2007'02.10.Sat
Visa International Exceeds US$315 Billion Milestone in Global Commercial Volume
PR
September 27, 2006
Achievement Demonstrates Ever-Increasing Business and Government Adoption of Visa Commercial Solutions
FLORENCE, Italy, Sept. 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
EuroFinance Conference -- Visa International today
announced that the value of all purchases and cash
withdrawals made with Visa Commercial payment solutions
worldwide has reached US$317 billion for the four quarters
ended June 30, 2006. The achievement of this total, as well
as the accompanying 24 percent year-on-year global growth
rate, underscores the widespread adoption of Visa
Commercial payment products and services by businesses and
governments worldwide.
"Reaching the $317 billion mark in global
commercial sales volume in such a short period of time
clearly demonstrates our tremendous growth and success in
this sector and solidifies Visa's position as the global
commercial market leader," said Aliza Knox, senior
vice president, Visa Commercial, Visa International.
"By offering a commercial product suite that combines
data with payment to provide business intelligence, Visa
helps corporate and government clients alike make better
decisions, improving efficiency and increasing the bottom
line. This in turn creates invaluable business
opportunities for our member financial institutions in the
commercial marketplace."
The announcement that Visa has reached the $317 billion
in global sales volume, made at the annual EuroFinance
International Cash and Treasury Management conference in
Florence, Italy, follows the announcements that Visa had
reached the $200 billion mark in October 2004 and $255
billion in October 2005 in global commercial sales volume.
"Commercial card products for businesses and
governments represent the biggest growth opportunity in the
card industry, particularly in developed markets. No
consumer credit product will grow faster in coming
years," said David Robertson, publisher of The Nilson
Report.
Luc Janssen, Head of Visa Commercial, Visa Europe
added, "Companies across Europe are increasingly using
Visa Commercial cards as a business and cash management
tool, with a 17% percent expenditure growth rate in the
past year. A number of markets have grown particularly
significantly in the last year -- for instance, in the
mature and emerging markets, our French market grew by over
20%, and the growth rate in Turkey was 69%. Businesses all
over Europe, both large and small, are realizing that Visa
Commercial cards provide an easy, convenient way to
purchase goods and services, and manage business
expenditure."
In addition to the overall success of Visa Commercial
products and services, all Visa regions experienced
double-digit growth in commercial sales volume, with the
majority registering an annual growth increase of at least
20 percent.
Visa Commercial provides payment products with
information management and services designed to help
businesses and the public sector achieve cost savings,
greater efficiency, control, and convenience. With
unsurpassed acceptance in more than 160 countries
worldwide, Visa operates the world's largest electronic
payments network and offers a broad product suite capable
of meeting a variety of business and government needs.
Notes to Editors:
About Visa Commercial: Visa Commercial payment
solutions -- Visa Business, Visa Corporate, Visa
Purchasing, and Visa Commerce -- combine payment with
information to create intelligent payment solutions that
enable business and government organizations of any size
and type to reduce costs, streamline operational and
payment processes, and make more informed business
decisions. Backed by Visa's unsurpassed acceptance and
utility, Visa Commercial products and services provide the
most complete way to manage payment-related processes,
including travel and entertainment and procurement
expenditures, payroll distribution, and information
management. For more information, visit
http://www.visa.com/visacommercial .
About Visa: Visa connects cardholders, merchants and
financial institutions through the world's largest
electronic payments network. Visa products allow buyers and
sellers to conduct commerce with ease and confidence in both
the physical and virtual worlds. As an association owned by
20,000 member financial institutions, Visa is committed to
the sustained growth of electronic payment systems to
support the needs of all stakeholders and to drive economic
growth. For more information, visit
http://www.corporate.visa.com .
For more information, please contact:
Sabine Middlemass
Visa International
Tel: +1-650-432-8307
Email: globalmedia@visa.com
Angela Sherratt
Visa Europe
Tel: +44-20-7795-5103
Email: sherratta@visa.com
Ian Budd
Burson-Marsteller
Tel: +44-20-7300-6144
Email: ian.budd@bm.com
SOURCE Visa International
2007'02.10.Sat
Rabbit Semiconductor(R), Inc. Launches ZigBee(TM) / 802.15.4 Application Kit for Low-Cost, Low-Power Embedded Wireless Control
September 27, 2006
-- Kit Includes MaxStream(R) XBee(TM) Wireless ZigBee Modules
DAVIS, Calif., Sept. 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Rabbit
Semiconductor, Inc. announces the release of its
ZigBee/802.15.4 Application Kit. The application kit
interfaces a RabbitCore(TM) module with MaxStream XBee
wireless ZigBee modules. Adding ZigBee technology to an
Ethernet enabled Rabbit(R) embedded control device offers a
low-cost, robust wireless infrastructure that allows users
to monitor remote devices within a sophisticated wireless
network, exchange data between devices, and control I/O
from a secured PC on the internet.
As the latest emerging wireless standard, ZigBee is
positioned for widespread integration in embedded
applications. ZigBee, known for its reliable, low-cost,
low-power features, builds upon the established IEEE
802.15.4 standard.
Rabbit's ZigBee/802.15.4 Application Kit is a reference
application that comes complete with the hardware and
software for implementing a ZigBee wireless control network
in the various topologies such as point-to-point and
point-to-multipoint. The simple to use configuration
software allows users to set up a network, discover nodes,
and establish communications between similar ZigBee
devices.
The RabbitCore module acts as the network coordinator
to monitor and manage two other battery-powered
XBee-equipped node devices. This allows users to access
and control a ZigBee/802.15.4 network from anywhere in the
world. The RabbitCore module is equipped with Ethernet and
512K Flash, 256K SRAM, 1MB serial flash, and 33 GPIO lines,
and has the ability to act as both an intelligent control
device or as an Ethernet gateway.
ZigBee is an ideal wireless technology for Rabbit
embedded applications. The ZigBee/802.15.4 Application Kit
is being introduced at the Embedded Systems Conference in
Boston (September 26-28th, 2006). The ZigBee/802.15.4
Application Kit is priced at $399 Qty1.
For more information please contact Rabbit
Semiconductor at T: 530-757-8400, F: 530-757-8402, E:
rabbit@rabbit.com.
For product photos and diagrams, please visit
http://www.rabbit.com/press/ .
Rabbit Semiconductor
Rabbit Semiconductor, a Digi International(R) company
(Nasdaq: DGII), is a global provider of high-performance
8-bit microprocessors and development tools for embedded
control, communications, and Ethernet connectivity. A
sister division of single-board computer and software
manufacturer Z-World, Rabbit Semiconductor introduced the
popular Rabbit(R) 2000 microprocessor in 1999, the Rabbit
3000 in 2002 and the Rabbit 4000 in 2006. The industry
award-winning RabbitCore(TM) line of microprocessor core
modules was introduced in 2001. Rabbit Semiconductor
offers customers a complete embedded design system,
including low-cost development kits and comprehensive
technical support for both hardware and software issues.
Rabbit Semiconductor is a member of the Fabless
Semiconductor Association and is located in Davis, Calif.,
70 miles east of San Francisco.
MaxStream
MaxStream supplies OEMs and integrators with reliable
radio modems and modules that meet the unique needs of
industry and commerce. The wireless modems are easy-to-use
and provide reliable delivery of critical data between
devices. MaxStream's 2.4 GHz XBee product family makes it
simple to incorporate ZigBee/802.15.4 into nearly any
electronic device. The flexibility of the XBee/XBee-PRO RF
Modules create the perfect fusion of range,
power-conservation, performance and networking features to
ensure accurate and reliable RF communications. For more
information regarding MaxStream's products and services:
Contact MaxStream via the web (visit
http://www.maxstream.net or e-mail rf-xperts@maxstream.net)
or call toll-free (866) 765-9885.
For more information, please contact:
Lucy Hou
Marketing Communication Specialist, China
Digi International
Tel: +86-10-6561-8310 x12
Fax: +86-10-6561-8152
SOURCE Digi International
2007'02.10.Sat
SCIPIG to Supply Oxygen and Nitrogen to Bayer Polyurethane Facility in Shanghai, China
September 27, 2006
SHANGHAI, China, Sept. 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Shanghai Chemical Industry Park Industrial Gases Company
(SCIPIG), a 50-50 joint venture between Praxair Inc. and
Air Liquide, two leading global suppliers of industrial
gas, has reached an agreement with Bayer MaterialScience to
supply industrial gases to facilities at the Bayer
Integrated Site Shanghai.
Under the 15-year industrial gases pipeline supply
contract, SCIPIG will supply oxygen and nitrogen from its
air separation facility, which has a total capacity of
8,250 cubic meters per hour (about 277 tons per day).
Deliveries under the contract are expected to start in
2008.
Prior to the contract, SCIPIG, founded in December
2001, had already been awarded major contracts by SECCO,
Sinopec Shanghai Gaoqiao Co., BASF Chemicals Co., Ltd.
(BACH), Huntsman Polyurethane Shanghai Ltd. (HPS), Shanghai
Chlor-Alkali Chemical Co., Ltd., Shanghai Lianheng
Isocyanate Co., Ltd. (SLIC) and Shanghai BASF Polyurethane
Co., Ltd. (SBPC). With a designed production capacity of
over 100,000 cubic meters per hour (about 1800 tons per
day), SCIPIG ranks as one of the largest industrial gas
production bases in China and all of Asia. Today SCIPIG
provides a complete range of products including oxygen,
nitrogen, compressed air, carbon monoxide, hydrogen and
steam to its customers.
About Bayer MaterialScience
Bayer MaterialScience, a part of the Bayer Group, is a
leading global provider of high-tech materials and
innovative system solutions, 2005 sales of 10.7 billion
euros. Its products are used extensively in the automotive,
electrical engineering / electronics, construction, sports
and leisure, as well as in the furniture and lifestyle
industries. It employs more than 18,800 people and has
approximately 40 production sites worldwide. At the Bayer
Integrated Site Shanghai, Bayer is investing US$1.8 billion
till 2009 to establish worldscale facilities for the
production of polyurethanes raw materials, polycarbonates,
and coatings raw materials. When completed, these will be
among Bayer MaterialScience's most technologically-advanced
and large-scaled facilities globally.
About Air Liquide
Air Liquide is the world leader in industrial and
medical gases and related services being present in more
than 70 countries. The Group offers innovative solutions
based on constantly enhanced technologies. These solutions,
which are consistent with Air Liquide's commitment to
sustainable development, help to protect life and enable
our customers to manufacture many indispensable everyday
products.
Founded in 1902, Air Liquide has nearly 36,000
employees and sales in 2005 totaled 10,435 million euros,
with sales outside France accounting for almost 80%. The
Group has successfully developed a long-term relationship
with its shareholders built on trust and transparency and
guided by the principles of corporate governance. Since the
publication of its first consolidated financial statements
in 1971, Air Liquide has posted strong and steady earnings
growth. Air Liquide is listed on the Paris stock exchange
and is a component of the CAC 40 and Eurostoxx 50 indices
(ISIN code FR 0000120073).
