failure is very rare. Post phlebographic phlebitis or
thrombosis is very rare. Gastrointestinal disturbances
including diarrhoea, nausea/vomiting and abdominal pain and
systemic hypersensitivity reactions occur occasionally
(<1:10, >1:100).
Overdose
In the event of accidental overdosing, renal function
should be monitored for at least 3 days in addition to
supportive measures. Haemodialysis should be considered if
needed.
Marketing Authorisation Number
Visipaque 150 mg I/ml - 60.635, 270mg I/ml - 60.636,
320mg I/ml - 60.637;
Visipaque USP 150 mg I/ml - 62.916; Visipaque USP 270 mg
I/ml - 62.917; Visipaque USP 320 mg I/ml - 62.918.
Marketing Authorisation Holder
Amersham Health AS, Nycoveien 1-2, Postboks 4220
Nydalen, N-0401 Oslo, Norway.
Further information on request from: Amersham Health,
The Grove Centre, White Lion Road, Amersham, Bucks HP7 9LL.
Date of preparation: October 2004.
(1) Indications and approvals may vary in different
countries. Consult
your local package insert for details. Further
information available
on request.
For more information, please contact:
Sebastien Duchamp
Communications Director
GE Healthcare International
Tel: +33-6-73-19-59-64
SOURCE GE Healthcare
2007'02.04.Sun
Marsh Creates Asia Pacific Region
June 29, 2006
New Region to Deliver Highest Growth Within Global Firm
HONG KONG, June 29 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Marsh -- the
world's leading risk and insurance specialist -- has
announced a global restructure, which includes combining
its Asia and Pacific regions. Through this move Marsh
intends that its new Asia Pacific region will deliver
significant growth potential, in the next few years.
"Asia is undoubtedly where the action is and Marsh
set forth some time ago on an ambitious strategy for
regional expansion that is on track.
"Deepening our capabilities by combining with the
more mature Pacific market and providing clients with
seamless Asia Pacific regional service will undoubtedly
reinforce our dominant position as risk advisers to
institutional clients," says David Batchelor who will
lead the newly combined area from a Hong Kong-base.
According to Marsh, it will also continue to develop
its market-leading advisory practices in specialist risk
areas including Private Equity /Mergers and Acquistions;
Environment, Mining, Infrastructure, Terrorism and IPOs.
Marsh's existing growth strategy for Asia is based on
acquisition, new business, middle market growth and
proactive initiatives and will remain. "Insurance
broking is in a new era that focuses on risk management and
providing consulting and advisory services that add value to
clients -- and Marsh is embracing this," says
Batchelor.
The alignment is positive for Marsh's colleagues as
well as its customers. "Importantly, the creation of a
single region will offer expanded region-wide opportunities
for all colleagues to enhance their learning and
professional development," says Pamela Harrison,
Marsh's HR Director, Asia.
The global realignment simplifies Marsh's structure to
three regions -- Europe, Middle East and Africa, The
Americas and Asia Pacific. "Customers will find us
more attractive with a simplified global business
streamlined to provide clients with best-in-front service.
They will also appreciate our improved client reach,
resource base and market clout," says
Batchelor.
Notes:
-- Marsh Inc. is the world's leading provider of risk
management
and insurance broking services to the commercial
sector.
-- Marsh is part of the Marsh & McLennan
Companies, Inc. (MMC) a
Fortune-500 company headquartered in New York with
recorded
revenue in 2003 in excess of US$11 billion.
For more information, please contact:
Tanya Hughes/ Joyce Hong
Marsh Corporate Communications, Asia
Tel: +852-9778-7339 / +852-2301-7320
Email: Tanya.hughes@marsh.com
SOURCE Marsh
2007'02.04.Sun
Xinhua FTSE Launches Blue Chip Value 100 Index
June 29, 2006
HONG KONG and BEIJING, June 29 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Xinhua Index FTSE (XFI), the leading China index provider
established as a partnership between FTSE Group and Xinhua
Finance, today announced the launch of FTSE Xinhua Blue
Chip Value 100 Index. The new index, the first of its kind
in the market to integrate value factors with the
international leading ICB industry classification, enables
a definite and unique measurement of Chinese markets and
meets the increasing demand for long-term value investment.
The new index has begun publication on June 22, 2006 with
the inception date set for May 31, 2006.
The Xinhua FTSE Blue Chip Value 100 Index is calculated
in real time and supports the long-term value investment
concept which is growing in popularity among investment
professionals in China. Based upon the Xinhua FTSE 200
Index, the new index uses four fundamental values (Book to
Price, Sales to Price, Dividend Yield and Cash Flow to
Price) as the criteria to screen and select the highest
ranking value companies from the A200 index. During the
screening process, the world's advanced industry
classification ICB is adopted for sector standardization to
ensure good sector allocation and avoid over-concentration
on any single industry.
The index has an extensive coverage of 17 industries
with basic materials, industrial goods and services as well
as banks on the top, accounting for a total investable
market cap of RMB 363 Billion as of June 28, 2006.
Commenting on the creation of the new index, Ms Fredy
Bush, Co-chairman of XFI and CEO of Xinhua Finance and Mr.
Mark Makepeace, Co-chairman of XFI and CEO of FTSE Group
said: "Tailor-made for China's unique investment
environment, the index is a combination of Xinhua Finance's
in-depth understanding of local market and FTSE's proven
index design skills. The innovation we've introduced in
the product development reflects XFI's leadership in
responding to the changing market demand. "
The index is semi-annually reviewed in January and
July, when each constituent's value rating will be
reassessed. It is calculated in Renminbi (CNY) for real
time calculation every minute and Renminbi (CNY), HKD and
USD for end of day index values. Total Return Indices are
published at the end of each working day.
For details of the constituent list, index value and
the Ground Rules, please visit: http://www.ftsexinhua.com
.
Notes to Editors
About Xinhua FTSE Index
Established in late 2000, Xinhua FTSE Index (XFI), a
joint venture between Xinhua Finance Limited and FTSE, came
into being to facilitate the creation of real-time indices
for the Chinese market. The indices can be used as a basis
for the trading of derivatives, index-tracking funds,
Exchange Traded Funds and as performance benchmarks. The
combination of FTSE's expertise in international indexing
with Xinhua Finance's strong presence and capabilities in
China creates a level of expertise in the Chinese market
that is unprecedented. Providing the combined coverage for
the Shanghai and Shenzhen exchanges, all of the Xinhua FTSE
indices are designed according to internationally proven
index methodology to ensure products are transparent, clear
and consistent. For daily data and further information,
please visit http://www.xinhuaftse.com .
About FTSE Group
FTSE Group is a world-leader in the creation and
management of indices. With offices in London, Frankfurt,
Hong Kong, Madrid, Paris, New York, San Francisco, and
Tokyo, FTSE Group services clients in 77 countries
worldwide. It calculates and manages the FTSE Global
Equity Index series, which includes world-recognised
indices ranging from the FTSE All-World Index, the
FTSE4Good series and the FTSEurofirst Index series, as well
as domestic indices such as the prestigious FTSE 100. The
company has collaborative arrangements with the Athens,
AMEX, Cyprus, Euronext, Johannesburg London, Madrid, NASDAQ
and Taiwan exchanges, as well as Nomura Securities, Hang
Seng and Xinhua Finance of China, FTSE recently signed an
agreement with Dow Jones Indexes to develop a single sector
classification system for global investors.
FTSE indices are used extensively by investors
world-wide for investment analysis, performance
measurement, asset allocation, portfolio hedging and for
creating a wide range of index tracking funds. Independent
committees of senior fund managers, derivatives experts,
actuaries and other experienced practitioners review all
changes to the indices to ensure that they are made
objectively and without bias. Real-time FTSE indices are
calculated on systems managed by Reuters. Prices and FX
rates used are supplied by Reuters.
About Xinhua Finance Limited
Xinhua Finance Limited is China's unchallenged leader
in financial information and media, and is listed on the
Mothers board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (symbol: 9399)
(OTC ADRs: XHFNY). Bridging China's financial markets and
the world, Xinhua Finance serves financial institutions,
corporations and re-distributors through four focused and
complementary service lines: Indices, Ratings, Financial
News and Investor Relations. Founded in November 1999, the
Company is headquartered in Shanghai with 21 news bureaus
and offices in 18 locations across Asia, Australia, North
America and Europe. For more information, please visit
http://www.xinhuafinance.com .
For more information, please contact:
Hong Kong
Joy Tsang,
Xinhua Finance
Tel: +852-3196-3983 or +86-21-6113-5999
Email: joy.tsang@xinhuafinance.com
Tim Nicholls,
FTSE Asia Pacific
Tel: +852-2230-5801
Email: tim.nicholls@ftse.com
Beijing
Catherine Song,
FTSE Xinhua Beijing office
Tel: +86-10-5864-5275
Email: catherine.song@xinhuafinance.com
SOURCE Xinhua FTSE Index
2007'02.04.Sun
Wartsila Qiyao Generating Set Factory Inaugurated in China
June 29, 2006
HELSINKI, Finland, June 29 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- The
new factory for Wartsila Auxpac marine generating sets in
China is inaugurated today by Wartsila Qiyao Diesel Company
Ltd (Shanghai), the joint venture between Wartsila
Corporation and the Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research
Institute (SMDERI).
"China is one of the leading shipbuilding
countries in the world and its shipbuilding will grow very
fast. For Wartsila this joint venture is a major step in
our strategy to be close to the customers in China and
increase our global market share in auxiliary
engines," says Mr Ole Johansson, President & CEO
of Wartsila Corporation.
"There has been long-term good relationship
between CSIC and Wartsila. The setup of Wartsila Qiyao
Diesel Company Ltd. (Shanghai) is another successful
example of mutual benefit, combined with the strength of
both parties. This new factory would definitely have the
capability to manufacture the world class diesel products,
which is significant for the development of Wartsila diesel
engines in China, as well as the growth of China
shipbuilding industry," says Mr Li Chang Yin, General
Manager of CSIC
Wartsila and SMDERI, an underlying company of China
Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC), signed the 50/50
joint venture contract in 2005 to establish Wartsila Qiyao
Diesel Company Ltd (Shanghai). The total investment is
approximately EUR 10.0 million in the company, which will
manufacture Wartsila Auxpac 20 and Auxpac 26 diesel
generating sets.
The new assembly factory manufactures Wartsila Auxpac
diesel generating sets for the growing shipbuilding market
in China and also exports them to other countries through
Wartsila's global sales network. These generating sets are
used in all types of ships for generating electricity. The
factory is expected to deliver more than 100 Auxpac sets
during 2007 focusing mainly on Wartsila Auxpac 20. The
production of Auxpac 26 will start by the end of 2007. The
annual production capacity will be some 300 to 350 sets.
Location close to shipyards
The new factory is located in the Shanghai's Lingang
Industry Zone, and it will employ 80 people by the end of
this year, though more will be employed as manufacturing is
built up.
Pre-engineered means competitive price
Wartsila Auxpac marine generating sets are supplied as
pre-engineered packages for the generation of electrical
power on board all types and sizes of ships. The main
advantage of Wartsila Auxpac is its pre-engineered and
pre-specified solutions with a limited number of options.
This means that the generating sets can be built for a
competitive price.
Wartsila Auxpac -- Plug-in power
For ship owners, Wartsila Auxpac is an ideal choice
because, quite simply, the Wartsila engines on which it is
based has proven itself as reliable, fuel and lubricating
oil efficient, maintenance-friendly engines in numerous
applications over many years. For shipyards, it gives the
best power-to space ratio on the market and is actually the
most compact generating set in its class. Essentially, this
means that the Auxpac is both easy and less time-consuming
to install and can save valuable weight in the ship.
Technical information
There are two ranges of Wartsila Auxpac sets: the
high-speed range covering an electrical output from 60 to
1630 kWe, and the medium-speed range of 520 to 2850 kWe
output. The Wartsila Auxpac 20 and 26 sets manufactured by
Wartsila Qiyao are based on the well-proven Wartsila 20 and
Wartsila 26 engines which run on heavy fuel oil, and
deliver from 520 to 2850 kWe. Typical installations for
the Auxpac include general cargo vessels, container ships,
product tankers, bulk carriers and VLCCs.
Delivered ready for installation and outfitted with all
necessary ancillary equipment such as pumps, electrical and
control systems, Auxpac sets are put through well-defined
factory-acceptance tests which can include parallel running
when multiple sets are being supplied. They are also
designed for resilient mounting in the ship's hull for easy
installation and alignment and for lower structure-borne
noise.
The delivery of Wartsila Auxpac generating sets also
facilitates the provision of comprehensive, informative
documentation for installation, operation and maintenance.
