Quantcast
Channel: BusinessWire India.com - Banking & Financial Services
Viewing all 4380 articles
Browse latest View live

Citi Private Bank Shares Critical Insights into the World of Family Offices

0
0
Business Wire India

Citi Private Bank today revealed new thought leadership content for executives in the family office industry, who are increasingly relied upon by the world’s wealthiest families to manage their wealth and other family affairs.

 

This content will include critical insights into the workings of family offices and best practices gathered from extensive research by the Private Bank’s Global Family Office unit.

 

“The family office industry, which manages several trillion dollars of assets worldwide, is often opaque, with very little publicly available information,” said Peter Clive Charrington, Global Head of Citi Private Bank. “Family office executives frequently find themselves constrained by this. With the release of our insights, we believe they will be better equipped to fulfill the needs of their clients and their families.”

 

“Family offices are having to deliver ever more sophisticated and complex services to their families,” said Stephen Campbell, Chairman of the Global Family Office Group, Citi Private Bank. “With first-hand experience both of running family offices and providing private banking services, our family office team has a unique understanding of the needs and issues they face. This allows us to partner effectively and tailor solutions for a wide range of needs.”

 

The new thought leadership content was inspired by the Private Bank’s interactions with its 1,100 family office clients worldwide.

 

It will be presented digitally in a series of articles and white papers over a three-month period and will address topics including:

 
  • Planning a successful family office that can deliver the service that wealthy families require
  • The costs of creating and running a family office, and assessing value-for-money
  • Why building the right family office team is about more than just the executives’ experience
  • Why family offices are increasingly relying upon bespoke remuneration packages to attract top executive talent, which often go beyond financial incentives
  • The risk of family wealth dissipating within three generations and how resisting nepotism can help avoid this
  • How grooming tomorrow’s family leaders can help preserve family wealth and influence and prevent discord in the family
  • What executives need to know to serve their families’ desire to benefit society while seeking investment returns
  • The value of working with external partners in order to manage families’ wealth


The Global Family Office Group at Citi Private Bank is a team of family office experts located throughout Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas, who provide family offices with advice on best practices, as well as connecting them to the Private Bank’s investment, lending, banking, trust, custody, and corporate advisory and financing services.

 

Citi Private Bank is one of the world’s fastest growing private banks; dedicated to serving worldly and wealthy individuals and families, providing customized private banking across borders. With approximately $460 billion in global assets under management, the franchise includes 48 offices, serving clients across 116 countries. Citi Private Bank helps clients grow and preserve wealth, finance assets, make cash work harder, preserve legacies, and serve family and family business needs through objective advice and a truly open architecture investment platform. The firm offers clients products and services covering capital markets, managed investments, portfolio management, trust and estate planning, investment finance, banking and aircraft finance, as well as art and sports advisory and finance.

 

About Citi

 

Citi, the leading global bank, has approximately 200 million customer accounts and does business in more than 160 countries and jurisdictions. Citi provides consumers, corporations, governments and institutions with a broad range of financial products and services, including consumer banking and credit, corporate and investment banking, securities brokerage, transaction services, and wealth management.

 

Additional information may be found at www.citigroup.com | Twitter: @Citi | YouTube: www.youtube.com/citi | Blog: http://blog.citigroup.com | Facebook: www.facebook.com/citi | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/citi.

 

 

 

 

MetLife Investments Asia Limited Expands Institutional Sales Team in Asia

0
0
Business Wire India

MetLife Investments Asia Limited (“MIAL”), a part of MetLife, Inc.’s (NYSE: MET) institutional asset management platform, announced today the appointment of Lesley Lo as Institutional Sales Director, Asia ex-Japan.

 

Lo will be responsible for expanding MetLife’s existing institutional client relationships and building MIAL’s asset management business in Asia, with a primary focus initially on the Hong Kong market. Over time, Lo’s efforts will also focus on other key Asian markets.

 

She joins MIAL from BNP Paribas Asset Management (formerly Fortis Investment Management and ABN AMRO Asset Management) where she held various senior business development roles. In her most recent position, Lo held dual business development roles covering central banks and sovereign wealth funds, in addition to insurance companies and endowments across Asia Pacific.

 

Earlier this year, MIAL was granted licences by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission to trade securities and provide investment advisory and asset management services to Hong Kong-based institutional clients.

 

“Hong Kong is one of the financial capitals of the world and home to a large institutional investor base, including insurance companies and other financial institutions looking for a trusted partner to help them invest their capital,” said Steve Goulart, executive vice president and chief investment officer, MetLife Inc., and interim president of Asia. “MetLife has over 100 years of investment experience across diverse asset classes, so we are well-placed to help our clients with their investment needs.”

 

Lo holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of London and a Bachelor of Arts from The Chinese University of Hong Kong. She is also a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA).

 

“I am pleased to welcome Lesley to MIAL. She brings to our firm a wealth of experience and deep relationships with institutional investors, which will prove invaluable as we grow our business in Asia,” said Joseph Pollaro, chief operating officer of MetLife’s investment management platform.

 

About MetLife Investment Management
MetLife Investment Management, MetLife, Inc.’s institutional asset management platform, launched in 2012. MetLife Investment Management provides institutional investors, including corporate and government pension plans, insurance companies and other financial institutions, with long-term public and private investment and financing solutions. With operations in the Americas, Asia and the Europe, Middle East & Africa (EMEA) regions, MetLife Investment Management manages assets for third-party institutional investors, separate accounts and MetLife, Inc.’s general account. MetLife Investment Management leverages a disciplined credit research and underwriting process to provide institutional investors with asset origination and acquisition opportunities and proprietary risk management analytics across traditional fixed income strategies, commercial real estate debt and equity investing, agricultural financing and private placements, among others. For more information, visit www.metlife.com/investments.

 

About MetLife, Inc.
MetLife, Inc. (NYSE: MET), through its subsidiaries and affiliates (“MetLife”), is one of the world’s leading financial services companies, providing insurance, annuities, employee benefits and asset management to help its individual and institutional customers navigate their changing world. Founded in 1868, MetLife has operations in more than 40 countries and holds leading market positions in the United States, Japan, Latin America, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. For more information, visit http://www.metlife.com.

 

 

 

 

IRB Infra Declares Financial Results for Q4 and FY18

0
0
Business Wire India
IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd. (IRB); India’s leading and one of the largest highways infrastructure developers, today announced its audited financial results for the Q4 and FY18.

The highlights of IRB Infra’s Financial Performance are as follows:

Q4 FY18 v/s. Q3 FY18 v/s Q4 FY17
    
Sr.
No.
Particulars Q4FY18
(In Rs. Cr.)
Q3FY18
(In Rs. Cr.)
% QoQ Q4FY17
(In Rs. Cr.)
% YoY
1 Total Income 1,432 1,342 7% 1,656 (14%)
2 Profit before tax 384 318 21% 298 29%
3 Net Profit 240 207 16% 207 16%
Note: The drop in YoY Total Income is on account of transfers of 7 projects to InvIT

FY 2018 v/s. FY 2017 
          
Sr. No. Particulars FY18
(In Rs. Cr.)
FY17
(In Rs. Cr.)
% Increase /
(Decrease)
1 Total Income 5,863 5,969 (2%)
2 Profit before tax 1,338 984 36%
3 Net Profit 920 715 29%
Note: The drop in YoY Total Income is on account of transfers of 7 projects to InvIT

While commenting on the occasion, Mr. Virendra D. Mhaiskar, Chairman & Managing Director, IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd. said, “Not only Q4, but the whole of FY18 was stupendous for us at IRB Infra, as it witnessed return of traffic growth, post demonetization and GST, across projects resulting into robust revenue build-up. We successfully listed IRB InvIT and transferred seven projects to it. On construction activities front, Rajasthan projects received appointed dates to commencing tolling and construction simultaneously after achieving financial closure. We also commissioned toll collection on two projects post construction and above all added four new projects to the portfolio, 3 under Hybrid Annuity and one under BOT model. We enter FY19 with strong momentum and more efficient Balance Sheet.”
 
