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WNS to Release Fiscal 2018 First Quarter Financial and Operating Results on July 20, 2017

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Business Wire IndiaWNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE: WNS), a leading provider of global Business Process Management (BPM) services, today announced it will release its fiscal 2018 first quarter financial and operating results at approximately 6:00 a.m. Eastern on Thursday, July 20, 2017.
 
Following the release, WNS management will host a call on July 20, 2017 at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Chief Executive Officer, Keshav Murugesh, Chief Financial Officer, Sanjay Puria and Chief Operating Officer, Ronald Gillette will review the results of the fiscal 2018 first quarter ended June 30, 2017 on the teleconference.
 
To participate in the call, please use the following details: +1-888-656-9018; international dial-in +1-503-343-6030; participant passcode 50086758.
 
A replay will be available for one week following the call at +1-855-859-2056; international dial-in +1-404-537-3406; passcode 50086758, as well as on the WNS website, www.wns.com, beginning two hours after the end of the call.
About WNS
 
WNS (Holdings) Limited (NYSE: WNS), is a leading global business process management company. WNS offers business value to 300+ global clients by combining operational excellence with deep domain expertise in key industry verticals including Travel, Insurance, Banking and Financial Services, Manufacturing, Retail and Consumer Packaged Goods, Shipping and Logistics, Healthcare and Utilities. WNS delivers an entire spectrum of business process management services such as finance and accounting, customer care, technology solutions, research and analytics and industry specific back office and front office processes. As of March 31, 2017, WNS had 33,968 professionals across 48 delivery centers worldwide including China, Costa Rica, India, Philippines, Poland, Romania, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States. For more information, visit www.wns.com.
 
Safe Harbor Provision
 
This document includes information which may constitute forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, the accuracy of which are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions as to future events. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied are discussed in our most recent Form 20-F and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. WNS undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.

IFAC Calls for Action by G20 Countries to Build a Strong, Transparent Global Economy to Inspire Confidence

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Business Wire India

Global economic stability and transparency and the rebuilding of public trust will be greatly enhanced by a determined G20 push for stronger governance across all sectors, according to IFAC—the International Federation of Accountants. In advance of the G20 Summit 2017 in Hamburg, Germany on July 7-8, IFAC issued actionable recommendations for G20 countries that will support both the global economy and the G20’s 2017 objectives.

 

“Rebuilding trust in the global economy and financial systems is critical to inspiring the confidence the world needs for sustained economic growth. Especially in these uncertain times, stakeholders with a passion for transparent, accountable governance must work together,” said IFAC Chief Executive Officer, Fayez Choudhury. “Individuals and institutions must be empowered by strong governance; fortified by a consistent, transparent regulatory environment; and enabled by access to a high-speed, secure digital environment.”

 

IFAC calls on the G20 and other key stakeholders in the global economy to collaborate on:

 
  • Raising governance standards across all economic sectors to increase transparency and accountability, and help restore trust and inspire confidence in business and government, key to the G20’s aspirations to: build resilience, improve sustainability, and assume responsibility.
  • Fostering greater transparency and regulatory consistency to achieve growth, confidence, and stability. This requires an inclusive digital and economic environment for businesses of all sizes, as well as implementation and adoption of high-quality internationally-accepted regulations and standards.

IFAC’s member organizations represent almost 3 million accountants globally. They contribute nearly USD$250 billion gross value added annually, and facilitate higher standards of living. Recent research also shows that a higher percentage of accountants in the workforce strongly correlates to better outcomes in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index—and that the impact is improved even further when accountants operate in countries with strong governance architectures.

 

IFAC strengthens the accountancy profession by:

 
  • supporting the development of high-quality international standards;
  • promoting the adoption and implementation of these standards;
  • building the capacity of professional accountancy organizations; and
  • speaking out on public interest issues.

Visit IFAC’s website for IFAC’s full recommendations to the G20.

 

About IFAC

 

IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. IFAC is comprised of more than 175 members and associates in more than 130 countries and jurisdictions, representing almost 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

 

 

 

 

Ajay Kanwal and Naveen Chopra Join TPG as Senior Advisors

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Business Wire India

TPG, the global alternative asset firm, today announced it has appointed Ajay Kanwal and Naveen Chopra as Senior Advisors to the firm. Kanwal, who most recently served as Regional Chief Executive for ASEAN and South Asia at Standard Chartered Bank, will advise the firm on its financial services portfolio. Chopra, who most recently served as Chief Operating Officer at Vodafone India, will advise the firm’s consumer and other related lines of business.

 

“At TPG, we are committed to building strong executive networks, in key sectors, to provide our deal teams and portfolio companies with the best counsel and support possible,” said Puneet Bhatia, Managing Director and Country Head for TPG in India. “Ajay and Naveen are established leaders in their respective fields, and each brings valuable operational skills and strategic insights to TPG. We are pleased to have them on board.”

 

Chopra brings to TPG nearly 30 years of experience in the telecom and consumer space. Throughout his more than 12-year tenure at Vodafone, Chopra helped transform the company into an integrated communications leader, playing an instrumental role in establishing its presence in the B2B space. Prior to his role as COO, he had also been the CMO of the company and headed operations for its key telecom licenses in India. Naveen continues to work with Vodafone on some critical ongoing projects till their completion. Prior to joining Vodafone, Chopra spent 16 years at Britannia Industries, a premier food products corporation in Bangalore. He had extensive and varied roles in sales and marketing, and was eventually the Head of Marketing of the company.

 

“In addition to its dedicated sector expertise, TPG is known for its ongoing commitment to long term partnerships and business building,” said Chopra. “I look forward to joining the firm in this commitment, and working closely with current and future portfolio companies.”

 

Kanwal began his career at Citibank and has 27 years of experience across the banking sector in both consumer and commercial banking. He held a variety of leadership positions throughout his 24-year long tenure at Standard Chartered Bank, including Regional CEO of Northeast Asia, CEO of Taiwan, and Regional Head of Consumer Banking for Southeast Asia. In these positions, Kanwal implemented numerous strategic growth initiatives and built and managed teams across many geographies.

 

“TPG’s financial services portfolio is composed of exciting companies that are finding creative ways to solve some of the most pressing challenges that face consumers and businesses today,” said Kanwal. “I am very pleased to join the TPG network as a Senior Advisor and look forward to collaborating with the firm’s leadership team and its growing portfolio.”

 

Chopra and Kanwal join TPG’s deep and growing global network of investors, operations professionals, advisors, companies, and entrepreneurs.

 

About TPG

 

TPG is a leading global alternative asset firm founded in 1992 with more than $73 billion of assets under management and offices in Austin, Beijing, Boston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Melbourne, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, and Singapore. TPG’s investment platforms are across a wide range of asset classes, including private equity, growth venture, real estate, credit, and public equity. TPG aims to build dynamic products and options for its investors while also instituting discipline and operational excellence across the investment strategy and performance of its portfolio. For more information, visit www.tpg.com.

 

 

 

 

Quatrro Processing Services Announces "Strategic Alliance" With RS2 to Drive Adoption of Digital Payments in India and South Asia

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Business Wire IndiaQuatrro Processing Services (Quatrro), a global FinTech company that specializes in full service payment processing, announced that it has signed a strategic alliance agreement with RS2, a Global Payments Software and Managed Service Provider to offer an end-to-end hosted credit card processing and acquiring technology platform, for the Banks and Financial Institutions in India. As a result of the alliance, Quatrro will be uniquely positioned to usher in disruptive changes in the Indian Credit Cards / Unsecured lending space, Merchant Acquiring and fulfill the national objective of not only enhancing digital payments but also stimulating the economy and GDP by enhancing credit expansion, especially unsecured credit. 

Credit cards have always played a major role in driving the economic growth of the world’s largest economies. With the steep rise in the adoption of digital payments, credit cards have emerged as the next frontier of growth for electronic payments. As per RBI data, in India, there are more than 30 million credit cards translating to a mere 3.5% of adult population. While several factors have contributed to the low penetration including lack of adequate credit history and conservative underwriting practices by banks, the major reason is expensive credit card technology and infrastructure which has been hitherto a forte of multinational companies. Additionally, the lack of optimal resources at Banks and Financial Institutions for Credit Card Product Management has severely limited the growth of the market.

Quatrro understands these challenges and has partnered with RS2 to bring-in an end-to-end “Pay-by-the-drink” services model that will allow Banks and Financial Institutions to gain access to state-of-the-art payments processing capabilities without huge upfront investments. Quatrro’s innovative solution will combine RS2’s Card Management System and Merchant Management System with end-to-end processing capabilities to empower Banks and Financial Institutions to focus on core areas of growing their business portfolios, leaving the backend processing to Quatrro.

Quatrro will play a pivotal role in aligning Fintech companies and Banks to launch innovative credit offerings (both card and non-card based) and products that will enhance penetration and adoption of digital payments. Further, this innovative solution will empower Banks and Financial Institutions to fulfill the desire of a large number of households and individuals looking at access to short term credit to manage mismatch in their cash inflows and outflows.

Mr. Raman Roy, Chairman and Managing Director at Quatrro says, "Quatrro has been at the forefront in providing best-in-breed payments and transaction processing services to Banks in the United States. Through the partnership with RS2, Quatrro will be able to introduce its innovative “Payment-Processing-as-a-Service” model to the Indian banks and financial institutions at affordable price points. 

We are also delighted to contribute and play our part in promoting the Indian Government and NITI Aayog’s national mission of building a cashless economy by driving the growth of digital payments ecosystem across the country”.
 
