Category: LiveNews

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Nightshift cleaner welcomes Finance Minister’s mooted support against surging petrol prices

Source: Radio New Zealand

Finance Minister Nicola Willis explains government’s plan as petrol prices increase. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone

A woman who works overnight shifts as a cleaner at Auckland Airport says she is feeling the effects of surging petrol prices.

The Finance Minister said she was looking at targeted, temporary support for some households if the Middle East conflict worsened.

Nicola Willis said the help could be available, for example, to a cleaner needing to drive to work early in the morning when there was no public transport.

E tū union member Ayesha Paki had a roughly 30-minute drive, six days a week, to her job at Auckland Airport.

“Everything is expensive and now the petrol has affected all of us cleaners and low pay workers. We are so worried,” she said.

Paki, who worked 10pm to 6am shifts, said it was a very tough time.

“Petrol is going up everytime I go in my car,” she said.

“We are renting and we have to pay the bills, electricity, put the food on the table, it’s hard for us.”

Paki said any government support would be appreciated.

“If our wages go up it will be easier for us. That’s why we fight for our Fair Pay agreement but then they scrapped it, and we cleaners are suffering and struggling.”

On Monday, Willis said the government was “anticipating, and to the extent possible mitigating the impact on the New Zealand economy, including what could potentially be acute cost of living pressures for some households”.

“From the government’s point of view, we need to ensure that any support we provide to households is temporary, is targeted and is timely,” she said.

Willis said official advice was that reducing fuel excise would “send the wrong signal” and not be sufficiently targeted.

Willis said her household would not need as much help financially as others, using the example of a South Auckland airport cleaner who could not take the bus to work.

“We need to make sure that we have in mind those New Zealanders who face the most acute cost of living pressures rather than having blanket responses which tie up a lot of others.”

She would not give a price petrol would have to reach at the pump before the government would take action, saying prices had been higher in the past.

“I am working with the Treasury and we will have a range of options,” she said, which would be discussed with Cabinet. She said whatever the government did would have to be prudent and not contribute to inflation.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/19/nightshift-cleaner-welcomes-finance-ministers-mooted-support-against-surging-petrol-prices/

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Art Central, In Collaboration With The Hong Kong Tourism Board, Presents The Hong Kong Art Month Discovery Guide And Introduces Travel And Experience Packages

Source: Media Outreach

Inviting visitors to Hong Kong Art Month for a cultural journey connecting art and the city

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – Art Central, in collaboration with the Hong Kong Tourism Board, is launching a digital Hong Kong Art Month Discovery Guide alongside a series of travel and experience packages for the Fair’s eleventh edition. These offerings bring visitors from the Greater Bay Area and overseas a seamless art travel experience, allowing them to enjoy Hong Kong’s diverse hotels, dining, attractions, and transport networks alongside their visit to the Fair.

As a cornerstone event of Hong Kong Art Month, Art Central returns to the iconic Central Harbourfront from 25 to 29 March 2026. The Fair brings together contemporary art, curated programmes, and a vibrant community of galleries, artists, collectors, overseas visitors, and local audiences to build a dynamic platform for artistic exchange. Art Central 2026 is financially supported by the Mega Arts and Cultural Events Fund under the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.

Entering its second decade, Art Central 2026 will assemble 117 galleries and 500 artists from Hong Kong, Asia, and around the world, further reinforcing its position as an integral platform for discovery and exchange among collectors and curators. Co-curated by Enoch Cheng and Zoie Yung, the Fair’s eleventh edition will present a series of artistic programmes—including performances, video art, large-scale installations, and talks—examining the frictions and intimacies that shape contemporary social and virtual life, foregrounding emergent Asian voices.

To enrich the artistic journey for visitors, Art Central, in partnership with the Hong Kong Tourism Board, proudly presents the digital Hong Kong Art Month Discovery Guide. The guide compiles exciting events across the city’s art districts, covering gallery exhibitions, special museum showcases, and performing arts programmes across Central, Sheung Wan, Wan Chai, Tai Hang, the Southern District, Tsim Sha Tsui, and the West Kowloon Cultural District. Beyond visual arts, the guide offers detailed dining recommendations in the vicinity, perfectly illustrating Hong Kong’s diverse culinary culture. The curated selections range from local street food and refined Cantonese cuisine to Michelin-starred contemporary European dining. Featured establishments include MIAN, Amber, Belon, L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon, Chinesology, Gu Liang Cai, and the historic Luk Yu Tea House. Through this comprehensive guide, visitors can easily navigate the city’s streets and alleys alongside their visit to Art Central, seamlessly transitioning from visual arts to culinary delights while deeply experiencing Hong Kong’s unique charm as Asia’s events capital. Explore more in the Hong Kong Art Month Discovery Guide.

