April 27, 2022

Clearspan Unveils Ping

Clearspan Ping, a portal to personalized communications, provides customizable features, security, privacy and control

DALLAS, Texas, April 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Clearspan on Wednesday unveiled Ping, a customizable communications and collaboration solution that delivers secure voice, video and messaging anywhere, anytime and on any device. Purpose-built to serve the world’s leading service providers and largest organizations, Clearspan Ping is designed to deliver unique user experiences with the security, privacy and control that large organizations require.

Ping is the latest addition to Clearspan’s lineup of scalable communication technologies and serves as a foundational component in its journey to personalized communications.

“At Clearspan, we’re committed to creating solutions that make it easier to create unique user experiences while retaining the security, privacy and controls that large organizations require,” said Bill Crank, Clearspan’s chief executive officer. “For decades, Clearspan has powered ubiquitous unified communications solutions that empower service providers and large organizations. Clearspan Ping is the next generation communications portal that enables personalized communications and will continue to digitally transform today’s modern workforce, no matter where they’re located.”

Ping’s modern user features include point-to-point and multiparty voice, video and messaging; screen and file sharing; team rooms that allow private space for collaboration; PSTN calling; and flexible access options including browser based, desktop, and mobile applications.

Ping sets itself apart with unique features:

Brandable: Ping is brandable for both service providers and organizations. There are no cobranding requirements, meaning Ping can truly reflect any organization.

Customizable: From easy integration of commonly used applications, such as call center agent control, faxing, and SMS texting, to cross platform messaging and IoT device monitoring, Ping is built to be customized. Additionally, Ping’s deployment model is flexible. Users can choose from Clearspan cloud, public cloud, private cloud, or premise-based hosting.
Secure: Ping is 100 percent private with end-to-end session encryption, allowing complete data sovereignty without data mining.

Ping will be available worldwide beginning Sunday, May 1. Ping has already been trialed by some of the United States’ largest universities and global tier one service providers. Interested parties can find more information about Ping and request a demonstration on www.ClearspanCloud.com.

About Clearspan 

Clearspan powers ubiquitous unified communications solutions that help the world’s largest organizations digitally transform the way they work. For over forty years, Clearspan has enabled service providers and large organizations with innovative solutions and operational efficiency at scale. Clearspan’s standards-based architecture uniquely delivers the carrier-grade reliability, scalability and security required – without sacrificing the flexibility to seamlessly integrate both modern and legacy business applications and environments. Learn more at www.ClearspanCloud.com.

Attachment

Clearspan Unveils Ping

Kayla Ayres
Clearspan
(214) 378-7970
kayres@thepointgroup.com

April 27, 2022

Eurora Solutions raises $40M in Series A to tackle e-commerce shipping delays caused by EU regulation changes

Eurora management team: (from left) Marko Lastik (founder), Anneli Aljas (CFO), Egon Veermäe (COO).

Eurora Solutions raises $40M in Series A to tackle e-commerce shipping delays caused by EU regulation changes.

Reported as one of the largest Estonian Series A rounds.
Eurora’s unique AI-based solution was developed with 22 scientists from the world’s top 1% universities and backed with support from European Union (EU) Archimedes Fund.
Eurora already has over 200 paying clients worldwide that use its technology to process millions of parcels every day.

TALLINN, Estonia, April 27, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Eurora Solutions, an Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning-backed (AI/ML) cross-border e-commerce compliance platform, is announcing the closure of its oversubscribed Series A round, raising $40 million/£31 million. Amsterdam based Connected Capital led the round, with existing investors, including Change Ventures, Equity United and Eurora’s founder Marko Lastik also participating.

Eurora already has over 200 paying clients worldwide, including some of the biggest e-commerce players in Asia, such as JD.com, Yanwen and Topyou. These three companies alone process around billion parcels per year and deliver to more than 120 countries. The new funding will be used for geographical expansion in the UK, the US, and the Middle East, where rapid and high growth in the sector is expected, and product development and potential add-on acquisitions. In the past decade, global parcel shipping volume has tripled, and by 2026, this market is expected to reach over 260 billion parcels delivered.

In July last year, the EU ended the €22 import VAT exemption, and new trading regulations between the EU and the rest of the world gradually came into effect. This was intended to create a level playing field with local European manufacturers and retailers. Complying with this new regulation in the high volume, low value-per-package e-commerce market has been a challenge for merchants and logistics operators from the UK, the US, China and the rest of the world. These players are looking for software-based solutions that can help handle the billions of cross-border packages affected by this new EU regulation. Solutions with a high degree of accuracy, speed and at a low cost per package are required.