Mr. Radi Abd El Haj, CEO & Executive Director at RS2 says, “We are delighted to partner with Quatrro for this digital transformational initiative of national importance. India is a huge market and there is a tremendous potential to enhance adoption of digital payments. RS2’s strategic partnership with Quatrro, the first-of-its-kind with any other payments processing company in the world, will enable us to gain entry into the strategically important Indian market and open up multitude of opportunities for us. Quatrro’s end-to-end processing capabilities and other value service proposition such as Data Analytics, Fraud and Risk Management will be utilized by RS2 to service its worldwide customer base within its Global Issuing and Acquiring business.”
About Quatrro Processing Services

Quatrro Processing Services (QPS) is a leading payment processing and FinTech services provider to Banks, Financial Institutions, Prepaid Issuers, Wallet Companies, Merchants and Payment Gateways worldwide. The company’s core team of over 1000 seasoned associates consists of payments/cards transaction processing analysts, risk management professionals and technology experts with a track record of providing card processing and transaction processing services in USA, India, Middle East and South East Asia. QPS’ payment technologies offer Card Management Systems with an integrated switch that supports Issuing (Credit, Debit, Prepaid, Forex Prepaid and Virtual Prepaid), Acquiring, Mobile POS, ATM Driving and Payment Gateways using one platform and interface. 

QPS payment solutions are built based on expertise in payment programs, product development, payment processing technology, loyalty and rewards solutions, payment security, consulting and information services. The company is uniquely positioned to offer next generation payments processing services providing unmatched ROI to financial institutions, merchants, payment gateways, processors, prepaid issuers, wallet companies and program managers. 

For more information, please access www.quatrroprocessing.com 

About RS2

RS2 is one of the leading providers of Card Management System (CMS) and Merchant Management System in the world. RS2 Smart Processing provides dedicated Managed Services to customers in a variety of business models to suit the largest to the smallest payments organisation. With offices around the world, RS2 supports over 250 clients in more than 35 different countries, processing thousands of transactions per second in every major currency supporting all aspects of the card business. An end to end full solution including; card issuance, merchant acquiring, clearing, settlement, transaction switching & routing, authorisation, call centre customer service, across all channels from mobile and e-commerce through to cardholder present EMV Chip’n’PIN and ATM.

RS2 is fully committed to the highest industry standards and comply with the latest standards of data encryption & data masking and are fully PA-DSS certified.

For more information, please access www.rs2.com

GC Securities* Completes First Ever Indemnity Triggered Multi-Europe Peril Only 144A Catastrophe Bond for Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A.

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Business Wire India

GC Securities, a division of MMC Securities LLC, a U.S. registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/NFA/SIPC, announced the placement of Principal At-Risk Variable Rate Notes, with notional principal at €200,000,000, through a newly formed special purpose vehicle domiciled in Ireland, Lion II Re DAC, to benefit Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A., an Italian insurance company and the parent company of the Generali Group. This is the third time that Assicurazioni Generali S.p.A. has utilized the insurance-linked securities market and is the first ever 144A cat bond to provide indemnity protection against multiple Europe perils.

 

The bond provides four years of per occurrence indemnity protection for Europe windstorms and Europe flood affecting selected European countries and earthquakes affecting Italy. It is also the first time that Europe flood has been covered in a 144A cat bond.

 

GC Securities served as lead structurer and sole bookrunner.

 

PRINCIPAL AT-RISK VARIABLE RATE NOTES – PROFILE

 
                 
Size   Covered Perils  

Scheduled

 

Maturity

 

Initial Annua

 

l Modeled
Expected Loss

  Coupon
€200,000,000  

Europe

 

windstorm, Italy

 

earthquake and

 

Europe flood

  July 15, 2021   2.24%  

Permitted

 

Investments Yield +

 

3.00%

                 

QUOTES

 

James Nash, CEO of Guy Carpenter International

 

“We are delighted to have successfully applied our capital agnostic approach within the European region as well as completed the first ever 144A cat bond exposed to Europe flood. This transaction was optimized to match Generali's specific needs to the current appetite of capital markets investors while also matching the rest of the risk transfer program with the strengths of the traditional reinsurance market.”

 

Cory Anger, Global Head of ILS Structuring, GC Securities

 

“Generali’s balanced structuring decisions when renewing their prior Lion I coverage through the Lion II cat bond led to an expansion of the covered perils (including into non-modelable territories) and also achieving the first euro-denominated cat bond since 2015 despite negative interest rates in the euro-zone. All of this was achieved at the lowest ever differential between the Risk Interest Spread relative to the insurance risk (annual expected loss) in the history of the 144A cat bond market. We are honored to have been selected to lead the structuring of, and sole distribution of, the Lion II bonds to facilitate Generali’s continued centralization and capital optimization objectives to achieve best terms and conditions.”

 

Chi Hum, Global Head of ILS Distribution, GC Securities

 

“Generali’s decision to sponsor Lion II Re away from the typical late Q3 and/or Q4 timeframe for Europe perils was rewarded with the broad-based and robust support of more than 20 investors that allowed the deal to be priced almost 15% lower than lowest end of initial guidance. The great execution of the Lion I and Lion II bonds is evidence that the investor community recognizes Generali’s reputation as a premier global insurance company seeking to diversify its reinsurance capacity program to include capital markets and we anticipate robust investor support for future Generali issuances.”

 

TAGS/KEYWORDS

 

Guy Carpenter, GC Securities, catastrophe bond, cat bond, James Nash, Generali, Cory Anger, Chi Hum

 

About Guy Carpenter

 

Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC is a leading global risk and reinsurance specialist. Since 1922, the company has delivered integrated reinsurance and capital market solutions to clients across the globe. As a most trusted and valuable reinsurance broker and strategic advisor, Guy Carpenter leverages its intellectual capital to anticipate and solve for a range of business challenges and opportunities on behalf of its clients. With over 2,300 professionals in more than 60 offices around the world, Guy Carpenter delivers a powerful combination of broking expertise, strategic advisory services and industry-leading analytics to help clients achieve profitable growth. For more information on Guy Carpenter’s complete line-of-business expertise and range of business units, including GC Specialties, GC Analytics®, GC Fac®, Global Strategic Advisory, GC Securities*, Client Services and GC Micro Risk Solutions®, please visit www.guycarp.com and follow Guy Carpenter on LinkedIn and Twitter @GuyCarpenter.

 

Guy Carpenter is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC), a global professional services firm offering clients advice and solutions in the areas of risk, strategy, and people. With annual revenue of more than $13 billion and approximately 60,000 colleagues worldwide, Marsh & McLennan Companies provides analysis, advice, and transactional capabilities to clients in more than 130 countries through: Marsh, a leader in insurance broking and risk management; Mercer, a leader in health, wealth and career consulting; and Oliver Wyman, a leader in management consulting. Marsh & McLennan is committed to being a responsible corporate citizen and making a positive impact in the communities in which it operates. Visit www.mmc.com for more information and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @MMC_Global.

 

* Securities or investments, as applicable, are offered in the United States through GC Securities, a division of MMC Securities LLC, a US registered broker-dealer and member FINRA/NFA/SIPC. Main Office: 1166 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10036. Phone: (212) 345-5000. Securities or investments, as applicable, are offered in the European Union by GC Securities, a division of MMC Securities (Europe) Ltd. (MMCSEL), which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, main office 25 The North Colonnade, Canary Wharf, London E14 5HS. Reinsurance products are placed through qualified affiliates of Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC. MMC Securities LLC, MMC Securities (Europe) Ltd. and Guy Carpenter & Company, LLC are affiliates owned by Marsh & McLennan Companies. This communication is not intended as an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any security, financial instrument, reinsurance or insurance product.

 

 

Intuit Launches Global Search for 2017 Firms of the Future

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Business Wire India

Intuit Inc. (NASDAQ:INTU) is searching for the next Firm of the Future and is inviting accounting firms based in Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States to enter the contest and vie for the coveted title. Following the widely successful global search for last year’s winner, Intuit is once again looking for the firms who best embrace technological innovations in their practice to become future-ready. Full-service firms, bookkeepers and tax professionals who enter will have a shot at over $100,000 USD in prizes, including multiple cash prizes and an all-expense paid trip to Intuit’s annual QuickBooks Connect conference, November 15-17, in San Jose, California.

 

“We have witnessed numerous inspiring firms in past years who have made great strides to embrace technology and we are excited to see what this year’s entries will bring to the table,” said Rich Preece, global leader of Intuit’s Accountant Segment, Small Business Group. “We are now in the third year of the Firm of the Future contest and our mission has remained constant ever since we began our search in 2015: to celebrate firms – from full-service to sole proprietors – who have welcomed the future and embraced the latest innovations to amplify their roles as trusted advisors and evolve their practice.”

 

Preece and a global panel of qualified judges from Intuit’s Small Business Group and Accountant Segment will select a total of four finalists, one from each participating country, as well as 15 runners-up from all submissions. Entries will be judged based on who best embodies the transformation from a traditional accounting firm into a “Firm of the Future.”

 

How to Enter

 

The call for entries is now open and runs until August 13, 2017 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time (ET). Accounting firms including full-service firms, bookkeepers and tax professionals based in Australia, Canada (except Quebec), the United Kingdom, and the United States can enter by going to these websites:

 

“Being the Firm of the Future global winner in 2016 has spotlighted my business with both my clients and my community,” said Karine Woodman, owner of 24hr Bookkeeper. “The title indicates that we are forward-thinkers and allows us to showcase our passion for small business success. I've had the opportunity to meet so many people within the accounting industry by entering the contest and those connections are priceless.”

 

To submit an entry, firms will need to answer the following five questions (in 200 words or fewer) demonstrating why they deserve to be crowned the 2017 Firm of the Future:

 
      1.   How many small business clients do you serve for tax/accounting/bookkeeping needs?
      2.   What percentage of your small business clients use QuickBooks Online?
      3.   Explain how you save time for your firm and your clients by leveraging cloud-based accounting technologies, including QuickBooks Online, QuickBooks Online Accountant, and/or any third-party applications.
      4.   Describe what advisory services you perform on behalf of your clients to help them avoid pitfalls and identify growth opportunities. Please include how technology and the products you use play a role in your ability to deliver these services.
      5.   Tell us how your firm is leveraging the Web, digital marketing and social media to interact with clients, reach new prospects and grow.

Firms will also need to upload one photo (collages including multiple images are permitted) that best exemplifies their firm’s future-forward business lifestyle.