About Praxair
With 2005 sales of $7.7 billion, Praxair Inc. (NYSE:
PX) is the largest industrial gases company in North and
South America, and one of the largest worldwide. With
27,000 employees and operations in 40 countries, Praxair
works closely with 1 million customers worldwide to develop
technically innovation and economically efficient business
solutions to meet the changing needs and dynamics of the
market. Praxair produces, sells and distributes
atmospheric, process and specialty gases, and
high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products,
services and technologies bring productivity and
environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries,
including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage,
electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and
others. For more information, please visit Praxair at
http://www.praxair.com or Praxair China at
http://www.praxair.com.cn .
For more information, please contact:
Mr. Derek Wong
Deputy General Manager,
Shanghai Chemical Industry Park Industrial Gases Co.
Tel: +86-21-6712-0850
Email: Derek_wong@praxair.com
Ms. Juno Chen
Communications Manager,
Praxair Asia
Tel: +86-21-2894-7018
Email: juno_chen@praxair.com
SOURCE Praxair China
2007'02.10.Sat
HI Releases MCX, Extension Libraries of MascotCapsule(R)
September 27, 2006
-- Assisting the Development of High Quality Content
TOKYO, Sept. 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- HI CORPORATION
(head office: Meguro-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Kazuo
Kawabata; hereinafter "HI") announced today the
release of MascotCapsule Extension (MCX), an extension of
HI's real-time 3D rendering engine MascotCapsule(R).
MCX is an essential assembly of libraries to assist the
development of mobile 3D games. It allows developers to
simplify the game code and reduce development and testing
costs.
Collision detection is a significant portion of the
code for many types of games. The MCX Collision Package,
introduced in this first release, provides a simple API
that allows games to perform fast and accurate collision
detection using a set of basic bounding shapes.
MCX Product Specification
-- CPU 32 bit 100MHz or higher is
recommended
-- Operating Environment Requires MascotCapsule(R) V3
and/or V4
-- Code Size 100KB approximately
(Collision Package)
-- Working Area About 0.5 KB per bounding
shape
(Collision Package) About 5KB per character model
without the shapes
-- OS/Platform Java, BREW, Linux, PalmOS,
Symbian OS,
Windows Mobile
Overview of MCX Collision Package
-- The following basic shapes are available for
collision detection.
a. Three-dimensional shapes (Bounding volumes):
Sphere, Box/AABBox, Capsule/AABCapsule,
Cylinder/AABCylinder
* Axis-aligned volumes described as the Box
parallel to the
axis(AABBox), Cylinder parallel to the axis
(AABCylinder), Capsule
parallel to the axis(AABCapsule).
b. Other shapes:
Point, Line, Ray, Triangle, Plane
-- Figure objects can also be used directly as bounding
volumes.
-- Bounding volumes can be automatically generated for
any render-able
object.
-- Functionality is also provided to check if a given
bounding volume
lies inside the view frustum.
MCX is a valuable addition to HI's popular middleware
libraries, which will reduce the barriers for 3D mobile
game development, contributing to further growth in the
industry.
* Mascot Capsule is a registered trademark of HI
CORPORATION.
* The names of other products and companies mentioned
herein may be
trademarks or registered trademarks of their
respective owners.
About HI CORPORATION
Please visit http://www.hicorp.co.jp/e_index.html .
For more information, please contact:
Mitsutaka Monma
Marketing Division/Public Relations,
HI CORPORATION
Meguro Higashiyama Bldg. 5th Floor, 1-4-4 Higashiyama,
Meguro-ku,
Tokyo, Japan 153-0043
Tel: +81-3-3710-2843
Fax: +81-3-5773-8660
Email: press@hicorp.co.jp
SOURCE HI CORPORATION¡@¡@¡@
2007'02.10.Sat
JAJAH Now on Mobile Phones
September 27, 2006
New Service Enables Consumers to Make Low-Cost Calls Directly From Their Mobile Phone
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
JAJAH has just unveiled JAJAH Mobile, which allows
consumers to make very cheap long-distance and
international calls directly from their mobile phones.
"Now you can make long-distance and global calls
directly from your mobile phone without having to dial a
special number, find a hotspot, use a calling card, sign a
new contract or even pay to register. It's not only the
cheapest way to do long-distance and international calls,
it's also the smartest and the easiest," explains
JAJAH co-founder Roman Scharf.
JAJAH Mobile will allow virtually any mobile phone to
make JAJAH calls. Starting with Symbian and Java-based J2ME
phones and soon with innovative text messaging and
smart-phone/browser solutions. Combined, JAJAH enables
virtually any mobile phone, regardless of carrier,
manufacturer or existing agreement, to make JAJAH calls.
JAJAH Mobile is seamlessly integrated into the JAJAH
desktop solution allowing consumers to manage their account
directly on the JAJAH web site. By combining the Internet
with regular phones, JAJAH has created compelling new types
of solutions, like JAJAH Conference Calling, scheduled calls
and "one-click" calling directly from inside the
most popular computer applications. To use the service, you
first need a JAJAH account, which is free and without
obligation. Customers go to http://www.jajah.com to
register and to check mobile availability details.
"We think our solutions have the potential to
change the communication industry" said co-founder
Daniel Mattes. "We are not just about low-cost, we are
also rapidly innovating."
About JAJAH
JAJAH, the world's most innovative global
communications company, is dedicated to bringing users
vastly improved telephony solutions at a fraction of the
traditional price. JAJAH enables consumers to make free and
low cost telephone calls, locally or globally, dialing from
either their computers or mobile phones.
JAJAH is easy to use. You simply enter your own phone
number at http://www.JAJAH.com , then the desired
destination number, and click 'Call'. Your phone will then
ring. Pick it up, and you will be instantly connected.
Roman Scharf and Daniel Mattes, driven by their vision
of global communication without barriers in terms of
devices, rates, location or functionality, founded JAJAH in
2005. JAJAH has offices in Mountain View, CA and
Luxembourg.
For more information, please contact:
Stephan Skrobar and Markus Rumler
Email: press@jajah.com
Web: http://www.jajah.com
SOURCE JAJAH Inc.
2007'02.10.Sat
W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. Hosts Client Seminar
September 27, 2006
HAMILTON, Bermuda, Sept. 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- W.P.
Stewart & Co., Ltd. (the Company) today hosted its
annual U.S. investment seminar for clients at The Pierre
Hotel in New York City with more than 400 clients attending
from around the world.
Within the seminar proceedings it was noted that the
investment team remains committed to the W.P. Stewart
investment philosophy and the principals of quality, growth
and valuation. Performance for the W.P. Stewart U.S. Equity
Composite, from a low of being down about 8%, post-fee,
through the end of July/early August, has recovered to
being slightly positive for the year as of the close of
business on 24 September 2006.
In commenting after the seminar, Harry Segalas, the
Chairman and Chief Investment Officer for W.P. Stewart
& Co., Inc. said "At W.P. Stewart, we are
committed to achieving above average long-term returns for
our clients while taking below average risks. I feel we are
entering a time of opportunity for our style of investing as
portfolio earnings continue to advance strongly and
valuations are attractive. Our long-term results have
proven consistently superior and I am excited about the
future outlook for our client portfolios."
W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd. is an asset management
company that has provided research-intensive equity
management services to clients throughout the world since
1975. The Company is headquartered in Hamilton, Bermuda and
has additional operations or affiliates in the United
States, Europe and Asia.
The Company's shares are listed for trading on the New
York Stock Exchange (NYSE: WPL) and on the Bermuda Stock
Exchange (symbol: WPS).
For more information, please visit the Company's
website at www.wpstewart.com , or call W.P. Stewart
Investor Relations (Fred M. Ryan) at 1-888-695-4092
(toll-free within the United States) or + 441-295-8585
(outside the United States) or e-mail to
IRINFO@wpstewart.com .
For more information, please contact:
Fred M. Ryan,
W.P. Stewart Investor Relations
Tel: +1-888-695-4092 or +441-295-8585
Email: IRINFO@wpstewart.com
SOURCE W.P. Stewart & Co., Ltd.
2007'02.10.Sat
Interparking 2006 to Open on October 8 & World Expo 2010 Exhibition Area Set for Special Unveiling
September 27, 2006
SHANGHAI, China, Sept. 27 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Shanghai International Exhibition Co., Ltd. announced today
that the "World Expo 2010 Exhibition Area" will be
unveiled during the Shanghai International Parking Equipment
and Intelligent System Expo 2006" (Interparking 2006)
& International ITS Expo & Conference 2006
Shanghai," which are to be held at the INTEX Shanghai
on October 8.
Interparking 2006 will highlight the following:
-- The newest overall plan for urban transportation in
Shanghai,
including the Eleventh Five-year Plan for Shanghai
urban
transportation (objectives for the public
transportation network,
construction of public transportation pivots, as
well as objectives for
static transportation planning);
-- Plans for the public parking facilities of the World
Expo 2010,
including peripheral parking and downtown parking
facilities, parking
lots for `park and ride' services, and management of
downtown public
parking lots/garages, as well as the setup of public
parking
information systems.
-- The ITS concept scheme for the World Expo 2010,
including the
objectives of constructing the World Expo 2010
Intelligent
Transportation System (ITS), the overall functions
of the World Expo
2010 ITS, and the World Expo 2010 ITS framework,
consisting of "one
center and six application systems."
-- The influences on Shanghai from the ITS of the World
Expo 2005 in
Aichi, Japan;
-- The principles and objectives of the comprehensive
inter-city
transportation networks that focus on the Yangtze
River Delta area, the
integrated transportation development framework
"five cycles, six
corridors and sixteen pivots," the expressway
framework, the railway
transportation network, and the river navigation
lanes.
Through the new World Expo 2010 Exhibition Area,
exhibitors and audiences can learn more about the
comprehensive urban transportation plans in Shanghai that
are focused on the World Expo 2010 and can also actively
participate in the construction of World Expo related
transportation and parking projects.
In addition, organizers will hold the "2006
Shanghai International Forum on Transportation in Urban
Areas" in the meeting room on the second floor of the
Shanghai Xinyuan Hotel on the afternoon of October 9. The
Forum will be focusing on the themes of the "World
Expo 2010 and the Development of Intelligent Urban
Transportation." Zhu Weiming, Deputy Director General
of Shanghai Municipal Public Security Bureau and head of the
traffic police, and Chen Xianjin, President of Shanghai
World Expo (Group) Co., Ltd. will address the forum.
About Shanghai International Exhibition Co., Ltd.
(SIEC)
Shanghai International Exhibition Co., Ltd. (SIEC) is
jointly invested by Shanghai World Expo (Group) Co., Ltd.
and the Council for the Promotion of International Trade,
Shanghai. The SIEC was founded on July 1st, 1984 with the
approval of the Ministry of Foreign Trade & Economic
Cooperation and the People's Government of Shanghai
Municipality.