The highlights of Company’s business performance in FY18 are:
  • Successfully launched and listed India’s first ever InvIT IPO on 18th May 2017 that raised Rs. 5,035 Crores, with an overwhelming response of 8.7 times from Investors.
  • Transferred 7 projects to the IRB InvIT; and, continues with the responsibility of Maintenance Management of these projects through its wholly-owned subsidiary. 
  • Received Rs. 2,200 Crs as consideration from InvIT; holds 16% of Unit Capital in InvIT.   
  • Debt Equity Ratio is reduced substantially from 2.85 in FY17 to approx. 1.87 in FY18; thus witnessing two-notch rating upgrade to A+.   
  • Achieved Financial Closure for all the three - 4 to 6 laning – highway projects in Rajasthan and started tolling after receipt of Appointed Date from the NHAI. 
  • Achieved COD for Kaithal – Rajasthan Border and Solapur – Yedeshi projects.   
  • Bagged four projects totaling up to Rs. 8,930 Cr comprising three Hybrid Annuity Projects and one in BOT space. 

About IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd.

IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd. (IRB) is India’s leading and one of the largest private roads and highways infrastructure developers, with presence in BOT and HAM space. 
The Company has a portfolio of 17 owned projects and 7 projects under O&M contracts as a Project manager for IRB InvIT. Of the 17 owned projects, 7 projects are under operational BOT space; 3 under HAM space; 4 projects under Tolling & Construction, another 2 projects under advanced stages of construction and 1 project under development stage. The Company has successfully completed 7 Concessions till date.
 
IRB Group, in the 20th year of its journey towards excellence since inception, has achieved an unmatchable milestone of crossing 12,000 lane Kms, along with almost 20% share in India’s prestigious Golden Quadrilateral project; which is the largest by any private highways infrastructure developers in India.

Company’s construction order book as on date stands at more than Rs.15,000 Crores.

IRB Infrastructure Developers Ltd. is India’s first Infrastructure developer Company to have privilege of successfully launching and listing of India’s first ever InvIT IPO and also transferring 7 projects under the same. The Company was recently conferred on the prestigious ‘FinanceAsia – Best India Deal - Achievement Award 2017’ at Hong Kong.   

Maximize Your Saving by Investing in Fixed Deposits

0
0
Business Wire India
Fixed Deposits, is one of the most popular modes of investment in India. No matter the age or profession of the investor, FDs would undoubtedly feature in every investment portfolio. Fixed deposits (FDs) are offered by banks as well as non-banking financial corporation but corporate FDs are preferred investment option as they offer higher interest rate for similar periods.

How to maximize savings from Fixed Deposits
  • Invest in Corporate FDs: Corporate FDs is a term given to deposits made with a non-banking financial corporation. Investing in company FDs yield significantly higher rates of return as compared to Bank FDs. But you should make sure that the company FD you are investing in is accredited as stable by rating agencies such as ICRA and CRISIL
  • Choose Cumulative FDs: Unless you need regular monthly payout, you must opt for cumulative option, wherein interest earned on your fixed deposit is reinvested and this way your investment multiplies
  • Diversify FDs over varying tenor: You should diversify your fixed deposit portfolio over varying durations in such a way that after every few days there is an FD maturing. This would ensure regular income over fixed intervals.
Features of Fixed Deposits by Bajaj Finance Ltd.

Bajaj Finance Ltd., the lending arm of Bajaj Finserv, offers investors an opportunity to earn higher returns through its Fixed Deposit. Bajaj Finance Fixed Deposits offer an attractive interest rate of 7.85% to its customers, which can go up to 8.20%, in case of Senior Citizen Fixed Deposit. With ICRA’s MAAA (Stable) Rating and CRISIL’s FAAA/Stable Rating, Bajaj Finance Ltd., has been deemed with the highest degree of safety with regards to timely payment of interest and principal on the instrument.

Investors have the option to start investing from as low as Rs. 25,000/- onwards with Bajaj Finance Ltd FD. Company accords the investors with a high degree of flexibility in terms of the tenor of the fixed deposit ranging from 12 months to 60 months.

About Bajaj Finance Ltd.

Bajaj Finance Limited, the lending and investment arm of Bajaj Finserv group, is one of the most diversified NBFCs in the Indian market catering to more than 19 million customers across the country. Headquartered in Pune, the company’s product offering includes Consumer Durable Loans, Lifestyle Finance, Digital Product Finance, Personal Loans, Loan against Property, Small Business Loans, Home loans, Credit Cards, Two-wheeler and Three-wheeler Loans, Construction Equipment Loans, Loan against Securities and Rural Finance which includes Gold Loans and Vehicle Refinancing Loans along with Fixed Deposits and Advisory Services. Bajaj Finance Limited prides itself for holding the highest credit rating of FAAA/Stable for any NBFC in the country today.

In case of any doubt, check Bajaj Finance Reviews or feel free to directly contact Bajaj Finance Customer Care

Ambuja Cements Announced its Unaudited Financial Results for the Quarter Ended 31st March, 2018

0
0
Business Wire India
  • Q1 standalone Operating EBITDA increases by 29%
  • Q1 standalone PAT increases by 10%
Ambuja Cements Limited today announced its unaudited financial results for the quarter ended 31st March, 2018.
 
    Quarter
January-March 2018
Quarter
January-March 2017
Sales Volume – Cement Million tonnes 6.22 6.02
Net Sales Rs in Crore 2763 2530
Operating EBITDA Rs in Crore 507 394
Net Profit after Tax Rs in Crore 272 247


Our focus on reducing costs, improving productivity, and increasing capacity utilisation backed by strong attention to the retail segment and robust sales from our premium value-added products led to a strong quarter with 29% EBITDA growth,” said Ajay Kapur, Managing Director and CEO, Ambuja Cement.

 
Performance
 
Healthy top-line growth of 9% on a y-o-y basis attributable to improved realisations and sales growth of premium brands - Compocem and Roof Special.
 
During this quarter, the rise in global oil and energy prices drove up power & fuel costs and diesel prices which impacted freight costs. However, efficiencies improved.
 
Productivity improvements combined with cost-saving measures contributed to an Operating EBITDA increase of 29% compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
 
Performance of Material Subsidiary – ACC Limited
 
Net Sales during the quarter went up by 14% to Rs 3,557 crore compared to Rs 3,108 crore for the same quarter last year. Operating EBITDA for the quarter registered a growth of 18% to Rs 492 Crore as against Rs 417 crore during the same quarter of the previous year.
 
Ambuja Cements Ltd. is one of the leading cement companies in India. It is part of the LafargeHolcim Group, the world leader in the building materials industry, with a presence in 80 countries, and a focus on cement, aggregate and concrete since 2006. For three decades, Ambuja Cements has provided hassle-free home building solutions with its unique sustainable development projects and environment-friendly practices.

Cement & Ready Mix Concrete sales volume grew 8% and 16% respectively during the quarter reflecting a stronger focus on premium products and consumer solutions.
 
Consolidated (Ambuja Cement and ACC Limited) Financial Results for the Quarter ended 31st March 2018
  • Q1 2018 Consolidated Net Sales up by 12%
  • Q1 2018 Consolidated Operating EBITDA up by 24%
  • Q1 2018 Consolidated PAT up by 30%
    Quarter
January-March
2018
Quarter
January- March
2017
Sales Volume – Cement Million tonnes 13.33 12.62
Net Sales Rs in Crore 6314 5637
Operating EBITDA Rs in Crore 1002 809
Net Profit after Tax Rs in Crore 514 397
Net Profit after Tax and minority interest Rs in Crore 390 292
 
The combined annual cement capacity of both the companies stands at 63 million tonnes.

Outlook


The company expects the economy to grow strongly in 2018 on the back of higher demand spurred by the government's focus on infrastructure development (roads, highways, irrigation projects and railways), housing and increased rural spends. Additionally, we believe that the Government's efforts towards creating jobs through spending on rural and labour intensive infrastructure, will support economic growth. 
 
Ambuja Cements Ltd. is one of the leading cement companies in India. It is part of the LafargeHolcim Group, the world leader in the building materials industry, with a presence in 80 countries, and a focus on cement, aggregate and concrete since 2006. For three decades, Ambuja Cements has provided hassle-free home building solutions with its unique sustainable development projects and environment-friendly practices.