 

Finalists and Voting

 

One finalist from each country, as well as 15 runners-up regardless of where the firm is based, will be announced in August 2017. Intuit will then provide a videographer and producer for each finalist to create a high-quality video entry focused on depicting what makes their firm a Firm of the Future. Once complete, all four videos will be available in an online gallery on each country’s contest site for public voting between October 16-29, 2017. Finalists will be encouraged to share their video on social media and ask voters to join in the conversation using the hashtag #QBFirmOfTheFuture.

 

Prizes

 

The top four global finalists will each receive a $5,000 USD cash prize as well as two tickets to attend QuickBooks Connect, November 15-17, in San Jose, California. The grand prize winner will be revealed on the main stage at QuickBooks Connect and receive an additional cash prize of $25,000 USD. Up to 15 runner-up Firms of the Future worldwide will also be awarded a cash prize of $2,500 USD.

 

Firm of the Future Resource Center

 

Intuit’s Firm of the Future website curates actionable step-by-step guides and resources developed by Intuit and key industry leaders. Featuring a wealth of knowledge covering a wide variety of topics such as client relations, growth, trainings and industry news, it serves as a platform for accounting professionals to continue their journey towards becoming a Firm of the Future. The website also offers inspiration and insight from previous winners, including Karine Woodman, whose Hibbing, Minn. firm, 24hr Bookkeeper, won last year’s grand prize.

 

To join the conversation, share on Facebook and Twitter using #QBFirmOfTheFuture.

 

About Intuit Inc.

 

Intuit Inc. is committed to powering prosperity around the world for consumers, small businesses and the self-employed through its ecosystem of innovative financial management solutions.

 

Its flagship products and services include QuickBooks® and TurboTax®, which make it easier to manage small businesses and tax preparation and filingQuickBooks Self-Employed provides freelancers and independent contractors with an easy and affordable way to manage their finances and save money at tax time, while Mint delivers financial tools and insights to help people make smart choices about their money.

 

Intuit's ProConnect brand portfolio includes ProConnect Tax OnlineProSeries® and Lacerte®, the company's leading tax preparation offerings for professional accountants.

 

Founded in 1983, Intuit serves 42 million customers in North America, Europe, Australia and Brazil, with revenue of $4.7 billion in its fiscal year 2016. The company has approximately 7,900 employees with major offices in the United StatesCanada, the United KingdomIndiaAustralia and other locations. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.

 

 

 

 

Ajay Kanwal and Naveen Chopra Join TPG as Senior Advisors

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Business Wire India

TPG, the global alternative asset firm, today announced it has appointed Ajay Kanwal and Naveen Chopra as Senior Advisors to the firm. Kanwal, who most recently served as Regional Chief Executive for ASEAN and South Asia at Standard Chartered Bank, will advise the firm on its financial services portfolio. Chopra, who most recently served as Chief Operating Officer at Vodafone India, will advise the firm’s consumer and other related lines of business.

 

“At TPG, we are committed to building strong executive networks, in key sectors, to provide our deal teams and portfolio companies with the best counsel and support possible,” said Puneet Bhatia, Managing Director and Country Head for TPG in India. “Ajay and Naveen are established leaders in their respective fields, and each brings valuable operational skills and strategic insights to TPG. We are pleased to have them on board.”

 

Chopra brings to TPG nearly 30 years of experience in the telecom and consumer space. Throughout his more than 12-year tenure at Vodafone, Chopra helped transform the company into an integrated communications leader, playing an instrumental role in establishing its presence in the B2B space. Prior to his role as COO, he had also been the CMO of the company and headed operations for its key telecom licenses in India. Naveen continues to work with Vodafone on some critical ongoing projects till their completion. Prior to joining Vodafone, Chopra spent 16 years at Britannia Industries, a premier food products corporation in Bangalore. He had extensive and varied roles in sales and marketing, and was eventually the Head of Marketing of the company.

 

“In addition to its dedicated sector expertise, TPG is known for its ongoing commitment to long term partnerships and business building,” said Chopra. “I look forward to joining the firm in this commitment, and working closely with current and future portfolio companies.”

 

Kanwal began his career at Citibank and has 27 years of experience across the banking sector in both consumer and commercial banking. He held a variety of leadership positions throughout his 24-year long tenure at Standard Chartered Bank, including Regional CEO of Northeast Asia, CEO of Taiwan, and Regional Head of Consumer Banking for Southeast Asia. In these positions, Kanwal implemented numerous strategic growth initiatives and built and managed teams across many geographies.

 

“TPG’s financial services portfolio is composed of exciting companies that are finding creative ways to solve some of the most pressing challenges that face consumers and businesses today,” said Kanwal. “I am very pleased to join the TPG network as a Senior Advisor and look forward to collaborating with the firm’s leadership team and its growing portfolio.”

 

Chopra and Kanwal join TPG’s deep and growing global network of investors, operations professionals, advisors, companies, and entrepreneurs.

 

About TPG

 

TPG is a leading global alternative asset firm founded in 1992 with more than $73 billion of assets under management and offices in Austin, Beijing, Boston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Melbourne, Moscow, Mumbai, New York, San Francisco, Seoul, and Singapore. TPG’s investment platforms are across a wide range of asset classes, including private equity, growth venture, real estate, credit, and public equity. TPG aims to build dynamic products and options for its investors while also instituting discipline and operational excellence across the investment strategy and performance of its portfolio. For more information, visit www.tpg.com.

 

 

 

 

Quatrro Processing Services Announces "Strategic Alliance" With RS2 to Drive Adoption of Digital Payments in India and South Asia

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Business Wire IndiaQuatrro Processing Services (Quatrro), a global FinTech company that specializes in full service payment processing, announced that it has signed a strategic alliance agreement with RS2, a Global Payments Software and Managed Service Provider to offer an end-to-end hosted credit card processing and acquiring technology platform, for the Banks and Financial Institutions in India. As a result of the alliance, Quatrro will be uniquely positioned to usher in disruptive changes in the Indian Credit Cards / Unsecured lending space, Merchant Acquiring and fulfill the national objective of not only enhancing digital payments but also stimulating the economy and GDP by enhancing credit expansion, especially unsecured credit. 

Credit cards have always played a major role in driving the economic growth of the world’s largest economies. With the steep rise in the adoption of digital payments, credit cards have emerged as the next frontier of growth for electronic payments. As per RBI data, in India, there are more than 30 million credit cards translating to a mere 3.5% of adult population. While several factors have contributed to the low penetration including lack of adequate credit history and conservative underwriting practices by banks, the major reason is expensive credit card technology and infrastructure which has been hitherto a forte of multinational companies. Additionally, the lack of optimal resources at Banks and Financial Institutions for Credit Card Product Management has severely limited the growth of the market.

Quatrro understands these challenges and has partnered with RS2 to bring-in an end-to-end “Pay-by-the-drink” services model that will allow Banks and Financial Institutions to gain access to state-of-the-art payments processing capabilities without huge upfront investments. Quatrro’s innovative solution will combine RS2’s Card Management System and Merchant Management System with end-to-end processing capabilities to empower Banks and Financial Institutions to focus on core areas of growing their business portfolios, leaving the backend processing to Quatrro.

Quatrro will play a pivotal role in aligning Fintech companies and Banks to launch innovative credit offerings (both card and non-card based) and products that will enhance penetration and adoption of digital payments. Further, this innovative solution will empower Banks and Financial Institutions to fulfill the desire of a large number of households and individuals looking at access to short term credit to manage mismatch in their cash inflows and outflows.

Mr. Raman Roy, Chairman and Managing Director at Quatrro says, "Quatrro has been at the forefront in providing best-in-breed payments and transaction processing services to Banks in the United States. Through the partnership with RS2, Quatrro will be able to introduce its innovative “Payment-Processing-as-a-Service” model to the Indian banks and financial institutions at affordable price points. 

We are also delighted to contribute and play our part in promoting the Indian Government and NITI Aayog’s national mission of building a cashless economy by driving the growth of digital payments ecosystem across the country”.
 
Mr. Radi Abd El Haj, CEO & Executive Director at RS2 says, “We are delighted to partner with Quatrro for this digital transformational initiative of national importance. India is a huge market and there is a tremendous potential to enhance adoption of digital payments. RS2’s strategic partnership with Quatrro, the first-of-its-kind with any other payments processing company in the world, will enable us to gain entry into the strategically important Indian market and open up multitude of opportunities for us. Quatrro’s end-to-end processing capabilities and other value service proposition such as Data Analytics, Fraud and Risk Management will be utilized by RS2 to service its worldwide customer base within its Global Issuing and Acquiring business.”
About Quatrro Processing Services

Quatrro Processing Services (QPS) is a leading payment processing and FinTech services provider to Banks, Financial Institutions, Prepaid Issuers, Wallet Companies, Merchants and Payment Gateways worldwide. The company’s core team of over 1000 seasoned associates consists of payments/cards transaction processing analysts, risk management professionals and technology experts with a track record of providing card processing and transaction processing services in USA, India, Middle East and South East Asia. QPS’ payment technologies offer Card Management Systems with an integrated switch that supports Issuing (Credit, Debit, Prepaid, Forex Prepaid and Virtual Prepaid), Acquiring, Mobile POS, ATM Driving and Payment Gateways using one platform and interface. 

QPS payment solutions are built based on expertise in payment programs, product development, payment processing technology, loyalty and rewards solutions, payment security, consulting and information services. The company is uniquely positioned to offer next generation payments processing services providing unmatched ROI to financial institutions, merchants, payment gateways, processors, prepaid issuers, wallet companies and program managers. 

For more information, please access www.quatrroprocessing.com 

About RS2

RS2 is one of the leading providers of Card Management System (CMS) and Merchant Management System in the world. RS2 Smart Processing provides dedicated Managed Services to customers in a variety of business models to suit the largest to the smallest payments organisation. With offices around the world, RS2 supports over 250 clients in more than 35 different countries, processing thousands of transactions per second in every major currency supporting all aspects of the card business. An end to end full solution including; card issuance, merchant acquiring, clearing, settlement, transaction switching & routing, authorisation, call centre customer service, across all channels from mobile and e-commerce through to cardholder present EMV Chip’n’PIN and ATM.