Eurora’s proprietary AI/ML-based platform automates tax, compliance and customs services. It assigns e-commerce products an appropriate HS code*, calculates the applicable VAT and duty amounts, and automatically creates electronic declarations for EU duties and taxes via simple API integration. The platform delivers more than 96% accuracy for e-commerce packages despite often patchy input data and it operates at a fraction of the time and price of hybrid or manual code allocation solutions commonly used today. Eurora was the first official VAT Intermediary and the first company to issue an IOSS number*.

The B2B platform can be used by online sellers, marketplaces, logistics and postal companies, as well as tax and customs authorities. Eurora’s compliance platform can automatically process 5,000 requests per second with up to 96% accuracy, the highest level of accuracy, speed, and automation available on the market. Marko Lastik has over 30 years of experience in logistics and is the founder and visionary of the platform, having created it together with 22 scientists from the world’s top 1% of universities, such as Tallinn University of Technology, StatLab (a spinoff company of the University of Tartu) and Software Technology and Applications Competence Centre in Estonia.

Marko Lastik, the founder and CEO of Eurora Solutions, said: “The number of different declarations, codes, reports, records and tax calculations required in the international shipping business is ever increasing. Without the correct data sets and automated solutions for tax calculations and electronic declarations, cross-border trade has slowed down, resulting in severe delays, fines, increasing costs, loss of customers etc. Eurora’s AI uses 500+ million records of training data from actual transactions from the largest logistics providers in the world, giving Eurora the knowledge of actual market practices. By using Eurora’s platform, merchants can make deliveries faster and at lower costs, which results in increased customer satisfaction and trust.”

Shaffy Roell, Investment Manager at Connected Capital, said: “We are excited to lead the investment into Eurora and support the team in scaling the platform globally. The founder and the full management team have impressed us with their quality, domain expertise, and vision for the company. We have seen a clear push from regulators to improve transparency and reporting for the increasing number of goods that enter through customs. We believe that Eurora has built a truly unique AI/ML-based platform, significantly improving compliance while reducing package delays and lowering costs for e-commerce parcels shipped into Europe.”

For more info:
Anneli Aljas
CFO
pr@eurora.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ba059a2d-0ca1-4f72-8211-637f86d74f09

April 27, 2022

Qianhai Beckoning Hong Kong Entrepreneurs Through Institutional Innovation

SHENZHEN, China, Apr. 27, 2022 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/–April 27 marks the 7th anniversary of the inauguration of Qianhai Shekou Free Trade Zone, whose day-to-day changes are always fascinating. According to Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone, in 2021, the number of Hong Kong-funded enterprises registered in Qianhai has increased by 156% year-on-year, and the actual use of Hong Kong capital accounts for 93.8% of the total foreign investments. Its Q1 2022 actual use of Hong Kong capital amounted to US$1.272bn, accounting for 92.97% of its foreign investments, a rise of 148.01%.

At the junctures of the global economic recovery, China continues to renew the layout of Qianhai, incorporating the development of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao. Institutional innovation turns to be the foundation for cultivating a first-class business environment in Qianhai, thus enticing many entrepreneurs from Hong Kong. Any sharp-eyed entrepreneur would lose no time in seizing the opportunities.

Xu Ziyan is among Hong Kong youth to start their business in Qianhai. This 90’s girl has just registered her company here, believing that Qianhai is the first choice for Hong Kongers to do business in Chinese mainland. Previously, she has visited Qianhai many times for feasibility study.

Located in the west of Shenzhen and on the east bank of the Pearl River Estuary, Qianhai has been designated a “special area of the Special Economic Zone” since the State Council approved the Overall Development Plan for Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industrial Cooperation Area of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in 2010. Qianhai’s institutional innovation is “avant-garde” and its soft services and support are “awesome”. “Through various meetings, we can speak out our minds straight to the officials. Qianhai government can hear our voices directly,” exclaimed Xu Ziyan.

Xu’s company focuses on new media business, helping connect Hong Kong brands with the mainland through “live commerce”. “By means of the Qianhai platform, not only can we dock to the supply chain, but also to the enterprises in need, which saves us from troubles, kind of like ‘finding a needle in a haystack’,” she said.