Installation information can include the delivery of 3D CAD
models in various formats, including the popular Tribon
format.
First orders
The first Wartsila Auxpac 20 sets were delivered to
Chinese shipyards from Wartsila's Vaasa factory in Finland
in April 2005. It is a new 4000-tonne heavy-lift ship
built at the Jing Jiang Eastern Shipyard for Guangzhou
Salvage Bureau (under Ministry of Communications).
The first Auxpac generating sets by Wartsila Qiyao will
be delivered in October 2006 to the 12,000 dwt Product Oil
Tanker built at Jiujiang Yinxing shipyard in China for
Capital Ship Management, Greece.
About SMDERI
Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research Institute is
well known for its diesel engines, engine room automation
equipment, noise and vibration reduction solutions, and for
its petrochemical machinery products. It has some 1800
employees.
About CSIC
China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation (CSIC) is the
largest group in China in the field of military and
merchant ships, marine engineering and marine equipment
which it designs, manufactures and sells. CSIC consists of
more than 100 subsidiaries and the total number of employees
is 160,000.
About Wartsila Corporation
Wartsila enhances the business of its customers by
providing them with complete lifecycle power solutions.
When creating better and environmentally compatible
technologies, Wartsila focuses on the marine and energy
markets with products and solutions as well as services.
Through innovative products and services, Wartsila sets out
to be the most valued business partner of all its customers.
This is achieved by the dedication of more than 12,000
professionals manning 130 Wartsila offices in over 60
countries around the world.
http://www.wartsila.com
For more information, please contact:
Marit Holmlund-Sund
Public Relations Manager
Wartsila Corporation
Tel: +358-10-709-1439
Fax: +358-10-709-1425
Email: marit.holmlund-sund@wartsila.com
Web: http://www.wartsila.com
Vivian Huang
Marketing Communications Manager
Wartsila China Ltd.
Tel: +86-21-5877-8800 x122
Fax: +86-21-5877-1609
Email: vivian.huang@wartsila.com
Mr. Chen Yunhua
Shanghai Marine Diesel Engine Research Institute
Tel: +86-21-6313-3140
Fax: +86-21-6313-3140
Email: chenyunhua@csic-711.com
Web: http://www.csic-711.com
Inauguration photos available by contacting:
Anna-Leena Pohjanpalo-Flinck
Tel: +358-10-709-5627
Mobile: +358-40-5161-343
Email: anna-leena.flinck@wartsila.com
SOURCE Wartsila Corporation
2007'02.04.Sun
Important Notice To All Bjork-Shiley Convexo-Concave Heart Valve Implantees
June 29, 2006
CINCINNATI, June 29 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Because of a
risk of strut fracture that could result in death or serious
injury, all Bjork-Shiley Convexo-Concave Heart Valves (BSCC)
were removed from the market by the manufacturer.
Approximately 86,000 of these heart valves were implanted
in patients worldwide. Under a class action settlement
agreement in the Bowling, et al. v. Pfizer Inc., et al.
heart valve litigation, financial benefits are still
available to certain patients implanted with the BSCC heart
valve.
A Supervisory Panel of experts funded by the Bowling
Settlement has determined that risk of fracture depends on
the patient's age, gender, valve size, valve implant
position, and certain valve manufacturing characteristics.
It is important for people with BSCC heart valves to contact
a cardiologist to discuss whether they are at an increased
risk of fracture or possibly a candidate for a valve
replacement.
If you have a Bjork-Shiley Convexo-Concave Heart Valve,
you are urged to register your name and address with the
court-appointed Bowling Settlement Claims Administrator.
Only if you register will the Claims Administrator be
able to contact you with information about your class
action settlement benefits.
There is no cost or obligation incurred by
registering.
To register, contact:
Wayne Smith, Bowling Claims Administrator
525 Vine Street, Suite 2300
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 U.S.A.
Telephone: +1-513-421-4415 (English only)
Toll Free: 1-800-977-0779 (U.S. or Canada - English
only)
Fax: +1-513-421-7696
Email: bowlingpfizer@fuse.net
Website: http://www.bowling-pfizer.com
SOURCE Bowling Claims Administration Company
2007'02.04.Sun
10 Years Later: Atlanta's Olympic Legacy is Still Transforming City
June 29, 2006
ATLANTA, June 29 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Ten years after
the Olympic Games were held in Atlanta, the city is still
being transformed by an Olympic legacy that changed the
face of downtown Atlanta, strengthened the city's position
as a global commerce hub and positioned Atlanta as the
sports capital of the world.
Wednesday, July 19, will mark the 10th anniversary of
the Opening Ceremonies of the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games
in Atlanta.
"The 1996 Olympic Games made Atlanta a household
name around the world and kick-started major infrastructure
investments," said Sam A. Williams, president of the
Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce. "But we didn't let
it stop there. Atlanta has never stopped leveraging our
Olympic opportunity to revitalize downtown Atlanta, recruit
companies from all over the world and host the biggest and
best sporting events in the nation."
A.J. Robinson, president of Central Atlanta Progress
and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, said the
Olympics physically transformed downtown and set the stage
for the current boom in residential growth and new
infrastructure changes that made capturing new commercial
development easier.
"Centennial Olympic Park became the nucleus that
spurred new development and visitor use of downtown,"
said Robinson. "It has been and continues to be a
magnet for good things in downtown. Its legacy continues to
build every day."
The 1996 Games drew more attendees than any prior
Olympic Games, created a $5 billion economic impact and
branded Atlanta -- to the 70 percent of the world's
population that watched the Games -- as a great place to do
business. A worldwide Lou Harris poll revealed that positive
perceptions of Atlanta among corporate decision makers
nearly doubled after the Olympic Games.
Below are highlights of Atlanta's Olympic legacy:
Downtown Development
In the 10 years following the Atlanta Olympic Games,
more than $1.8 billion in hotels, office buildings,
high-rise residential buildings and entertainment venues
have risen in downtown Atlanta. The catalyst for nearly all
of that growth is the 21-acre Centennial Olympic Park, which
transformed a blighted area between the Georgia World
Congress Center and Atlanta's hotel district into a
thriving business epicenter.
Centennial Park West, The Glenn Hotel, Georgia
Aquarium, The World of Coca-Cola, Imagine It! The
Children's Museum of Atlanta, Ivan Allen Plaza and Philips
Arena are a few of the many developments that have taken
advantage of the beauty and international popularity of
Centennial Olympic Park.
Hub of Global Commerce
International awareness of Atlanta created through the
Olympic Games strengthened Atlanta's reputation as a hub of
global commerce.
-- Today Atlanta is home to nearly 1,600 international
companies,
representing a more than 30 percent increase in
international companies
since the Olympic Games.
-- These companies employ more than 80,000.
-- More than 20 percent of expansions and relocations
to Atlanta in the
last 10 years were from other countries.
-- Atlanta has 50 foreign consulates, 31 foreign
chambers of commerce and
18 sister cities.
-- The city ranks 7th in the nation in terms of direct
international
weekly flights.
Sports Capital of the World
The sports scene has been one of the most visible areas
of success for Atlanta since the Olympic Games, earning the
city a reputation as the "Sports Capital of the
World."
Today the city hosts more major sporting events, more
often, than any other city in the world - and is home to
five professional sports teams and several collegiate
athletics programs. The estimated economic impact of
sporting events in metro Atlanta from 1999 to 2005 alone
totaled more than $1.5 billion.
Facilities such as Turner Field (the former Olympic
Stadium) and the Georgia International Horse Park have not
stood idle like so many other venues created for the
Olympic Games. They continue to be entertainment
destinations and carry economic impact. Since 1994, Atlanta
has staged two Super Bowls, two NCAA Final Fours, the PGA
Championship and the annual TOUR Championship, NASCAR
races, All-Star Games, collegiate football and basketball
championships and one of college football's best
post-season bowl games.
Anniversary Celebrations
Atlanta's celebration of the 10th anniversary of the
Olympic Games will take place all summer long. Some of the
events include Olympic pin trading and the AVP Volleyball
Tournament, both at Atlantic Station from July 6-9. The
Atlanta History Center will host a free public day for the
Grand Opening of the Centennial Olympic Museum on July 15
from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The celebration will continue at
Centennial Olympic Park that evening from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
The Atlanta History Center Volunteer Appreciation Week will
be held from July 16 through 21 and allow 1996 Olympic Games
Volunteers free admission upon presentation of an official
ID badge or volunteer uniform.
For more information, please contact:
Esther Campi,
Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
Tel: +1-404-586-8474
Email: ecampi@macoc.com
Richard Orr,
Central Atlanta Progress
Tel: +1-404-658-1883
Email: richorr@centralatlantaprogress.org
/NOTE TO EDITORS: For complete press kit:
http://www.metroatlantachamber.com/nr_newsrel.html /
SOURCE Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce
2007'02.04.Sun
Leading Semiconductor Manufacturers Participate in Data I/O's Preferred Partnership Program
June 29, 2006
REDMOND, Wash., June 29 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Data
I/O(R) (Nasdaq: DAIO), the leading provider of manual and
automated programming systems for programmable
semiconductor devices, has recently announced the second
member of its Preferred Partnership Program. The company
is currently in talks with several other leading memory and
microcontroller companies and expects to make partnership
announcements in the near future with these companies.
Under the terms of the Preferred Partnership Program,
Data I/O and its Preferred Partners will coordinate their
efforts to dedicate direct, focused resources for closer
customer support at the device level as well as local
sales, marketing and technical levels. Preferred
Partnership Program benefits to mutual customers and
collaboration areas between Data I/O and its Preferred
Partners are summarized below:
- Focused attention to increasing the quality of the
service and reduced
time-to-market.
- Offering a full solution to end customers rather
than selling only a
device.
- Providing global support to Preferred Partners and
mutual customers in
each geographic location.
- Helping multi-national OEM customers to link both
their design and
manufacturing in wireless, automotive, consumer
electronics, white
goods and process control markets.
- Protecting Intellectual Property with Data I/O's
"Connected Strategy."
- Helping both Preferred Partners and mutual customers
to improve
profitability and achieve lean manufacturing by
reducing RMAs and
introducing higher quality standards.
- Educating mutual customers and encouraging the use
of partners'
products and solutions by arranging joint seminars
globally.
- Providing "Priority Device Support" for
Preferred Partners and their
customers.
- Collaborating closely to develop and/or license
technology from each
other to offer full solutions and to reduce time to
market both for
Preferred Partners and their customers.
- Collaborating closer between partners' sales/FAE
forces early enough to
address manufacturing related issues during design
phase.
Data I/O's Preferred Partnership Program was introduced
in October 2005 as part of a shift in its business strategy.
The purpose of the program is to address the growing
time-to-market issue both for semiconductor companies and
their customers and provide excellent support, products and
solutions.
"With the proliferation of semiconductor devices,
our business strategy has changed to focus our resources on
a handful of selected semiconductor partners to better serve
semiconductor companies and our mutual customers. Data
I/O's Preferred Partnership Program is offered to selected
semiconductor companies with similar or the same core values
as Data I/O," said Bruce Rodgers, Vice President of
Sales for Americas and Asia at Data I/O.
Data I/O will invite only a few selected semiconductor
memory and microcontroller companies to join its Preferred
Partnership Program.
About Data I/O
With more than 34 years of innovative leadership in
device programming solutions, Data I/O Corporation(R)
(Nasdaq: DAIO) provides manual and automated device
programming systems that specifically address the
requirements of engineering and manufacturing operations.
FlashCORE(TM) is the architecture behind a family of Flash
programmers that deliver the highest throughput and the
lowest cost per programmed device. The MultiSyte and
UniSite families provide universal support and versatility
to address a wide variety of programming needs. The
company's newest products are the ImageWriter line of
In-System Programming products, and the new FLX500
automated desktop device programming system. Data I/O
provides solutions beyond products, including a unique
Applications Services offering and global service and
support capability. Data I/O Corporation is headquartered
in Redmond, Washington. More information is available at
http://www.dataio.com or call 800-426-1045.
Forward-Looking Statements
All company and product names mentioned may be
trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
holders and are used for identification purposes only. The
matters discussed in this news release include
forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results to vary
significantly. These risks include market and competitive
factors, and other risks described in the Company's most
recent annual report and/or in any of its other filings
with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company
assumes no obligation to update the information in this
release. Reference to the Company's website above does not
constitute incorporation of any of the information thereon
into this press release.