IDEMIA Appointed by SIX Payment Services Official Supplier of EMVI'20 Chips New Generation

0
0
Business Wire India

IDEMIA, the world leader in Augmented Identity, announced today the extension of the partnership started in 2010 with SIX Payment Services, Switzerland’s leading card processor. SIX Payment Services releases a new chip specification on behalf of the Swiss debit card issuers every four years, followed by the evaluation of two suppliers. IDEMIA was selected both in 2010 to develop and supply EMVI’12 chips from 2012 to 2016, and in 2014 to develop and supply EMVI’16 chips from 2016 to 2019. From 2012 to 2017, IDEMIA delivered 11 million modules within SIX’s EMVI’12 and EMVI’16 projects. The new product generation, called EMVI’20, will be issued from 2020 till 2023 and will be based on the specifications of EMVCo CPA (Common Payment Application), MasterCard PayPass and VCPS (Visa Contactless Payment Specification). This new chip generation will implement a contact interface based on EMVCo CPA (Common Payment Application) and contactless interfaces based on either PayPass on CPA or VCPS on CPA respectively.

 

EMVI’20 will enable the Swiss banks to offer contactless payments on top of standard debit, credit and e-commerce functionality for MasterCard and Visa brands, enhanced by SIX Payment Services’ functional extensions.

 

“We are extremely pleased to strengthen and renew our partnership with SIX Payment Services for the 3rd consecutive project with this new EMVI’20 generation,” commented Pierre Barrial, Executive Vice-President for Financial Institutions activities at IDEMIA. “This demonstrates how important the Swiss Market is for our company. This state-of-the-art product will enable banks to propose an enhanced value proposition to their cardholders, including the convenience of contactless payment”.

 

ABOUT IDEMIA:

 

OT-Morpho is now IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity for an increasingly digital world, with the ambition to empower citizens and consumers alike to interact, pay, connect, travel and vote in ways that are now possible in a connected environment.

 

Securing our identity has become mission critical in the world we live in today. By standing for Augmented Identity, we reinvent the way we think, produce, use and protect this asset, whether for individuals or for objects. We ensure privacy and trust as well as guarantee secure, authenticated and verifiable transactions for international clients from Financial, Telecom, Identity, Public Security and IoT sectors.

 

OT (Oberthur Technologies) and Safran Identity & Security (Morpho) have joined forces to form IDEMIA. With close to $3 billion in revenues and 14,000 employees around the world, IDEMIA serves clients in 180 countries.

 

For more information, visit www.idemia.com / Follow @IdemiaGroup on Twitter

 

SIX Payment Services

 

SIX Payment Services bietet Finanzinstituten und Händlern sichere, innovative Dienstleistungen entlang der gesamten Wertschöpfungskette des bargeldlosen Zahlungsverkehrs. Die maßgeschneiderten Lösungen umfassen die Abwicklung von nationalen und internationalen Zahlungen mit Kredit-, Debit- sowie Prepaid-Karten. Dabei stellt SIX Payment Services in der Schweiz und international sowohl die Akzeptanz wie auch die Abwicklung von kartenbasierten Zahlungen sicher und gehört als Marktführer in der Schweiz, in Österreich und in Luxemburg zu den größten europäischen Verarbeitern von Kartentransaktionen.

 

Mit rund 1.100 Mitarbeitern an 10 Standorten weltweit begleitet SIX Payment Services Kunden aus 33 Ländern.

 

www.six-payment.services.com

 

SIX

 

SIX betreibt und entwickelt Infrastrukturdienstleistungen in den Bereichen Wertschriften, Zahlungsverkehr und Finanzinformationen mit dem Ziel, die Effizienz, Qualität und Innovationskraft über die gesamte Wertschöpfungskette des Schweizer Finanzplatzes zu erhöhen. Das Unternehmen befindet sich im Besitz seiner Nutzer (rund 130 Banken) und erwirtschaftete 2017 mit rund 4‘000 Mitarbeitenden und einer Präsenz in 23 Ländern einen Betriebsertrag von über 1,9 Milliarden Schweizer Franken sowie ein Konzernergebnis von 207,2 Millionen Schweizer Franken.

 

www.six-group.com

 

 

Euronet Launches an Access Control Server (ACS) Platform in India and South Asia

0
0
Business Wire IndiaEuronet Services India Pvt. Ltd. a 100% subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide Inc., a leading global provider of electronic payment and transaction processing solutions for financial institutions, retailers, service providers and individual consumers today announced the successful launch of its VISA and MasterCard certified online payment authentication Access Control Server (ACS) platform which is available both as a licensed offering or as a hosted service for issuers.
 
Access Control Server facilitates online authentication of the card/instrument holder before the actual online purchase is made. It enables the exchange of data between the merchant, card issuer and, when necessary, the consumer, to validate that the transaction is being initiated by the rightful owner of the account. It is based on 3-D Secure protocol, a globally adopted authentication solution designed to make electronic commerce transactions more secure in real-time.
 
The Euronet ACS enables users to perform Card-Not-Present transactions without the need to “register” or “opt in” and remember passwords, eliminating cumbersome registration, activation processes and static passwords which are open to phishing and data theft. Euronet has designed the Access Control Server as an extension of the 3D Secure Framework to enhance the verification and authentication process with internet and mobile-based 2Factor Authentication/dynamic passwords having the capability to extend to other payment channels such as Mail Order Telephone Order (MOTO), IVR and Mobile Commerce.
 
For card issuers that are looking at outsourcing this service, the Euronet system will be installed in its secure and scalable processing centers with simple APIs for seamless integration with external systems. Euronet’s ACS can be deployed swiftly and effortlessly as it leverages existing infrastructure of card issuers and acquiring banks.
 
Pranay Jhaveri, Chief Business Officer, Euronet India and South Asia, commented, “The Indian eCommerce industry is witnessing unprecedented growth leading to significant increase in eCommerce frauds. The exponential rise in eCommerce transactions necessitates adding an additional layer of security to a payment to curb increasing frauds. Euronet ACS product which is VISA, MasterCard and Rupay certified helps to ensure that the person entering the card details is the person who should have the card details, thereby allowing issuers and merchants to better recognize trusted customers from fraudsters while giving online shoppers a smooth and consistent payment experience”. Euronet offers a solution which is highly secure, scalable & built on the super advanced hyper-converged enterprise private cloud platform supported by world-class services. We are extremely bullish with the potential the Indian market presents and have acquired the first set of five customers for ACS and are strongly positioned to acquire many more going forward”.
 
India’s booming eCommerce sector has begun to see a high volume of digital transactions, and authentication must keep pace. Euronet’s Access Control Server, which ensures smarter security through risk-based and dynamic authentication, is another example of a solution deployed by Euronet in line with market requirements to support the growth of internet payments and allowing card issuers to participate in this ecosystem, without worrying about fraud risks and compliance with card scheme regulations for these transactions.
About Euronet Worldwide, Inc
 
Euronet Worldwide is an industry leader in processing secure electronic financial transactions. The Company offers payment and transaction processing solutions to financial institutions, retailers, service providers and individual consumers. These services include comprehensive ATM, POS and card outsourcing services, card issuing and merchant acquiring services, software solutions, cash-based and online-initiated consumer-to-consumer and business-to-business money transfer services, and electronic distribution of prepaid mobile phone time and other prepaid products.
 
Euronet's global payment network is extensive - including 37,383 ATMs, approximately 194,000 EFT POS terminals and a growing portfolio of outsourced debit and credit card services which are under management in 52 countries; card software solutions; a prepaid processing network of approximately 673,000 POS terminals at approximately 306,000 retailer locations in 35 countries; and a global money transfer network of approximately 324,000 locations serving 144 countries. With corporate headquarters in Leawood, Kansas, USA, and 60 worldwide offices, Euronet serves clients in approximately 160 countries.
 
For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.euronetworldwide.com.

CORRECTING and REPLACING Andra Capital Launches First Tokenized Late-Stage Technology Growth Fund on the Blockchain

0
0
Business Wire India

Please replace the release dated April 30, 2018, at 9:00 a.m. ET with the following corrected version due to multiple revisions.

 

The corrected release reads:

 

ANDRA CAPITAL LAUNCHES FIRST TOKENIZED LATE-STAGE TECHNOLOGY GROWTH FUND ON THE BLOCKCHAIN

 

Global Investors to Gain Access to Highly Sought-After Private Late-Stage Companies

 

Andra Capital today announced the launch of its late-stage, technology growth fund. The Andra Fund is tokenized on the Blockchain to enable greater access to qualified purchasers in the US and permitted investors globally.