RS2 is fully committed to the highest industry standards and comply with the latest standards of data encryption & data masking and are fully PA-DSS certified.

For more information, please access www.rs2.com

AxisDirect Bags the Top Equity Broker of the Year Award

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Business Wire IndiaAxisDirect (www.axisdirect.in), the flagship brand of Axis Securities Limited, a 100% subsidiary of Axis Bank that offers Retail Broking services wins ‘The Top Equity Broker Award’ at The Commodity Equity Outlook Weekend (CEO) 2017. This award was organized by Tefla, under the patronage of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) supported by Commodity Participants Association of India (CPAI) and Association of National Exchange Members of India (ANMI). The esteemed annual BSE CEO awards covered the entire capital market and commodity landscape including major brokers, exchanges, banks, mutual funds, insurance, asset managers & debt market. The award was an effort to recognize the key players among capital and commodity markets and AxisDirect came out as a winner amongst the top players in the broking category. In the past, AxisDirect has been also awarded ‘The Best Growing Equity Broking House (Retail)’ by BSE D&B Equity broking Awards in the year 2015 and 2014. AxisDirect was also awarded the ‘Fastest Growing Equity Broking House (Mid-size)’ by BSE D&B Equity broking Awards in the year 2013.
 
Axis Direct is the fastest growing brokerage house with 15 lakh+ customers in the country and with a little over 6 years of existence it has been able to position itself firmly in the Top 5 brokers be it in terms of customers acquired or active investor base. AxisDirect offers the whole range of investment solutions under one roof be it Equities, Mutual Funds, SIPs, IPOs, Derivatives, Bonds, NCDs, ETFs, Company Fixed Deposits etc. AxisDirect also provides the best research ideas with high success ratio to its retail clients thereby helping them to create wealth. AxisDirect caters to all kinds of investor and trader needs through its mobile app, simplified yet comprehensive web-portal and lightning fast desktop trading platform.
 
Commenting on winning the award, Mr. Arun Thukral, MD & CEO, Axis Securities said, “The Top Equity Broker Award is a testimony to our never ending zeal to scale newer heights. All this has been possible due to the faith reposed by our 15 lakh+ customers. I would like also to thank my employees and partners in staying committed to serving our customer needs better. Our endeavor has always been to simplify the customer experience and empower them with best investment ideas and platforms. It is a moment of pride for us winning the coveted BSE CEO Awards.”
 
AxisDirect apart from offering the best equity ideas has also been at the forefront of product innovation and customer experience. AxisDirect has also made some interesting innovations in its web-portal as well as its mobile app. The web-portal www.axisdirect.in is one of the most simplified web portals, which is not only user friendly but also highly informative for the retail investors. The website is intuitive and feature rich with in-built filters to help customers find the desired and accurate information. The layout on the website is neat, clutter-free and smartly designed to keep customers’ investment journey simple. It has a very interesting take on learning investment concepts with short animation videos explaining the complex market terminologies. The whole learning experience is gamified and fun-filled where the user can take quizzes, cross levels and win badges on finishing courses. Customers can also access latest news from the best sources through live tweets, video, live TV, RSS feeds from the web-portal without having to shuffle to various websites to seek information. AxisDirect has also introduced a revolutionary mobile app with an industry first feature of trading via voice commands. This innovation makes trading from a Smartphone or tablet highly intuitive and hassle free.

About Axis Securities Ltd.:
 
Axis Securities Ltd. (ASL) is a proud subsidiary of Axis Bank – India’s 3rd largest private sector bank. ASL is currently present in 80+ branches across India. ASL offers retail broking services and also functions as a distributor to Bank’s financial products. The retail broking vertical of ASL, AxisDirect engages in offering simplified investment solutions to the customers.

Max Speciality Films Appoints Ramneek Jain as New CEO

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Business Wire IndiaMax Speciality Films Limited (MSFL) today announced the appointment of Ramneek Jain as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of MSFL with effect from 11th July 2017. Ramneek is a seasoned business leader with over 23 years of rich experience across manufacturing organisations in India and the US.
 
Mr. Jain joins MSF after a 12-year stint at Anand Group, where he last held the position of Senior Vice President and Chief Operations Officer at Spicer India Limited, a subsidiary of the Anand Group. In this role, he managed company-wide operations and led an intensive cost restructuring exercise improving the company’s expense model, delivering returns on sales of more than Rs. 1,000 crore.
 
Prior to Spicer India, Mr. Jain was with MAHLE Filter Systems India (MFSI), a 50:50 joint venture between Anand Group and Germany-based MAHLE GmbH, where he spent more than 8 years and became the company’s Chief Operating Officer. At MFSI, he steered sales of Rs. 600 crore and managed five plants with 1500 employees. During his tenure, the company doubled its profits consecutively over two years. He also spent 6 years with General Motors in USA, early in his career.
 
Commenting on Mr. Jain’s appointment, Sahil Vachani, Managing Director and CEO, Max Ventures and Industries Limited said, “Ramneek is joining MSFL at a critical juncture when the company is poised for a new phase of growth and expansion. We are close to completing a significant capacity augmentation exercise with the imminent launch of MSFL’s new production line in 2018. We also have a new strategic partnership with Japan-based Toppan Group, who recently joined us as a joint venture partner in MSF with an investment of nearly Rs. 200 crore. We hope that Ramneek will bring in a fresh perspective and vision to help MSF scale new heights and nurture our nascent relationship with the Toppan Group.”
 
MSFL’s incoming CEO Ramneek Jain added, “I am honoured to be part of the Max Group, which has a proven track record of success in various lines of businesses and nurturing long-term partnerships with global enterprises. Over the past few years, Max Speciality Films has emerged as an industry leader in innovation and with strategic support from the Toppan Group, I am confident the company will be able to develop cutting-edge capabilities to push technology and produce world-class packaging. I look forward to leading MSFL through this exciting new journey.”
 
Mr. Jain holds an Executive Management Programme degree from MIT, Boston, a Master’s degree in Strategy and Planning from Kelley School of Business, USA, an MBA from Thunderbird School of Global Management, USA and a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from Manipal Institute of Technology. His wife Neha is a teacher and they have two children, Kalash and Khushi.
 
MaxVIL is the newest entity in the Max Group of companies that came into existence after the erstwhile Max India Group was demerged into Max Financial Services Limited, Max India Limited and Max Ventures and Industries Limited (MaxVIL). MaxVIL has four distinct business verticals Max Speciality Films (Manufacturing), Max Estates (Real Estate), Max Learning (Education) and Max I. (providing intellectual and financial support to high-potential start-ups). MaxVIL is listed both on BSE and NSE. Other investors in MaxVIL include Morgan Stanley and Reliance Mutual Fund.
About Max Ventures and Industries Limited
 
Max Ventures and Industries, is the holding company of Max Speciality Films, an innovation leader in the Speciality Packaging Films business. In addition to manufacturing, the Company also serves as the Group’s entrepreneurial arm to explore the ‘wider world of business’, especially taking cues from the economic and commercial reforms agenda of the present Government, including ‘Make in India’, ‘Skill India’, ‘Digital India’, among others. With this vision, MaxVIL has incorporated three new subsidiaries, which are Max Estates, the real estate arm of the Max Group with the vision to bring the Group’s values of Sevabhav, Excellence and Credibility to the Indian real estate sector, Max I. Limited, a fully owned special purpose vehicle, will facilitate Intellectual & Financial Capital to promising and proven early-stage organizations across identified sunrise sectors and Max Learning Limited, which is focused on the education sector.

MaxVIL is listed on both the Bombay Stock Exchange as well as the National Stock Exchange. As on date, MaxVIL has 7,24,33,552 outstanding shares at a face value of Rs. 10 per share. The current promoter shareholding in MaxVIL is 38.21%.
 
About Max Group
 
The Max Group is a leading Indian multi-business conglomerate with a commanding presence in the Life Insurance, Health & Allied businesses and packaging sectors. In FY2017, the Group recorded consolidated revenues of Rs. 16,798 Cr. It has a total customer base of 9 million, nearly 240 offices spread across India and people strength of 22,500 as on 31st March 2017. The Group’s investor base includes marquee global financial institutions such as Goldman Sachs, KKR, IFC Washington, Fidelity, Vanguard, Ward Ferry, New York Life, Wasatch and Invesco.
 
The Max Group comprises three holding companies, namely Max Financial Services, Max India and Max Ventures & Industries.

For further information, please visit:

Max Group: www.maxgroup.net
MFS: www.maxfinancialservices.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themaxgroup
Twitter: https://mobile.twitter.com/maxgroup

GSMA: Sub-Saharan Africa Driving Global Market for Mobile Money

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Business Wire India

Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for more than half of all mobile money deployments worldwide and is pioneering a range of new mobile money use cases, according to new GSMA data. The latest ‘State of Mobile Money in Sub-Saharan Africa’ presentation, made available by the GSMA in Tanzania this week, reveals that the number of live mobile money schemes in the region had reached 140 across 39 countries at the end of last year, accounting for more than half of the 277 mobile money deployments worldwide.

 

The new study points to a decade of growth in mobile money services in the region following the launch of M-Pesa in Kenya in 2007. It notes that there are now seven markets in the region where more than 40 per cent of adults are active mobile money users: Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe.

 

“Mobile money is now achieving mass-market adoption in all corners of Sub-Saharan Africa, enabling millions of people to access financial services for the first time and contributing to economic growth and social development,” said Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA. “Mobile operators in the region today are using mobile money to create new financial ecosystems that can deliver a range of innovative new services across multiple industry sectors, including utilities and agriculture.”