For moreinformation, please contact:
Kennan M. Yilmaz
Data I/O Corporation
Tel: +1-425-867-6910
Email: yilmazk@dataio.com
Dennis McFarland
Goldstein Group Communications
Tel: +1-216-573-2300
Email: dmcfarland@ggcomm.com
SOURCE Data I/O Corporation
2007'02.04.Sun
Axios Implements ITIL Framework for Arab Bank in Jordan
June 29, 2006
EDINBURGH, Scotland, June 29 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
International IT Service Management (ITSM) solutions
provider Axios Systems (www.axiossystems.com), which
recently launched an Arabic language version of its core
product, assyst, has announced a contract with Arab Bank in
Jordan.
Axios said the new business with Arab Bank, which has
the biggest branch network in the Middle East and is
considered the largest banking group by equity in the Arab
world, represented further significant success in one of
the world's fastest growing regions for IT expenditure. It
added that further agreements with new customers and
partners in the Middle East would be announced shortly.
Arab Bank, which reported assets of almost $US 27.5
billion (15.3 billion Sterling) in 2005, said its decision
to purchase assyst was the result of a decision to
introduce processes based on the IT Infrastructure Library
(ITIL), internationally accepted guidelines for Best
Practice in ITSM. assyst has been developed from inception
around the ITIL framework.
The solution is being implemented in its IT centre in
Amman which employs around 90 of the Bank's 2,500 Jordan
business staff, and is due to be rolled out globally in
phase 2. It replaces a mix of tools developed in-house and
purchased from external suppliers.
Before opting for assyst, other top tier products were
reviewed. "Axios' offer was the most effective from a
value perspective," commented Basil Abdel Nabi, Deputy
Head of IT.
It will use assyst for incident management, storage and
retrieval of knowledge procedures, storage and management of
Service Level Agreements, managing reporting for monitoring
and control, Problem Management, and Change Management. It
also plans to install the Web-based self-service companion
product for assyst, assystNET.
In addition the Bank will take advantage of
assystDiscovery to collect information from Microsoft SMS
about PCs and servers. assystDiscovery integrates
up-to-date asset inventory information from external
inventory management software tools. "This will give
us the added benefits of an automatic, accurate and quick
way of keeping our assets information up-to-date all the
time," Mr Abdel Nabi commented.
Integral to any ITIL Asset Management software
implementation is the single underlying Configuration
Management Database (CMDB) which provides an accurate
inventory of IT resources and the relationships between
them. The CMDB is at the core of assyst instead of being
simply a bolt-on as it is with some other ITSM tools.
"We assessed that it was necessary to implement
ITIL standards to gain improvements in IT operations and
quality of service delivery," Mr Abdel Nabi said.
"Axios was selected because it is focused on ITIL and
IT Service Management, and has won global awards. Its
consultants also proved their experience and knowledge
during presentations at Arab Bank."
Mr. Abdel Nabi added that ITIL was essential for
aligning IT services with the business and provided full
transparency of IT operations. The availability of an
Arabic language service was "mission-critical,"
he went on.
"We are very excited about winning this business
from Arab Bank and the enormous potential elsewhere in the
region," said Markos Symeonides, Regional Development
Director for Axios Systems which has 11 offices in nine
countries.
"Due largely to increasing oil and gas revenues,
the Middle East is becoming an increasingly important
market for ITSM," he commented. "Changing
business attitudes among local end-users combined with
increasing investment in complex hardware and software
technologies will continue to promote the rise in
interest."
Mr Symeonides continued: "Arab Bank is helping
drive the adoption of ITIL Best Practice in the Middle
East. Axios believes assyst will create many benefits for
the bank. This signals another important step in our
company's geographic expansion."
About Axios Systems
Axios Systems is a leading provider of Best
Practice-based IT Service Management solutions.
Our customer-centric approach combined with our
award-winning solutions, ensure customers worldwide can
align their Service and Support organizations with the
overall business goals.
For further information on Axios Systems visit
http://www.axiossystems.com .
For more information, please contact:
Donna Kudarenko,
Axios Systems
Email: donna.kudarenko@axiossystems.com
SOURCE Axios Systems Limited
2007'02.04.Sun
Addition of Budesonide to Formoterol (Symbicort(R)) and/or a Short-Acting Beta 2 Agonist Reduces the risk of Mortality in Patients with Severe COPD Compared to Bronchodilators Alone
June 29, 2006
For non-US journalists only
For severe COPD patients treated with budesonide added to
either formoterol (Symbicort, AstraZeneca) and/or a short
acting bronchodilator, there is a reduced risk of mortality
compared to patients treated with only formoterol and/or
terbutaline
BIRMINGHAM, England, June 29 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Important new data from the analysis of combined data from
the two pivotal Symbicort(R) studies, announced today at
the 5th International Multidisciplinary Conference on
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD5), reveals that
budesonide added to formoterol (Symbicort(R)) and/or
terbutaline significantly reduces mortality in severe COPD
over one year, compared to the bronchodilators formoterol
and/or terbutaline alone.
Today's results show fewer deaths in the Symbicort /
budesonide group compared with the bronchodilator group
(p=0.036), with an associated hazard ratio of 0.564
(p=0.039). This represents a 44% reduction in all-cause
mortality over one year for patients treated with Symbicort
/ budesonide(1).
"Previous findings have shown the beneficial
effects of combination budesonide and formoterol, i.e.
Symbicort, therapy in significantly reducing COPD
exacerbations", explained Professor Peter Calverley,
Aintree Chest Centre, University of Liverpool.
"Today's presentation further demonstrates the link
between COPD exacerbations and an increased risk of
mortality, reinforcing the importance of reducing these
events, as indicated by COPD guidelines".
The re-analysis comprised data from 1834 patients with
severe COPD evenly distributed between the two treatment
groups, i.e. budesonide added to bronchodilators compared
to bronchodilators alone.
The survival benefits in this analysis also appear to
corroborate the findings in the three year prospective
TORCH (TOwards a Revolution in COPD health) study(2),
presented at the American Thoracic Society Congress in
2006, which has reported a 17% reduction in mortality for
fluticasone/salmeterol compared with placebo.
The retrospective pooled analysis also showed that
health-related quality of life (HRQL) -- as measured by the
St. Georges Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), an
independently validated tool for measuring quality of life
in COPD -- was the strongest predictor of mortality in
COPD, over and above any other reported predictor (e.g.
lung function, breathlessness, Body Mass Index and age),
equating to better quality of life leading to lower risk of
premature death(3). Using the SGRQ, a change of four points
is defined as clinically meaningful, equating to a patient
being able to walk up a flight of stairs without stopping
or to being able to sleep without disruption from coughing.
The data presented today suggests that SGRQ scores may have
a role in identifying patients at increased risk of
mortality over 1 year.
"Previous studies have demonstrated that
budesonide/ formoterol is a very effective treatment in
preventing COPD exacerbations, leading to clinically
important improvements in health-related quality of
life", explained Professor Paul Jones, St George's
Hospital Medical School, London "Today's data are
important, suggesting as it does that a combination of
budesonide and formoterol may provide a tangible survival
benefit as well as improving the patients quality of
life".
The pooled-analysis, presented today at COPD5, is based
upon the data from two 1-year prospective Symbicort studies
in COPD (Calverley et al. (4) and Szafranski et al(5)),
both published in the European Respiratory Journal in
2003.
"Randomised, controlled trials are the best way of
determining whether therapy is effective in COPD. However,
re-analysis of pooled data from comparable clinical trials,
as we did in this case, can provide new and potentially
important clinical insights", Professor Calverley
concluded.
References:
(1) Peter Calverley, Paul Jones, Thomas Larsson, Stefan
Peterson.
Preventing mortality in COPD: The value of inhaled
budesonide added to
bronchodilators. Abstract scheduled for
presentation at COPD5,
Birmingham, UK, 28 June 2006
(2) TORCH Study Group. The TORCH (TOwards a Revolution
in COPD health)
survival study protocol Eur Respir J
2004;24:206-210
(3) Paul Jones, Peter Calverley, Thomas Larsson, Stefan
Peterson. SGRQ
scores may help identify COPD patients at increased
risk of death in
1 year. Abstract scheduled for presentation at
COPD5, Birmingham, UK,
28 June 2006
(4) Calverley PM, Boonsawat Z, Zhong N, Peterson S and
Olsson H.
Maintenance therapy with budesonide and formoterol
in chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease. Eur Resp J 2003; 22;
912-919.
(5) Szafranski W, Cukier A, Ramirez A, Menga G,
Sansores R, Nahabedian S,
Peterson S, Olsson H. Efficacy and safety of
budesonide/formoterol in
the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary
disease.
Eur Resp J 2003; 21: 74-81.
For more information, please contact:
Anette Orheim,
AstraZeneca
Tel: +46-46-33-80-87
Mobile: +46-709-13-1952
Jim Baxter,
Cohn & Wolfe
Tel: +44-207-331-5371
Mobile: +44-790-060-5652
SOURCE AstraZeneca Plc
2007'02.04.Sun
Xinhua Far East China Ratings Downgrades the Issuer Rating of Shanghai Yaohua Pilkington Glass to BBB
June 28, 2006
HONG KONG, June 28 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Xinhua Far
East China Ratings today downgraded the issuer credit
rating of Shanghai Yaohua Pilkington Glass Co Ltd
("YPG" or "the Company") (SH A 600819;
SH B 900918) from A+ to BBB. The company's rating outlook
remains stable.
The downgrade was prompted by Shanghai Yaohua
Pilkington Glass Co Ltd's dramatically deteriorating
operating and financial profiles since 2005 in a difficult
operating environment characterized by overcapacity,
macro-cooling policies and climbing costs. Meanwhile, the
downgrade also reflects the management's inability to deal
with market downturns and the company's significant loss of
its original competitive advantage during the expansionary
development of China's glass industry. As a result, YPG's
credit profile is no longer commensurate with its A+
rating.
The company is facing a difficult operating condition.
Float glass capacity has been expanding rapidly in the past
three years, along with hikes in fixed asset investment in
China. It is expected that more new production lines will
become operational in 2006 and 2007, with even greater
overcapacity and competition inevitable in the sector. At
the same time, the central government's macro-cooling
policies have dampened domestic demand to a large extent,
resulting in dropping prices. More importantly, the rise in
raw materials costs, mainly oil and soda ash, has placed
tremendous pressure on the company's profitability.
Accordingly, YPG's financial profile deteriorated
significantly in 2005 and further worsened in the first
quarter of 2006. Its gross margin plummeted from 31.3% in
2004 to 20.9% in 2005, while its EBIT margin fell by 7.1 pp
to 7.4%. Its net operating cash flow also dropped by 23.3%
in 2005 compared with 2004. During first quarter of 2006,
the company recorded a 17.6% fall in turnover and a
negative EBIT.
In Xinhua Far East's view, the downgrade also reflects
the management's inability to deal with market downturns
and a loss of competitive advantage in China's glass
industry. The company focuses on the high-end float glass
market and lags major leading domestic competitors which
provide more profitable deep-processed glass products such
as auto glass. This makes the company's overall
profitability vulnerable to economic cyclicality, despite
its strength in high-end float glass. This, in turn,
restrains its ability to expand capacities and achieve
competitive strength.
Xinhua Far East believes that the float glass market is
unlikely to improve significantly in the foreseeable future,
leaving limited room for the product prices to rebound. In
addition, raw material costs are expected to remain high
for a considerable period of time, posing ongoing
challenges to the company's earnings.
With four float glass production lines and operations
in construction glass and automobile glass in addition to
float glass, Shanghai Yaohua Pilkington Co Ltd is one of
the biggest glass makers in China. In 2005, it reported
turnover of RMB1.8 billion and a net profit of RMB125.3
million. Pilkington Plc, the company's largest shareholder
with a 19.9% stake, is the world's second largest glass
maker and controls 18% of the world market share.
Shanghai Yaohua Pilkington Glass Co Ltd is also a
constituent of the Xinhua FTSE China B35 Index and, as of
market close on June 27, 2006, its total market
capitalization and investable capitalization were USD104
million and USD78 million respectively.
For the rating report summary, please visit
http://www.xinhuafinance.com/creditrating.
About Xinhua FTSE China B 35 Index
Xinhua FTSE China B 35 Index is the large cap tradable
index in the FTSE Xinhua China B Index Series, covering `B'
shares listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges.
It provides international investors with exposure to the
mainland Chinese market. For daily data and further
information, see http://www.xinhuaftse.com.
About Xinhua Far East China Ratings
Xinhua Far East China Ratings (Xinhua Far East) is a
pioneering venture in China that aims to rank credit risks
among corporations in China. It is a strategic alliance
between Xinhua Finance (TSE Mothers: 9399), and Shanghai
Far East Credit Rating Co., Ltd. Shanghai Far East became a
Xinhua Finance partner company in 2003 and the first China
member of The Association of Credit Rating Agencies in Asia
in December 2003.