The SIEC is a full member of Union des Foires
Internationales (UFI). The SIEC has held 500 international
exhibitions of various themes and sizes. It also has
successfully held a number of solo exhibitions at national
level.
"AUTO SHANGHAI," "SHANGHAITEX,"
"CHINA CYCLE," "FASHION SHANGHAI,"
"ELE/PT COMM CHINA" are among the first eight
exhibitions approved excellent by THE EVALUATION COMMITTEE
OF SHANGHAI CONVENTIONAL & EXHIBITION INDUSTRIES.
For more information, please contact:
Chen Xiaoping, Project Director
Add: 8/F, OOCL Plaza, 841 Yan An Zhong Road,
Shanghai 200040, China
Tel: +86-21-6279-2828
Fax: +86-21-6545-5124
Email: info@siec-ccpit.com
Web: http://www.siec-ccpit.com
SOURCE Shanghai International Exhibition Co., Ltd.
2007'02.10.Sat
Data I/O Announces ProLINE-RoadRunner(TM) Just-in-Time Programming Solution for Fuji NXT Placement Machines
September 26, 2006
REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 26 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Data
I/O(R) Corporation (Nasdaq: DAIO), the world leader in
device programming and handling solutions, today announced
a new ProLINE-RoadRunner(TM) in-line programming solution
configured specifically for Fuji NXT placement machines.
The ProLINE-Roadrunner is an in-line automated device
programming solution that programs flash memory and
microcontroller devices and presents them to the pick-point
of the Fuji NXT machine for placement onto the circuit
board. By providing "Just-in-Time" programming
capability, RoadRunner realizes inventory cost reductions
and high quality standards required in lean and Six Sigma
environments.
"Fuji promotes the new, highly modular Fuji NXT
platform as ideal for high-mix, highly flexible
environments, but also for high-speed applications - the
best of both worlds," said Kent Lundgren, Marketing
Manager for the ProLINE-Roadrunner at Data I/O. "Data
I/O's Roadrunner is an ideal match for our common
customers, who wish to minimize cost and increase quality
by programming devices on a just-in-time process. With
hundreds of today's high-demand flash and microcontroller
devices supported, the RoadRunner is a compelling solution
even for high-mix environments. We are pleased to be
working with Fuji to make this solution available to our
customers," Lundgren added.
The patented ProLINE-RoadRunner from Data I/O is the
world's only in-line automated programming feeder that
provides just-in-time programming of memory and
microcontroller devices. Unlike other solutions, the
ProLINE-RoadRunner mounts directly onto the placement
machine, with no additional floor space requirements.
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 more information, please contact:
Megan Miller
Data I-O Corporation
Tel: +1-425-867-6910
Email: millerm@dataio.com
Dennis McFarland
Goldstein Group Communications
Tel: +1-216-573-2300
Email: dmcfarland@ggcomm.com
SOURCE Data I/O Corporation
2007'02.10.Sat
Chilectra Initiates Second International Electricity Bid
September 26, 2006
* New call for bids is being issued jointly with
Electrica de Puente
Alto Ltda., Electrica Municipal de Til Til,
Electrica de Colina Ltda.
and Luz Andes Ltda., and involves around 78,000 GWh,
which amounts to a
transaction worth more than US$3.9 billion.
* As part of the process, the companies inviting bids
conducted a road
show in New York and Paris, attended by executives
from major energy
companies and investment fund representatives. The
Chilean delegation
was accompanied by government officials led by
Chilean President
Michelle Bachelet
* This megabidding process seeks to assure Chile's
energy supplies
for the 2010-2024 period and involves a total of
300,000 GWh, worth
US$10 billion.
SANTIAGO, Chile, Sept. 26 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
Chilectra, Chile's main distributor of electricity,
together with Electrica de Puente Alto Ltda., Electrica
Municipal de Til Til, Electrica de Colina Ltda. and Luz
Andes Ltda., issued a second call for international bids to
provide Chile's electricity supply for the 2011-2025 period,
within the terms of Law 20.018.
(Logo:
http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060926/ARTU001LOGO )
This second bid, involving around 78,000 GWh and valued
at more than US$3.9 billion, according to current market
prices, follows the first round called for in April 2006,
seeking to guarantee Chile's electricity supply for the
2010-2024 period, with a total 300,000 Gwh, worth an
estimated US$10 billion.
Guillermo Perez del Rio, Manager of Energy Regulation
and Management at Chilectra, explains, "Our companies
account for the largest consumption in the Metropolitan
Region, where 40% of Chile's population is located as well
as 45% of the electricity consumption of all distributors
in the country. We're confident that with this second call
for bids we will continue to make the entry of new
generating capacity viable in the Interconnected Central
System, ensuring a safe, reliable supply for all our
regular clients."
There are three products being put up for bid by
Chilectra and its associated companies, all of equal annual
energy and different durations (11, 13 and 15 years).
Bidders may offer energy and power in one or more of the
products put up for bid, and the supply can be partially or
totally awarded. The procedure that has been implemented
for awarding bids seeks to obtain the lowest final price
while providing the total amount of supply required.
Bidding conditions can be acquired by Chilean or
foreign corporations, individually, via consortium or
association as long as they have a risk classification
greater than or equal to B in the last 12 months or fulfill
the specifications in the bidding conditions.
Bidding conditions are available at
http://www.licitacion.cl , and also at Chilectra's office,
located at Santa Rosa 76, 8th floor, Santiago, from 9:00
a.m. to 3:00 p.m., at a cost of US$5,000.
The deadline for submission of bids is Tuesday, July 3,
2007.
For more information, please contact:
Gloria Salgado Rubilar
Manager External PR
Tel: +56-2-675-2000
SOURCE Chilectra S.A.
2007'02.10.Sat
2006 MasterCard Charity Football Campaign Kick-Offs With Record-Breaking Performance
September 26, 2006
BEIJING, Sept. 26 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Organizers of
the 2006 MasterCard World Community Cup, ClubFootball and
the British Chamber of Commerce in China have announced
that the total raised from the 5-a-side football tournament
will amount to RMB220,000.
The sum represents a record high for the event which
has been staged four times to date and which has grown into
a fully-fledged campaign with the aim of raising a total of
RMB1 million in 2006 for the nominated worthy causes -- the
China Red Cross Association, UNICEF and Beijing Huiling.
With a number of additional fundraising projects set to
follow before the end of the year, the Cup is just the start
of the 2006 MasterCard Charity Football Campaign and
according to Rowan Simons, Chairman of ClubFootball,
represents the perfect launch pad.
"This event really captures the spirit of the
campaign -- which is all about utilizing the game of
football to bring the whole community together in support
of good causes."
"The teams themselves are perhaps the best example
of this with companies, media, schools, government, NGO's
and charities taking part -- men and ladies, locals and
foreigners, old and young, they all get involved and play a
vital role in making the event a success."
"The same applies to the referees &
volunteers, of whom there were more than 100, and sponsors
and partners of which there were more than 30. Our sincere
thanks go out to all of them be they an individual or a
multinational corporation."
The next major element to the campaign will be the
launch of the club's new 2006/07 membership card (entitled
the ClubFootball Community Card) which brings discounts and
benefits at a wide range of lifestyle destinations around
the Olympic city.
The card is available to anyone with an interested in
supporting the Campaign whether or not they play football
on a regular basis and is priced at RMB100. Fifty percent
of the proceeds will go directly into the fund for the good
causes with the balance used to develop and improve the
benefits for cardholders.
"We very much hope that people will look beyond
the football club membership aspect to the card,"
explained Keith Bradbury, ClubFootball's General Manager,
"And weigh up whether it suits their lifestyle. We
believe that for folks leading active, outgoing lives,
particularly sportsmen-and-women, that the card will both
save them money And contribute to their community."
The final element to the 2006 MasterCard Charity
Football Campaign is a series of SMS based prize
competitions featuring genuine, squad signed memorabilia
from some of the biggest names in world football.
"It's a platform to potentially engage and draw on
the support of millions of football and sports fans across
the country. By making a small contribution in huge
numbers we can achieve an awesome impact," said
Bradbury.
For more news updates as they are announced interested
parties are encouraged to check the ClubFootball English
and Chinese web sites at: http://www.clubfootball.com.cn
and http://www.wanguoqunxing.com .
For more information, please contact:
Keith Bradbury
General Manager
Tel: +86-10-6417-0495 x17
Tel: +86-10-6416-7786 x17
Fax: +86-10-6415-0988
Email: keith@wanguoqunxing.com
SOURCE ClubFootball FC
2007'02.10.Sat
Xinhua Finance/MNI China Business Survey: Conditions Plunge
September 26, 2006
SHANGHAI, China, Sept. 26 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Xinhua
Finance (TSE Mothers: 9399) and Market News International
(MNI), a part of the news service line of Xinhua Finance,
today announced the third-quarter Xinhua Finance/MNI China
business sentiment survey. The results of the survey
suggest that government efforts to slow investment and
credit growth have resulted in a sharp slowdown for listed
Chinese companies. But the survey also indicates that
companies expect the current conditions are only temporary,
with indexes showing future expectations recovering from
their plunge in the second-quarter survey.
The survey was carried out September 11-22 with 154
listed companies responding. A result greater than 50
implies growth or improving conditions. (See accompanying
story for more on the survey methodology.
The full survey results can be found at
http://www.xinhuafinance.com/en/main/chinabizsurvey.html .
Chinese companies still report rising production, new
orders, overall business conditions and most of the other
factors measured by the survey. But the pace of growth has
fallen sharply, in the case of production and overall
business conditions to the lowest index levels recorded in
the survey, which began in the first quarter of 2005.
Prompting the deterioration in current overall
conditions and production was a slower pace in new orders
and a drop in order backlogs, which showed a declining
backlog for the first time since the fourth quarter last
year. The index for employment showed more companies than
ever before in the life of the survey complaining that they
had too many workers.
The government responded to scorching first-quarter
Chinese growth with a range of measures designed to slow
investment and credit growth.
The second-quarter Xinhua/MNI survey, which was
completed around the time the measures were being
introduced, showed companies were bracing for a major
slowdown as sentiment levels plummeted.
Those expectations appear to have borne out, with the
index for overall business conditions falling to 66.99 in
the third-quarter survey from 72.22 in the second quarter
and the index for production down to 65.85 from 71.69 in
the second quarter. The results for both overall
conditions and production were the lowest ever in the
survey, although still well in positive territory, and were
down from 67.74 and 71.55 respectively in the same quarter a
year ago.
Also hitting the lowest level yet in the survey history
was the index for employment, which indicates whether
companies feel they have too many or not enough employees.
The third-quarter result was 43.42 while the previous survey
showed a result of 49.32 and the result a year ago was
47.20. A result under 50 shows more companies reporting
they have too many employees.
"The large increase in businesses that feel they
have too many employees relative to the previous quarter
suggests that cost pressures are significant at the present
time," said Logan Wright, Beijing analyst for Stone and
McCarthy Research Associates, a sister company of MNI.