 

Andra Capital seeks to break the mold of traditional venture capital investing by leveraging Blockchain technology through its Silicon Valley Coin (“SVC”). Andra is able to replace traditional paper contracts with digitized smart contracts. Andra’s “Silicon Valley Coin” is a security token. The fund plans to invest in shares of private, late-stage technology companies. An advantage of tokenizing the Fund is that it decentralizes venture funds and aims to connect technology companies with investors worldwide. The company is conducting a private pre-sale followed by its Silicon Valley Coin offering, which is expected to take place in Summer 2018.

 

Democratizing Venture Capital

 

Through its Silicon Valley Coin, Andra aims to democratize venture capital by allowing global investors to participate in late-stage Silicon Valley investments. Previously, this exclusive access has been primarily limited to closed VC networks and large investment firms. Andra Capital hopes to provide unprecedented access to late-stage high-growth pre-IPO technology companies.

 

“Andra Capital is democratizing venture capital with the ‘Silicon Valley Coin’, a security token built on the Blockchain. We combine our investment strategy with technology and world-class partners for an innovative fund structure,” stated Haydar Haba, Managing Partner at Andra Capital.

 

World-Class Partners

 

With a commitment to best-in-class professional management, oversight, and transparency, Andra Capital has partnered with:

 
  • DLA Piper serving as legal counsel,
  • Deloitte & Touché LLP serving as the Fund’s auditor,
  • Duff & Phelps overseeing valuation and compliance, and
  • ApexFund Services for fund administration.


“The Andra Fund is for institutional and token investors alike. The value of our coin is tied to the Fund’s investments as each token represents a unit of interest in the Fund. Perpetually evergreen, the Andra Fund seeks to increase in value and AUM size,” said Hermann Liu, Managing Partner at Andra Capital.

 

About Andra Capital

 

Andra Capital is a late-stage technology growth fund based in San Francisco. Andra uses the Blockchain to tokenize the fund and provide global investors with expanded investor access to exclusive, late-stage, private technology companies. Our innovative “Silicon Valley Coin”, which represents ownership interest in the Fund, is a tradable security token.

 

 

 

 

LuLu Financial Group Commences Operations in Hong Kong

0
0
Business Wire India

LuLu Financial Group, the leading financial services and payments solution brand, started its operations in Hong Kong with the inauguration of their head office at Hankow Centre in Kowloon.

 

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180503005600/en/

 
Adeeb Ahamed, MD, LuLu Financial Group along with Surendran Amittathody, VP-APAC, LuLu Financial Gro ...

Adeeb Ahamed, MD, LuLu Financial Group along with Surendran Amittathody, VP-APAC, LuLu Financial Group, Priscilla Law, Head of Financial Services, Invest Hong Kong, Rajiv Raipancholla, CEO, Orient Exchange and officials from the Philippines Consulate General, Hong Kong during the opening of the LuLu Financial Group’s Hong Kong head office at Hankow Centre in Kowloon (Photo: AETOSWire).

The branch was inaugurated by Adeeb Ahamed, Managing Director, LuLu Financial Group in the presence of Surendran Ammitathody, VP-APAC, other senior officials and dignitaries.

 

The group acquired 100% ownership of a local financial services company in Hong Kong, adding five more branches to its global network. Branded as “LuLu Money” in Hong Kong, this is LuLu Financial Group’s tenth country of operation and second in the APAC region, after Philippines.

 

Speaking on the occasion, Adeeb Ahamed said, “We are extremely delighted to start our operations in Hong Kong. The Asia Pacific region is home to some of the most dynamic economies and Hong Kong is one of the most strategic markets. We are excited to be part of the region’s growth story.”

 

“Further to offering our world class services, that has made us one of the most sought after financial services organisation in the world, we will be reaching out to a larger audience through our innovative digital platforms that have been created in-house,” added Adeeb Ahamed.

 

“LuLu Money” retail outlets will offer money transfer, retail currency exchange and import & export of currencies. The company is also foraying into the digital space, with an aim to revolutionize the fintech environment in the region. The upcoming “LuLu Money” app will have various features including instant online transactions, payment tracking in real time and payment history, among others.

 

With plans to move nearly 30% of its transactions on to the digital platform by 2020, LuLu Financial Group is committed to remain on the digital fast track.

 

About LuLu Financial Group

 

LuLu Financial Group is an ISO 9001:2015 certified global financial services enterprise that serves banking institutions, business houses, local and international corporations as well as individuals. The group’s services are designed to facilitate secure and instant financial transactions through digitized state-of-the-art systems that deliver flexibility, reliability, and transparency.

 

Established in 2008, LuLu Financial Group has its global headquarters in Abu Dhabi and operates more than 180+ branches across Oman, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, India, Bangladesh, Philippines, Seychelles and Hong Kong.

 

*Source: AETOSWire

 

 

 

 
MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE :
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180503005600/en/

University of Rochester Institutes Rajesh Wadhawan Chair for Development Economics at Simon Business School

0
0
Business Wire India
(L-R) Dean Andrew Ainslie, Professor Gregory H. Bauer, Srinath Sridharan (Member - Group Management Council -WGC) , President Richard Feldman (University of Rochester) after the investiture ceremony for the Rajesh Wadhawan Chair for Development Economics at Simon Business School
(L-R) Dean Andrew Ainslie, Professor Gregory H. Bauer, Srinath Sridharan (Member - Group Management Council -WGC) , President Richard Feldman (University of Rochester) after the investiture ceremony for the Rajesh Wadhawan Chair for Development Economics at Simon Business School

Key Highlights
  • The investiture of the Chair follows the establishment of the Rajesh Wadhawan Professorship at the University in May 2017
  • The Chair has been instituted in commemoration of the WGC Group’s founder and his vision of economic equitability
  • Professor Gregory H. Bauer has been nominated as the permanent faculty for the Rajesh Wadhawan Chair
The Simon Business School at the University of Rochester announced the establishment of the Rajesh Wadhawan Chair for Development Economics. The investiture is in commemoration of the WGC Group’s founder and his vision of economic equitability.
 
Over the last three decades, the WGC Group has been at forefront of developing solutions for financial inclusion of the marginalized sections. The Chair is a part of its social investments to enable opportunities for the transformative progress of these communities. It is aimed to be a critical driver of new insights and enabling wisdom in the understanding of development economics. The WGC Group will continue to support the Chair’s curriculum by offering internships and other associations to students across its Group companies’ offices in India and the UK.
 
“Through the investiture of the Rajesh Wadhawan Chair, the Wadhawan family and the WGC Group reinforce their commitment towards creating a more equitable society. Their generosity will enable us to channelize analytical research towards solutions for inclusive growth. Through this partnership, we are hopeful of deepening our participation in the global dialogue for financial inclusivity,” remarked Dean Andrew Ainslie of Simon Business School.
 
Mr. Kapil Wadhawan, Chairman of the WGC Group, said, “The Rajesh Wadhawan Chair reinstates our founder’s legacy of doing business with purpose. As we take our partnership with the Simon Business School to the next level, we aim to shape a future of equitable progress and create a larger impact globally.”
 
Professor Gregory H. Bauer, Associate Dean of Full-Time Programs, Simon Business School has been nominated as the permanent faculty for the Chair. He was associated with the Bank of Canada as the Senior Research Director for Financial Markets. Professor Bauer has taught at the Simon School for 22 years. He is a four-time winner of the Superior Teaching Award from the Simon MBA program and a multiple winner of awards from the Executive MBA program. His research concerns international capital flows and the origins of financial crises.
 About Simon Business School and University of Rochester
 
Simon Business School is the business school of the University of Rochester and one of the world’s top graduate business institutions. It offers an education that attracts students who value analytic bias. The school believes strongly in the value of economics and statistics in the analysis of all business problems, and it is reflected in its ranking as a top five school for economics and finance.
 
University of Rochester is one of the top-tier research universities in the US. The private, non-profit university was founded in June 1850. It offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral and professional degree programs. University of Rochester Medical Center Rochester’s Headquarters are located at 601 Elmwood Avenue, Rochester, New York, USA 14642.
 
About Wadhawan Global Capital
 
Wadhawan Global Capital (WGC) is a leading financial services group head-quartered in India. The group manages US $22 Billion of Assets through its lending, asset management and insurance businesses. WGC group has partnered with leading financial institutions such as International Finance Corporation, Washington and Prudential Financial Inc., United States, in transforming the lives of millions of customers.