As the outside world sees it, Qianhai Cooperation Area is unswervingly forging a “Qianhai model” with institutional innovation in investment, trade, finance and rule of law as its core, making it an important “source” to be drawn upon by other places of China.

Sun Lecheng, partner of KPMG Intelligent Innovation Space, points out that Qianhai has set far-reaching goals of institutional innovation in the rules, systems, mechanisms and models. Not only is the standard high, but also “practicable and solid”.

Qianhai is known to have been promoting institutional innovation in multiple sectors, including justice, finance, supply chain, integration of services and manufacturing industries, new technologies, new business models, and so on. For example, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Law Zone is opened; an International Talent Port created, a Multi-Country Consolidation (MCC) and Maritime Transit Hub and an Outbound Air Service Center set up, the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong International Financial City established, the World Intellectual Property Organization Technology and Innovation Support Center (WIPO-TISC) inaugurated, and the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao New R&D Institutions Support Program is being promoted.

Latest statistics show that, up to now, the Qianhai Shekou Free Trade Zone has launched 685 institutional innovations, and more than 80-billion-yuan (US$12.2bn) worth of goods are gathered from all over the world to Qianhai Comprehensive Bonded Zone and then transshipped worldwide.

Source: Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone

April 27, 2022

Charli D’Amelio, Social Media’s Biggest Star, to Star in Ryan Kavanaugh’s Proxima Media New Film Franchise ‘Home School’

Second Proxima film to list on the entertainment stock exchange (ESX.io,) allowing fans to buy into the film
Not since ‘The Six Sense’ reveal will audiences be this shocked

LOS ANGELES, April 26, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Home School, the first in an eight-film franchise of supernatural thrillers starring two-time Kids Choice Award winner Charli D’Amelio, will be produced by EGOT nominee (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony) Ryan Kavanaugh—directed by F. Javier Gutierrez.

Kavanaugh has brought more than 200 feature films, and 40 TV shows to audiences worldwide, and this will be the second film to list on the entertainment stock exchange, esx.io.

Award-winning visionary horror film director F. Javier Gutiérrez (Before the Fall, Rings) has come on board to direct. Home School marks the live-action feature film debut of D’Amelio, the first TikTokker to accrue 100 million followers on the platform. Production is set to begin July 2022.

Charli shot to global fame on TikTok after posting dance videos in 2019. Since exploding on the app, Charli has parlayed her success into other ventures. She appeared in a 2020 Super Bowl ad for Sabra Hummus and danced in a Jennifer Lopez music video. In September of last year, Hulu launched The D’Amelio Show docuseries, starring Charli and her family, which has already been picked up for a second season. Charli co-created her own clothing line Social Tourist and has worked with major fashion brands, including Louis Vuitton and Prada. Charli was also the youngest star to appear on Time Magazine’s NEXT list.

In Home School, Charli will play ‘Mira,’ a 17-year-old who moves to a different town to live with her aunt after her mother passes away. After arriving in what seems like the all-too-perfect town, Mira soon discovers that her mother’s death and her own future are intertwined supernaturally.

“As soon as I read Home School, I knew it was for me. I connected with the character, Mira, the story, the script, and the team. I knew if I was going to do a movie, it needed to be something fun, edgy, and fresh,” Charli says. “While the role will certainly be challenging and push me to learn to act and become Mira, it’s a fun ride and meant to be fun to make and fun to watch. I also wanted to make sure I surrounded myself with a great team.”

“When Ryan and I met while developing The Crow remake with Luke Evans, we knew we wanted to foster a creative partnership further. I’m thrilled for Home School to mark our first official project together,” explains director F. Javier Gutiérrez. “With its compelling visuals and a strong psychological element, I think Home School has the potential to be a modern classic. I can’t wait to work alongside Charli and the Proxima team.”

Gutiérrez, a two-time nominee for the best European Fantastic Film award, shot to movie fame with his horror film, Rings, the third installment of The Ring franchise, that opened #2 at the U.S. box office and was praised by Koji Suzuki, author of The Ring novels. His short Brasil, won top honors and numerous awards, including winning the Universal Studios Film Master Award for Best European Director. After its North American premiere at AFI Fest, the film came to the attention of the U.S. industry, landing #3 on the Hollywood International Watchlist. That same year, Before the Fall got an offer for a remake from the late legendary filmmaker Wes Craven. Early in his career, Gutiérrez established himself as a horror filmmaker to watch when his first short film, Brasil, which he directed, wrote, and produced in 2002, also won the Sitges Film Festival, one of the world’s foremost international festivals, specializing in fantasy and horror.