To allow visitors to incorporate the Fair into their broader Hong Kong itineraries with ease, Art Central has introduced a brand-new Flexible Date Ticket, available in limited quantities exclusively during the advance sale period. Holders of the Flexible Date Ticket may select any single day between 25 and 29 March 2026 for entry during general admission hours without the need for advance date selection.

Art Central has also launched comprehensive packages on various travel platforms covering accommodation, attractions, and transportation for the convenience of visitors. For example, through Ctrip, visitors can book curated packages combining Fair admission with selected offers and enjoy a HK$50 no-minimum-spend Uber Taxi promo code with the purchase of any ticket, easily charting a cultural journey connecting art and city life.

Ctrip’s accommodation bundles span top-tier five-star luxury properties such as Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong, Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong, and The Murray, Hong Kong, as well as boutique options including The Pottinger Hong Kong, offering convenient and elevated choices for cultural getaways and weekend itineraries.

Additionally, attraction bundles will extend the Fair experience to multiple transportation options and popular leisure destinations, including the Peak Tram, the Hong Kong Observation Wheel, the Star Ferry, and the Airport Express. This allows visitors to integrate transportation, accommodation, and urban cultural experiences, extending their exhibition visit into a city journey exploring Hong Kong’s art and lifestyle.

Furthermore, Art Central has launched combo packages on Klook, pairing the Flexible Date Ticket with admission to the Hong Kong Observation Wheel at the Central Harbourfront (HK$302) or a Cupping Room coffee e-voucher (HK$314). These allow visitors to take in the spectacular views of Victoria Harbour or take a relaxing coffee break following their visit to the Fair. After viewing the exhibition, visitors can also take the “WestK Ferry” from Central Pier 9—a short eight-minute ferry ride—to effortlessly reach the West Kowloon Cultural District and continue their exploration at M+, the Hong Kong Palace Museum, and the WestK FunFest.

Package offers are exclusively available for purchase via Ctrip and Klook. For more details regarding participating hotels, dining, attractions, and transport partners, please visit artcentralhongkong.com/tickets. Ticket Packages might be subject to change without prior notice and are available in limited quantities while stocks last.

​
Art Central 2026 Package Offers

Category Package Price Booking Channel Remarks
Fair Ticket Art Central Advance Ticket +

Uber Taxi HK$50 Promo Code

 Adult: HK$180
Child: HK$55		 Ctrip
Experience Art Central Advance Ticket

+ Peak Tram Return Ticket + Sky Terrace 428 + Uber Taxi HK$50 Promo Code

 Adult: HK$305
Child: HK$305		 Ctrip
Experience Art Central Advance Ticket +

Hong Kong Observation Wheel Ticket + Uber Taxi HK$50 Promo Code

 Adult: HK$164
Child: HK$54		 Ctrip
Experience Art Central Advance Ticket + Star Ferry World Star / Shining Star Water Tour Ticket + Uber Taxi HK$50 Promo Code Adult: HK$351
Child: HK$188		 Ctrip
Transport Art Central Advance Ticket +

Airport Express Ticket to/from Central (Hong Kong Station) + Uber Taxi HK$50 Promo Code

 Child: HK$89 Ctrip
F&B Art Central Advance Flexible Date Ticket +

Cupping Room HK$50 Coffee E-Voucher

 HK$314 Klook
Experience Art Central Advance Flexible Date Ticket +

Hong Kong Observation Wheel Ticket

 HK$302 Klook
Hotel Art Central Advance Ticket + Hotel Bundle RMB ¥581+ Ctrip Options include:
Four Seasons Hotel Hong Kong / The Upper House / Mandarin Oriental Hong Kong / Island Shangri-La, Hong Kong / The Murray, Hong Kong, a Niccolo Hotel / JW Marriott Hotel Hong Kong / The Pottinger Hong Kong / Two MacDonnell Road, Hong Kong / Lan Kwai Fong Hotel @ Kau U Fong / Bishop Lei International House