Capitalizing on the synergy between Xinhua Finance and
Shanghai Far East, Xinhua Far East's rating methodology and
process blend unique local market knowledge with
international rating standards. Xinhua Far East is
committed to provide investors with independent, objective,
timely and forward-looking credit opinions on Chinese
companies. It aims to help investors differentiate the
credit risks among the corporations in China, thereby,
cultivating their awareness and promoting information
disclosures and transparency in China market.
For more information, see
http://www.xfn.com/creditrating.
About Xinhua Finance Limited
Xinhua Finance Limited is China's unchallenged leader
in financial information and media, and is listed on the
Mothers board of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (symbol: 9399)
(OTC ADRs: XHFNY). Bridging China's financial markets and
the world, Xinhua Finance serves financial institutions,
corporations and re-distributors through four focused and
complementary service lines: Indices, Ratings, Financial
News and Investor Relations. Founded in November 1999, the
Company is headquartered in Shanghai with 21 news bureaus
and offices in 18 locations across Asia, Australia, North
America and Europe.
For more information, please visit
http://www.xinhuafinance.com.
About Shanghai Far East Credit Rating Co., Ltd
Shanghai Far East Credit Rating Co., Ltd. is the first
and leading professional credit rating company with
comprehensive business coverage in China. It is an
independent agency established by the Shanghai Academy of
Social Sciences with the mission to develop internationally
accepted standards for capital market in China. The company
is a pioneer in conducting bond-rating business in China.
For years, it has been authorized by the Shanghai branch of
the PBOC to undertake loan certificate credit rating.
Since establishment, it has rated over 1,000 corporate
long-term bonds and commercial papers, based on the
principles of objectivity, fairness and independence. The
company has also maintained over 50% market share in the
loan certificate-rating sector in Shanghai for three
consecutive years. With its strong local presence and
knowledge, it provides investors with unique and the most
insightful credit opinion.
For more information, see http://www.fareast-cr.com.
For more information, please contact:
Hong Kong
Joy Tsang
Corporate & Investor Communications Director
Xinhua Finance
Tel: +852-3196-3983
+86-21-6113-5999
+852-9486-4364
Email: joy.tsang@xinhuafinance.com
US
Taylor Rafferty (IR/PR Contact in US)
Ms. Ishviene Arora
Tel: +1-212-889-4350
Email: ishviene.arora@taylor-rafferty.com
SOURCE Xinhua Far East China Ratings
2007'02.04.Sun
Central China's First 12-inch Fab Began Construction And Will be Managed by SMIC
June 28, 2006
WUHAN, China, June 28 /Xinhua-PRNewswire-FirstCall/ --
Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation
("SMIC", NYSE: SMI; SEHK: 981), one of the
leading foundries in the world today announced that the
first 12-inch (or 300mm) fab in Central China began
construction in the Wuhan East Lake New Technology
Development Zone, Hubei Province, China.
The groundbreaking ceremony was attended by Yu Zheng
Sheng, Politburo member of Central Committee and Secretary
of Hubei provincial party, Luo Qing Quan, Governor of Hubei
Province, Chen Yu Jie, Director of the Overseas Chinese
Affairs Office of the State Council, Li Hai Feng, Deputy
Director of the Overseas Chinese Affairs Office of the
State Council and Richard Chang, President and CEO of
SMIC.
The facility will be financed by an investment company
associated with the Hubei provincial government, Wuhan City
government and Wuhan East Lake New Technology Development
Zone. The company, the Wuhan Xinxin Semiconductor
Manufacturing Corp, will own the facility and has engaged
SMIC to manage the facility. The fab is scheduled to be
completed by the end of 2007, and commercial production is
scheduled to start in the first half of 2008. The monthly
12-inch wafer capacity is estimated to be 12,500 initially
and increase progressively up to 20,000 - 25,000 in 2009.
"We recognize the important contribution that SMIC
has made to China's semiconductor industry. The Hubei
Province will provide the necessary infrastructure support
in order to help build up a world-class semiconductor
industry in the region," said Miao Wei, Secretary of
the Wuhan Municipal Committee.
"We are grateful that the Hubei provincial
government and the Wuhan City government have provided such
invaluable support to the semiconductor industry in the
region, " said Richard Chang, President and CEO of
SMIC. "We have every confidence in the future
prospects of the Wuhan fab."
About SMIC
SMIC (NYSE: SMI; SEHK: 981) is one of the leading
semiconductor foundries in the world and the largest and
most advanced foundry in Mainland China, providing
integrated circuit (IC) manufacturing service at 0.35um to
90nm and finer line technologies. Headquartered in
Shanghai, China, SMIC operates three 200mm fabs in Shanghai
and one in Tianjin, and one 300mm fab in Beijing, the only
one of its kind in Mainland China. SMIC has customer
service and marketing offices in the U.S., Italy, and Japan
as well as a representative office in Hong Kong. For
additional information, please visit http://www.smics.com
.
Safe Harbor Statements (Under the U.S. Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995)
Certain statements contained in this press release,
such as statements regarding government support for, and
future plans relating to, the Wuhan fab, may be viewed as
"forward-looking statements" within the meaning
of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements
involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other
factors (including, without limitation, the progress of the
construction of the Wuhan fab), which may cause actual
events, and/or the actual performance, financial condition
or results of operations of SMIC to be materially different
from any future performance, financial condition or results
of operations implied by such forward-looking statements.
Further information regarding these risks, uncertainties
and other factors is included in the SMIC's annual report
on Form 20-F filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (the "SEC") on June 28, 2005 and such
other documents that SMIC may file with the SEC or The
Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited from time to time.
For more information, please contact:
SMIC - Shanghai
Reiko Chang
Tel: +86-21-5080-2000 x10544
Email: PR@smics.com
SMIC - Hong Kong
Calvin Lau
Tel: +852-9435-2603
Email: Calvin_Lau@smics.com
SMIC - Hong Kong
Mei Fung Hoo
Tel: +852-2537-8480
Email: MeiFung_Hoo@smics.com
SOURCE Semiconductor Manufacturing International
Corporation
2007'02.04.Sun
Freestar Technology Corp's Rahaxi Processing Oy approved as a MasterCard SecureCode(R) Vendor
June 28, 2006
Rahaxi Processing Oy's Internet Payment Gateway (IPG) approved for Use with MasterCard SecureCode
SHANGHAI, June 28 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Freestar
Technology Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: FSRT), an
international card payments processor and technology
company announced at the end of last week the approval by
MasterCard International for its integration of MasterCard
SecureCode(R) within the online payment card security
service operated by its wholly owned subsidiary Rahaxi
Processing Oy.
MasterCard SecureCode is a global security solution for
Internet retailers and financial institutions. It addresses
three of the most pressing issues in e-commerce today:
lingering cardholder concerns about the safety of online
shopping; issuers' need to remotely authenticate their
cardholders while shopping online; and Internet retailers'
desire to ensure a payment guarantee.
Much like the familiar authentication process required
for payment card use at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs),
MasterCard SecureCode requires cardholders to enter their
personal code in a inline window on their PC before their
online payment can be completed. With this simple step,
cardholders can be confident that their account is
protected, and card issuers and retailers gain greater
assurance about the identity of the person completing the
transaction.
The approval for the MasterCard SecureCode(R)
application provides an additional value added security
feature to existing Rahaxi Processing Oy's portfolio of
international standard card payments processing products
and services, including the Internet Payment Gateway (IPG)
for fastly growing, global e-commerce market.
"MasterCard SecureCode(R) is a payment initiative
designed to reduce the risk of unauthorized use of a
cardholder account by authenticating the cardholder
attempting to make a purchase online. Authentications makes
Internet shopping better and safer for both buyers and
sellers on the web by reducing the merchant's exposure to
fraud and frivolous disputes, and protecting the cardholder
from fraudulent use of their credit card", Angel
Pacheco, CTO of Freestar explained.
Mr. Pacheco also added that Rahaxi improves its
offering by providing secure payment environments not only
to POS merchants but also to its growing e-commerce and
m-commerce portfolios.
About MasterCard SecureCode(R)
MasterCard SecureCode is initiated on a retailer's Web
site and interacts with both the cardholder and their card
issuer. When a customer checks out from an e-commerce
merchant, an in-line window appears asking them to enter a
unique, personal code that has been registered with their
bank. The bank then authenticates the cardholder and
provides the electronic retailer evidence of the online
purchase. For more information, please visit
http://www.mastercard.com
About Freestar Technology Corporation
FreeStar Technology Corp. is a payment processing
company. Its wholly owned subsidiary Rahaxi Processing Oy.,
based in Helsinki, has a robust Northern European BASE24
credit card processing platform. Rahaxi currently processes
in excess of 1.8 million card payments per month for such
companies as Finnair, Ikea and Stockmann. FreeStar is
focused on exploiting a first-to- market advantage for its
Enhanced Transactional Secure Software, which is a software
package that empowers consumers to consummate e-commerce
transactions with a high level of security using credit,
debit, ATM (with PIN) or smart cards. The company, based in
Dublin, Ireland, maintains satellite offices in Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic, Helsinki and Geneva. For more
information, please visit http://www.freestartech.com or
http://www.rahaxi.com .
Forward looking statements
Certain statements in this news release may contain
forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175
under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the
safe harbor created by those rules. When used in this press
release, the words "expects,"
"anticipates," "believes,"
"plans," "will" and similar expressions
are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These
are statements that relate to future periods and include,
but are not limited to, statements regarding our adequacy
of cash, expectations regarding net losses and cash flow,
statements regarding our growth, our need for future
financing, our dependence on personnel, and our operating
expenses. All statements, other than statements of fact,
included in this release, including, without limitation,
statements regarding potential future plans and objectives
of the companies, are forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements
are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those
projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are
not limited to, those discussed above as well as risks set
forth above under "Factors That May Affect Our
Results." These forward-looking statements speak only
as of the date hereof. There can be no assurance that such
statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and
future events could differ materially from those anticipated
in such statements. Technical complications that may arise
could prevent the prompt implementation of any
strategically significant plan(s) outlined above. The
companies caution that these forward-looking statements are
further qualified by other factors including, but not
limited to, those set forth in FreeStar's Form 10-KSB
filing and other filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (available at http://www.sec.gov ).
FreeStar undertakes no obligation to publicly update or
revise any statements in this release, whether as a result
of new information, future events, or otherwise.
For more information, please contact:
Investor Relations:
Arun Chakraborty
Stern & Co.
Tel: +1-212-888-0044
Email: achakrab@sternco.com
Paul Egan
FreeStar Technology Corporation
Tel: +1-809-368-2001
Email: pegan@freestartech.com
SOURCE Freestar Technology Corporation
2007'02.04.Sun
Freestar Technology Corp's Rahaxi Processing Oy approved as a MasterCard SecureCode(R) Vendor
June 28, 2006
Rahaxi Processing Oy's Internet Payment Gateway (IPG) approved for Use with MasterCard SecureCode
SHANGHAI, June 28 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Freestar
Technology Corporation (OTC Bulletin Board: FSRT), an
international card payments processor and technology
company announced at the end of last week the approval by
MasterCard International for its integration of MasterCard
SecureCode(R) within the online payment card security
service operated by its wholly owned subsidiary Rahaxi
Processing Oy.
MasterCard SecureCode is a global security solution for
Internet retailers and financial institutions. It addresses
three of the most pressing issues in e-commerce today:
lingering cardholder concerns about the safety of online
shopping; issuers' need to remotely authenticate their
cardholders while shopping online; and Internet retailers'
desire to ensure a payment guarantee.
Much like the familiar authentication process required
for payment card use at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs),
MasterCard SecureCode requires cardholders to enter their
personal code in a inline window on their PC before their
online payment can be completed. With this simple step,
cardholders can be confident that their account is
protected, and card issuers and retailers gain greater
assurance about the identity of the person completing the
transaction.
The approval for the MasterCard SecureCode(R)
application provides an additional value added security
feature to existing Rahaxi Processing Oy's portfolio of
international standard card payments processing products
and services, including the Internet Payment Gateway (IPG)
for fastly growing, global e-commerce market.
"MasterCard SecureCode(R) is a payment initiative
designed to reduce the risk of unauthorized use of a
cardholder account by authenticating the cardholder
attempting to make a purchase online. Authentications makes
Internet shopping better and safer for both buyers and
sellers on the web by reducing the merchant's exposure to
fraud and frivolous disputes, and protecting the cardholder
from fraudulent use of their credit card", Angel
Pacheco, CTO of Freestar explained.
Mr. Pacheco also added that Rahaxi improves its
offering by providing secure payment environments not only
to POS merchants but also to its growing e-commerce and
m-commerce portfolios.