WGC is the parent company for some of the top brands in India such as DHFL, Aadhar Housing Finance Company, Avanse Financial Services Ltd, DHFL Pramerica Life Insurance Company Ltd, Arthveda Finance, Wadhawan Wealth Managers, DHFL General Insurance and DHFL Pramerica Asset Managers Private Ltd. The company has a London-based wholly-owned subsidiary Wadhawan Global Capital (UK) Ltd.

Blake2B, CryptoNight and Equihash ASIC Cloud Mining Available at HashGains

0
0
Business Wire IndiaIn the booming cryptocurrency mining industry, investors are continuously on the hunt for better margins and have got serious reasons to cheer for the leading cloud mining company HashGains. The company has over 10,000 customers enjoying returns from Bitcoin mining, ethereum mining and other altcoins.

HashGains has become the first player to introduce Blake2B, CryptoNight and Equihash algorithm’s mining services from its highly advanced and automated platform using ASIC (Application specific integrated circuit) machines.

Mining for currencies like Siacoin (SC), Monero (XMR), Bitcoin Gold (BTG), Zcash (ZEC), Bytom (BTM) etc. was only possible through a GPU platform but with the introduction of ASIC cloud mining all these currencies have become highly profitable in comparison to mining of Bitcoin and Ethereum etc. Mining returns are variable depending on various factors like difficulty levels and competition but at the moment Monero seems to be giving highest ROI of over 700%.

Unlike other companies, HashGains is highly transparent and provides a complete view of mining returns by way of its mining returns calculator to all its customers.

HashGains is also introducing mining services where customers can choose the algorithm and mining currency of their choice which will enable users to pick the profitable mining options. The company assures the delivery of mining services of Monero, Zcash, Bytom & Ethereum ASIC Mining within 24 hours of order. HashGains is known for transparency and timely payouts to thousands of investors.

HashGains crowdsale program is huge success!

HashGains has successfully concluded its crowdsale program on 30th April 2018 with total collections of $9.1 million from its HGS token sale which would help us to start one of the two data centers planned. A total of 12,6,58,650 tokens have been sold at an average price of $0.72 per token.

HashGains has launched the ICO program with the name of HGS token in order to build mega eco-friendly cloud mining data centers which runs on renewable energy sources (solar and wind) in Canada and India.

Promoted by Cyfuture, a renowned name in cloud data centers with over 15 years of experience and serving some Fortune 500 companies, HashGains is a constantly growing platform with more than 10,000 customers.

Bajaj Finserv Announces Rewards and Offers on Its Online EMI Store

0
0
Business Wire IndiaBajaj Finance Ltd., the lending arm of Bajaj Finserv has announced exciting offers and rewards on Bajaj Finserv EMI Store to mark its first anniversary. The portal will allow Bajaj Finserv EMI Network Card holder to buy a product from categories smartphone, AC, LED and Refrigerator on Zero Down Payment and No Cost EMI facility.
 
Customer buying products from these categories stand a chance to win BookMyShow vouchers and international trip to Bangkok worth Rs. 50000. The portal will further offer free and instant delivery on all categories in this offer valid till May 10th. These offers are available for customers residing in metros and select non-metro like Indore, Jaipur, Patna, Lucknow, Kochi, Bhubaneswar, Siliguri, Coimbatore, Agra, Vijayawada, Sonipat, Surat, Bhopal, Visakhapatnam, Nagpur and Nashik.
 
Key features of Bajaj Finserv EMI Store:
Hyper local model: Bajaj Finserv EMI store is a first of its kind ecommerce portal that enables customer to view offers in their city and shop from the gamut of products offered by the retailers.
 
Convenient Process: Customer needs to visit EMI Store website, choose a product from the preferred dealer and select the EMI scheme. Customer can then login by using their EMI Card credentials like registered mobile number or Customer ID to complete the purchase
 
Gamut of products: Customer can purchase products from categories like Smartphones, Laptops, Tablets, ACs, Microwave ovens, Televisions, Washing Machines and Refrigerators. Company currently has a network of multiple retailers across the country that offer No cost EMI option.
About Bajaj Finance Limited
 
Bajaj Finance Limited, the lending and investment arm of Bajaj Finserv group, is one of the most diversified NBFCs in the Indian market catering to more than 21 million customers across the country. Headquartered in Pune, the company’s product offering includes Consumer Durable Loans, Lifestyle Finance, Digital Product Finance, Personal Loans, Loan against Property, Small Business Loans, Home loans, Credit Cards, Two-wheeler and Three-wheeler Loans, Construction Equipment Loans, Loan against Securities and Rural Finance which includes Gold Loans and Vehicle Refinancing Loans along with Fixed Deposits and Advisory Services. Bajaj Finance Limited prides itself for holding the highest credit rating of FAAA/Stable for any NBFC in the country today.
 
To know more, please visit https://bajajfinservemistore.in/

draglet Offers Its Industry Standard Cryptocurrency Exchange & ICO Platform Source Code for Sale to the Public

0
0
Business Wire India

draglet GmbH, a leading blockchain development company, is offering its proprietary exchange and ICO platform source code for outright purchase. This makes draglet the first exchange development company to make its source code available for sale to operators of cryptocurrency exchanges or companies launching an ICO. Competitors in the space keep their source code hidden from customers.

 

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180503006059/en/

 
draglet is offering its proprietary exchange and ICO platform source code for outright purchase. (Gr ...

draglet is offering its proprietary exchange and ICO platform source code for outright purchase. (Graphic: Business Wire)

“We felt there were a lot of unreliable scripts on the marketplace. None of them offered the enterprise-level security and scalability that our script offers our customers,” said Peter Kohlschmidt, Managing Director at draglet. “By offering our exchange script for sale, we’ll reach a wider audience and create an industry standard for software behind cryptocurrency exchanges and ICOs.”

 

draglet’s exchange and ICO source code has been available for purchase on draglet’s website in pre-launch alpha since late April. Customer interest and feedback from previous clients has been positive, indicating strong interest in source code for purchase.

 

draglet Exchange Architecture

 

The industry-leading exchange and ICO software is designed for speed, security, and overall usability. The flexible architecture of the draglet software allows customers to build their own applications atop the existing code. In fact, the same source code powers both white label cryptocurrency exchanges and ICO crowdsales with minimal modification. Features and functionality can be customized to the user’s liking.

 

The code is structured into five different modules. Each is independent of the other modules, but all modules communicate with one another. In addition to these five core modules, customers who purchase the source code can add their own features and services as well. In the near future, draglet will offer optional add-on services that allow customers to purchase additional features as-needed.

 

Creating an Industry Standard

 

draglet aims to create a new industry standard for cryptocurrency exchange. The new business model revolves around not just selling world-class software, but also providing the training, specifications, certifications, and support necessary to create industry-wide adoption. This new initiative positions draglet as a global leader in creating, operating, training, and supporting global cryptocurrency exchange.

 

As a result, draglet customers can now expect an all-around solution for implementing a new exchange or ICO. Business concerns like accounting/compliance, technical software/hardware implementation, and training on exchange administration/management are part of the complete package.

 

For more information about draglet’s software source code, please visit: https://www.draglet.com

 

About draglet GmbH

 

draglet is a German company founded in 2013, specializing in developing blockchain applications and bitcoin/cryptocurrency exchange software for businesses. Based in Munich, Bavaria, draglet has been an early leader in blockchain services and smart contracts. With its renowned custom, white-label exchange software, draglet has set new standards in the cryptocurrency market. draglet solutions are in use in over 20 countries worldwide.

 

 

 

 
MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE :
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180503006059/en/

Finablr Launched To Accelerate Customer-Focused Technology Innovations

0
0
Business Wire India

Noted UAE-based businessman and philanthropist, Dr.Bavaguthu Raghuram Shetty announced the creation of “Finablr”, a new holding company which, subject to regulatory approvals, will consolidate his global portfolio of financial services brands under one single umbrella. Incorporated in the UK, Finablr will provide strategic direction and oversight for the category-leading brands across its network.

 

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180423005741/en/

 
Finablr Leadership Team (L-R): Binay Shetty (Executive Director, Finablr), Dr. B.R. Shetty (Founder  ...

Finablr Leadership Team (L-R): Binay Shetty (Executive Director, Finablr), Dr. B.R. Shetty (Founder and Chairman, Finablr) and Promoth Manghat (Executive Director, Finablr) (Photo: AETOSWire)

Finablr also seeks to drive financial enablement and empowerment by accelerating customer-focused technology innovation through R&D efforts, industry ecosystem engagements, investments and potential acquisitions. As a diversified network, Finablr will combine the cumulative industry expertise of its trusted network brands including UAE Exchange, Travelex, Xpress Money etc. to deliver innovative-technology-driven and market-leading experiences. As a platform of complementary capabilities, the Finablr network will facilitate seamless and connected experiences for individuals and enterprises.