Opening Dates and Hours
Tuesday 24 March
VIP Preview (by invitation)

Wednesday 25 March
Fair Hours 12 pm – 5 pm
Night Central 5 pm – 9 pm

Thursday 26 March
Fair Hours 12 pm – 7 pm

Friday 27 March
Fair Hours 12pm – 7 pm

Saturday 28 March
Fair Hours 11 am – 7 pm

Sunday 29 March
Fair Hours 11 am – 5 pm

Venue
Central Harbourfront Hong Kong, 9 Lung Wo Road

https://artcentralhongkong.com/
https://www.facebook.com/artcentralhk
Wechat: https://artcentralhongkong.com/wechat/
https://www.instagram.com/artcentralhk/

Hashtag: #ArtCentralHK #ArtCentralUOB #HongKongArtWeek

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/19/art-central-in-collaboration-with-the-hong-kong-tourism-board-presents-the-hong-kong-art-month-discovery-guide-and-introduces-travel-and-experience-packages/

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HealthMutual Group and SinoUnited Health Sign Strategic Agreement to Expand Premium Cross-Border Healthcare into Shanghai

Source: Media Outreach

SHANGHAI / HONG KONG – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – HealthMutual Group (HMG) and SinoUnited Health (SUH) today signed a collaboration agreement to establish a comprehensive cross-border medical service framework. This partnership is designed to meet the clients’ growing demand for high-quality medical services in China.

Under this agreement, SinoUnited Health will serve as HMG’s anchor hospital and primary healthcare hub in Shanghai. The partnership establishes a standardized framework for cross-border care, focusing on clinical excellence and financial predictability. HMG members will gain access to SinoUnited Health’s elite specialist network across Shanghai, Hangzhou, and Suzhou, supported by fully transparent fee structures.

The collaboration is backed by HMG’s significant operational scale. Currently ranking within the top three in the industry for total new business premium, HMG supports its insurance partners in serving over 700,000 clients. With HK$150 million in medical expenses processed to date, HMG’s network connects 700 specialists and 13 private hospitals in Hong Kong with over 2,000 hospitals across Mainland China.

“The demand for cross-border medical services is increasing rapidly,” said Mr. KC Chan, Founder of HealthMutual Group. “Partnering with SinoUnited Health is a natural expansion of our robust GBA network. SUH’s reputation for excellence ensures that our vision—maintaining medical insurance as a sustainable funding source for quality care—now extends firmly into the Shanghai region.”

Sharon Cheng, Vice President of Business Development, SinoUnited Health added: “This collaboration aligns perfectly with our ‘patient-first’ philosophy. By combining HMG’s massive regional reach with our world-class medical care, we are creating a seamless ‘home-away-from-home’ experience for patients. We are proud to serve as the Shanghai gateway for HMG’s 700,000+ policyholders, offering them professional integrity and access to the latest medical technologies.”

To ensure long-term service quality, the two groups will conduct quarterly professional exchanges and site inspections, allowing Hong Kong insurance partners to directly interface with SUH’s international medical teams and advanced clinical facilities.

Hashtag: #HealthMutualGroup #HMG #SinoUnitedHealth #互康

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/19/healthmutual-group-and-sinounited-health-sign-strategic-agreement-to-expand-premium-cross-border-healthcare-into-shanghai/

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Current account deficit $4.6 billion for the December 2025 quarter – Balance of payments and international investment position: December 2025 quarter – Stats NZ news story and information release

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/19/current-account-deficit-4-6-billion-for-the-december-2025-quarter-balance-of-payments-and-international-investment-position-december-2025-quarter-stats-nz-news-story-and-informat/

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MOONTON Games Shines at Hong Kong FILMART, Unveiling Three Original Film-Game IPs and Forging a New Film-Game Integration Ecosystem For The Future

Source: Media Outreach

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – On the opening day of Hong Kong FILMART, global leading game enterprise, MOONTON Games, hosted a film-game intellectual property (IP) launch conference under the theme From Spark to Spotlight, officially announcing its cross-border upgrade from the game industry to full ecological incubation of film-game IPs. At the event, MOONTON Games unveiled three flagship original IPs—You Ming Zhi, Cetus, and Project: Lovania—spanning Eastern fantasy, sci-fi adventure, and cozy genres, with diversified formats including feature films, animated series, and video games. An industry forum was held to explore the new-era development of film-game integration.