“We’ve been developing this project for a few years to bring something new and exciting to the screen,” says Ryan Kavanaugh. “Having Javier direct and Charli star is the perfect package. We are going for ‘The Sixth Sense’ meets ‘Get Out,'” said Kavanaugh.

Home School is written by Casey Giltner, a Minneapolis-based screenwriter whose script On the First Day of Christmas was featured on the 2021 BloodList and was recently picked up by Village Roadshow and Brillstein Entertainment Partners. SVP of Production at Proxima, Daniel Herther, who shepherded the development of Home School, will be producing as well. Kavanaugh’s partner Bobby Sarnevesht and Marc, Heidi, and Dixie D’Amelio will serve as executive producers.

Charli D’Amelio is repped by UTA’s Steve Cohen and Kevin Yorn of Morris, Yorn, Barnes, Levine, Krintzman, Rubenstein, Kohner, Endlich & Gellman. Proxima and Kavanaugh are repped by Neil Sacker of Sacker Entertainment Law. F. Javier Gutiérrez is represented by UTA’s Michael Sheresky and Nick Shumaker of Anonymous Content. Stephen Clark of Lichter Grossman Nichols Adler Feldman & Clark negotiated the deal on behalf of F. Javier Gutiérrez.

About Proxima and Ryan Kavanaugh
Founder of Proxima Media, the controlling shareholder of Triller, Ryan Kavanaugh is one of the most accomplished, prolific, and honored executives in entertainment industry history. Using an intelligent financial model of film finance, he was dubbed the creator of “Moneyball for movies.” He produced, distributed, and/or structured financing for more than 200 films, generating more than $20 billion in worldwide box office revenue and earning 60 Oscar nominations. He is the 25th highest-grossing film producer of all time. His productions include Fast and Furious 2-6, 300, Social Network, Limitless, Fighter, Talladega Nights, Step Brothers, and Mama Mia! Kavanaugh and Proxima pioneered an innovative finance deal for post-bankruptcy Marvel, making the studio and finance structure that led to Marvel Cinematic Universe. He built the SVOD (streaming) category with Netflix, which boosted that company’s market capitalization from $2 to $10 billion. Kavanaugh is the co-founder of Triller, one of the three fastest-growing creator platforms. He recently led the acquisition, merger, and re-launch of the social media and music app.

He also created the powerhouse television company, now known as Critical Content, producing hit shows like Catfish on MTV and Limitless on CBS, which he sold for $200M. The company had 40 television series across 19 networks before its sale. Kavanaugh has earned several achievements and awards, from Variety’s Producer of the Year Award to The Hollywood Reporter’s Leadership Award, from Fortune’s 40 Under 40 Most Influential People in Business to Forbes’ Fortune 400, Billion-Dollar Producer by the Daily Variety and the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Vanity Fair.

About Entertainment Stock Exchange (“ESX”)
Entertainment Stock X (ESX), a first-of-its-kind platform allowing users and fans to invest in film and entertainment projects via the Jobs Act, is an innovative platform for financing entertainment. The company fills the need for new and more efficient financing for filmmakers. ESX allows filmmakers to generate a valuable direct marketing relationship with fans and will enable fans to invest in film for the first time. More information is available on ESX.io

Media Contact

Michelle Vieyra
Jive PR + Digital
202-415-7714
michelle@jiveprdigital.com
www.jiveprdigital.com

April 27, 2022

PM calls for reforms in power sector on priority basis

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has called for reforms in the power sector on priority basis.

Talking to Minister for Power Khurram Dastgir in Islamabad on Wednesday, he also directed to take steps for immediate operationalization of the remaining closed power houses.

On the occasion, the Prime Minister was informed about the steps taken so far for ending power outages in the country from the 1st of next month.

Source: Radio Pakistan

April 27, 2022

Finance Minister calls for accelerating privatization process of loss-making enterprises

Minister for Finance and Revenue Miftah Ismail held a meeting with Minister for Privatization Abid Hussain Bhayo in Islamabad on Wednesday.

The proposed privatization plan was discussed in the meeting.

The Finance Minister underscored the need of accelerating the process of privatization of loss making State Owned Enterprises for bringing in greater level of efficiency, productivity and competiveness in their performance and enhancing the overall revenue base of the country.

He assured full support in resolving all pending issues that are impeding privatization of loss making entities

Source: Radio Pakistan