"At the same time, these firms believe these pressures
will relent by the end of the year," he added.
Indeed, while the results for current conditions were
down virtually across the board in the third-quarter
survey, the indexes showing expectations for conditions in
three-month's time recovered from the levels seen in the
second quarter. The index for employment expectations, for
example, rose to 52.63, with the balance of companies
saying they expect to have too few employees by the end of
the year.
The indexes for overall business conditions showed the
survey's biggest gap ever between current conditions and
future expectations. While the index for current business
conditions fell to 66.99, the index for expectations in
three month's time was almost a full 10 points higher at
76.80, up from 74.65 in the previous survey. The future
expectations index has only been higher once, in the first
quarter of this year before the government introduced
measures to slow the economy, and was at 72.98 in the same
quarter last year.
"The results reflect optimism among businesses
that the government's macroeconomic control measures are
likely a short-term phenomenon, or will not impact their
operations significantly, as expectations for the next
quarter are higher in virtually every category," noted
Wright.
Another possible indication that companies expect the
slowdown to be temporary was the indexes for production
capacity, which showed companies barely altered their
production capability despite the slowdown in actual
production they reported. While the index for production
capacity in the third quarter was, at 64.63, the lowest
ever recorded in the survey, it was down just a point from
65.63 in the second quarter and from 66.53 a year ago.
The index for production capacity in three months rose
to 71.43 from 70.83 in the previous survey but was down
slightly from 72.58 in the same quarter last year.
After first-quarter data showed the economy was
expanding faster than deemed healthy, the government
responded by raising interest rates, hiking the reserve
requirement for banks and by using "window
guidance" and other administrative measures to slow
credit growth. It also used targeted money market
operations to penalize banks it thought were lending more
than they should and attempted to clamp down on local
governments it thought were not responding to its orders to
slow the pace of investment.
At the company level, the effect has been more
expensive credit and increasing scarcity in the amount of
credit available. The index for interest rates paid rose to
66.67 in the survey from 64.29 in the last survey and 53.07
in the survey in the same quarter last year. A result
greater than 50 shows a balance of companies reporting they
were paying higher interest rates.
The index for expectations of interest rates in three
months suggests companies expect the cost of credit will
continue to rise at around the same pace, at 62.41 in the
current survey from 62.78 in the previous one.
But in China, many companies have been funding their
operations with retained earnings rather than loans, a
factor that has made it harder for the government to use
monetary measures to slow growth.
Out of 154 companies surveyed, almost 10% said they did
not use or need loans for their operations. A further
indication of the difficulty of using monetary policy to
control growth in certain areas of the economy can be seen
in the comments companies were invited to provide.
Coal production is one of the areas the government has
been trying to slow but from the comments of one coal
company taking part in the survey, monetary controls are
unlikely to have much of an effect: "We do not need
loans," said the coal company official who took part
in the survey. His comment was echoed by an official of a
steel producer, another sector the government feels has
overheated, and other officials in heavy manufacturing.
Meanwhile, an official from a company involved in
tourism and the domestic service industry, an area where
the government is trying to promote growth, complained,
"We are trying to get more loans and the lending rate
depends on the government's national policy
adjustments."
The Xinhua Finance/MNI China Business Sentiment Survey
will become a monthly survey at the end of October after
successfully charting the fortunes of China's business
community on a quarterly basis since January 2005. The
survey will be released on the last Friday of every month
starting in October.
Xinhua Finance/MNI China Business Survey MethodologyThe
Xinhua Finance/MNI China Business Sentiment Survey was
conducted September 11-22 with 154 companies taking part.
Survey questions were modeled on Japan's Tankan survey
and the U.S. Institute for Supply Management's Report on
Business.
Results were compiled for both current conditions
compared with a month ago and for expectations of
conditions three months ahead.
Indexes were compiled using the Institute for Supply
Management's example: adding half of the percentage saying
conditions were unchanged to the percentage of those saying
conditions had improved generated the index. Therefore, a
result higher than 50 indicates a net positive response.
Companies agreed to participate in the survey, and to
provide comments about business conditions, under the
assurance that individual survey responses would not be
divulged except as part of the overall results.
Companies surveyed were all listed on domestic stock
markets or in Hong Kong, although some also have foreign
listings. The companies chosen were a mix of manufacturers
and non-manufacturers with about 75% of the companies
responding to the survey in manufacturing.
Notes to Editors:
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 20 news bureaus
and offices in 19 locations across Asia, Australia, North
America and Europe.
For more information, please visit
http://www.xinhuafinance.com .
About Market News International
Market News International (MNI), a Xinhua Finance
company ( http://www.xinhuafinance.com ), is a financial
news and information company dedicated to the global fixed
income and foreign exchange markets. MNI joined the Xinhua
Finance family in March 2004, bringing its niche expertise
and extensive distribution network. Headquartered in New
York, MNI has news bureaus and offices throughout the US,
Europe and Asia.
With more than twenty years of history, MNI is a fully
accredited news agency providing focused, timely, relevant
and critical intelligence for market professionals. Its
press credentials are accepted by all operations of the
U.S. Government, including the White House, the Federal
Reserve, both houses of Congress, all major agencies and
cabinet departments, all similar government operations in
the G-7 countries, as well as by supranational
organizations such as the World Bank and the International
Monetary Fund.
For more information, please contact:
Xinhua Finance
Hong Kong/Shanghai
Ms. Joy Tsang,
Tel: +852-3196-3983 / +852 9486 4364 /
+86-21-6113-5999
Email: joy.tsang@xinhuafinance.com
Japan
Mr. Sun Jiong,
Tel: +81-3-3221-9500
Email: jsun@xinhuafinance.com
Taylor Rafferty (Media/IR Contact)
Japan
Mr. James Hawrylak
Tel: +81-3-5733-2621
Email: James.hawrylak@taylor-rafferty.com
United States
Ms. Ishviene Arora,
Tel: +1-212-889-4350
Email: ishviene.arora@taylor-rafferty.com
Europe
Mr. John Dudzinsky
Tel: +44-20-7614-2900
Email: John.Dudzinsky@taylor-rafferty.co.uk
SOURCE Xinhua Finance Limited
2007'02.10.Sat
Production-Ready TI Reference Design Brings High-End Performance and Flexible Image Enhancement to Create Digital Still Cameras as Low as $99
September 26, 2006
New Digital Media Processor Based on DaVinci(TM) Technology and Turnkey Reference Design Reduces Development and Time to Market Within Months
HOUSTON, Texas, Sept. 26 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Guided by its deep understanding of digital camera architectures and systems, Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) (NYSE:TXN) has leveraged its world-class DaVinci? technology to introduce an optimized digital still camera (DSC) silicon with a production-ready reference design. The technology includes a highly flexible processor, software with enhanced post-processing algorithms and development framework; the reference design includes a suite of development tools, software and technical support. This combination will offer an exceptional increase in the core and advanced features to design digital cameras priced as low as $99. The new digital media processor based on DaVinci technology offers the optimal combination of video and imaging functionality for the low-end digital camera market, providing up to 75 megapixels (MP) per second of hardwired performance. In addition, a flexible software pipeline to enable original design manufacturers (ODMs) can easily and efficiently incorporate differentiating features that truly set them apart in such a competitive consumer market. For more information, see http://www.ti.com/dscinfo . "ODMs require more than just high-quality silicon and software to bring competitive products to consumers quickly," said Chris Chute, research manager, IDC. "With this latest release, TI once again proves its commitment to the entire digital camera market by encapsulating years of engineering effort into a reference design and expanding their reach to satisfy the needs of the low-cost camera market." Up to 75 MP per second performance translates to lower latency when taking pictures and the ability to provide advanced image processing to significantly improve image quality, enabling consumers to capture the perfect shot every time. For example, shot-to-shot delay for a six MP image is significantly reduced from several seconds, down to less than 0.8 second, with full noise filtering, red-eye removal and other image enhancements active. In burst mode, consumers will also be able to capture twelve 6 MP images in one second, bringing SLR performance to low-cost point-and-shoot DSCs. DaVinci Technology Permits Increased Product Differentiation ODMs now have the ability to bring new levels of product differentiation to the low-end digital still camera market. Building from a firm foundation of enhancements available from TI and its third parties -- including noise filtering (high ISO 3200) for low-light environments, video image stabilization, instant red-eye removal, in-camera editing functions, panoramic stitching and print from video, to name a few -- ODMs can easily add their own proprietary processing, such as advanced white balance or auto focus algorithms, to give their products a sharp competitive edge. "TI has focused on the high-end camera market in the past, but with the introduction of this new DaVinci technology and reference design, TI is now bringing its expertise to the low-cost camera space." said Marcelo Vieira, general manager, digital camera solutions group, TI. "This reference design will allow customers to quickly create multiple cameras to offer to consumers in a very short timeframe." TI's low-cost camera reference design includes all the hardware and software required to bring a digital still camera to production, including the digital media processor, LCD, imager subsystem, power subsystem, support for DDR1/DDR2 memory, 8-16 bit NAND Flash and a rich set of peripherals. The new media processor based on DaVinci technology consists of an ARM(R) core plus imaging accelerators, offering a highly optimized solution for the low-cost DSC market. The cost-optimized reference design has been designed from a modular perspective, enabling ODMs to easily spin off multiple designs using the same base platform. DaVinci reference software from TI includes enhanced post-processing algorithms such as video stabilization and noise filtering, integrated peripheral drivers, chip support libraries, video and audio codecs, image tuning tools, camera-specific algorithms, application programming interfaces (APIs), graphical user interface (GUI) development tools and a development framework. The new reference design is also backed by an expansive suite of development tools, system software, technical support and TI's systems expertise, and includes TI's MSP430 microcontroller (MCU), the industry's lowest power MCU, audio codecs and power management components. With TI's production-ready digital media software and development tools, OEMs have the tested and proven tools they need to focus on product differentiation instead of the development and debugging of components. TI's new DaVinci technology-based digital media processor, which is also ideal for low-end end equipments such as digital photo frames and webcams, is sampling today and expected to be available in production in the first quarter of 2007. The turnkey digital still camera reference design is expected to be sampling in the fourth quarter of 2006 and expected to be available in production in the first quarter of 2007. The portfolio of products based on DaVinci technology includes processors, software, tools and support, addressing digital video requirements across a range of applications. For more information on TI's DaVinci technology, please see http://www.thedavincieffect.com . About Texas Instruments Texas Instruments Incorporated provides innovative DSP and analog technologies to meet our customers' real world signal processing requirements. In addition to Semiconductor, the company includes the Educational & Productivity Solutions business. TI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and has manufacturing, design or sales operations in more than 25 countries. Texas Instruments is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol TXN. More information is located on the World Wide Web at http://www.ti.com Trademarks DaVinci is a trademark of Texas Instruments. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective owners. For more information, please contact: Stephanie Groswirt Texas Instruments Tel: +1-214-280-2512 Email: s-groswirt@ti.com Tara Hanney GolinHarris Tel: +1-713-513-9561 Email: thanney@golinharris.com SOURCE Texas Instruments Incorporated
2007'02.10.Sat
Gerresheimer Acquires Two Further Joint Ventures in China
September 26, 2006
-- Expansion Course is Continued
DUSSELDORF, Germany, Sept. 26 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
The Gerresheimer Group is continuing its expansion course
in Asia. Following the acquisition of a majority interest
in two Chinese companies for pharma packaging earlier this
year, Gerres-hei-mer has now proceeded with its
strategically oriented purchase programme in the growth
market of China. The Group is acquiring two majority
shareholdings in the Chinese packaging group BGIF. For the
Gerresheimer CEO, Dr. Axel Herberg, this acquisition marks
"another step on our growth path, through which we now
also obtain access to the Chinese market in the life-science
segment."