 

With over four decades of industry experience, 18,000+ employees, and handling more than 150 Million customer transactions annually, the Finablr network brands boast an impressive global footprint. Collectively touching over a billion lives through its retail stores, agents and digital channels, the Finablr network brands have a direct presence in 45 countries and a network reach across 165 countries. Technology innovation and integration into the new economy is key to Finablr’s growth strategy.

 

Commenting on the announcement, Finablr Founder and Chairman, Dr. B.R. Shetty, said: “Finablr is driven by our desire to lead the evolution of the financial services industry to meet the customer demands of tomorrow. Our strength comes from over four decades of trust that we have built with our customers through a track record of innovation and excellence in service. Through investment in research and technology, we will bring forth game-changing products and services across our portfolio of brands, to ensure we maintain our competitive edge. We are inspired by our customers and Finablr will focus on creating an engaged customer community.”

 

Binay Shetty, Executive Director at Finablr, explained:“Finablr will bring together the strengths across its network brands and investments in digital technologies to build scalable, cost-efficient customer propositions to enable and empower them. We see Finablr as an innovation platform that converges the strengths and capabilities of our network companies and a range of ecosystem partners.In effect, we are bringing together leading-edge capabilities across people, processes and technology.”

 

In its efforts to embrace new technologies that transform the way customers and businesses engage, Finablr is setting up Innovation Hubs (i-Hubs) across its global network. i-Hubs will identify disruptive trends in the industry and implement innovations that deliver enhanced business benefits to its network of brands. Through its investment arm, Finablr will seek to acquire capabilities that complement its portfolio through inorganic pursuits. The Finablr investment arm will continue the inorganic pursuits on behalf of its network brands, including strategic investments and acquisitions plans (of USD 250-300 Million) announced by UAE Exchange.

 

Promoth Manghat, Executive Director at Finablr, added: “As a network of category-leading and trusted brands, Finablr is uniquely positioned to lead the future of financial services for a seamless world. Keeping the innovation agenda squarely in sight, we have started our journey by collaborating with strategic partners and globally-renowned industry accelerator programmes. The formation of i-Hubs builds upon our early investments in technology and accelerates our pace in delivering cutting-edge solutions. Moreover, on the investment front, we are constantly on the lookout for the right opportunities that help further our innovation efforts be it on the industry capability or the technology side.”

 

Finablr has also announced the intent to rebrand the non-UAE operations of UAE Exchange as “Unimoni. Short for “Universal Money”, Unimoni will offer a broad spectrum of financial services and will build on the brand equity and legacy of UAE Exchange.

 

*Source: AETOSWire

 

 
MULTIMEDIA AVAILABLE :
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180423005741/en/

Day 2 of CE China 2018/ E-Commerce Export Forum: The Platform to Connect China with the International Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances Landscape

0
0
Business Wire India

On the second day of CE China 2018, a focus was put on connecting China’s consumer electronics and home appliances businesses with the rest of the world by successful online distribution strategies. From 9.30 am to 4.30 pm over one thousand visitors of the E-Commerce Export Forum gained first-hand insights from manufacturers, brands and online retailers in 18 consecutive sessions. Exhibitors of CE China widely benefited from the additional attendees the Forum attracted to the third edition of CE China.

 

Among the global as well as Chinese companies presenting at the Forum, hosted by Shenzhen E-Commerce Service Center, were major market actors such as Amazon, eBay and Guangdong Pisen Electronics. In total, specialists from 16 companies shared their knowledge with the audience on how to grow cross-border business with e-commerce. They explained how to create a brand and achieve exposure for brands as well as brand products in foreign markets. The experts also provided hands-on information on different continental sales regions – including Africa, Middle East, West Asia and South America.

 

Further companies presenting were: Amanbo, DHgate, E-services Group, Globalegrow Electronic Commerce, Guangdong BESTEK E-Commerce, Hofan Group, JollyChic, Jumia&Linio&Daraz, Kilimall ,Lightinthebox, Shenzhen Thousandshores Technology, Sunvalley Group and Valuelink E-Commerce.

 

http://www.cechina-ifa.com/

 

 

 

 

Fintech Valley Vizag and Knowledge Partner KPMG Announce Startup Market Connect 2018

0
0
Business Wire India
Dharmendra Sunkara, CEO, Fintech Valley, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh
Dharmendra Sunkara, CEO, Fintech Valley, Govt. of Andhra Pradesh

Fintech Valley Vizag, an initiative of Government of Andhra Pradesh, conducted a demo day to enable startups to showcase their solutions to leading corporates in banking and financial industry. As a part of this Connect, eight corporate partners who were looking for innovative solutions shared their 19 high priority use cases. These corporate partners included ICICI Lombard, DCB, Kotak Mahindra, RBL Bank, Fullerton India, IDFC, Tata Capital and Bajaj Allianz.
 
The Innovation Challenge was held in three stages. The first phase is the challenge phase that began in February 2018 in which use cases were opened to the startups for application. This phase had applications of over 120 from startups pan India and a few from across the globe. This was followed by a screening phase in which the startups underwent an initial screening process to help sieve through the applications. A final shortlist of 38 startups was selected for a final demo to the associated corporate partners. Post the demo day on 4th May in Mumbai, a final set of startups were given a chance to carry Proof of Concept (PoC) with corporate; all of which will need to be executed in Fintech Valley Vizag.
 
Shri Nara Lokesh, Hon’ble Minister of IT and Rural Development, State Government of Andhra Pradesh said, “Andhra Pradesh State government plans to promote innovation and would adopt new technologies to encourage the youngsters to display out-of-the-box thinking. The Govt. of Andhra Pradesh is making all the efforts to embark on its vision to make Vizag the Fintech hub of India.”
 
J A Chowdary, Special Chief Secretary and IT Advisor to CM, Andhra Pradesh said, “To build a strong startups ecosystem in the new state besides the local entrepreneurs we need to attract the best minds from across the globe.”
 
Dharmendra Sunkara, CEO, Fintech Valley, Govt of Andhra Pradesh said, “Fintech is a very promising sector and with the rapid rate of adoption of mobile transactions, it will prove to be one of the most profitable sectors in the coming years. We aim to make Vizag a central hub for all businesses and investors dealing in fintech.”
 
The Startup Market Connect was divided into 6 themes seeking solutions across these themes:
 
1. Customer Experience: In a bid to boost the average revenue per customer, solutions are required to increase client life-cycle stickiness and engagement. Insurance companies also require facial recognition technology to identify customers and predict their life-span, BMI, health issues etc. and reduce the need for extensive and invasive medical procedures to judge their qualification for insurance.
 
2. Process Automation: Solutions are required in the field of auto insurance, one of the most frequently availed services in the insurance industry, to automate damage assessment to motor vehicles and fast-track reimbursements to customers. Additionally, there is a growing need to enhance KYC norms and automate e-KYC using Robotic Process Automation (RPA) and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to reduce manual labour.
 
3. Financial Inclusion: With the rapid adoption of cashless transactions, there is a demand for the inclusion of rural communities to engage in the model and simplify financial transactions for their inclusion using innovative solutions.
 
4. Risk Management: The health-conscious consumers today are heavily dependent on mobile applications and wearable devices to monitor their vitals. This information can be leveraged by insurers and consumers themselves to track their health and deviations from the norm. Solutions which can provide predictive recommendations and alerts to both parties can revolutionize the healthcare and insurance industries.
 
5. Lending: With the soaring cost of healthcare services, it has become difficult for the average citizen to borrow money from commercial institutions. The need of the hour is to identify new models of lending including crowdsourcing and P2P lending enabled by credit scoring and credit risk management amongst others.
 
6. Payments: The wind of change in the payments world is gaining strength as financial technology’s (“fintech”) potential to alter how, where and when payments are made – as well as who it is that facilitates them – is further explored and leveraged.
About Fintech Valley Vizag

AP Fintech Valley Vizag was conceptualized with an aim to bring together public and private players, state of the art incubators and accelerators, innovation labs, mentorships, angel investors and anyone willing to break free from traditional processes. The Fintech Valley has also launched a ‘Use Case Repository’ across banks, NBFCs, insurance companies, and capital market companies to accelerate innovation in the financial services industry. Selected use cases are opened up for the hackathon to seek relevant solutions to current business problems (use cases), and provide opportunities to startups and developer community.