 

The latest data highlights how the mobile money market in the region has evolved from primarily being used to top-up airtime and make person-to-person (P2P) transfers to becoming a platform that enables additional financial services, including bill payments, merchant payments and international remittances. The volume of these new types of ‘ecosystem payments’ almost quadrupled between 2014 and 2016 and now accounts for about 17 per cent of all mobile money transactions, driven by a significant rise in the number of mobile-based bill payments.

 

There were 277 million registered mobile money accounts across Sub-Saharan Africa at the end of 2016, plus 1.5 million registered agents. Mobile money users have historically been concentrated in East Africa, home to major mobile money markets such as Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda. However, the latest data suggests that user growth is now being driven by other markets in the region, notably West Africa. Almost 29 per cent of active mobile money accounts in Sub-Saharan Africa are now based in West Africa, compared to just 8 per cent five years earlier.

 

To download the latest ‘State of Mobile Money in Sub-Saharan Africa’ presentation, please visit: https://www.gsma.com/mobilefordevelopment/type/resource/2016-state-mobile-money-sub-saharan-africa

 

Mobile 360 – Africa

 

The 2017 GSMA Mobile 360 Series – Africa is the third in a series of eight industry-focused events held in major cities across the world. For information on Mobile 360 – Africa, please visit www.mobile360series.com/africa. Follow developments and updates on Mobile 360 – Africa (#m360Africa) on Twitter @GSMA, on Facebook www.facebook.com/Mobile360Series and LinkedIn on www.linkedin.com/company/gsma-mobile-360-series.

 

-ENDS-

 

About the GSMA

 

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting nearly 800 operators with more than 300 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces industry-leading events such as Mobile World Congress, Mobile World Congress Shanghai, Mobile World Congress Americas and the Mobile 360 Series of conferences.

 

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.

 

 

 

 

Despite Initial Skepticism, Industry Embraces India's Biggest Tax Reform in a Positive Spirit

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Business Wire India
Industry favors GST taxation system
Industry favors GST taxation system

Heralding a new era in tax reforms, GST regime is finally here up and running, and despite initial skepticism, it has been hailed by the entire industry. Considered as a key factor in improving ease of doing business and paving the way for ‘One Nation-One Tax’, GST promises to make India one big homogenous market, which the Industry veterans have mostly cheered about.
 
“GST has also rekindled the hope of majority of the industries which have been reeling under the pressure of rising input costs and stagnation in the market. GST will soon drive the next wave of growth in the market and it will play a big role in making the masses more tech savvy and hence the dream of digital India may soon turn into reality,” said Mr. Vikash Samota, Founder, MultiTV Tech Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
 
“Entrepreneurs across the country are in an upbeat mood for being a part of historical change of conducting business in India with GST implementation, which can be termed as a concrete step towards economic democracy in India,” said Ms. Poonam Sharma, Group Director, Accurate Institute. “This revolutionary step will surely be instrumental in making the market scenario absolutely favourable for the consumers, and for the industry as well. It will result into creating seamless market flooded with new opportunities and growth triggers. I believe GST will create win-win situation for all the stakeholders going forward,” added Mr. Manoj Prasad, Executive Vice Chairman - Que Capital Limited (DIFC) investment Banking.
 
“The impressive scenario that will emerge after the implementation of GST is expected to speed up growth trajectory of the country. With the expected rise in the government’s revenue figures, infrastructure development will also gain momentum hence investments across various sectors will also rise, benefitting the last mile delivery of products,” said Mr. Rakesh Zutshi, President, ELCOMA India and Managing Director, Halonix Technologies Pvt. Ltd. “Reducing the cascading effect of multiple taxation with a single tax across the country, GST will surely make best of healthcare facilities affordable for the masses. Hence, the rollout of GST is undoubtedly a positive measure for the healthcare industry,” added Dr. P N Arora, MD, Yashoda Super Speciality Hospitals.
 
Among other industries, real estate consumers are also expected to reap rich rewards. It is since, GST has replaced multiple taxes like value added tax (VAT), custom duties, central sales tax (CST), excise duty and service tax etc with a single tax. “Eliminating multiple taxation windows across the boundaries of the states, GST has transformed India into one market and so we are very optimistic that a visible reduction in the transportation costs of the raw materials may result into reduced prices of projects for the consumers,” said Mr. Arjunpreet Singh Sahni, Executive Director, Solitairian Group.
 
Overall, the real estate developers are also expecting the positive wave of GST will sweep away all the cobwebs of stagnation and the market will soon usher in an era of tremendous growth. “Considered as a landmark reform in indirect taxation process, GST will positively impact the entire real estate industry, including residential, commercial and retail real estate segments across the country,” said Mr. Arush Gupta, Director, Okaya, adding that, “It is expected to boost the ease of doing business, besides bringing transparency in transaction process and so we can expect massive demand in the market going forward.”
 
“Eliminating the threat of double taxation, GST Act is set to emerge as a major relief for all the stakeholders of the real estate sector. At one end, the home buyers are set to gain out of the major benefits offered by unified tax, the developers on the other hand, will be benefitted by the expected increase in business opportunities,” concluded Mr. Pankaj Kumar Jain, Director, KW Group.

Mercer Sets Forth Bold New Ideas to Address the Sustainability of Global Retirement Systems

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Business Wire India

Mercer, a global consulting leader in advancing health, wealth and careers, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE:MMC), announced the launch of “Bold Ideas for Mending the Long Term Savings Gap, which addresses ways to improve the $70 trillion global retirement savings deficit. These ideas are part of Mercer’s ongoing commitment to exploring ways of improving financial security for individuals.

 

Through four main themes, Mercer explores innovative responses to what Jacques Goulet, President of Health and Wealth, Mercer refers to as, “one of the greatest crises of our time, for which there is no silver bullet.” Mr. Goulet believes that the issue of financial security is not just about retirement but instead about broader financial wellness concerns that plague individuals at varied life stages. These financial concerns undermine social and employment productivity, challenging people to think differently.

 

“We do not believe that this is merely a ‘retirement savings matter.’ The retirement savings gap is part of the significant financial security issue that is chipping away at productivity and putting individuals into periods of financial instability,” said Mr. Goulet. “Helping to find solutions to this problem goes to the core of our mission at Mercer, our offerings and our extensive research and data in this area.”

 

According to Mr. Goulet, financially secure individuals are confidently able to set and achieve financial goals for themselves and their households, to support their dependents, to enjoy a desired quality of life, and to cover emergencies, without worrying about whether their future income is enough to cover expenses or to sustain retirement.

 

Through “Bold Ideas,” Mercer outlines the importance of multiple stakeholders coming together to take meaningful action against the savings deficit. Stakeholders include governments, employers, and financial intermediaries, all of whom have the incentive and the ability to help mend the long-term savings gap. Each group also stands to benefit by helping to ensure that their citizens, employees, and customers are able to save efficiently and appropriately for the future.

 

The paper details the main challenges causing the long term savings gap, including:

 
  • Longer lives combined with lower birth rates
  • Lack of easy access to pensions and savings products
  • Individuals ill-prepared for greater financial responsibility in retirement
  • Lack of trust in financial markets and products
  • Low growth environment
  • Gender imbalance in long-term savings


Mercer has an ongoing mission to advance global financial security through strategic relationships with world renowned organizations like the World Economic Forum. Mercer is the lead collaborator on the World Economic Forum’s Retirement and Investment Systems Reform Project. In partnership with the Forum, Mr. Goulet has presented research findings to global leaders on the current state of global retirement systems and the importance of multi-stakeholder collaboration. Additionally, Mercer has a wide array of offerings aimed at resolving financial wellbeing challenges including the Mercer Financial Wellness and Harmonise™ platforms, among other solutions.

 

“Success will require bold and immediate action. Given the current size of the retirement gap, all relevant stakeholders need to act now,” said Renee McGowan, Global Head of Individual Retirement Solutions and Financial Wellness, Mercer. “Public and private sector individuals need to work together to create a cultural revolution that engages individuals in saving for the long-term, shifting the concept of ‘saving’ from a financial services experience into a consumer one. People need to understand what ‘good’ looks like when it comes to savings products, advice, and decisions. But they also need to have the confidence to act on their knowledge to achieve the best outcomes.”

 

To learn more about Mercer’s “Bold Ideas” and about Mercer’s work on financial security, go to www.mercer.com/our-thinking/wealth/bold-ideas-for-mending-the-long-term-savings-gap.html

 

About Mercer

 

Mercer is a global consulting leader in talent, health, retirement and investments. Mercer helps clients around the world advance the health, wealth and careers of their most vital asset – their people. Mercer’s more than 20,000 employees are based in 43 countries and the firm operates in over 140 countries. Mercer is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (NYSE: MMC), a global professional services firm offering clients advice and solutions in the areas of risk, strategy and people. With annual revenue of $13 billion and 60,000 colleagues worldwide, Marsh & McLennan Companies is also the parent company of Marsh, a leader in insurance broking and risk management; Guy Carpenter, a leader in providing risk and reinsurance intermediary services; and Oliver Wyman, a leader in management consulting. For more information, visit www.mercer.com. Follow Mercer on Twitter @Mercer.

 

Important Notices

 

References to Mercer shall be construed to include Mercer LLC and/or its associated companies.

 

© 2017 Mercer LLC. All rights reserved.

 

 

Andersen Tax Announces Debut in Israel

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Business Wire India

The Andersen name will debut in Israel and the Middle East this week as Beneli Tax formally adopts the Andersen name as a member firm of Andersen Global. The tax firm, based in Tel Aviv, entered a Collaboration Agreement with Andersen Global in January 2017, and is now a full-fledged member firm operating under the name Andersen Tax.

 

“We are pleased to formalize our relationship with Andersen Global and adopt the Andersen name which so clearly represents our values,” said Ilan Ben-Eli, lead Partner of Andersen Tax in Israel. “Our priority has and will continue to be outstanding client service, and our integration with our Andersen colleagues around the world strengthens our cross-border capabilities.”