For life-science customers, Gerresheimer has in the
past carried out production operations in Vineland, New
Jersey, USA and in Mexico. Through the two joint ventures
with the BGIF Group the Gerres-heimer Group will now be
represented by its own production facility in China for
laboratory glassware as well as tubular and moulded glass.
The BGIF Group produces and processes laboratory
glassware at two plants in Beijing with a total of 550
employees. Sales in the financial year 2006 will amount to
almost EUR10m. Through its American subsidiary,
Gerres-heimer is taking over 70% of the shares in each of
the two plant-related joint ventures. Through the
acquisition the company also obtains the licence rights to
the trademark Bomex, which is very well-known and
successful in Asia.
In the plant of the new joint venture Kimble Bomex
Glass, investment will take place in new production
equipment to ensure high quality and volume growth. At the
second plant in Beijing, where Kimble Bomex Labware will
carry out processing of laboratory glassware, further
investment is also planned.
As CEO Dr. Axel Herberg explains, Gerresheimer is
through the new acquisitions consistently pursuing the
strategy of targeted investments in Asia in companies with
leading market positions and dynamic growth. Sales growth
for the two companies in 2007 is expected to be in excess
of 20%. "We are expanding our portfolio in low-cost
locations for life-science products and, through the
acquisition of this majority interest in the Chinese market
leader, will develop into the leading worldwide
supplier," says Herberg. The acquisition is subject to
approval by the Chinese authorities, which is expected in
the next few weeks.
P.S.: You can request photos on this topic via our
homepage. If required, we can also send you high-resolution
data. Reprint free of charge. Please send specimen copy to
Gerresheimer.
The Gerresheimer Group is one of the leading
international suppliers of high-quality packaging and
systems made of glass and plastic for the market segments
of pharmaceutics and cosmetics. Gerresheimer has 20
production locations in Europe, America and Asia, and
employs more than 6,000 people around the world. Further
information under http://www.gerresheimer.com .
For more information, please contact:
Burkhard Lingenberg
Director Corporate PR & Marketing
Tel: +49-211-61-81-251
Fax: +49-211-61-81-241
Email: b.lingenberg@gerresheimer.com
Web: http://www.gerresheimer.com
SOURCE The Gerresheimer Group
2007'02.10.Sat
Norkom Outclasses its Anti-Money Laundering Competitors Says Celent
September 26, 2006
SYDNEY, Australia, Sept. 26 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- A
new report by Celent, an international research firm
serving the financial services industry, finds that
Norkom's anti-money laundering solution outclasses its
competitors' offerings in the global market place.
The report, which is considered to be the most
comprehensive guide to the AML software market available,
evaluates 19 vendors, comparing them across a range of
comprehensive criteria and finds the offering from Norkom
Technologies leads the market. A market which, according to
the report will increase to US$375 million by 2009, with
spending growing at a compound annual growth rate of 5.9%.
Report author Neil Katkov describes Norkom as:
"One of the few vendors that offers a comprehensive
product suite that provides all essential components of an
AML compliance solution, including transaction monitoring,
watch list filtering, KYC, case management, analytics, and
reporting."
Celent was particularly impressed by Norkom's focus on
analytics, listing the company as the only vendor that
combines an extensive library of 200 packaged detection
scenarios with advanced analytics, profiling and neural
networks to ensure the accuracy of alerts, efficiency of
investigative resources and ongoing refinement of detection
scenarios. Norkom's anti-money laundering solution has been
proven to improve the accuracy of detection by 200% and
reduce the operational cost of investigation by up to 98%.
Norkom's AML solution forms part of its fully
integrated financial crime software suite which is
underpinned by a common technology platform enabling
clients to detect multiple types of crime -- from money
laundering to fraud. It provides the infrastructure
required for an end-to-end financial crime strategy
reducing the total cost of ownership and protecting clients
from the need for large-scale technology investments with
every new type of regulation or crime.
Celent's high evaluation for the Norkom solution is
echoed by the company's success in the market place.
Norkom's solution are used by clients in over 100 countries
across the world including organisations such as HSBC,
Credit Agricole, Travelex, Bank of Montreal, Rabobank, The
New York Clearing House, Standard Chartered Bank, Visa,
Natexis Banques Populaires, KBC Bank, Fortis Bank, Erste
Bank and National Australia Bank Group.
Norkom Technologies is a leading provider of financial
crime solutions to the global financial services industry.
For more information please visit http://www.norkom.com
For more information, please contact:
Rosemary Turley
Tel: +353-1-873-9617 / +353-86-829-1393
Email: rosemary.turley@norkom.com
SOURCE Norkom Technologies
2007'02.10.Sat
Piper Jaffray Continues Global Expansion, Opens Office in Shanghai
September 26, 2006
MINNEAPOLIS and SHANGHAI, China, Sept. 26
/Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Piper Jaffray Companies (PJC), today
announced that its chief operating subsidiary, Piper Jaffray
& Co., has opened its new investment banking and
research office in Shanghai. The new office is part of the
firm's continued global expansion in Asia and Europe and
will allow Piper Jaffray the opportunity to offer clients
broadened international investment banking and research
services.
"Our expansion into Shanghai is a key part of our
overall growth initiative at Piper Jaffray enhancing our
drive to be a leading international middle market
investment bank and institutional securities firm,"
said Andrew Duff, chairman and chief executive officer of
Piper Jaffray Companies. "We are thrilled to launch
our first Piper Jaffray office in Shanghai, to serve our
increasing number of Asian clients in our areas of industry
expertise."
Piper Jaffray & Co., has been active in the
financial markets in Asia since 2000, having completed six
IPO and follow-on transactions year-to-date and 20
transactions overall. The firm's first transaction for a
company with China-based operations was a U.S. IPO for
UTStarcom in 2000, which has been followed by transactions
for other leading Chinese technology companies including:
Baidu.com Inc., Ctrip.com International Ltd., Focus Media
Holding Limited, New Oriental Education and Technology
Group, Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited, Tom Online
Inc. and Vimicro International Corporation. In addition,
Piper Jaffray has hosted its China Internet and Technology
conference in Beijing the past three years. The firm
currently covers 17 Asian companies in its investment
research department.
The Shanghai office officially opens today and is
located in the Platinum Building on Tai Cang Road in the
Luwan District in Shanghai.
About Piper Jaffray
Piper Jaffray Companies is a leading, international
middle-market investment bank and institutional securities
firm, serving the needs of middle-market corporations,
private equity groups, public entities, nonprofit clients
and institutional investors. Founded in 1895, Piper Jaffray
provides a comprehensive set of products and services,
including equity and debt capital markets products; public
finance services; mergers and acquisitions advisory
services; high-yield and structured products; institutional
equity and fixed income sales and trading; and equity and
high-yield research. With headquarters in Minneapolis,
Piper Jaffray has 24 offices across the United States and
International locations in London, Madrid and Shanghai.
Piper Jaffray & Co. is the firm's principal operating
subsidiary. (NYSE: PJC) ( http://www.piperjaffray.com )
Since 1895. Member SIPC and NYSE.
For more information, please contact:
Susan Beatty
Media Relations
Tel: +1-612-303-5680
SOURCE Piper Jaffray & Co.
2007'02.10.Sat
Le Royal Meridien Shanghai -- New Home of European Luxury and Style in the `Paris of the East' Opens September 25, 2006
September 26, 2006
SHANGHAI, China, Sept. 26 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- With a
traditional lion dance to signify an auspicious beginning,
and a cadre of government dignitaries, property owners, and
senior hotel representatives, Le Royal Meridien Shanghai, a
member of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
(NYSE: HOT) property, opened its doors this week in the
heart of vibrant and sophisticated Shanghai.
Representatives from the hotel's ownership Shanghai
Shimao Group, Shanghai Municipal People's Congress, and
Shanghai Tourism Administrative Commission, along with 1200
other invited guests attended the opening ceremonies.
"As we aggressively expand the global footprint of
Le Meridien, we remain focused on destinations that embrace
culture and creativity. Our clientele is one that cares
deeply about art, fashion, film and design, and with
Shanghai's vibrant arts scene, rich cultural institutions
and position as an international business epicenter, there
is no better location for a Le Meridien," stated Eva
Zeigler, senior vice president of Le Meridien brand.
Located at the pulse point of this exhilarating city,
between historic Nanjing Road East and the greenery of
People's Square, is Le Royal Meridien, the new urban icon
of ultra modern design. Rising 66 stories in a sleek
fa?ade of shimmering slate, the hotel will be the tallest
in Shanghai Puxi. Designed by world-renowned Bilkey Llinas
& Associates, the distinctive building adheres to
strict Feng Shui design principles. The two antennas aimed
at the sky represent greatness and the sharp edges of the
building symbolize a "Bagua," the Chinese mirror
placed in front of residences designed to ward off evil and
ensure prosperity and happiness.
"Just as the multi-dimensional city of Shanghai is
changing the way the world does business in Asia, so too,
will Le Royal Meridien Shanghai redefine the concept of
"business lifestyle and hospitality," said Akram
Touma, hotel general manager. "Every detail of the
property from design to architectural services, amenities
and technological features, will appeal to savvy business
and leisure travelers alike.
The 770 guest rooms and suites with floor-to-ceiling
windows provide dramatic views of the Huangpu River,
People's Park and ever-changing Shanghai skyline with its
storied skyscrapers, miles of neon and 19 million
inhabitants. Each guest room includes individually
controlled air conditioning, 42'' plasma TV with satellite
TV programs with DVD, VCD and CD player, international
direct dual lines telephone, hair dryers, coffee/tea making
facilities, in-room safe, wireless & Broadband internet
access, glass bathroom with rain shower system and a
central floating wash basin, and separate sofa seating.
Suites measure from 48 square meters to 377 square meters
and consist of a living room and one or two bedrooms,
spacious bathroom, working area and sofa.
The hotel is designed to handle a variety of events,
from small board meetings to executive conferences, galas
and weddings. It has more than 2,000 square meters of
conference space, including: two grand ballrooms with
natural light, five meeting rooms and one VIP room.
Stylish and fully equipped with built in technology, the
full conference facilities include a simultaneous
translation system, state of the art audio and video
equipment, sound system, LCD projector and screen,
professional lighting equipment, high-speed internet access
and computer rental.