About MasterCard SecureCode(R)
MasterCard SecureCode is initiated on a retailer's Web
site and interacts with both the cardholder and their card
issuer. When a customer checks out from an e-commerce
merchant, an in-line window appears asking them to enter a
unique, personal code that has been registered with their
bank. The bank then authenticates the cardholder and
provides the electronic retailer evidence of the online
purchase. For more information, please visit
http://www.mastercard.com
About Freestar Technology Corporation
FreeStar Technology Corp. is a payment processing
company. Its wholly owned subsidiary Rahaxi Processing Oy.,
based in Helsinki, has a robust Northern European BASE24
credit card processing platform. Rahaxi currently processes
in excess of 1.8 million card payments per month for such
companies as Finnair, Ikea and Stockmann. FreeStar is
focused on exploiting a first-to- market advantage for its
Enhanced Transactional Secure Software, which is a software
package that empowers consumers to consummate e-commerce
transactions with a high level of security using credit,
debit, ATM (with PIN) or smart cards. The company, based in
Dublin, Ireland, maintains satellite offices in Santo
Domingo, Dominican Republic, Helsinki and Geneva. For more
information, please visit http://www.freestartech.com or
http://www.rahaxi.com .
Forward looking statements
Certain statements in this news release may contain
forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175
under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the
safe harbor created by those rules. When used in this press
release, the words "expects,"
"anticipates," "believes,"
"plans," "will" and similar expressions
are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These
are statements that relate to future periods and include,
but are not limited to, statements regarding our adequacy
of cash, expectations regarding net losses and cash flow,
statements regarding our growth, our need for future
financing, our dependence on personnel, and our operating
expenses. All statements, other than statements of fact,
included in this release, including, without limitation,
statements regarding potential future plans and objectives
of the companies, are forward-looking statements that
involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements
are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could
cause actual results to differ materially from those
projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are
not limited to, those discussed above as well as risks set
forth above under "Factors That May Affect Our
Results." These forward-looking statements speak only
as of the date hereof. There can be no assurance that such
statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and
future events could differ materially from those anticipated
in such statements. Technical complications that may arise
could prevent the prompt implementation of any
strategically significant plan(s) outlined above. The
companies caution that these forward-looking statements are
further qualified by other factors including, but not
limited to, those set forth in FreeStar's Form 10-KSB
filing and other filings with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission (available at http://www.sec.gov ).
FreeStar undertakes no obligation to publicly update or
revise any statements in this release, whether as a result
of new information, future events, or otherwise.
For more information, please contact:
Investor Relations:
Arun Chakraborty
Stern & Co.
Tel: +1-212-888-0044
Email: achakrab@sternco.com
Paul Egan
FreeStar Technology Corporation
Tel: +1-809-368-2001
Email: pegan@freestartech.com
SOURCE Freestar Technology Corporation
2007'02.04.Sun
SmartPay Launches "Lottery in Your Palm"
June 28, 2006
Lottery Players Enjoy a Safer, Quicker and More Convenient way to Purchase Lottery Tickets
GUANGDONG, China, June 28 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
SmartPay Jieyin Ltd ("SmartPay") along with
partners China Unicom Guangdong ("UNICOM") and
Guangdong Kingold Telecommunications Co. Ltd.
("KINGOLD") announced the launch of "Lottery
in your Palm", a mobile lottery service for consumers
which allows for purchase, payment, prize award
announcements, and award information. The service is being
jointly developed by SmartPay, Unicom and Kingold.
Lotteries are widespread in China, with millions
playing regularly in the hopes to both strike it rich and
benefit the lottery agencies. This is especially true in
southern China. However, the logistical aspect of
traditional lottery transactions has restricted the lottery
business to a large extent due to the fact that consumers
are required to go to designated places to purchase and
watch the results at specific time.
By contrast, "Lottery in your Palm" saves
people from queuing in the street and allows users to
purchase the lottery anytime and anywhere. Moreover,
winning users do not need to worry about losing their
tickets or missing out on their prizes which ensure high
security and convenience for the users.
"After sending a lottery ticket request by SMS to
the service number, 1680, the purchased sum is deducted
directly from user's registered SmartPay account and the
user has instant access to account information and the
latest lottery news. Furthermore, `Lottery in your Palm'
will send an SMS notice and credit the prize directly to
the user's account, providing real convenience and security
to lottery fans," said Greg Shen, SmartPay's President
and Chief Executive Officer.
"There is a huge potential market for `Lottery in
your Palm' and we can capitalize on this trend to quickly
capture the market and earn a profit," according to
officials from Unicom Guangdong. Unicom anticipates that
the revenue in the first three months after `Lottery in
your Palm's' launch will be at least RMB 1 million.
About China Unicom Guangdong
China Unicom Guangdong was founded in 1994 as the
branch of China Unicom, one of the largest Mobile Operators
in China.
About SmartPay
SmartPay was founded in 2002 as a corporate spinout
from Linktone Ltd, a leading Chinese provider of wireless
value-added services across mobile networks in China.
Building up on the existing financial infrastructure,
SmartPay enables individuals and merchants to securely and
conveniently send and receive money anytime anywhere via
the mobile phone.
SmartPay is led by an experienced management team,
strong investor base and a world-class Board of Directors.
Through the unique combination of our people, service and
technology, SmartPay has quickly become a leader in China's
Electronic Payment Market. We already work with over 25
Chinese banks and numerous merchants. Headquartered in
Shanghai, SmartPay also has regional offices in Beijing,
Guangdong, Jiangsu, Shandong, Zhejiang, Anhui, Chongqing,
Hebei, Liaoning.
About Kingold:
Guangdong Kingold Telecommunications Co. Ltd was
founded in 1997 as part of Kingold Group, one of the first
foreign-invested enterprises approved by the Chinese
government. Anchored by the real estate industry and
oriented towards high potential industries, Kingold has in
its diversified field other investments in education,
cultural promotion, mass media, hospitality,
telecommunications, health & beauty, intelligent
integrated systems and eco-tourism.
Kingold provides a comprehensive series of VAS
including SMS, IVR, MMS and WAP.
For more information, please contact:
Grace MA
Public Relations
Tel: +86-21-5385-5299 x160
Fax: +86-21-5385-5320
Email: grace.ma@SmartPay.com.cn
SOURCE: SmartPay Jieyin Ltd
2007'02.04.Sun
Meet in Asia Pacific with Starwood Hotels & Resorts
June 28, 2006
Hotel group offers Triple Starpoints for meeting planners
SHANGHAI, China, June 28 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Meeting
planners conducting meetings, retreats or seminars at
Starwood Hotels & Resorts in Asia Pacific can now enjoy
greater value with its Triple Starpoints promotion. Triple
Starpoints promotion is an Asia Pacific-wide promotion,
which allows meeting planners to earn triple Starpoints for
events booked at Starwood hotels in Asia Pacific by August
31, 2006 and held from now till December 31, 2006, thus
enabling them to earn Starpoints and redeem for free nights
and other rewards faster.
"Starwood developed the Triple Starpoints campaign
to cater to meeting planners' demand for value driven
meeting options and recognition for their loyalty towards
our brands," remarked Oliver Bonke, Vice President of
Sales & Marketing for Starwood Hotels & Resorts,
Asia Pacific. "This is a great opportunity to
experience some of the world's finest hotels and resorts in
some of the most extraordinary destinations in Asia Pacific
and at the same time be rewarded for their business,"
added Bonke.
Starpoints are points that meeting planners and
travelers can earn from the Starwood Preferred Planner
program, under Starwood Preferred Guest(R). Starwood
Preferred Guest(R) program has been voted the number one
hotel loyalty program in the world since its inception in
1999. Instead of earning 1 Starpoint for every USD3 of
eligible group revenue when planning meetings, members can
now earn 1 Starpoint for every USD1.
"The Starwood Preferred Planner program is
designed as the simplest, most flexible and rewarding
program of its kind, offering its members the ability to
earn points more quickly and easily towards free room
nights than any other meeting planner loyalty program. For
example, with just 4,000 Starpoints, members can earn for
themselves a weekend stay at the stunning Le Meridien Khao
Lak Beach & Spa Resort, Thailand! Members can also
start earning Starpoints to redeem free nights at
soon-to-be open hotels like W Retreat & Spa Maldives
and The Westin Beijing, Financial Street," commented
Alison Taylor, Vice President of Sales for Starwood Hotels
& Resorts, Asia Pacific. Other celebrated features of
Starwood Preferred Guest and Starwood Preferred Planner
programs include virtually no blackout dates, hassle-free
award redemption and an unrivaled portfolio of hotels and
resorts.
In Asia Pacific, Starwood Hotels & Resorts offers
guests over 120 hotels and resorts spread over 60 locations
in 20 countries. From the resorts of Thailand to the heart
of Tokyo, from bustling cities to idyllic tropical island,
Starwood offer guests and meeting planners a wide choice of
the finest properties in one of the most exciting regions of
the world.
Triple Starpoints promotion is valid for a minimum of
10 room nights booked and a maximum of 100,000 Starpoints
can be earned per meeting contract. The promotion is
valid to all eligible group/event/meeting bookings,
including those booked through travel agents and third
parties at commissionable rates. Meeting planners must
also be an active member of the Starwood Preferred Planner
program to receive Starpoints. For more information on
Starwood Preferred Planner or to join the program, visit
http://starwood.com/preferredplanner . For bookings and to
enjoy the Triple Starpoints promotion, meeting planners can
contact the local hotel representatives in their cities, or
contact Starwood's Global Sales Offices.
About Westin Hotels & Resorts
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of
the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with
approximately 850 properties in more than 95 countries and
145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.
Starwood(R) Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator
and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following
internationally renowned brands: St. Regis(R), The Luxury
Collection(R), Sheraton(R), Westin(R), Four Points(R) by
Sheraton, W(R), Le M¨¦ridien(R) and the recently announced
aloftSM. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation
Ownership, Inc., one of the premier developers and
operators of high quality vacation interval ownership
resorts.
For more information, please visit
http://www.starwoodhotels.com .
For more information, pleaase contact:
June Seah (Ms)
Marketing Manager, Greater China & Taiwan
Tel: +86-21-6141-7759
Fax: +86-21-6391-8220
Email: june.seah@starwoodhotels.com
SOURCE Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
2007'02.04.Sun
Well Known Filipino Actress Dina Bonnevie Joins Fusion to Expand Subscriber Base in International Markets
June 28, 2006
Film Star/Businesswoman to Spearhead Effort to Deepen Strategic Business Opportunities For Fusion's efonica brand of VoIP services in Global Filipino Community
NEW YORK, June 28 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Fusion
Telecommunications, International, Inc. (Amex: FSN), a
global VoIP service provider who last week announced the
launch of their free and paid efonica VoIP services and the
establishment of the Worldwide Internet Area Code, announced
that Dina Bonnevie, a famous Filipino film and television
personality and businesswoman, has joined the company. In
her role as Director of Overseas Market Development, Ms.
Bonnevie's primary focus will be on developing strategic
VoIP business opportunities for Fusion within the
Philippines and the global Filipino community.
The Philippines has a population of over 84 million and
there are an estimated seven million Filipino expatriates
living around the world. Fusion developed its efonica
branded VoIP services with a focus on the global
marketplace and believes this will be of particular benefit
to the worldwide Filipino market.
"We are very pleased that Dina has joined the
Fusion team. Her strong work ethic, management and business
development experience and her stature in the worldwide
Filipino community, will help drive our efforts to market
customized Filipino VoIP service packages that meet the
growing need for communicating with friends, family and
business associates around the world," said Matthew
Rosen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fusion.
Ms. Bonnevie has had a distinguished career in the
Filipino entertainment industry. She has spent over
twenty-five years in the entertainment industry, during
which time she has appeared in almost one hundred movies,
TV programs and commercials, produced a gold record, and an
award winning talk show. Ms. Bonnevie has received over ten
best actress and best supporting actress awards and an award
for best celebrity talk show host.
In addition to her entertainment career, she is an
accomplished businessperson. As President of White Wings,
Inc., a production company, she developed programs to fund
concerts and local special events. She has also been a
partner with Trans-Star Shipping Agency Corporation and
held a position as Director of Finance, Marketing, and
Human Resources for 13 years.
"I am excited to join Fusion and to be a part of
the next evolution of VoIP," said Ms. Bonnevie.
"After many years of working in the global Filipino
community, I believe Fusion's revolutionary VoIP services
and the introduction of the Worldwide Internet Area Code
will bring tremendous value to Filipinos around the world.