Distinguished guests attended the conference, including Cloud Zhang, Head of ByteDance’s Game Business and CEO of MOONTON Games; Yaguang Ma, also known as Link Ma, Head of MOONTON Games’ Lighthouse Studio; renowned screenwriter Ran Ping; celebrated author Jiang Nan; acclaimed animation director Shen Youbafang; Wang Shanshan (Film and Television Director of Science Fiction World); as well as leaders from the National Radio and Television Administration; the Hong Kong Trade Development Council; numerous media representatives; and industry peers.

Founded in 2014, MOONTON Games has crafted a portfolio of classic game IPs loved by gamers worldwide. Its debut at Hong Kong FILMART marks the launch of MOONTON Games’ global incubation journey for premium IPs with a brand-new vision, completing a cross-dimensional creative leap from a digital game kingdom to a cinematic light and shadow realm, and empowering Chinese culture-rooted original content to shine on the international stage. MOONTON Games’ Lighthouse Studio, the core vehicle for its film-game IP development, made its official debut at the conference, and its unwavering commitment to long-termist creative philosophy has become the cornerstone of Moonton’s film-game integration layout. The three distinctive original IPs form MOONTON Games’ first film-game IP matrix; all anchored in high-quality content, they pose profound emotional inquiries around What it means to be human, what it means to live, with unique themes and expressive formats.

You Ming Zhi: Rooted in Chinese Folk Customs, Forging a Benchmark for Eastern Fantasy Theatrical Animated Films

As MOONTON Games’ maiden cross-border film and television project, the Eastern fantasy IP You Ming Zhi—deeply rooted in Chinese folk culture—officially kicked off at the conference. The IP builds a distinctive worldview where the world is governed by animal Spirits of Light, and humans embark on a quest to uncover their own history and the meaning of survival. Breaking free from the clichés of traditional immortal and chivalric fantasy, it returns to a narrative core rooted in mortal life and journey experiences. The growth story of protagonist Zhou Chu mirrors the self-discovery and identity exploration of contemporary young people, embodying both profound Chinese cultural heritage and universal emotional resonance.

The IP’s first concept short film made a stunning debut at the conference. Wanzhou Yu, the IP producer, shared that creative inspiration stemmed from personal emotional resonance, aiming to create a humanistic Eastern fantasy work where the protagonist achieves inner growth through witnessing rather than conquering. Cloud stated that this IP was chosen as the starting point of MOONTON Games’ cross-border endeavor for its compelling narrative rooted in Chinese folk customs that transcends media boundaries; it reflectsand MOONTON Games’ aspirations to set an aesthetic and narrative benchmark for it with the ceremonial essence of film. Yaguang Ma highlighted the IP’s pure creative team, original worldview and systematic aesthetic system, believing it to be an IP seed with sustainable growth potential for a decade. A landmark announcement was made: national first-class screenwriter Ran Ping officially joined the project as the animated film’s screenwriter. Ran Ping noted that the IP’s allure lies in exploring profound propositions of civilization, loneliness and coexistence through a fantasy lens, integrating the traditional heritage of ancient supernatural tales with modern narrative consciousness, and a great fantasy work ultimately reflects reality. The MOONTON Games team presented Ran Ping with a framed original art poster of the IP, marking his official joining in a highly ceremonial way.

Cetus: Debut of a Dieselpunk Sci-Fi IP, Launching a Global Co-creation Plan

Following You Ming Zhi, MOONTON Games released the high-concept sci-fi IP Cetus, with the first concept short film of its dieselpunk post-apocalyptic adventure animated series also unveiled at the event. The IP constructs a post-apocalyptic world shrouded in a sea of clouds, where humans have built a unique civilization based on whaling in an isolated island setting, and cling to hope and resolve amid ruins and steel.