Eight private luxury treatment suites at the property's
Le Spa offer a welcome counterpoint to the frenetic energy
of Shanghai. The Le Spa experience is an eclectic fusion
of Asian culture, Chinese wellness and European treatments
designed to restore and revitalize even the weariest road
warriors.
Le Royal Meridien Shanghai features 10 restaurants and
bars offering a variety of cuisines from around the globe.
Le Bistro, an all day dining restaurant, offers a mix of all
time favorites as expected by international travelers, and
Asian and western dishes developed with a creative eye and
elegantly presented. Authentic Cantonese cuisine with
Shanghainese and Sichuanese signature dishes is available
at Ai Mei Chinese Restaurant. Traditional French cuisine
with flavors and ingredients of the Mediterranean is
offered at Allure French Restaurant while Favola
Ristorante, Pizzeria and Wine Bar presents dishes with an
Italian flair. Cocktails, coffee and tea, snacks and High
Tea are available throughout the day at Le Salon Lobby
Lounge and fresh juices at Chill Juice Bar. 789 Nanjing Lu
Semi-Private Club on the topmost three levels of the hotel
features a seafood ice bar, cigar room and private lounge.
A special soft opening rate of RMB 1,880.00 per room,
per night (inclusive of breakfast) is now being offered.
For more information or reservations, please call the
hotel at (86 21) 3318 9999, or email at
reservations.shanghai@lemeridien.com, or visit
http://www.lemeridien.com/royalshanghai .
Le Meridien is recognized by global travelers for its
style, originality and passion for art, architecture, food,
fashion, music and film. Originating in Paris, Le Meridien
epitomizes European service culture, with a commitment to
offering guests a truly authentic experience, respecting
local culture and appealing to the curious and progressive
guest. With more than 120 properties in 52 countries,
almost 70 percent of Le Meredien properties are located in
Europe, Asia-Pacific, Africa and the Middle East with an
aggressive growth plan in North American and Asia-Pacific
currently underway. For more information, please visit
http://www.lemeridien.com .
Shanghai Shimao Group is one of Asia Pacific's leading
real estate developers. Shimao currently has five main
projects under development in China and is primarily
focused on the high-end residential and retail market
sectors. Le Royal Meridien Shanghai is Shanghai Shimao
Group's first major luxury hotel project.
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 Meridien(R) and the recently announced
Aloft(SM). 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, please contact:
Judith A. Los Banos (Ms.)
Director of Marketing Communications
Le Royal Meridien Shanghai
Tel: +86-21-3318-9999 x8042
Fax: +86-21-6361-3388
Email: judith.losbanos@lemeridien.com
SOURCE Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
2007'02.10.Sat
VeriSilicon Announces ZView(TM) Development Environment for Its Industry Standard ZSP(R) Processors
September 26, 2006
Robust, Sophisticated, Easy-to-Use IDE and Debug Environment Significantly Reduces Software Development Time
Multi-Processor Debugging Capability Supports Industry Trend of Growing SoC Design Complexity
Multi-Processor Debugging Capability Supports Industry Trend of Growing SoC Design Complexity
SANTA CLARA, Calif. and SHANGHAI, China, Sept. 26
/Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- VeriSilicon Holdings Co., Ltd.
(VeriSilicon), a leading world class ASIC design foundry
and semiconductor IP provider, today announced the
immediate availability of ZView, a new software development
environment for its popular ZSP architecture. This new
product introduces significant enhancements to the
VeriSilicon software development kit offering, which
includes C-compiler, assembler, linker, debugger, and IDE.
ZView incorporates the industry standard Eclipse(TM)
IDE providing ZSP software developers a rich, intuitive
environment to quickly build application software. The
ZView IDE provides programmers with numerous options such
as using either ZSP simulator models or ZSP hardware
platforms including remote access to hardware via a TCP/IP
connection. The new tool suite easily supports complex
debug configurations for multiple ZSP targets with multiple
users with fast data access and extensive display
capabilities. Also, the ZView Compiler now supports C and
C++ programming languages.
"As a total system solution and ASIC provider for
our Customers, we recognize the importance of offering
robust development environments for our IP solutions. The
ZView product introduction is part of VeriSilicon continued
commitment to reducing the complexity our customers face
getting their products to market", said Federico
Arcelli, Corporate Vice President of Marketing at
VeriSilicon.
Availability
ZView supports the full ZSP processor family and is
available today. For more information, please contact
sales@verisilicon.com.
About ZSP(R)
ZSP is a family of licensable digital signal processing
(DSP) cores and solutions from VeriSilicon. With more than
50 customers worldwide, the ZSP processor architecture
enables customer innovation as the DSP of choice in many
key vertical markets including 3G wireless handsets,
multimedia and networked voice applications. The ZSP
portfolio offers a range of software compatible cores
delivering performance points that meet the cost, power and
efficiency constraints of today's SoC designs. A number of
standard products are also available for VoIP applications.
ZSP Solution Partners augment the technology with
world-class software tools, EDA modeling support and a
large portfolio of application software. ZSP customers
include Broadcom, Marvell, IBM, Renesas, Yamaha, Huawei,
Datang, Murata, AVID and many other world-class companies.
More information is available at
http://www.verisilicon.com/zsp .
About VeriSilicon
VeriSilicon Holdings Co., Ltd. is a leading world class
ASIC design foundry providing libraries, semiconductor IPs,
design and turnkey manufacturing services with multi-fab
capability and on process technologies down to 90nm.
VeriSilicon has achieved first silicon success and entered
volume production of many complex, multi-million gates SoCs
using the leading wafer foundries in APAC and China.
VeriSilicon has operations in US, China, Taiwan, Japan,
France, and Korea. Over 500 customers worldwide have
licensed VeriSilicon IPs and Standard Design Platforms. In
2005, VeriSilicon was ranked number three in Deloitte
Technology Fast 50 China, the top 50 fastest-growing
technology companies in China and number six in Deloitte
Fast 500 Asia Pacific, the top 500 fastest-growing
technology companies in Asia Pacific. VeriSilicon was also
named one of the Red Herring 100 Private Companies of Asia,
and selected as one of the EE Times 60 Emerging Startups.
More information is available at http://www.verisilicon.com
.
For more information, please contact:
Federico Arcelli
Corporate VP, WW Marketing
VeriSilicon
Tel: +33-4-97-10-01-38
Email: federico.arcelli@verisilicon.com
SOURCE VeriSilicon Holdings Co., Ltd.
2007'02.10.Sat
Stora Enso Further Expands Its Plantations in Guangxi
September 25, 2006
SHANGHAI, China, Sept. 25 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Stora
Enso today signed a contract with Beihai city in Guangxi
province, China, to secure fibre resources. Under the
contract, in the period 2006-2008 Beihai city will provide
Stora Enso with a total of 30,813 hectares of plantation
and land through purchasing existing plantations and
establishing new plantations on forestland.
Stora Enso currently has about 60,000 hectares of
hardwood industrial plantations and land usage rights in
southern Guangxi. The aim is to create a sustainably
managed fibre base of 160,000 hectares of plantation land
by 2010 to support establishment of an integrated pulp and
paper mill in Guangxi in the long term.
"The plantations and land that Beihai city will
provide for Stora Enso form an integral part of the whole
fibre base portfolio that will be of the utmost importance
to successful forest, pulp and paper integration in
Guangxi," said Elisabet Salander Bjorklund, Senior
Executive Vice President, Stora Enso Forest Products.
"We are very pleased with the progress we are making
with the support of our partners."
To ensure sustainable development of the plantations,
Stora Enso invited the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) to carry out an Environmental and Social Impact
Assessment (ESIA) of the Guangxi plantations in 2005 and
2006. The assessment found that there are no major
environmental or social issues that could have an impact
Stora Enso's plantation project in Guangxi.
Previous press releases concerning Stora Enso's
activities in China are available at
http://www.storaenso.com/press :
-- 20 June 2006: Stora Enso increases loan facility for
its operations
in China
-- 25 April 2006: Stora Enso has signed a joint-venture
agreement with
Shandong Huatai Paper
-- 3 April 2006: Corenso expands in China
-- 29 March 2006: Stora Enso to sign an agreement for
co-operation with
UNDP China
-- 10 November 2005: Stora Enso strengthens its
presence in Guangxi
-- 10 June 2005: Stora Enso signs loan agreement with
International
Financing Corporation
-- 31 March 2005: UNDP to Assess Environment and Social
Impact of a
Forestry Investment Project in Guangxi, China
-- 28 October 2004: Stora Enso joint venture in China
-- 4 February 2004: Stora Enso to modernise its fine
paper machine at
Suzhou, China
About Stora Enso
Stora Enso is an integrated paper, packaging and forest
products company producing publication and fine paper,
packaging board and wood products ¨C all areas in which the
Group is a global market leader. Stora Enso's sales totalled
EUR 13.2 billion in 2005. The Group has some 46 000
employees in more than 40 countries on five continents.
Stora Enso has an annual production capacity of 16.9
million tonnes of paper and board and 7.7 million cubic
metres of sawn wood products, including 3.3 million cubic
metres of value-added products. Stora Enso's shares are
listed in Helsinki, Stockholm and New York.
http://www.storaenso.com
http://www.storaenso.com/investors
For more information, please contact:
Elisabet Salander Bjorklund
SEVP,
Stora Enso Forest Products
Tel: +46-70-578-2751
Weine Genfors
SVP,
Wood Supply Plantations,
Stora Enso Forest Products
Tel: +49-211-581-2220
Kari Tuomela
President,
Guangxi, Stora Enso Forestry
Tel: +86-139-786-61368
SOURCE Stora Enso China
2007'02.10.Sat
muvee Teams with NuCORE to Showcase Next Generation Multimedia Slideshows with Automatic Creation and HD Display for CE Applications
September 25, 2006
Companies Demonstrate at Photokina 2006 a Complete Hardware and Software Platform for CE Manufacturers to Embed into their Devices
COLOGNE, Germany, Sept. 25 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
muvee, the pioneer and leader in Instant Personal Video,
has collaborated with NuCORE Technology, a developer of
leading edge digital image processors, to deliver the first
proof-of-concept of its automatic multimedia slideshow
creation technology embedded in a CE device. By
integrating muvee's technology into the NuCORE
CleanCapture(TM) SiP-1280 digital image processor, both
companies will demonstrate how end users will be able to
automatically and instantly create compelling photo
slideshows that are paced to music and ready for on-screen
viewing in HD quality.