In addition, I believe in Fusion's vision and know that our
efonica brand of advanced VoIP services will provide
significant value to all of our consumer and business
customers who communicate to, from, in, and between
emerging markets worldwide," she added.
About Fusion:
Fusion provides its efonica branded VoIP (Voice over
Internet Protocol), Internet access, and other Internet
services to, from, in and between emerging markets in Asia,
the Middle East, Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
Fusion currently provides services to consumers,
corporations, international carriers, government entities,
and Internet service providers in over 45 countries. For
more information please go to: http://www.fusiontel.com or
http://www.efonica.com .
(Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050705/NYTU073LOGO )
Statements in this Press Release that are not purely
historical facts, including statements regarding Fusion's
beliefs, expectations, intentions or strategies for the
future, may be "forward-looking statements" under
the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All
forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the plans, intentions and expectations
reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking
statements. Such risks and uncertainties include, among
others, introduction of products in a timely fashion,
market acceptance of new products, cost increases,
fluctuations in and obsolescence of inventory, price and
product competition, availability of labor and materials,
development of new third-party products and techniques that
render Fusion's products obsolete, delays in obtaining
regulatory approvals, potential product recalls and
litigation. Risk factors, cautionary statements and other
conditions which could cause Fusion's actual results to
differ from management's current expectations are contained
in Fusion's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission and available through http://www.sec.gov .
For more information, please contact:
Fusion contact:
Jonscott Turco
Tel: +1-212-201-2401
Email: jturco@fusiontel.com
Investor contact:
Andrew Hellman
CEOcast, Inc.
Tel: +1-212-732-4300
Email: adhellman@ceocast.com
Media contact:
John Henderson
Rubenstein Associates
Tel: +1-212-843-8054
Email: jhenderson@rubenstein.com
SOURCE Fusion Telecommunications, International, Inc.
2007'02.04.Sun
Giesecke & Devrient and Nokia to Provide Secure Application Management Services for NFC Enabled Mobile Devices
June 28, 2006
New Global Joint Venture to Allow Mobile Operators, Transport Operators, Retailers, Banks, Credit Card Companies, and Providers of Digital Services and Media Worldwide to Offer Their Services and Applications to Consumers' Near Field Communication (NFC) Enabled Mobile Devices
MUNICH, Germany and HELSINKI, Finland, June 28
/Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Giesecke & Devrient (G&D),
the world's second largest producer of smart cards, and
Nokia, a world leader in mobile communications, today
announced an agreement with intent to form a joint venture.
Giesecke & Devrient will own 57 and Nokia 43 percent of
the new company. The joint venture will provide services to
the NFC ecosystem by enabling consumer applications, such as
credit cards or transport tickets, to be securely and easily
downloaded over-the-air to NFC enabled mobile devices.
Over-the-air management of the consumer applications is a
critical part for the emerging NFC ecosystem, and the joint
venture will work closely together with other stakeholders
when bringing these services to the market. The joint
venture is expected to commence operations in the fourth
quarter 2006.
"With the new platform and the services running on
it, we are combining two technologies of the future -
cellular phones and secure, contactless smart card
technology," said Dr. Karsten Ottenberg, CEO and
Chairman of the Management Board of G&D. "Giesecke
& Devrient believes that the secure chip management
platform offers vast potential for new global markets. And
we enjoy a solid first mover advantage."
"NFC holds great promise for new and intuitive
mobile services for consumers. Nokia is committed to bring
open solutions to the market enabling the NFC ecosystem
creation," said Dieter May, Vice President and Head of
Nokia Ventures Organization. "The new company will play
an important role, as its services will be available to all
stakeholders looking to introduce NFC enabled mobile
services to their customers in an easy-to-use and secure
way."
OTA Platform
The joint venture will implement and operate a secure
and versatile service platform to manage the over-the-air
transactions with consumers' NFC enabled devices. The
service platform will be operated in a white-label mode
with in-built interfaces to the IT systems of the actual
service providers, such as banks issuing credit cards. The
over-the-air services will be offered to all parties in the
NFC ecosystem, where mobile operators and other service
providers are exploring the opportunities to cooperate in
launching new services to consumers.
Open to all ecosystem stakeholders
The new company's services will be available and open
to any NFC enabled devices from all vendors. Company's
global scale, neutrality and openness are corner stones for
cost efficient services benefiting all stakeholders in the
NFC ecosystem. The company service offering will also help
to harmonize the way how the applications are provisioned
to consumers, thus preventing the fragmentation of the
related NFC services.
Consumer experience
Once an application, for example a credit card, has
been securely provisioned to the NFC enabled phone,
customers can pay by simply waving their phone at a
point-of-sale reader. This convenient, fast transaction
comes courtesy of the phone's built-in NFC technology. It
imbues mobile phones with the functionality found in
standard contactless smart cards that are used worldwide in
credit cards and tickets for public transit systems.
In addition to being compatible with existing
contactless card acceptance infrastructure, an NFC enabled
phone provides other benefits to consumers, such as
capability to view transactions and data on the phone
display and to buy tickets directly to the phone anywhere
anytime. An NFC phone can also be used to access services
by simply touching with the phone a service poster embedded
with an RFID chip.
NFC leadership
Nokia, a founder member of the NFC Forum, has been
actively involved in the NFC ecosystem development and
related first projects for three years, and G&D is one
of the first companies in the world to provide over-the-air
application management solutions for NFC enabled devices.
The new company will be well positioned to provide its
services to the market, leveraging both Nokia's expertise
as the global market leader in mobile phones and G&D's
extensive experience in smart card based solutions and
services.
Press information
Giesecke & Devrient and Nokia will host two Press
conference calls today, Tuesday, June 27, 2006 at 1.00pm
and 7.00pm Central European Summer Time to discuss this
announcement. The first conference call is mainly targeted
to European and APAC audience, and the second to Americas.
Conference call number: +358 7180 71870, Conference ID:
34071, PIN-code: 142004.
About Giesecke & Devrient:
Giesecke & Devrient (G&D), based in Munich,
Germany, is an international technology group operating
subsidiaries and joint ventures throughout the world.
Founded in Leipzig in 1852, G&D began as a printer of
securities, and later specialized in banknote production.
The company has been developing solutions and complete
systems for automatic currency processing since 1970.
Today, G&D is also a technology leader in smart cards,
and a solutions provider in a wide range of fields,
including telecommunications, electronic payments,
identification, health, transportation, and IT security
(PKI). In fiscal 2005, the Group employed more than 7,500
people and generated a revenue of EUR1.24 billion. For more
information, visit our Web site at http://www.gi-de.com .
About Nokia:
Nokia is a world leader in mobile communications,
driving the growth and sustainability of the broader
mobility industry. Nokia connects people to each other and
the information that matters to them with easy-to-use and
innovative products like mobile phones, devices and
solutions for imaging, games, media and businesses. Nokia
provides equipment, solutions and services for network
operators and corporations. Further information is
available at http://www.nokia.com .
It should be noted that certain statements herein which
are not historical facts, including, without limitation,
those regarding: A) the timing of product and solution
deliveries; B) our ability to develop, implement and
commercialize new products, solutions and technologies; C)
expectations regarding market growth, developments and
structural changes; D) expectations regarding our mobile
device volume growth, market share, prices and margins, E)
expectations and targets for our results of operations; F)
the outcome of pending and threatened litigation; and G)
statements preceded by "believe,"
"expect," "anticipate,"
"foresee," "target,"
"estimate," "designed" or similar
expressions are forward-looking statements. Because these
statements involve risks and uncertainties, actual results
may differ materially from the results that we currently
expect. Factors that could cause these differences include,
but are not limited to: 1) the extent of the growth of the
mobile communications industry, as well as the growth and
profitability of the new market segments within that
industry which we target; 2) the availability of new
products and services by network operators and other market
participants; 3) our ability to identify key market trends
and to respond timely and successfully to the needs of our
customers; 4) the impact of changes in technology and our
ability to develop or otherwise acquire complex
technologies as required by the market, with full rights
needed to use; 5) competitiveness of our product portfolio;
6) timely and successful commercialization of new advanced
products and solutions; 7) price erosion and cost
management; 8) the intensity of competition in the mobile
communications industry and our ability to maintain or
improve our market position and respond to changes in the
competitive landscape; 9) our ability to manage efficiently
our manufacturing and logistics, as well as to ensure the
quality, safety, security and timely delivery of our
products and solutions; 10) inventory management risks
resulting from shifts in market demand; 11) our ability to
source quality components without interruption and at
acceptable prices; 12) our success in collaboration
arrangements relating to development of technologies or new
products and solutions; 13) the success, financial condition
and performance of our collaboration partners, suppliers and
customers; 14) any disruption to information technology
systems and networks that our operations rely on; 15) our
ability to protect the complex technologies that we or
others develop or that we license from claims that we have
infringed third parties' intellectual property rights, as
well as our unrestricted use on commercially acceptable
terms of certain technologies in our products and solution
offerings; 16) general economic conditions globally and, in
particular, economic or political turmoil in emerging market
countries where we do business; 17) developments under
large, multi-year contracts or in relation to major
customers; 18) exchange rate fluctuations, including, in
particular, fluctuations between the euro, which is our
reporting currency, and the US dollar, the Chinese yuan,
the UK pound sterling and the Japanese yen; 19) the
management of our customer financing exposure; 20) our
ability to recruit, retain and develop appropriately
skilled employees; and 21) the impact of changes in
government policies, laws or regulations; as well as 22)
the risk factors specified on pages 12 - 22 of the
company's annual report on Form 20-F for the year ended
December 31, 2005 under "Item 3.D Risk Factors."
For more information, please contact:
Giesecke & Devrient GmbH
Andrea Bockholt, Pressesprecherin
Prinzregentenstrasse 159, D-81607 Munchen
Tel: +49-89-41-19-2422
Fax: +49-89-41-19-2020
E-mail: andrea.bockholt@gi-de.com
Nokia
Communications
Tel: +358-7180-34900
E-mail: press.office@nokia.com
Nokia Ventures Organization
Communications
Tel: +358-7180-45792
SOURCE Giesecke & Devrient
2007'02.04.Sun
China Post Selects Symbol for Express Mail Bag Tracking and Monitoring
June 27, 2006
Advanced RFID Solution from Symbol and Concord Unity International Limited Deployed By Shanghai Post
HOLTSVILLE, N.Y., June 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Symbol
Technologies, Inc., The Enterprise Mobility Company(TM), and
its Premier Solutions Partner, Concord Unity International
Limited, have been selected by China Post to supply RFID
technology to track express mail bags within the postal
district of Shanghai (Shanghai Post). RFID technology has
been successfully deployed in the Shanghai Post Express
Mail Service (EMS) operations, and is part of an on-going
national pilot project co-sponsored by China's Ministry of
Science and Technology to validate the benefits of RFID
within China Post's operations.
(Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041029/SYMBOLOGO )
Symbol's RFID technology enabled Shanghai Post to
automatically track the status of mail bags en route from
individual post offices to various collection and sortation
centers within Shanghai. The current process of tracking the
mail bags involves bar coded tags, which while reliable,
does require some manual intervention.
"The primary goal of this pilot was to validate
the use of RFID in terms of productivity gains leading to
faster delivery services to our customers," said Mr.
Liangan Chen, vice president of Shanghai Post.
"During this project we successfully proved that we
can greatly improve our postal bag processing productivity
over the current barcode system with nearly 100%
accuracy."
China Post has verified that RFID technology can reduce
the amount of time it takes to process the mail bags,
because the bags can be automatically tracked as they move
through various points in their processing cycle.
"This will have significant operational
improvements and cost savings for China Post when the RFID
solution is implemented across all the provinces in
China," continued Chen. "Given the increased
demand for Express Mail Service we are looking to deploy
technologies that can improve productivity and help us meet
our customer demands in the most efficient manner."
China Post has deployed Symbol's ruggedized and
reusable RFID tags, XR400 RFID fixed readers,
high-performance area antennas, and MC9000 mobile
computers. Symbol's XR400 RFID reader automates
high-performance RFID tag reading and writing and is
certified by EPCglobal(TM) for full Gen 2 dense-reader mode
support, and provides China Post with accurate read rates in
environments where multiple readers have the potential to
create interference with one another.
"As a leading provider of enterprise mobility
solutions, Symbol is excited to build on our experience
with China Post and bring measurable RFID solutions to the
postal industry," said Anthony Bartolo, vice president
and general manager of Symbol's Wireless Infrastructure and
RFID Divisions.
The success of this project was due to close
collaboration between Shanghai Post's operations team,
Concord Unity and Symbol Technologies. Through joint
cooperation, all parties were able to design and deliver a
solution that met all of China Post's requirements.