 

Under the name Andersen Tax, the firm will continue to assist U.S. and Israeli multinationals, start-ups and high net-worth individuals with their international tax matters including mergers and acquisitions, tax due diligence, transaction tax services, equity compensation, transfer pricing, tax accounting and tax efficient corporate structuring.

 

Andersen Tax CEO, Mark Vorsatz, added, “Throughout their time with us as both a collaborating firm and now as a member firm, Ilan and his team have demonstrated a deep commitment to their clients and to growing our best-in-class global organization. Israel is an international hub for technological and innovative developments. As a key market for our firm, I look forward to further strengthening the strong foundation we have established in the Middle East.”

 

Andersen Global is an international association of member firms with over 2,000 professionals and a presence in more than 68 locations worldwide.

 

 

 

 

The invest.com Group Announces Token Generation Event for Stox, A New Prediction Market Platform

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Business Wire India

Continuing its quest to democratize investing for all, The invest.com Group is announcing an upcoming token generation event for Stox, a new prediction-based trading platform.

 

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170718005916/en/

 

invest.com was founded in 2014, employs a team of 200 across five countries, has 3M registered clients, and generated $50M in annual revenue for 2016.

 

Stox will be issued as a smart token using the Bancor protocol, which the team has evaluated to be the best blockchain based liquidity solution.

 

STX will hold BNT in its reserve which would guarantee continuous and high liquidity, enabling anyone to purchase STX directly through the smart token with Ether, as well as liquidate STX back to Ether — notably, with low slippage and no spread.

 

“We are excited to collaborate with Stox and support their effort to become a pioneer member in the Bancor network. We believe that the guaranteed liquidity and the stability of STX will benefit token holders, the Stox project at large and provide a strong case study for the Bancor protocol,” said Eyal Hertzog, Chief of Product, Bancor.

 

This token generation event will allow Stox to develop a prediction market trading platform that allows STX holders to use crowdsourced information and their own predictions to forecast the outcome of any event, across a wide range of categories. Smart contracts will manage the reconciliation based on the probability of outcomes, crowd sizes participating in the prediction events, as well as initial pledges.

 

Among its features, the blockchain-based platform will be fluid, meaning, prediction patterns and assessments will change upon daily occurring events. Users will also be able to create prediction polls, allowing them to take positions on specific events at any time. Entry prices, for example, for any specific poll, will be able to change and fluctuate based on the predicted values.

 

“Stox is a transformative step in our journey, as it allows us to combine the power of blockchain with the array of infrastructure, technical, sales and marketing assets that are currently powering invest.com,” said Ophir Gertner, Founder of The invest.com Group.

 

For further information and the official Stox whitepaper, go to: http://www.stox.com

 

About invest.com:

 

Founded in 2014, invest.com is an online financial service provider that combines financial expertise with groundbreaking technology to make smart investing simple and affordable for both novice and professional traders alike. Regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, the company currently employs over 200 employees across 5 countries. Learn more at: www.invest.com

 

 

 

 
MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE :
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170718005916/en/

Piramal Enterprises Wins Gold at LACP Vision Awards

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Business Wire India
  • Piramal Enterprises Limited’s Annual Report wins Gold at LACP’s 2016 Vision Awards Annual Report Competition
  • The award recognises best practices in international financial reporting
Piramal Enterprises Limited (‘PEL’, NSE: PEL, BSE: 500302), one of India’s large diversified conglomerates, has won the Gold Award in ‘Conglomerates, Holding Companies, Diversified Interest’ category at the 2016 Vision Awards Annual Report Competition, held by the League of American Communications Professionals (LACP). PEL’s FY2015-16 Annual Report earned 98 out of 100 points. The awards benchmarks and recognises best practices in international financial reporting.
 
Built on its core values, Piramal Group is committed to ensuring the highest standards of transparency, communication and excellence in all its financial and non-financial disclosures and reporting, including governance and ethics.
 
Mr. Vijay Shah, Executive Director, Piramal Enterprises Limited, said: “We are delighted that Piramal’s Annual Report was recognised at the 2016 Vision Awards, alongside some of the best international companies. This award is a testament to the performance of our teams, and will continue to encourage to improve the quality and transparency of our disclosures, enabling investors to make informed decisions.”
 
Developed under the theme of ‘Transforming Consistently. Delivering Value,’ PEL’s FY2015-16 Annual Report demonstrated the Company’s ability to continuously transform, evolve and create positive changes by discovering new or revised business models, based on a vision for the future.
 
The 2016 Vision Awards Annual Report Competition drew one of the largest number of submissions ever, representing a broad range of industries and organisational sizes. Nearly 1,000 entries were accepted in this year’s competition.
 
The League of American Communications Professionals LLC (LACP) is an association established in 2001 in order to create a forum within the public relations industry that facilitates discussion of best-in-class global practices within the profession while also recognising those who demonstrate exemplary communications capabilities.
About Piramal Enterprises Limited
 
Piramal Enterprises Limited (PEL) is one of India’s large diversified companies, with a presence in Pharmaceuticals, Healthcare Insights & Analytics and Financial Services. PEL’s consolidated revenues were over US$1.3 billion in FY2017, with 51% of revenues generated from outside India. 
 
In Pharma, through an end-to-end manufacturing capabilities across 13 global facilities and a large global distribution network to over 100 countries, PEL sells a portfolio of niche differentiated pharma products and provides an entire pool of pharma services (including in the areas of injectable, HPAPI etc.). The Company is also strengthening its presence in the Consumer Product segment in India.
 
PEL’s Healthcare Insights & Analytics business, Decision Resources Group, is the premier provider of healthcare analytics, data & insight products and services to the world’s leading pharma, biotech and medical technology companies and enables them to take informed business decisions.
 
In Financial Services, PEL, through its Piramal Fund Management Division, provides comprehensive financing solutions to real estate companies. The Division’s Corporate Finance Group (CFG) also provides senior and mezzanine growth capital to various businesses across varied sectors that are integral part of India’s growth story. The Division has also launched Distressed Asset Investing platform that will invest in equity and/or debt in assets across sectors (other than real estate) to drive restructuring with active participation in turnaround. The total funds under management under all these businesses are ~US$5 billion. The Company has recently applied for HFC license. The Company also has strategic alliances with top global funds such as APG Asset Management, Bain Capital Credit, CPPIB Credit Investment Inc. and Ivanhoé Cambridge. PEL also has long term equity investments worth ~US$700 million in Shriram Group, a leading financial conglomerate in India.
 
PEL is listed on the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited in India.

OT-Morpho Joins LoRa Alliance

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Business Wire India

OT-Morpho, a world leader in digital security and identification technologies, announces it has joined the LoRaTM Alliance as an official Adopter Member. OT-Morpho delivers solutions to enhance the secure authentication of LoRa-based Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWAN).

 

“Our membership in LoRa ideally complements our global Internet of Things (IoT) business strategy,” said Yves Portalier, OT-Morpho, Vice President and General Manager, Telecom, at Morpho. “The IoT enables an explosion of possibilities for connected objects, ranging from smart home and healthcare to industry applications. IoT device manufacturers, platform and cloud service providers can easily implement our solutions and thus expand their secure IoT ecosystem.”

 

OT-Morpho offers a range of solutions to secure the connectivity to LoRa-based IoT networks including both secure elements and services, providing customers with appropriate security levels according to the needs of their products and how sensitive the use case may be.

 

The LoRa Alliance is an open, non-profit association initiated by industry leaders to standardize Low Power Wide Area Networks (LPWANs) being deployed around the world to enable IoT, machine-to-machine (M2M), smart-city and industrial applications. Alliance members collaborate to drive the global success of the LoRa protocol (LoRaWAN) by sharing knowledge and experience to guarantee interoperability among operators by using one open global standard.

 

------

 

OT-Morpho is a world leader in digital security & identification technologies with the ambition to empower citizens and consumers alike to interact, pay, connect, commute, travel and even vote in ways that are now possible in a connected world.

 

As our physical and digital, civil and commercial lifestyles converge, OT-Morpho stands precisely at that crossroads to leverage the best in security and identity technologies and offer customized solutions to a wide range of international clients from key industries, including Financial services, Telecom, Identity, Security and IoT.

 

With close to €3bn in revenues and more than 14,000 employees, OT-Morpho is the result of the merger between OT (Oberthur Technologies) and Safran Identity & Security (Morpho) completed in 31 May 2017. Temporarily designated by the name "OT-Morpho", the new company will unveil its new name in September of this year.

 

For more information :
www.morpho.com and www.oberthur.com
Follow @Safran_Morpho and @OT_TheMcompany on Twitter.

 

 

 

 

Bank of America Reports Second-Quarter 2017 Financial Results

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Business Wire India

Bank of America reported its second-quarter 2017 financial results today. The news release, supplemental filing and investor presentation can be accessed in the following ways:

 

This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170718005666/en/

 

Investor Conference Call information

 

Bank of America Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan and Chief Financial Officer Paul Donofrio will discuss the company’s results in a conference call at 8:30 a.m. ET today. For a listen-only connection to the investor presentation, dial 1.877.200.4456 (U.S.) or 1.785.424.1732 (international). The conference ID is 79795.

 

Please dial in 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. Investors can also listen to a live audio webcast of the conference call and view the presentation slides by visiting the “Events & Presentations” section of the company’s Investor Relations website.

 

Replay information for Investor Conference Call

 

Investors can access replays of the conference call by visiting the Investor Relations website or by calling1.800.934.4850 (U.S.) or 1.402.220.1178 (international) from noon ET on July 18 through 11:59 p.m. ET on July 25.

 

Bank of America

 

Bank of America is one of the world's leading financial institutions, serving individual consumers, small and middle-market businesses and large corporations with a full range of banking, investing, asset management and other financial and risk management products and services. The company provides unmatched convenience in the United States, serving approximately 47 million consumer and small business relationships with approximately 4,500 retail financial centers, approximately 16,000 ATMs, and award-winning digital banking with approximately 34 million active users, including 23 million mobile users. Bank of America is a global leader in wealth management, corporate and investment banking and trading across a broad range of asset classes, serving corporations, governments, institutions and individuals around the world. Bank of America offers industry-leading support to approximately 3 million small business owners through a suite of innovative, easy-to-use online products and services. The company serves clients through operations in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico and more than 35 countries. Bank of America Corporation stock (NYSE: BAC) is listed on the New York Stock Exchange.