To know more about Fintech Valley Vizag, please visit: http://www.fintechvalleyvizag.com/.

Firstsource Solutions Reports Fiscal 2018 Results With Improved Profit Margins and Recommends a Maiden Dividend of 15 percent

0
0
Business Wire India
  • Revenues of Rs. 35,352 million
  • EBITDA of Rs. 4,589 million 
  • EBIT of Rs. 3,930 million
  • PAT of Rs. 3,265 million
  • EBITDA and PAT margins expanded by 66 bps and 136 bps respectively during the year 
Firstsource Solutions Limited (NSE:FSL, BSE:532809), a global provider of customised Business Process Management (BPM) services and a RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company, reported its consolidated financial results for the quarter and the fiscal year ended March 2018 according to Ind AS.

Financial Highlights for Year Ended March 2018:
  • Revenues at Rs. 35,352 million; Constant currency growth of 2.8% YoY (Normalising for the Domestic business divestment, growth of 7.1% YoY)
  • EBITDA at Rs. 4,589 million or 13.0% of revenues, 4.8% YoY (Normalising for the Domestic business divestment, growth of 8.9% YoY)
  • EBIT at Rs. 3,930 million or 11.1% of revenues, 3.7% YoY (Normalising for the Domestic business divestment, growth of 7.5% YoY)
  • PAT at Rs. 3,265 million or 9.2% of revenues, 16.6% YoY (Normalising for the Domestic business divestment, growth of 22.2% YoY)
  • Employee strength of 18,703 as of March 31, 2018
  • Board recommended a maiden dividend of 15% (Rs. 1.50 per share)
Mr. Sanjiv Goenka, Chairman, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group and Firstsource Solutions said, “I am pleased to share that we closed FY2018 on a high note. During the year we have practically deleveraged the company on the back of improved cash flow generation and financial strength. Declaring a maiden dividend is a major milestone for the company. We are constantly being recognized by both our customers and industry analysts for the transformative work we are delivering for our clients. I am optimistic that such industry-wide recognition, will go a long way in deepening our engagement with existing clients while we continue to grow business with the addition of marquee logos.”

Highlights for the Quarter Ended March 31, 2018:
  • Revenues at Rs. 8,973 million; Constant currency growth of 0.5% YoY, flat QoQ; (Normalising for the domestic business divestment, constant currency growth of 6.7% YoY)
  • EBITDA at Rs. 1,325 million or 14.8% of revenues, 33.8% YoY; 14.1% QoQ (Normalising for the Domestic business divestment, growth of 40.6% YoY)
  • EBIT at Rs. 1,153 million or 12.8% of revenues, 31.0% YoY; 16.5% QoQ (Normalising for the Domestic business divestment, growth of 36.5% YoY)
  • PAT at Rs. 928 million or 10.3% of revenues
    • Growth of 23.0% QoQ on normalised PAT; (6.7%) QoQ on reported PAT
    • Growth of 42.0% YoY (Normalising for the Domestic business divestment, growth of 50.1% YoY)
Business Wins:  Won additional contracts in the quarter for the Customer Management, Healthcare, Mortgage and Collections business with existing and new clients.

Debt Repayment: Successfully made the last principal repayment of USD 11.25 million of the USD 135 million Term Loan and USD 11.0 million for ECB, repaying USD 20 million ECB ahead of schedule in March 2018.
 
Awards & Recognitions
  • Triple awards at the Welsh Contact Centre (WCC) Awards 2018 in the UK: Gold in ‘Outsourced Contact Centre of the Year’; Gold in ‘People Engagement’ for the Caridff HR teams and Individual award in the ‘Trainer of the Year’ categories. The awards recognise the teams’ commitment to delivering great customer experiences and making Firstsource an employer of choice.

  • Won the award for ‘Best Personal Entertainment and Telecoms’ at the prestigious UK Complaint Handling (UKCH) Awards 2018. The award recognises the company’s partnership with giffgaff, the community-run network which delivered record breaking results for the telecoms company in a highly competitive marketplace.

  • Won multiple awards at the North East Contact Centre Awards 2017: Gold in the ‘Contact Centre of the Year (under 250 seats)’ category. This award recognises the Firstsource Middlesbrough team’s commitment to understanding and responding to customer needs and delivering great customer experiences. Silver for the Middlesbrough HR team in the ‘Recruitment Champion’ category, for its commitment to making Firstsource an Employer of choice, while delivering value to clients and contributing to Firstsource’s overall business performance. Individual awards in the categories of ‘Inspirational Leader 2017’ and the ‘Customer Experience Champion of the Year’.

Additional Highlights for FY2017-18:

Awards & Recognitions
  • Won 3 awards at the European Contact Centre and Customer Service Awards (ECCCSA’s) 2017: Gold in ‘Medium Contact Centre of the Year’, Silver in ‘Outsourcing Partnership of the Year’ for work done with Sky and Silver in ‘Outsourced Contact Centre of the Year’ for work done out of the Middlesbrough office in the UK. The awards recognise the team’s commitment to understanding and responding to customer needs and delivering great customer experiences.
  • Awarded the ‘BPO Contract of the Year’ at the Global Sourcing Association (GSA) Awards 2017, in recognition of the on-going work with Sky. This win recognises Firstsource’s long-term partnership with Sky and the success achieved by creating a joint operational management structure, transparent culture and the innovative use of technology and approach to customer experience.
  • Won two awards at the UK Customer Experience Awards 2017: Gold in the ‘Large Contact Centre’ category in partnership with Sky and ‘CX Professional of the Year’ for Kathryn Chivers, VP – Sales Operations, UK. The wins celebrate Firstsource’s work in Cardiff office in the UK to deliver top quality customer experiences.
  • Won the prestigious ‘Customer Service Excellence Award’ at the NASSCOM BPM Strategy Summit 2017. This award in the ‘Return on Investment (ROI)’ category recognises Firstsource’s focus on providing agile solutions across channels and creating immense RoI for its client.
Analyst Recognitions
  • Recognised as a ‘Major Contender’ in Everest Group’s Mortgage BPS Service Provider Landscape with Services PEAK Matrix™ Assessment 2017. The positioning recognises Firstsource’s focus on excellence and delivery, and highlights the company’s commitment to providing a smart and collaborative partnership for clients.
  • Healthcare Provider and Payer businesses were also recognised as ‘Major Contender’ in Everest Group’s Service Provider Landscape PEAK Matrix™ Assessment 2017. The positioning recognises the investments and strides made in the digital arena, especially with RPA deployment for Payer and automation solutions for Provider services.
  • Firstsource has been recognised as a ‘Major Contender’ in Everest Group’s Contact Centre Outsourcing (CCO) PEAK Matrix™ Assessment 2017. This positioning recognises Firstsource’s focus on excellence and delivery while highlighting the organisation’s commitment to building smart and collaborative partnership with clients.
  • Firstsource recognised as a ‘Major Contender’ in Banking BPO–Service Provider Landscape by Everest Group’s PEAK Matrix™ Assessment 2017. This recognition acknowledges the organisation’s focus on excellence and celebrates its’ capabilities to consistently enhance customer experience.
  • Firstsource ranked as a ‘Leader’ in the Telecoms market by NelsonHall in one of their industry reports. The ranking as ‘Leader’ significantly improves the organisation’s performance from a ‘High Achiever’ in the past.
Industry Recognitions
  • Firstsource is the first BPM company in the UK to achieve the ‘Gold’ standard by ‘Investors in People (IIP)’. The standard defines what it takes to lead, support and manage people for sustained success. The organisation is now in the top 7% of businesses in the UK, which falls under this Gold accreditation.
  • Firstsource recognised as a ‘Leader’ in the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals’ (IAOP) Global Outsourcing 100 List for 2017. In addition, it has also been named a ‘Superstar of the Global Outsourcing 100’, because of its’ exceptional performance and high scores achieved during the IAOP evaluation.

About Firstsource

Firstsource Solutions Limited, a RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group company (NSE: FSL, BSE: 532809, Reuters: FISO.BO, Bloomberg: FSOL@IN), is a leading global provider of customised Business Process Management (BPM) services to the Healthcare, Telecom & Media and Banking & Financial Services industries. The company’s clients include Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies. Firstsource has a ‘Right-shore’ delivery model with operations in the US, the UK, India and the Philippines.