"Both Symbol and Concord Unity are now looking forward
to bringing the benefits of RFID technology to other areas
of China Post's operations," said Mr. Jianfei Gao, CEO
of Concord Unity.
About Symbol Technologies
Symbol Technologies, Inc., The Enterprise Mobility
Company(TM), is a recognized worldwide leader in enterprise
mobility, delivering products and solutions that capture,
move and manage information in real time to and from the
point of business activity. Symbol enterprise mobility
solutions integrate advanced data capture products, radio
frequency identification technology, mobile computing
platforms, wireless infrastructure, mobility software and
world-class services programs. Symbol enterprise mobility
products and solutions are proven to increase workforce
productivity, reduce operating costs, drive operational
efficiencies and realize competitive advantages for the
world's leading companies. More information is available at
http://www.symbol.com.
About Concord Unity International Limited:
Beijing-based Concord Unity International Limited was
founded in 1998. Since its inception, the company has been
devoted to providing industry users in China with
comprehensive solutions designed for improving efficiency.
The company is now one of the largest RFID solution
providers, especially, in the RFID application field in
China. Concord Unity is also the major partner of such RFID
vendors as SYMBOL and ZEBRA, in China. The company has
successfully implemented the RFID project of China Post.
More information is available at
http://www.concordunity.com .
For more information, please contact:
For media information:
April Shen
Symbol Technologies China
Tel: +86-10-6561-0006
Email: april.shen@symbol.com
Bill Abelson
Symbol Technologies
Tel: +1-631-738-4751
Email: bill.abelson@symbol.com
For financial information:
Lori Chaitman
Symbol Technologies, Inc.
Tel: +1-631-738-5050
Email: lori.chaitman@symbol.com
For industry analyst information:
Shirley Schroedl
Symbol Technologies, Inc.
Tel: +1-631-738-4388
Email: shirley.schroedl@symbol.com
SOURCE Symbol Technologies, Inc.
2007'02.04.Sun
Hughes Grants License to MTI to Manufacture IPoS Compliant Ku-band Satellite Terminals
June 27, 2006
Non-Exclusive, Royalty-Bearing License Includes Manufacture of HN7000 Series of Broadband Satellite Terminals
GERMANTOWN, Md., June 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Hughes
Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in
broadband satellite network solutions and services,
announced today that it has signed an Intellectual Property
License Agreement with Microelectronics Technology, Inc.
(MTI) of Taiwan, Republic of China. The agreement grants
MTI rights to manufacture the highly successful,
IPoS-compliant Hughes HN7000 series terminals, comprising
the broadband router (indoor unit or IDU), the outdoor unit
(radio or ODU) and the antenna assembly. IP over Satellite
(IPoS) is the first global standard to be ratified by the
world's major standards bodies; TIA in North America, and
ETSI and ITU in Europe.
"Hughes is committed to open standards and is
pleased to grant this license to MTI, a highly-regarded
manufacturer of satellite equipment," said Pradman
Kaul, chairman and CEO of Hughes. "IPoS is the only
air interface specifically designed for efficient delivery
of broadband satellite services and offers the best means
to expand satellite's addressable market worldwide."
"MTI is proud to be the first manufacturer to
license IPoS technology from Hughes. With over 900,000
units shipped to date to customers in over 100 countries,
the market has clearly embraced IPoS-compliant broadband
satellite terminals, confirming Hughes as the market
leader," said Dr. Chi Hsieh, Vice Chairman of MTI.
"We look forward to building on this record and
increasing the market penetration of IPoS terminals
worldwide."
IPoS is the only industry standard optimized for
delivery of broadband services over satellite channels.
IPoS specifies a "Satellite Independent Service Access
Point" (SI-SAP), which creates a well defined interface
between the satellite dependent functions and the
application layers, thereby enabling an open service
delivery platform. IPoS advantages are summarized as
follows:
* IPoS is scalable: from a single home office to
multinational customers
operating hundreds or thousands of sites in a
worldwide virtual private
network.
* IPoS is field proven: the most widely used and
proven standard with
more than 900,000 terminals shipped to customers in
over 100 countries
worldwide.
* IPoS is cost effective: yields a low-cost terminal
architecture that is
optimized for satellite transmission and enables
rapid development of
"plug-and-play" applications such as VPNs,
VoIP, distance learning, and
video conferencing.
Added Kaul, "The IPoS standard is the most
engineered, tested, and widely used in the world today. By
licensing IPoS, combined with our comprehensive broadband
alliance initiative, Hughes is encouraging all product and
application developers, including competitors, to expand
their individual and our collective satellite industry
market opportunities."
About MTI
Microelectronics Technology Inc. (MTI), located in
Hsinchu Science-Based Industrial Park, Taiwan, is a high
technology company specializing in wireless communications
product development, manufacturing, and global sales for
more than 20 years.
Based on its core competence in microwave and RF
technology, MTI has established leading position in the
fields of satellite ODUs (outdoor units), microwave radios,
mobile base station components, and broadband wireless
access products. With this excellent track record, MTI has
established long term partnerships with the world's leading
communication equipment providers.
For more information, please visit
http://www.mti.com.tw .
About Hughes Network Systems
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) is the global
leader in providing broadband satellite networks and
services for large enterprises, governments, small
businesses, and consumers. HughesNet encompasses all
broadband solutions and managed services from Hughes,
bridging the best of satellite and terrestrial
technologies. To date, Hughes has shipped more than one
million systems to customers in over 100 countries. Its
broadband satellite products are based on the IPoS (IP over
Satellite) global standard, approved by the TIA, ETSI, and
ITU standards organizations.
Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., in Germantown,
Maryland, USA, Hughes maintains sales and support offices
worldwide. Hughes is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hughes
Communications, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: HGCM). For
additional information, please visit http://www.hughes.com
.
HUGHES, HUGHESNET, and IPOS are trademarks of Hughes
Network Systems, LLC.
For more information, please contact:
Judy Blake of Hughes Network Systems, LLC
Tel: +1-301-601-7330
Email: jblake@hns.com
Colleen Stroh of Brodeur
Tel: +1-202-775-2648
Email: cstroh@brodeur.com
SOURCE Hughes Network Systems, LLC
2007'02.04.Sun
WEBZEN Signs Massive to Provide Video Game Advertising
June 27, 2006
Highly Anticipated Online Games Huxley and All Points Bulletin to Enjoy New Revenue Streams From Blue-Chip Advertisers
NEW YORK and SEOUL, South Korea, June 27
/Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Massive Incorporated, creator of the
leading in-game advertising network, and WEBZEN Inc.
(Nasdaq: WZEN), a leading global online entertainment
company, today announced plans to provide in-game
advertising to two of the global publisher's most
anticipated massively multiplayer online games (MMOG's).
The agreement marks Massive's entry in the Asian market and
WEBZEN's first services to provide in-game advertising.
Games included in the deal are the upcoming PC versions
of the massively multiplayer online first-person shooter
(MMOFPS) Huxley and the urban action MMOG All Points
Bulletin. Both games are slated for worldwide release and
will include in-game advertising in each territory.
"As a premier global online games company, WEBZEN
is dedicated to providing a realistic experience for our
gamers," said Nam Ju Kim, CEO, Webzen Inc. "The
combination of WEBZEN's global marketing know-how and
Massive's unprecedented in-game advertising experience
ensures we are delivering the highest level of quality to
gamers."
Slated for release in 2007, the award-winning Huxley
utilizes the UNREAL3 engine and WEBZEN's proprietary
networking technology to create an un paralleled twitch
action gaming experience with up to 5,000 players in the
same world. All Points Bulletin, developed by Real Time
Worlds, Ltd. and designed by the creator of the Grand Theft
Auto(R) franchise, is the only massively multiplayer online
game (MMOG) to combine nearly limitless customization with
intense urban action in a city that never sleeps. APB is
planned for a 2008 release.
"Massive's network represents the best global
content in the industry, ever more so with the inclusion of
Webzen's award-winning games," said Nicholas Longano,
President of New Media for Massive. "We're thrilled to
work with Webzen to bring dynamic in-game advertising to the
Asian market for the first time."
Recently acquired by Microsoft Corp., Massive pioneered
dynamic in-game advertising with the launch of the Massive
Network in October 2004 and has since partnered with more
than 60 blue-chip advertisers to seamlessly deliver ads
into more than 75 million game sessions. Massive enables
publishers and developers to capture significant new
revenues through the aggregation of the video game audience
which can be more effectively marketed to advertisers.
Developers are able to integrate real-world ad campaigns
that are timely and enhance the game environment with more
realism.
About WEBZEN Inc.
Founded in 2000 and based in Seoul, Korea, WEBZEN has
become a leader in the MMOG market and has developed some
of the world's top online game and client/server
technologies. WEBZEN is continuing the tradition of MU
Online, which boasts more than 50 million registered users,
with Soul of the Ultimate Nation and an array of exciting
game titles slated for release in the world's game market.
WEBZEN is also the first publisher in Korea to diversify
into console platforms, including Xbox 360 and
PlayStation(R)3 (PS3). In January 2005, WEBZEN announced
its entry into the U.S. games market with a subsidiary,
WEBZEN America, based in Los Angeles.
NOTE: The names of actual companies and products
mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective
owners.
For more information, please contact:
Lilit Baron
Bender/Helper Impact
For WEBZEN America, Inc.
Tel: +1-310-694-3110
Email: lilit_baron@bhimpact.com
Amy Janzen
Massive Incorporated
Tel: +1-917-209-6819
Email: amy@sutherlandgold.com
SOURCE Massive Incorporated
2007'02.04.Sun
Sonus Networks Selected by Carphone Warehouse as a Strategic Supplier for its Leading Next Generation Network
June 27, 2006
Opal Telecom Deploys Sonus Solutions to Support Carphone Warehouse's 21st Century Voice Service, TalkTalk; Innovative New Service is One of Europe's Fastest Growing IP-Based Voice Offerings
SWINDON, UK, June 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Sonus
Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: SONS), a leading supplier of
service provider voice over IP (VoIP) infrastructure
solutions, and Opal Telecom, a subsidiary of Carphone
Warehouse, one of the United Kingdom's largest
telecommunications network operators, announced today that
as part of a multi-million dollar contract with Sonus, Opal
Telecom has deployed Sonus solutions as the foundation for
Carphone Warehouse's next-generation network. By
leveraging Sonus' IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS)-ready
architecture, which includes the full set of UK primary
line residential call features, Carphone Warehouse will be
able to leverage Opal's Sonus-based network to deliver a
unique value proposition to residential customers
throughout the UK. In addition, by deploying Sonus'
industry-leading infrastructure, Carphone Warehouse is
positioned to be a leading next generation
telecommunications provider.
"Carphone Warehouse is one of the most recognized
brands in the European telecommunications industry, and we
are proud that Opal Telecom has selected Sonus as its
strategic supplier for its next-generation voice
network," said Hassan Ahmed, chairman and CEO, Sonus
Networks. "Recent regulatory changes are transforming
the competitive landscape, and Opal Telecom is one of the
first service providers to fully embrace the opportunity.
The Sonus solution allows Carphone Warehouse to deliver a
high quality residential service with today's UK call
features, but more importantly, the solution provides the
foundation for future multi-media and wireless
services."
Designed to reach nearly 70% of the population in the
UK, Opal's next generation network will be one of the most
sophisticated telecommunications networks in the world.
Opal will deploy the complete, end-to-end Sonus solution,
including the ASX(TM) Access Server, GSX9000(TM), PSX(TM)
Call Routing Server, SGX(TM) Signaling Gateway, and the
Sonus Insight(TM) Management System to deliver a unique
primary line residential voice service that enables
enhanced capabilities while supporting the stringent
demands for reliability and telecom-grade quality of
service. The Sonus/Opal network deployment highlights the
significant benefits that next generation technology
offers, enabling service providers to rapidly replace
legacy networks with a full scale IP-based solution that
can scale to support millions of users.
"Sonus is the premier provider of next-generation
telecommunications solutions worldwide. Our investment in
a Sonus-based network will allow us to offer our customers
an enhanced voice service with the same or better service
quality than our customers receive today," said Neil
McArthur, managing director, Networks, Opal Telecom.
"Consumers and businesses throughout the UK will now
have an unprecedented opportunity to enjoy a truly
converged voice service, using their existing telephone
equipment. The Opal network currently carries over 1.5
billion minutes of voice traffic per month, and by the end
of 2006, we hope to have doubled that number. We are
confident that by selecting Sonus as the foundation for our
next-generation network, we are deploying the platform that
will enable us to successfully support our customers now
and into the future."