"This proof-of-concept is a very compelling
solution for CE manufacturers who want to offer their
customers a much more appealing alternative to viewing
static digital images or plain slideshows in sub-optimal
quality," said Terence Swee, muvee's founder and Chief
Opportunities Officer. He added, "At muvee, we stretch
ourselves each day to improve muvee's Artistic
Intelligence(TM) automatic editing engine to make the most
emotionally engaging productions from home videos and
digital pictures. With the power of NuCORE's image
processor embedded in a CE device, we are now able to bring
this marriage of art and science, in real time and in HD
quality to a myriad of CE manufacturers, enabling them to
deliver a much more innovative and meaningful way for
people to bring the emotion of their digital memories to
life on a HD screen at 1280 x 720 resolution. We believe
as hardware manufacturers max out on storage size, optical
resolution, screen size, and price, they will be looking
out for new ways to bring more fun and value to their
customers through innovative software. We're excited about
having worked with NuCORE on this significant development,
and are looking forward to its implementation on a wide
range of devices in the near future."
muvee's technology enables users to easily and
instantly turn their digital pictures into
professional-quality, finished productions that transition
in response to music -- called 'muvees'. Users simply
select the pictures that they want to use and choose a
muvee style, which contains patented technology, unique
effects and transitions that are artistically applied to
the user's material and synchronized to the tempo and mood
of the music for added impact.
Saul Altabet, senior director of marketing for NuCORE
Technology, said, "muvee's ease of use and its ability
to automatically synchronize pictures to music sets it apart
from other slideshow applications because the end result is
more compelling and enjoyable to watch. By combining our
high-performance image processing and HD display
capabilities, we are now able to offer CE manufacturers the
next level of multimedia slideshow creation in HD quality.
There is great potential for embedding this offering in
HDTVs, or any other device that consumers use to display
their digital media on a TV, such as cameras, camcorders,
set-top boxes, or MP3 player docking stations."
muvee will be demonstrating this proof-of-concept to
customers at photokina 2006, held in Cologne, Germany, from
September 26 to October 1, in Hall 04.1, Aisle E, Booth
#041.
About NuCORE Technology
NuCORE Technology develops leading-edge digital image
processing chips for video and still cameras. NuCORE's
products offer the industry's highest-quality image capture
and enhanced camera performance with reduced power
consumption. By providing a complete development platform,
including software and development boards, NuCORE helps
camera makers speed new products to market. For more
information, see http://www.nucoretech.com .
About muvee
Founded in 2001, muvee is the pioneer and global leader
in a dynamic new field: Instant Personal Video. muvee's
patented technology revolutionizes home video production,
enabling anyone to automatically turn video and pictures
into professional-quality productions in hundreds of
different styles. Users need no prior experience working
with video and each production is created in a fraction of
the time that it would normally take using conventional
video editing tools. muvee's products are available for
PCs, camera phones, embedding in CE devices, photo kiosks,
websites and other platforms. For more information, please
visit http://www.muvee.com .
For more information, please contact:
Juanna Tan
Tel: +65-6822-8662
Email: juanna.tan@muvee.com
Saul Altabet
Email: saltabet@nucoretech.com
SOURCE muvee
2007'02.10.Sat
Zhaopin Limited Receives US$20 Million Investment From SEEK
September 25, 2006
BEIJING, Sept. 25 / Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Zhaopin
Limited (Zhaopin.com), one of the leading HR service
providers in China, announces that it has reached an
agreement to receive a US$20 million investment from SEEK
Limited, the largest online recruiting company in Australia
and New Zealand. This will be Zhaopin's final round in its
pre-IPO financing.
As one of China's earliest professional HR service
providers, Zhaopin has achieved tremendous growth over the
last three years, growing its revenue over 100% each year.
Zhaopin currently operates in over 30 cities in China,
offering the following services: online recruiting,
newspaper recruiting, headhunting, campus recruiting,
training, and assessment.
Andrew Bassat, Joint Chief Executive of SEEK, expressed
confidence in Zhaopin's current management team and in the
growth of the Chinese recruitment market. He also said,
"As a long-term investor in Zhaopin, we will support
Zhaopin in its development into a leading player in China's
recruitment market."
Hao Liu, Zhaopin's Chief Executive Officer said,
"Significant growth and structural change are the two
main themes of the current recruitment market in China. We
are confident that Zhaopin will continue its focus on
providing quality and effective services and build the
leading brand in the HR sector in China."
About Zhaopin.com
Founded in 1997, Zhaopin Ltd ( http://www.zhaopin.com )
is one of the most professional HR service providers in
China. Originally started as a headhunting firm called
Alliance Executive Search in 1994, Zhaopin's unique history
has ensured a solid foundation in providing excellent
service and helped to accumulate significant experience and
numerous high profiled clients in the HR field.
With the proper HR licenses granted by the government,
Zhaopin can provide all-in-one HR services to large
companies, as well as fast-growing small and medium-sized
enterprises.
With headquarters in Beijing, Zhaopin has branch
companies in over 30 cities in China, including Shanghai,
Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Wuhan, Shenyang, Changchun,
Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Ji'nan,
Qingdao and others. Since founding, Zhaopin has provided
professional HR services to over 190,000 organizations
across various industries. These services include online
recruiting, newspaper recruiting, headhunting, campus
recruiting, HR outsourcing, corporate training and staff
assessment.
Zhaopin has also been the sole HR sponsor to CCTV2's
"Absolute Challenge" since 2003, where we provide
our professional services in candidate selection,
assessment, interview and recommendation, as well as the
pre-screening of the recruiting companies.
About SEEK Limited
seek.com.au currently hosts about two thirds of all
online ads, equating to approximately 60% of all Internet
and newspaper job ads in Australia. In any given month,
over 120,000 job advertisements are posted on the SEEK
website and approximately 2.0 million jobseekers lodge over
1 million job applications.
For more information, please contact:
Coco Li
PR Supervisor
Marketing & PR Dept. Zhaopin Ltd.
Tel: +86-10-5863-5888 x856
Email: coco.li@zhaopin.com.cn
SOURCE Zhaopin Limited
2007'02.10.Sat
MEDIA ADVISORY: Norway and UNDP to Sign New Partnership to Raise Environmental Awareness in China
September 25, 2006
A signing ceremony will be held on 29 September 2006,
from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the United Nations compound to
commemorate and provide vision on the new cooperation
between the Royal Norwegian Embassy and the China country
office of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The partnership, with total contributions of US$1 million,
will support the Government of China's environmental
protection objectives. As part of the ceremony, a
multi-stakeholder dialogue on UNDP's future activities in
the areas of environmental awareness and biodiversity will
be held with media, civil society organizations and the
private sector as critical players in these two areas.
To draw attention to the environmental challenges
facing China, the funding from the Royal Norwegian Embassy
will strengthen two of UNDP's existing initiatives with the
State Environmental Protection Administration (SEPA), the
recently commenced China Environmental Awareness Programme
and the EU-China Biodiversity Programme. Activities include
supporting the development of a highly visible national
campaign to raise the awareness and change the behavior of
the general public for the environment as well as
empowering communities and civil society members to
actively engage and participate in biodiversity
conservation and environmental protection initiatives. A
portion of the funding will be designated to support
environmental awareness and protection activities linked to
the 2008 Beijing "Green" Olympics Games.
Representatives participating in the ceremony include:
Ms. Helen Oddveig Bjornoy, Minister of Environment of
Norway, Mr. Tor Chr. Hildan, Ambassador of the Royal
Norwegian Embassy in China and Ms. Alessandra Tisot, UNDP
Resident Representative, a.i. in China, along with senior
officials from China International Centre for Economic
& Technical Exchanges (CICETE) and SEPA.
WHAT: Signing-Ceremony and Multi-stakeholder
Dialogue by Norwegian
Embassy and UNDP in China
WHERE: Large Conference Room, UN Compound (2
LiangMaHe NanLu, Beijing)
WHEN: 9:30 AM ¨C 11:30 AM, 29 September 2006
(Friday)
WHO: Ms. Helen Oddveig Bjornoy, Minister of
Environment, Norway;
Mr. Tor Chr. Hildan, Ambassador, Royal
Norwegian Embassy;
Ms. Alessandra Tisot, UNDP Senior Deputy
Resident Representative
in China;
Representative, SEPA;
Representative, CICETE;
Representatives from civil Society
Organizaitons, the private
sector and Acedemia.
For more information, please contact:
Ms. Wu Tao,
Programme Assistant,
UNDP
Tel: +86-10-8532-0714
Email: tao.wu@undp.org
SOURCE United Nations Development Programme
2007'02.10.Sat
Zhaopin Limited Receives US$20 Million Investment From SEEK
September 25, 2006
BEIJING, Sept. 25 / Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Zhaopin
Limited (Zhaopin.com), one of the leading HR service
providers in China, announces that it has reached an
agreement to receive a US$20 million investment from SEEK
Limited, the largest online recruiting company in Australia
and New Zealand. This will be Zhaopin's final round in its
pre-IPO financing.
As one of China's earliest professional HR service
providers, Zhaopin has achieved tremendous growth over the
last three years, growing its revenue over 100% each year.
Zhaopin currently operates in over 30 cities in China,
offering the following services: online recruiting,
newspaper recruiting, headhunting, campus recruiting,
training, and assessment.
Andrew Bassat, Joint Chief Executive of SEEK, expressed
confidence in Zhaopin's current management team and in the
growth of the Chinese recruitment market. He also said,
"As a long-term investor in Zhaopin, we will support
Zhaopin in its development into a leading player in China's
recruitment market."
Hao Liu, Zhaopin's Chief Executive Officer said,
"Significant growth and structural change are the two
main themes of the current recruitment market in China. We
are confident that Zhaopin will continue its focus on
providing quality and effective services and build the
leading brand in the HR sector in China."
About Zhaopin.com
Founded in 1997, Zhaopin Ltd ( http://www.zhaopin.com )
is one of the most professional HR service providers in
China. Originally started as a headhunting firm called
Alliance Executive Search in 1994, Zhaopin's unique history
has ensured a solid foundation in providing excellent
service and helped to accumulate significant experience and
numerous high profiled clients in the HR field.
With the proper HR licenses granted by the government,
Zhaopin can provide all-in-one HR services to large
companies, as well as fast-growing small and medium-sized
enterprises.
With headquarters in Beijing, Zhaopin has branch
companies in over 30 cities in China, including Shanghai,
Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Tianjin, Wuhan, Shenyang, Changchun,
Chengdu, Chongqing, Xi'an, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Ji'nan,
Qingdao and others. Since founding, Zhaopin has provided
professional HR services to over 190,000 organizations
across various industries. These services include online
recruiting, newspaper recruiting, headhunting, campus
recruiting, HR outsourcing, corporate training and staff
assessment.
Zhaopin has also been the sole HR sponsor to CCTV2's
"Absolute Challenge" since 2003, where we provide
our professional services in candidate selection,
assessment, interview and recommendation, as well as the
pre-screening of the recruiting companies.
About SEEK Limited
seek.com.au currently hosts about two thirds of all
online ads, equating to approximately 60% of all Internet
and newspaper job ads in Australia. In any given month,
over 120,000 job advertisements are posted on the SEEK
website and approximately 2.0 million jobseekers lodge over
1 million job applications.
For more information, please contact:
Coco Li
PR Supervisor
Marketing & PR Dept. Zhaopin Ltd.