 

Visit the Bank of America newsroom for more Bank of America news, and click here to register for news email alerts.

 

www.bankofamerica.com

 

 
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Finstar to Invest USD150 Millon in Fintech

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Business Wire India

Finstar Financial Group will invest USD150 million into new financial technology startups over the next five years, Oleg Boyko, the Chairman of Finstar, has confirmed. The money will also be used for research and development (R&D) within the Group’s portfolio companies.

 

Global investment in financial technology startups increased to USD12.7 billion last year, according to the CB Insights Global Fintech Report 2016. Finstar is at the vanguard of this swift growth, with its global presence and wealth of experience in the sector. The pledge to invest USD150 million into fintech startups and in-house R&D is part of the Group’s wider commitment to expanding and improving its fintech offering. Finstar’s primary markets are Europe, Latin America, South-East and South Asia.

 

Commenting on the news, Oleg Boyko said:

 

“We will finance direct investment in startups, contributions to SMEs, and research and development of cutting-edge fintech within our own companies. As far as the startup component is concerned, we are targeting three to six deals per year, in the seed to Series A rounds, typically ranging from USD500,000 to USD30 million. Our R&D investment is about pushing financial technology further and leveraging that innovation across our already strong fintech portfolio. This means that – beyond our financial commitment to the sector – the businesses we work with benefit from the strength of our technical resources and the depth of our expertise.”

 

Over the past two years, Finstar Financial Group has started strategic cooperation with European fintech companies Spotcap, Euroloan, Viventor and Rocket10. It has also expanded its collaboration with fintech entrepreneurs through FinstarLabs. FinstarLabs focusses its efforts on developing ground-breaking fintech, adtech and big data innovations, as well as identifying, investing in, and incubating leading fintech start-ups and entrepreneurs.

 

In 2015, Finstar launched its own portfolio company, Digital Finance International, with the aim of applying the most advanced technological solutions to deliver tailored consumer lending solutions globally.

 

About Finstar
Finstar Financial Group is an international private equity group. Founded in 1996, the Group has significant experience in launching start-ups, corporate restructuring and expansion projects. Finstar operates in the financial services, IT, consumer retail and real estate sectors. Since its foundation, Finstar has developed substantial operational experience and specializes in a value-added strategy of introducing global best practices for corporate governance, innovation and marketing to companies.

 

More about Finstar: http://finstar.com/.

 

 

 

 

ABB: Building Growth Momentum

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Business Wire India

SECOND QUARTER HIGHLIGHTS

 
  • Total and base orders grew 3%1; higher orders in all regions
  • Revenues up 1%
  • Operational EBITA margin2 12.4%, dampened this quarter by commodity prices and some overcapacity
  • Net income $525 million
  • Cash flow from operating activities $467 million reflects timing of short-term incentive payments
  • Net working capital as a percentage of revenues 14.1%, reduced 90 bps on an annual basis
  • Active portfolio management: B&R acquisition closed July 6, KEYMILE’s communication business to be acquired Q3


“In Q2, ABB continued to build its growth momentum as our targeted initiatives are delivering. Order growth was broad-based and across all regions,” said ABB CEO Ulrich Spiesshofer. “Our industry-leading digital offering, ABB Ability, is taking off and starting to contribute to growth.”

 

“Operational performance in the Power Grids and Industrial Automation divisions was solid in the quarter. Electrification Products and Robotics and Motion improved margins sequentially, but were not able to fully compensate commodity price headwinds and overcapacity during the quarter,” he said. “While we are pleased with the growth momentum, especially the double-digit order growth in Robotics and Motion, we remain firmly focused on further improving operational execution and our cost base.”

 

“The successful completion of the B&R acquisition and the handover of our last legacy off-shore wind project, Dolwin 2, are solid examples of the disciplined execution of our Next Level strategy.”

 
KEY FIGURES         CHANGE       CHANGE  

($ in millions, unless otherwise
indicated)

    Q2 2017   Q2 2016   US$  

Compa-
rable1

  H1 2017   H1 2016   US$  

Compa-
rable1

 
Orders     8,349   8,316   0%   +3%   16,752   17,569   -5%   0%  
Revenues     8,454   8,677   -3%   +1%   16,308   16,580   -2%   +2%  
Operational EBITA2     1,042   1,120   -7%   -5%3   1,985   2,071   -4%  

-2%3

 

as % of operational
revenues

    12.4%   12.9%   -0.5pts       12.3%   12.5%   -0.2pts      
Net income     525   406   29%       1,249   906   38%      
Basic EPS ($)     0.25   0.19  

30%4

      0.58   0.42   39%4      
Operational EPS2 ($)     0.30   0.35   -15%4   -11%4   0.58   0.64   -9%4   -6%4  

Cash flow from operating
activities

    467   1,082   -57%       976   1,334   -27%      
                                     

Short-term outlook

 

Macroeconomic and geopolitical developments are signaling a mixed picture with continued uncertainty. Some macroeconomic signs in the US remain positive and growth in China is expected to continue. The overall global market remains impacted by modest growth and increased uncertainties, e.g., Brexit in Europe and geopolitical tensions in various parts of the world. Oil prices and foreign exchange translation effects are expected to continue to influence the company’s results. With this and the ongoing transformation of ABB, we expect 2017 to be a transitional year.

 

Q2 2017 Group results

 

Orders

 

Total orders were 3 percent higher (stable in US dollars) compared with the second quarter a year ago, as the significant increase in Robotics and Motion and Industrial Automation more than offset the decline in Electrification Products and Power Grids. Large orders grew 5 percent (1 percent in US dollars) and represented 8 percent of the total orders, unchanged compared with the same quarter a year ago. A stronger US dollar versus the prior year period resulted in a negative translation impact on reported orders of 3 percent.

 

Base orders (below $15 million) increased 3 percent (stable in US dollars), improving in Robotics and Motion, Industrial Automation and Power Grids. Electrification Products decreased 1 percent (4 percent in US dollars), impacted primarily by fewer trading days in the quarter compared with the same period a year ago.

 

Total service and software orders rose 8 percent (5 percent in US dollars) and increased to 20 percent of total orders compared with 19 percent a year ago.

 

The order backlog at the end of June 2017 amounted to $23.6 billion, 1 percent lower (7 percent in US dollars) compared with the end of the second quarter a year ago. The book-to-bill2 ratio in the second quarter was 0.99x compared with 0.96x in the second quarter of 2016.

 

Market overview

 

Demand patterns in all of ABB’s regions were positive in the quarter:

 
  • Europe benefited from positive market developments in industry, transport and infrastructure and timing of large capital investments. Total orders improved 6 percent (1 percent in US dollars) with positive contributions from the United Kingdom, Finland, Turkey and Spain more than offsetting declines in Norway and France. Base orders improved 1 percent (4 percent lower in US dollars) with Spain, Sweden and Turkey as the main contributors.
  • The Americas was positive, driven by the need for energy-efficient solutions for industry, transport and infrastructure and increased demand for automation in general. Total orders grew 2 percent in the quarter (2 percent in US dollars) on increased large order awards. Base orders declined 2 percent (2 percent in US dollars) as higher demand in the United States and Brazil could not offset declines in Canada. The United States grew 7 percent overall (6 percent in US dollars) and 1 percent in base orders (stable in US dollars).
  • Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) grew due to increased demand in industry, transport and infrastructure for energy-efficient and automation solutions. Utilities made selective investments in the quarter. Total orders increased 2 percent (2 percent lower in US dollars) driven primarily by substantial growth in India, Saudi Arabia and South Africa. Total orders in China declined, as higher base orders could not offset lower large order awards. Increased demand in India reflects the continuing need for industrial automation and reliable power solutions. Base orders for the region increased 9 percent (6 percent in US dollars) with positive contributions from China and India.


Demand patterns in ABB’s three major customer sectors were mixed:

 
  • Utilities continued their selective investments, adding new capacity in emerging markets, upgrading the aging power infrastructure in mature markets and integrating renewable energy globally. They are also investing in automation and control solutions to enhance the stability of the grid.
  • In industry, investments in robotics solutions and the automotive and food and beverage sectors remained positive. Investments in process industries, especially offshore oil and gas, remained subdued. Selective investments in mining, exploration and downstream oil and gas are expected to continue.
  • Transport & infrastructure demand has been mixed. Demand for building automation solutions as well as solutions involving energy efficiency for rail transport remained strong while the marine sector, except for cruise ships, suffered from a sharp decline due to the subdued oil and gas sector. Electric Vehicle charging remained a highlight in the quarter.


Revenues

 

Revenues increased 1 percent (3 percent lower in US dollars) in the second quarter and were higher in Electrification Products and Robotics and Motion. Power Grids was stable and Industrial Automation was lower on the reduced order backlog. Total services and software revenues were stable (2 percent lower in US dollars) and represented 17 percent of total revenues, unchanged compared with a year ago.

 

Operational EBITA

 

Operational EBITA was $1,042 million, 5 percent lower in constant currencies (7 percent lower in US dollars). Operational EBITA margin was 12.4 percent, 0.5 percent lower compared with the same period a year ago. Operational EBITA margin improved in Industrial Automation and Power Grids but decreased in the Electrification Products and Robotics and Motion divisions. Operational EBITA was impacted by commodity price increases and overcapacity in some businesses which could not offset the positive net savings effect.

 

Net income, Basic and Operational earnings per share

 

Net income increased to $525 million from $406 million and basic earnings per share was $0.25 compared with $0.19 for the same quarter of 2016. This result was impacted by lower restructuring and restructuring-related expenses and a higher tax rate of 30% versus 25.1% compared with the same period a year ago. Operational EPS was $0.30 compared to $0.35 for the same quarter of 2016, a decrease of 11 percent in constant currencies2.