Opal's nationwide deployment is driven by the recent
regulatory decision from the UK's Office of Communications
(OFCOM) requiring the unbundling of last mile
infrastructure to the home, which is known as Local Loop
Unbundling (LLU). In February 2006, the Office of the
Telecommunications Adjudicator (OTA) announced that,
according to the new consolidated forecast, an estimated
2-3 million lines will be unbundled by the end of 2006.
"The telecommunications environment in the United
Kingdom is currently undergoing a massive overhaul,
creating a significant opportunity for new players like
Carphone Warehouse to challenge British Telecom's market
position," said Teresa Mastrangelo, principal analyst
with Broadbandtrends.com. "Selecting Sonus as the
foundation for its network will help Carphone Warehouse
capitalize on this tremendous opportunity by deploying a
highly scalable carrier class network quickly and
efficiently."
"Sonus is committed to extending its global
leadership position by becoming the number one preferred
provider of carrier grade voice solutions in Europe,"
said Joop van Aard, vice president, Europe, Middle East
& Africa, Sonus Networks. "Sonus established an
early foothold in the emerging European market, and Opal's
decision to deploy our technology as the foundation of its
network reaffirms Sonus' position as an industry leader.
We're extremely proud to be working with one of the
region's premier communications providers."
Carphone Warehouse's TalkTalk phone service is one of
the region's fastest growing voice services, and since
launching the service in 2003, more than 2.6 million people
have signed up. In April 2006, TalkTalk launched the UK's
first ever FREE broadband service and already has over
340,000 subscribers. Given Opal's nationwide footprint,
Carphone Warehouse's new voice service has the potential to
reach nearly 70% of UK residents making it the largest
Sonus-based, residential voice network in the world.
Sonus, Opal and Gartner will be hosting a webinar with
the financial community at 12:30 pm ET (5:30 pm BST) today,
June 27th, to further discuss this announcement. To view a
webcast of this event and other financial conferences, or
to obtain a schedule of upcoming events, please visit the
Sonus Networks Investor Relations site at:
http://www.sonusnet.com/contents/corporate/investorrelations.cfm
.
To join the conference via telephone:
Dial-in number: 800-313-6989
International Callers: 212-231-6047
Replay:
A telephone playback of the call will be available
following the conference and can be accessed by calling
(800) 633-8284, or for international callers, please call
+1 (402) 977-9140. The reservation number for the replay is
21297530. The telephone playback will be available through
July 11, 2006.
A replay of the webcast will be also available on the
Sonus Networks Investor Relations site through Wednesday,
June 27, 2007. To access the replay of the webcast, visit
http://www.sonusnet.com , Corporate, Investor Relations.
About Opal Telecom
Opal is one of the UK's largest telecom network
operators and is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Carphone
Warehouse plc (a FTSE 250 company). With headquarters in
Warrington and divisions in Manchester, London, West
Midlands, Leeds, Glasgow and Belfast, the company offers
voice services primarily to the Corporate and SME (small
and medium sized enterprises) market in the UK.
Opal combines technological innovation, customer
service excellence, service quality and competitive pricing
with a range of unique value-added services such as call
recording, screening and queuing to ensure their customers
remain competitive, creative and efficient.
Opal employs over 700 staff and currently manages over
150,000 business customers. Opal has grown substantially
and turnover to March 2005 was 285m pounds sterling.
Opal is the network operator for Carphone Warehouse's
residential TalkTalk service.
About Sonus Networks
Sonus Networks, Inc. is a leading provider of voice
over IP (VoIP) infrastructure solutions for wireline and
wireless service providers. With its comprehensive IP
Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) solution, Sonus addresses the
full range of carrier applications, including residential
and business voice services, wireless voice and multimedia,
trunking and tandem switching, carrier interconnection and
enhanced services. Sonus' voice infrastructure solutions
are deployed in service provider networks worldwide.
Founded in 1997, Sonus is headquartered in Chelmsford,
Massachusetts. Additional information on Sonus is available
at http://www.sonusnet.com .
This release may contain forward-looking statements
regarding future events that involve risks and
uncertainties. Readers are cautioned that these
forward-looking statements are only predictions and may
differ materially from actual future events or results.
Readers are referred to the "Risk Factors"
section of Sonus' Annual Report on Form 10-K, dated March
15, 2005, and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, dated May 8,
2006, both filed with the SEC, which identify important
risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from
those contained in the forward-looking statements. Risk
factors include among others: the impact of material
weaknesses in our disclosure controls and procedures and
our internal control over financial reporting on our
ability to report our financial results timely and
accurately; the unpredictability of our quarterly financial
results; risks associated with our international expansion
and growth; consolidation in the telecommunications
industry; and potential costs resulting from pending
securities litigation against the company. Any
forward-looking statements represent Sonus' views only as
of today and should not be relied upon as representing
Sonus' views as of any subsequent date. While Sonus may
elect to update forward-looking statements at some point,
Sonus specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.
Sonus is a registered trademark of Sonus Networks. All
other company and product names may be trademarks of the
respective companies with which they are associated.
For more information, please contact:
Sonus Networks:
Investor Relations
Jocelyn Philbrook
Tel: +1-978-614-8672
Email: jphilbrook@sonusnet.com
US Media Relations
Sarah McAuley
Tel: +1-415-377-3983
Email: smcauley@sonusnet.com
Opal Telecom:
Nicola Moss
Tel: +44-87O-458-4158
Email: nmoss@opaltelecom.co.uk
EMEA Media Relations:
Tom Cheesewright
Tel: +44-162-862-8080
Email: tomc@noiseworks.com
SOURCE Sonus Networks, Inc.
2007'02.04.Sun
Red Herring Asia 100 Award & Venture Market Asia Summit 2006
June 27, 2006
BEIJING, June 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Red Herring is
claiming its reputation as the mainstay regional gathering
of the most disruptive companies financed and operated in
Asia. On August 28-30, over 300 delegates will come
together in Hong Kong to discover not only an exceptional
group of speakers but also the winners of Red Herring Asia
100 2006.
Themed "Meet Asia's Innovators", Red Herring
Asia 100 summit will bring together over 300 C-level
entrepreneurs, corporate strategists, and venture
financiers from the technology industry in Asia. It will
explore the market's rediscovered appreciation of
disruption as a fast-track to success. It will discuss the
drivers for successful disruption in the business of
technology and demonstrate how innovations are creating
business opportunities for challengers and incumbents
alike.
Over the past months, hundreds of companies from China,
Kazakhstan, Korea, Japan, India and the Philippines, among
many others, have sent their submissions to qualify for the
best and most promising technology startups growing in the
region. They include telecom firms as well as software,
hardware, web 2.0, wireless, biotech, and energy related
innovators. They are financed locally and have expanded
their business across the entire continent and beyond. At
Red Herring Asia 100 summit, both the finalists and winners
of the Top 100 will showcase their disruptive technology and
you will be, as we are, amazed by their business potential.
Red Herring Asia 100 summit will also welcome some of
the most interesting startups in America and Europe,
alongside their investors. These firms aspire, with
breakthrough business models, to gain foot in Asia and they
will join us in Hong Kong and share their expertise.
For the summit information, please visit
http://www.redherringasia.com .
About Red Herring
Red Herring magazine is a sophisticated insider's guide
to the business of technology, featuring unparalleled
insights on the emerging technologies driving the economy,
from the Internet to wireless communications and digital
entertainment. Red Herring's journalists report on how
innovation and entrepreneurship are transforming business
and how the business of technology is transforming the
world, providing readers with a deep understanding of
venture capital and capital markets. Recognized as an
essential resource in today's fast-changing business world,
Red Herring gets the right answers before anyone else even
thinks to ask the questions. More information on Red
Herring is available on the Internet at
http://www.redherring.com .
For more information, please contact:
Red Herring/ Head Quarter
Tel: +1-650-321-5544
Red Herring/ Asia Pacific
Tel: +86-10-8591-1166
SOURCE Red Herring
2007'02.04.Sun
Cordis Corporation's Third-Generation Coronary Stent Approved for Use in Europe
June 27, 2006
CYPHER SELECT(TM) PLUS Combines Excellent, Long-term Clinical Performance with Exceptional Deliverability to Treat Blockages in Coronary Arteries
MIAMI, June 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Cordis
Corporation, the world leader in the drug-eluting stent
market, announced today that its CYPHER SELECT(TM) PLUS has
become the first third-generation drug-eluting stent to
receive CE (Communite European) Mark approval. The company
will begin launching the product in Europe in September with
full market launch by the end of the year.
Featuring an enhanced stent delivery system, CYPHER
SELECT(TM) PLUS offers exceptional deliverability, as well
as the excellent, long-term clinical performance for which
the CYPHER(R) Stent is widely known.
"A broad range of clinical studies has
demonstrated that the CYPHER(R) Stent is an effective and
safe treatment for coronary artery disease," said
Philip Urban, M.D., F.E.S.C., Director of Invasive
Cardiology, La Tour Hospital in Geneva, Switzerland, and
the coordinating investigator of e-SELECT Registry, a
global registry designed to assess the performance of the
CYPHER SELECT(TM) family of stents in daily clinical
practice. "CYPHER SELECT(TM) PLUS builds upon that
tradition of excellence by featuring enhancements that ease
the delivery of the stent to the site of a lesion."
In addition to its flexible stent design and short tip,
CYPHER SELECT(TM) PLUS features the CYPH2ONIC(TM)
hydrophilic coating technology, an innovative coating
technology that is significantly more lubricious than
previous CYPHER(R) Stent products, greatly increasing a
physician's ability to successfully navigate challenging
coronary arteries.
"CYPHER SELECT(TM) PLUS showcases Cordis'
commitment to the treatment of vascular disease," said
Dennis Donohoe, M.D., Vice President, Worldwide Clinical and
Regulatory Affairs, Cordis Corporation. "With CYPHER
SELECT(TM) PLUS, physicians will experience unprecedented
ease in the delivery of a highly effective stent with an
excellent, long-term safety profile for the treatment of
coronary artery disease."
With CE mark now secured, the company is aggressively
building its manufacturing capacity for the CYPHER
SELECT(TM) PLUS launch. The company is committed to ensure
that physicians have ready access to the product as it
becomes available in various countries outside the U.S.
"As the world's leading developer and manufacturer
of drug-eluting stents, we are pleased with the approval of
the CYPHER SELECT(TM) PLUS which marks yet another
important step in our goal to defeat cardiovascular
disease," said Rick Anderson, Company Group Chairman,
Johnson & Johnson and Worldwide Franchise Chairman,
Cordis Corporation. "Through innovation, education
and clinical evidence, the Cordis franchise -- Cordis
Cardiology, Cordis Endovascular, Cordis Neurovascular,
Biologics Delivery Systems Group -- and Biosense Webster,
continues to define excellence in bringing breakthrough
products to market. Collectively, our companies represent
leadership in the cardiac and vascular fields."
In 2004, Cordis introduced the first second-generation
drug-eluting stent -- CYPHER SELECT(TM) -- outside the
United States.
About the CYPHER(R) Stent
The CYPHER(R) Stent has been chosen by cardiologists
worldwide to treat more than two million patients with
coronary artery disease. The safety and efficacy of the
device is supported by a robust clinical trial program that
includes more than 40 studies, inclusive of independent
clinical trials, that examine the performance of the
CYPHER(R) Stent in a broad range of patients. Developed
and manufactured by Cordis Corporation, the CYPHER(R) Stent
is currently available in more than 80 countries and has the
longest-term clinical follow-up of any drug-eluting stent.
The first next generation drug-eluting stent, the CYPHER
SELECT(TM) Sirolimus-eluting Coronary Stent, was launched
in Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Canada in 2003.
More information about the CYPHER(R) Stent can be found at
http://www.cordis.com .
About Cordis Corporation
Cordis Corporation, a Johnson & Johnson company, is
a worldwide leader in developing and manufacturing
interventional vascular technology. Through the company's
innovation, research and development, physicians worldwide
are better able to treat the millions of patients who
suffer from vascular disease.
* Cordis Corporation has entered into an exclusive
worldwide license with Wyeth for the localized delivery of
sirolimus in certain fields of use, including delivery via
vascular stenting. Sirolimus, the active drug released for
the stent, is marketed by Wyeth Pharmaceuticals, a division
of Wyeth, under the name Rapamune(R). Rapamune is a
trademark of Wyeth Pharmaceuticals.
For more information, please contact:
Mariela Melendez of Cordis Cardiology
Tel: +1-786-313-2776
Mobile: +1-786-218-4084
Email: melen10@crdus.jnj.com
Todd Ringler of Edelman
Tel: +1-212-704-4572
Mobile: +1-617-872-1235
Email: todd.ringler@edelman.com
SOURCE Cordis Corporation
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