Tel: +86-10-5863-5888 x856
Email: coco.li@zhaopin.com.cn
SOURCE Zhaopin Limited
2007'02.10.Sat
u-blox Announces Dual GPS and Galileo Chip Featuring Acquisition Time of Under 1 Second
September 25, 2006
THALWIL, Switzerland, Sept. 25 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
u-blox AG, the leading Swiss provider of innovative GPS
receiver technology, today announced the u-blox 5 family of
GPS and Galileo-ready single chips and chipsets featuring an
acquisition performance of under 1 second. The new chips
also feature SuperSense(R) -160 dBm acquisition and
tracking sensitivity, power needs of less than 50 mW and a
footprint smaller than 100 mm2, making u-blox 5 receivers
ideal for PDAs, personal navigation devices, cameras, cell
phones, media players and other battery-operated portable
devices.
"This is the fastest, most sensitive GPS chip on
the market today, and among the smallest and most power
efficient, making it ideally suited for use in mass market
consumer electronic devices," said u-blox Chief
Executive, Thomas Seiler. "This breakthrough
technology is yet another endorsement of the strength of
u-blox' research and development team."
u-blox 5's ultra-fast acquisition time is due to its
50-channel architecture with over 1 million correlators and
separate acquisition and tracking engines, capable of
massively parallel searches.
A built-in power management unit features a DC/DC
converter that optimizes power use across a single voltage
source. The chip's ultra-low power needs ensure long
battery times for PDAs, smart phones and other
battery-operated handheld devices. u-blox 5 has a
fractional N clock synthesizer that supports the common
cell phone reference frequencies. Moreover, u-blox' new
generation supports assisted GPS (A-GPS) services such as
AssistNow(TM) and OMA/SUPL standards and exceeds
performance requirements for international A-GPS standards
including 3GPP TS 25.171, TIA 916 and E911 Phase II.
u-blox 5 GPS receivers come in single chip and chipset
packages. A highly integrated architecture keeps costs to a
bare minimum by reducing the bill of materials to as few as
17 passive external components and keeping the footprint
small. The cost-optimized UBX-G5010 single chip has a
56-pin QFN package that measures a mere 8 x 8 mm. Customers
who prefer chipsets with an optional Flash memory can
combine the 9 x 9 mm UBX-G5000 100-pin BGA baseband chip
and the 4 x 4 mm UBX-G0010 24-pin QFN RF front-end. Both
the single chip and the chipset support passive antennas
with their integrated low-noise amplifier.
The chips' software contains an innovative jamming
suppression mechanism that automatically filters signals
from interfering sources, thus maintaining high GPS
performance no matter what the environment. A robust
multipath detection and elimination mechanism endows u-blox
5 chips with best-in-class navigation in urban canyons.
u-blox 5 products will be capable, via a simple
software upgrade, of receiving and processing L1 Galileo
signals once they become available. The combination of GPS
and Galileo signals will bring even better coverage,
reliability and navigation accuracy.
Engineering samples will be available in the first
quarter of 2007.
(A photograph can be downloaded from
http://www.u-blox.com/news/u-blox_5.jpg )
About u-blox
u-blox is an international company headquartered in
Switzerland, with sales organizations in the Americas,
Europe and Asia. Founded in 1997, u-blox develops leading
positioning technology, products and services based on
Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), including GPS
and Galileo, for the automotive and mobile communications
markets. For more information, please visit
http://www.u-blox.com
For more information, please contact:
Georg zur Bonsen
Product Management
Tel: +41-44-722-74-44
Email: georg.zurbonsen@u-blox.com
Alicia Montoya
Marketing Communications
Tel: +41-44-722-74-86
Email: alicia.montoya@u-blox.com
SOURCE u-blox AG
2007'02.10.Sat
Essex Corporation Digital 10 Gb/s Products Move to Production
September 25, 2006
COLUMBIA, Md., Sept. 25 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Essex
Corporation (Nasdaq: KEYW) announced today its Commercial
Communication Products Division (CCPD) has production
versions of its two digital communication product families.
The Essex Edge(TM) 10 Gb/s 300-pin MSA Extended Reach
Transponder family and the 10 Gb/s XFP MSA Transceiver
family are now available for quantity ordering. Essex
Edge(TM) products are designed for specialized requirements
such as longer transmission distances and harsh
environmental conditions. By meeting these more rigorous
requirements, Essex Edge(TM) products enable important cost
savings for the deployment and operation of commercial
telecommunications networks.
The 300-pin MSA Extended Reach Transponder provides up
to 160 km (3200 ps/nm) of optical transmission distance
without inline optical compensation, eliminating the need
for service providers to deploy expensive regeneration
equipment and huts between central offices or
communications centers. This enables direct upgrade of
some 2.5 Gb/s fiber optic links to 10 Gb/s fiber optic
links without expensive upgrade programs involving
extensive network redesign. The 300 pin modules are widely
tunable for operation on either 50 GHz or 100 GHz ITU grid
spacings covering both C-Band and L-Band wavelengths.
The XFP MSA Transceiver doubles the current widely
available 40 km reach capability to 80 km while being
compliant to SONET/SDH/OTN optical performance
requirements. It can also be configured for extended
temperature operation at both 40 km and 80 km reaches,
which allows deployment of wideband XFP modules in
unsheltered locations to support the demands of the
expanding Fiber-to the-X (FTTX) market. XFP modules are
available in Time-Division-Multiplexed (TDM) and
Wavelength-Division-Multiplexed (WDM) configurations.
Both product families are currently undergoing standard
telecommunications industry environmental and reliability
qualification testing.
"Essex-CCPD now has production versions of all
three of its initial products," commented Leonard
Moodispaw, CEO and President of Essex Corporation.
"This is an important milestone for our investment in
these products and the product capabilities of this team.
I believe that with these products we have the right
solution at the right time to meet the tougher performance
demands emerging from the telecommunications industry
worldwide. Our objective with this team and their products
has always been to target the cutting-edge requirements of
the industry with innovative engineering and products. We
are very pleased to share this milestone and these products
on the international stage at the European Conference on
Optical Communications (ECOC) this week."
Essex CCPD sells fiber optic modules and subsystems for
advanced communications applications to both the commercial
and government markets. Located in Melbourne, Florida,
Essex CCPD designs, manufactures, integrates, and tests
products that also include 40 km and 80 km standard and
extended temperature range XFP Transceivers, Duobinary
300-pin MSA Transponders, and Microwave Transceiver
Assemblies. Datasheets for these products and sales
contact information can be found at
http://www.essexcorp.com/CCPD/index.html . They will also
be highlighted in our booth (#692) at the European
Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC) which is being
held in Cannes, France, September 25-27, 2006.
About Essex
Essex provides advanced signal, image, and information
processing, information assurance and cyber-security
solutions, primarily for U.S. Government intelligence and
defense customers, as well as for select commercial
customers. We create our solutions by combining our
services and expertise with hardware, software, and
proprietary and patented technology to meet our customers'
requirements. For more information contact Essex
Corporation, 6708 Alexander Bell Drive, Columbia MD
21046-2100; Phone 301.939.7000; Fax 301.953.7880; E-mail
info@essexcorp.com, or on the Web at
http://www.essexcorp.com .
This press release may contain "forward-looking
statements" within the meaning of the United States
Private Securities Reform Act of 1995. These statements
are based on management's current expectations and are
subject to risks, uncertainty and changes in circumstances,
which may cause actual results, performance or achievements
to differ materially from anticipated results, performance
or achievements. All statements contained herein that are
not clearly historical in nature are forward looking.
Economic, business, competitive and/or regulatory factors
affecting Essex's businesses are examples of factors, among
others, that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those described in the forward-looking statements. All
forward-looking statements are also expressly qualified in
their entirety by the cautionary statements included in
Essex's SEC filings, including its quarterly reports on
Form 10-Q and its annual report on Form 10-K. Essex is
under no obligation to (and expressly disclaims any such
obligation to) update or alter its forward-looking
statements whether as a result of new information, future
events or otherwise.
For more information, please contact:
Leonard E. Moodispaw
Chairman, CEO & President
Tel: +1-301-939-7000
SOURCE Essex Corporation
2007'02.10.Sat
FreeHand Systems Finalizes Agreement to Offer Digital Sheet Music in China
September 25, 2006
Contract With People's Music Publishing House Makes FreeHand the First Company to Sell Western Sheet Music in China Via the Internet
LOS ALTOS, Calif., Sept. 25 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ --
FreeHand Systems, Inc., wholly owned subsidiary of FreeHand
Systems International, Inc. (OTC: FSYI), announced today
that it had entered into an agreement with the People's
Music Publishing House, Beijing, China, to distribute its
digital sheet music in China. FreeHand will begin by
offering titles from its classical music catalog (currently
over 50,000 titles) via download in music stores and will
develop a Chinese language website for direct consumer
purchase. FreeHand Systems is the elite digital music
company whose revolutionary technology is shaping the
future of the distribution and performance of sheet music.
"As the 4th largest economy in the world, China
offers FreeHand major opportunities to sell digital sheet
music," said Kim Lorz, CEO of FreeHand Systems.
"FreeHand is already distributing its MusicPad Pro(R)
in China through Tom Lee Music. Now, this new relationship
reinforces our leading role in providing access to digital
sheet music to this growing market where almost every
family owns a musical instrument. We see major growth
potential in this market for not just classical, but also
folk, jazz, blues and Western pop music."
Wu Bin, Editor in Chief, People's Music Publishing
House, stated, "I am pleased and proud that PMPH will
be working with FreeHand on this project. We are very
excited to begin to provide more excellent music, both
Western and Chinese, for our music lovers. We are looking
forward to working with FreeHand and establishing our
partnership, so that the over 220 million music students in
China will have access to digital distribution from their
local music store and directly via the new Chinese language
website."
People's Music Publishing House is the leading
professional music publisher in China with an over 70-year
history of successfully publishing Chinese and foreign
books on music, music scores, textbooks, reference books
and audio visual products to the growing Chinese musician
market. It's uniquely designed and well-edited music
textbooks have been welcome in primary and secondary
schools all over China. PMPH's annual sales, at about $1
billion have been growing at over 10% per year.
FreeHand Systems, Inc. ( http://www.freehandsystems.com
), a wholly owned subsidiary of FreeHand Systems
International, Inc. (FSYI), is the global leader in digital
sheet music publishing and is the manufacturer of the first
digital music performance and education tablet, the
MusicPad Pro(R) Plus, which has an MSRP of $1199. The pad
provides innovative technology to the music industry for
displaying and publishing digitally delivered sheet music.
The company's digital sheet music website (
http://www.freehandmusic.com ) offers over 85,000 titles
for digital download to print or transfer to the MusicPad
Pro, which can range from $1.95 for a simple one-page lead
sheet to over $50 for a full complete set of score and
performance parts.
For more information, please contact:
FreeHand Systems, Inc.
Tel: +1-650-941-0742
Email: Investorrelations@freehandsystems.com
SOURCE FreeHand Systems, Inc.
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