 

Cash flow from operating activities

 

Cash flow from operating activities was $467 million compared with $1,082 million in 2016 due to the change in timing of short-term incentive payments to the second quarter from the first quarter in 2017. It was also impacted by timing of tax payments, delays in payment from Middle Eastern customers and the positive cash contribution in the previous year from the recently divested cables business.

 

Share cancelation

 

In July 2017, based on the shareholders’ vote at the company’s annual general meeting on April 13, 2017, ABB canceled 46.6 million shares. This will be reflected in the third quarter.

 

Executive Committee changes

 

Effective April 1, 2017, Timo Ihamuotila joined ABB from Nokia as Chief Financial Officer and a member of the Executive Committee. Effective July 1, 2017, Chunyuan Gu, Managing Director of ABB in China, became President of the Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) region and a member of the Executive Committee. Chunyuan takes over AMEA from Frank Duggan, who was appointed President of the Europe region, succeeding Bernhard Jucker, who retired on June 30 after a long and distinguished career at ABB.

 

Q2 divisional performance

 

($ in millions, unless otherwise
indicated)

    Orders   CHANGE   Revenues   CHANGE  

Operational
EBITA %

  CHANGE  
      US$  

Compa

 

rable1

    US$  

Compa

 

rable1

     
Electrification Products     2,512   -4%   -1%   2,509   -1%   +2%   15.0%   -0.8pts  
Robotics and Motion     2,219   +12%   +14%   2,087   +3%   +5%   14.9%   -1.3pts  
Industrial Automation     1,499   +6%   +8%   1,608   -9%   -7%   12.7%   +0.3pts  
Power Grids     2,484   -6%   -3%   2,647   -3%   0%   9.8%   +0.5pts  

Corporate & other (incl.
inter-division elimination)

    -365           -397                  
ABB Group     8,349   0%   +3%   8,454   -3%   +1%   12.4%   -0.5 pts  
                                     


Electrification Products

 

Total orders were impacted by fewer trading days in the second quarter versus the second quarter of 2016; total orders for the first half of 2017 were up 1 percent (2 percent lower in US dollars). Revenues grew 2 percent in the quarter (1 percent lower in US dollars). Operational EBITA margin improved sequentially but was lower in the quarter versus a year ago mainly due to higher material costs, which more than offset productivity and cost savings.

 

Robotics and Motion

 

Total orders were 14 percent higher (12 percent in US dollars) as all regions and business units contributed to the significant growth. Third-party base orders increased 10 percent (8 percent in US dollars) on continued strong growth in robotics and light industry. Revenues improved 5 percent (3 percent in US dollars). Operational EBITA margin was impacted by product mix, significantly higher commodity prices and under absorption, which more than offset the cost-out measures.

 

Industrial Automation

 

Total orders grew 8 percent (6 percent in US dollars) due to selective capital expenditure investments in oil and gas and in mining. Third party base orders continued to be positive. Revenues were 7 percent lower (9 percent in US dollars), reflecting the execution of a lower order backlog. Operational EBITA margin increased slightly as cost and productivity savings offset the lower revenue contribution.

 

Power Grids

 

Third party base orders grew 2 percent (stable in US dollars) on investments in emerging markets while total orders were impacted by the timing of large order awards. Revenues were steady (3 percent lower in US dollars) on solid order backlog execution. Operational EBITA margin increased 50 basis points to 9.8 percent, reflecting improved productivity, project execution and continued cost savings. The division’s ‘Power Up’ program to drive transformation and value creation is underway and the company will continue to invest in this initiative in the coming quarters.

 

Next Level strategy – Stage 3

 

ABB continued the implementation of its Next Level strategy during the quarter by further shifting its center of gravity to higher growth segments, strengthening its competitiveness and de-risking the portfolio.

 

On July 6, ABB announced the completion of its acquisition of B&R (Bernecker + Rainer Industrie-Elektronik GmbH), the largest independent provider focused on product- and software-based, open-architecture solutions for machine and factory automation worldwide. This acquisition closes ABB’s historic gap in machine and factory automation and will create a uniquely comprehensive automation portfolio for customers globally. This all-cash acquisition is expected to be EPS-accretive in the first year.

 

ABB successfully launched its new industry-leading digital offering, ABB Ability, at its customer events in Houston, Hanover and Hangzhou. With more than 180 solutions, across all customer segments, ABB Ability has seen very positive customer response and is contributing to sustainable growth.

 

On July 3, ABB announced that it had agreed to acquire the mission-critical communication network business from the KEYMILE Group to strengthen its portfolio and further enhance ABB Ability. It will add reliable communications technologies that are essential to maintain today’s dynamic and complex digital electrical grids. The acquisition will bring with it products, software and service solutions, as well as research and development expertise. It is expected to close during the third quarter of 2017.

 

ABB continues to build on its existing momentum and is further accelerating its operational performance.

 

The company’s White-Collar Productivity savings program has exceeded expectations since its launch in 2015. ABB is on track to achieve the program’s increased cost reduction target of $1.3 billion within the initially announced timeframe and approximately $200 million lower combined restructuring program and implementation costs than initially announced. ABB is continuing its regular cost-savings programs, leveraging operational excellence and world-class supply chain management to achieve savings equivalent to 3-5 percent of cost of sales each year.

 

ABB reaffirms the target of its Net Working Capital program to free up approximately $2 billion by the end of 2017. The program is on track; Net Working Capital as a percentage of revenues decreased 90 bps compared with the same period a year ago.

 

Outlook

 

Macroeconomic and geopolitical developments are signaling a mixed picture with continued uncertainty. Some macroeconomic signs remain positive in the United States and growth in China is expected to continue. The overall global market remains impacted by modest growth and increased uncertainties, e.g., Brexit in Europe and geopolitical tensions in various parts of the world. Oil prices and foreign exchange translation effects are expected to continue to influence the company’s results. With this and the ongoing transformation of ABB, we expect 2017 to be a transitional year.

 

The attractive long-term demand outlook in ABB’s three major customer sectors — utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure — is driven by the Energy and Fourth Industrial Revolutions.

 

ABB is well-positioned to tap into these opportunities for long-term profitable growth with its strong market presence, broad geographic and business scope, technology leadership and financial strength.

 

More information

 

The Q2 2017 results press release and presentation slides are available on the ABB News Center at www.abb.com/news and on the Investor Relations homepage at www.abb.com/investorrelations.

 

ABB will host a press conference today starting at 10:00 a.m. Central European Time (CET) (9:00 a.m. BST, 4:00 a.m. EDT). The event will be accessible by conference call. Callers from the UK should dial +44 203 059 58 62. From Sweden, the number to dial is +46 85 051 00 31, and from the rest of Europe, +41 58 310 50 00. Callers from the US and Canada should dial +1 866 291 41 66 (toll-free) or +1 631 570 56 13 (long-distance charges apply). Lines will be open 10-15 minutes before the start of the call.

 

A conference call and webcast for analysts and investors is scheduled to begin today at 2:00 p.m. CET (1:00 p.m. BST, 8:00 a.m. EDT). Callers from the UK should dial +44 203 059 58 62. From Sweden, the number to dial is +46 85 051 00 31, and from the rest of Europe, +41 58 310 50 00. Callers from the US and Canada should dial +1 866 291 41 66 (toll-free) or +1 631 570 56 13 (long-distance charges apply). Callers are requested to phone in 10 minutes before the start of the call. The call will also be accessible on the ABB website and a recorded session will be available as a podcast one hour after the end of the conference call and can be downloaded from our website. www.abb.com/investorrelations

 

ABB (ABBN: SIX Swiss Ex) is a pioneering technology leader in electrification products, robotics and motion, industrial automation and power grids, serving customers in utilities, industry and transport & infrastructure globally. Continuing more than a 125-year history of innovation, ABB today is writing the future of industrial digitalization and driving the Energy and Fourth Industrial Revolutions. ABB operates in more than 100 countries with about 132,000 employees. www.abb.com

 
     

 

     

INVESTOR CALENDAR 2017

 
      Innovation and Technology Day               September 6, 2017  
      Third quarter 2017 results               October 26, 2017  
      Fourth quarter and full year 2017 results               February 8, 2018  
      Annual General Meeting               March 29, 2018  
                         


Important notice about forward-looking information

 

This press release includes forward-looking information and statements as well as other statements concerning the outlook for our business, including those in the sections of this release titled “Short-term outlook”, “Outlook”, and “Next Level strategy – Stage 3”. These statements are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the factors that may affect our future performance, including global economic conditions, the economic conditions of the regions and industries that are major markets for ABB Ltd. These expectations, estimates and projections are generally identifiable by statements containing words such as “expects,” “believes,” “estimates,” “targets,” “plans,” “is likely”, “intends” or similar expressions. However, there are many risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information and statements made in this press release and which could affect our ability to achieve any or all of our stated targets. The important factors that could cause such differences include, among others, business risks associated with the volatile global economic environment and political conditions, costs associated with compliance activities, market acceptance of new products and services, changes in governmental regulations and currency exchange rates and such other factors as may be discussed from time to time in ABB Ltd’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Reports on Form 20-F. Although ABB Ltd believes that its expectations reflected in any such forward-looking statement are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that those expectations will be achieved.

 

Zurich, July 20, 2017
Ulrich Spiesshofer, CEO

 

___________

1 Growth rates for orders, base orders, revenues and order backlog are on a comparable basis (local currency adjusted for acquisitions and divestitures). US$ growth rates are presented in Key Figures table
2 For a reconciliation of non-GAAP measures, see “Supplemental Reconciliations and Definitions” in the attached Q2 2017 Financial Information
3 Constant currency (not adjusted for portfolio changes)
4 EPS growth rates are computed using unrounded amounts. Comparable operational earnings per share is in constant currency (2014 exchange rates and not adjusted for changes in the business portfolio)

 

 

 
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