Axis Bank Power Salute Offering for Indian Coast Guard

0
0
Business Wire India
  • Offers exclusive services to both Defence personnel and pensioners
  • Renews MoU with Indian Coast Guard
Axis Bank signed a MoU today with The Indian Coast Guard to offer special banking services to their personnel. The current MoU is a renewal of existing MoU, which was signed in 2015. With this MoU, the bank has strengthened its commitment to deliver the best of banking services to the “Indian Coast Guard and Partnering in their progress.’’

The ceremony was chaired by DIG NK Kaul, TM, Principal Director Administration, and was attended by Mr. Sanjay Silas, President & Head Branch Banking, Axis Bank and other senior dignitaries from the Bank.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Sanjay Silas, President & Head Branch Banking, Axis Bank, said, “We are proud to serve the Indian Coast Guard and we shall continue to offer exclusive banking services for the Indian Coast Guard personnel and their families.”

In addition to the anywhere banking services, the bank will offer exclusive privileges like Free Personal Accident death cover of Rs. 30 lakhs (including total permanent disability coverage of Rs. 30 lakhs), Partial disability cover of up to Rs. 30 lakhs, educational benefit of Rs. 2 Lakhs (for wards of Indian Coast Guard personnel), access to Airport lounges and exclusive loan offerings. Continuing the Axis Bank Pay to Pension policy for Defense Services, all the facilities will also be applicable to the Coast Guard personnel drawing pension through Axis Bank.
About Axis Bank

Axis Bank is the third largest private sector bank in India. Axis Bank offers the entire spectrum of services to customer segments covering Large and Mid-Corporates, SME, Agriculture and Retail Businesses. With its 3,703 domestic branches (including extension counters) and 13,814 ATMs across the country as on 31st March 2018, the network of Axis Bank spreads across 2,163 cities and towns, enabling the Bank to reach out to a large cross-section of customers with an array of products and services. The Bank also has ten overseas offices with branches at Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai (at the DIFC), Shanghai and Colombo; representative offices at Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Dhaka and an overseas subsidiary at London, UK.

The Bank’s website www.axisbank.com offers comprehensive details about its products and services.

NewsPR Organized an Event Chaired by Mr. Dhinendra Lohmor on Future of Indian Banking Under the Blockchain

0
0
Business Wire IndiaNewsPR organized an event in New Delhi where the congregation constituted of the reputed bankers and other stakeholders of the financial world. Dhinendra Lohmor, a veteran banker was present there as the keynote speaker and reflected on the future of Indian Banking under the influence of the Blockchain Technology and other such advancements in Fintech. Following post comprises of the major points he discussed in his speech and are worth everyone’s attention especially the ones concerned with the banking. Speakers like Mr. Gaurav Kulshreshtha, an industry veteran in the Fintech sector also highlighted the growing applications of blockchain technology in the coming years where transactions are going to be massive.

Mr. Amar Talwar, Director Muscle X and an ex-banker from Australia also said that the Indian Banking Sector is still in its growth phase and requires a serious makeover in terms of digitization and internet-based banking services. Though the Government has taken a lot of initiatives in the past to bring people in accordance with the digital banking, a majority of population is still dependent on the ‘physical means’.

Dhinendra Lohmor also said that until the common man doesn’t realize the power of digital banking and doesn’t utilize all the available ways and means, the major interest in the Blockchain and other fintech advancements will be limited to a very small population that earns a lot and is interested in the banking advancements. The overall impact of these advancements will be possible if and only if the common man invests his or her interest in the same.

The speakers said that the technology has a tremendous potential and that the country level benefits can also be achieved from the same if the planning and investment are done carefully. Though the Government has not made the system legal for investment and other intents, a lot of people have actually become associated with it to reap financial benefits. For the common man, who is not aware technically, it is a system that doubles your money after some fixed duration of time.

On being asked about the security and stability aspect of the Blockchain Technology, Dhinendra Lohmor said that the technology itself is fool-proof and is immune to all kinds of hacking etc. The fixed number of coins; the company’s ability to reduce the value to digital currencies (wherever they are applicable) and other such currencies to very low in case hacking or any such attempts surface in future and the transaction in terms of digital currency which itself it nothing makes it a marvellous system that has defined a new era in the world of banking.

While discussing about the latest technologies in Fintech, the Smart Workflows, Chatbots, Machine Learning, Open Banking, Automated Personalization, Merging of Digital and Physical aspects of banking, Security and Agile Architecture were briefly discussed.

Dhinendra Lohmor said that Artificial Intelligence has opened new gateways in the world of banking and has really changed the way the banks used to work. Even the most stringent banks that used strict protocols regarding the digital operation of the accounts and other such services, have changed their policies and made them flexible to accommodate the modern clients that are tech savvy and this has been made possible by the Artificial Intelligence. The introduction of the automations that can man the basic transactions, enhance the personalized user experience, and make the perfect fusion of digital and physical banking possible have led to a shift in the banking world work ethic.

The bankers that were present said that the banks have now started to focus on the things and counterparts on the micro-level. The Apps are now being transformed into the Micro-Apps, Services are being modified into Micro-Services and the timelines to accomplish targets are being shrunk using the agile technology. The Agile Technology has transformed the way the world of programming used to work and in turn modified all the sectors where programming, designing and managing a system was done by a computer.

The modern banking policies have reached all kinds of people and have made them realize the power of digital banking. They know that they can operate their accounts and make payments online and offering apps that work with minimal human interaction and are easy to understand and work with have really modified the whole system. The open banking features such as UPI or the Unified Payments Interface and Aadhaar Enabled Payment System (AEPS) were also discussed.

AML BitCoin Listed On Digital Currency Exchange, IDAX

0
0
Business Wire India

NAC Foundation, LLC, creator of the world’s only patented compliant digital currency, AML BitCoin, announces that the AML Token has commenced trading on digital currency exchange, IDAX. The trading symbol for AML Token is ABTC.

 

ABTC commenced an IDAX exchange listing on May 5, 2018 at 6:00PM PT. IDAX is currently not allowing ABTC withdrawals; the expected time for withdrawals is within 1-2 weeks. Those in the US and Canada are advised to wait to start trading until the withdrawal option is available.

 

Marcus Andrade, Chief Executive Officer of NAC Foundation proclaims, “We have been working furiously for the past few months to integrate the AML Token on a number of cryptocurrency exchanges. AML BitCoin’s expected release is within the next six months; once released, AML Tokens can be switched to AML BitCoins at a 1:1 ratio. AML BitCoin is based on a unique private blockchain and has patented anti-money laundering (AML) and ‘know-your-customer’ (KYC) features, unlike all other digital currencies. However, I am pleased to announce that IDAX has moved quickly to become the first exchange to list the AML Token. Consequently, the AML Token is available for purchase on IDAX, and likely a host of other exchanges throughout the world soon.”

 

IDAX (International Digital Asset Exchange) originated from the GBC (Global Blockchain Research Center), an international blockchain research center. Its global digital assets service platform is designed to be user friendly. The IDAX exchange is supported with superior functionality, utilizing multiple cryptocurrencies and ample language options.

 

ABTC’s listing on IDAX is located here: https://www.idax.mn/#/exchange?pairname=ABTC_BTC

 

About NAC Foundation

 

NAC Foundation, headquartered in the U.S., is the creator of the AML BitCoin, the world’s only patent-pending digital currency with anti-money laundering, know-your-customer, anti-terrorism and theft-resistant properties. AML BitCoin is compliant with all major national security and financial protection laws and regulations, including the USA PATRIOT Act and the Bank Secrecy Act. NAC’s mission is to strengthen the acceptance and use of digital currencies by advancing throughout the world security compliance, combined with blockchain technology. For more information, please visit www.amlbitcoin.com or www.amltoken.com

 

About IDAX

 

IDAX (International Digital Asset Exchange) company is originated from GBC (Global Blockchain Research Center), an international blockchain research center and global digital assets service platform that is designed for blockchain exchange research. IDAX’s mission is to establish the highest quality digital asset exchange platform of the blockchain globalization according to the “Secure, prompt, stable, sophisticated/precise” activity guidance. To learn more, visit www.idax.mn.

 

 

 

 
Viewing all 4380 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images