Cetus boasts celebrated author, Jiang Nan, as co-creator and acclaimed sci-fi animation director, Shen Youbafang, as director—two core creative forces with profound expertise in building grand worldviews and crafting sci-fi animations. Yaguang Ma commented that Jiang Nan has endowed Cetus with a profound textual foundation and epic grandeur, while Shen Youbafang masterfully captures and presents the distinctive texture of this sea of clouds world to audiences. Jiang Nan explained that the core of Cetus is to depict the essence of humanity in desperate situations: even if only one tower remains in the world, there will still be stories, warmth, and dignity. Shen Youbafang frankly shared that the challenge and joy of creation both lie in building a dieselpunk visual system that blends industrial ruggedness with the warmth of life, making every gear and rust mark an integral part of the narrative. Moonton also announced the official launch of the Cetus Global Co-creation Plan at the conference, opening up the IP’s worldview setting to global sci-fi writers, illustrators, animators and game designers, and inviting creators worldwide to jointly build this magnificent sea of clouds universe. The plan is jointly promoted by MOONTON Games and Science Fiction World, the benchmark platform for Chinese sci-fi literature. Cloud, Wang Shanshan and three other distinguished guests launched the plan with a jigsaw puzzle ceremony, marking Cetus as the first Chinese dieselpunk sci-fi IP nurtured by global creators.

Project: Lovania: A Cozy Game Surprise Debuts, Creating a Spiritual Haven

As a delightful surprise at the conference, MOONTON Games launched the original cozy game, Project: Lovania, whose promotional short film brought a warm and heartfelt experience to the audience. The game builds a fairy-tale wonderland named the Hometown Never Forgotten, where players take on the role of a little puppet and embark on a magical adventure following a long-eared star. In the game, players can build exclusive homes, customize their avatars, and pursue the starlight and the moon hidden in fascinating stories. In an era driven by efficiency, Project: Lovaniacenters on the core of healing, serving as a warm emotional complement to MOONTON Games’ IP matrix and adding greater diversity to the company’s film-game IP layout.

For The Future: MOONTON Games Releases the Core Strategy for Film-Game Integration

At the conference, MOONTON Games showcased the creative aspirations and team spirit of Lighthouse Studio through a corporate short film, with original aspiration and unwavering faith as the studio’s core tenets. On behalf of the studio, Yaguang Ma released MOONTON Games’ core strategy for film-game integration, stating that the establishment of Lighthouse Studio stems from MOONTON Games’s persistent commitment to long-termist content creation. The studio rejects rushed content production, focuses on returning to the essence of creation itself, and builds a tailored creative ecosystem for the sustainable growth of premium IPs.

MOONTON Games’ film-game integration layout is not a simple cross-media expansion, but is centered on building a living, evolving world. Each IP is enabled to naturally evolve into diverse formats including games, films and animations, based on a complete worldview and a profound emotional core. Cloud emphasized that MOONTON Games has always believed that a good story transcends media and time, and the core of film-game integration is to take high-quality original content as the foundation, allowing IPs to realize value amplification and enduring vitality across different media. The three IPs released at the event represent the first implementation of this core strategy, and Moonton will continue to deepen its focus on original content creation, fueling the incubation and growth of more film-game IPs in the future.

Industry Elites Gather at the Forum to Explore the Key to Success for the Future of Film-Game Integration

After the IP release session, MOONTON Games hosted an industry forum themed What is the Decisive Factor for the Future of IP-Based Film-Game Integration, moderated by Li Xingwen, a famous cultural critic and Chief Editor of Film and Television Critic. Cloud, Ran Ping, Jiang Nan, and Huang Haibo, Director of Phoenix TV Movie Channel, engaged in an in-depth discussion from diverse professional perspectives.

The forum delved into core topics including the key factors for translating film-game integration concepts into practical execution, the essential traits of IPs with sustainable cross-media vitality, the creative differences between animation and traditional film and television production, the creative adaptation of literary IPs for film and game cross-border development, the new forces urgently needed in the film and television industry, as well as the opportunities and challenges for game enterprises venturing into the film and television sector. Combining their rich practical experience and insightful industry observations, the guests offered multi-dimensional insights and ideas for the industrial development of film-game integration, helping the on-site audience gain a clearer and more in-depth understanding of its future development trends.

MOONTON Games’ film-game IP launch conference at Hong Kong FILMART marks the official launch of the company’s global film-game IP layout, emerging as a pivotal practice for game enterprises in cross-border film-game integration. From deepening its roots in the game industry to incubating film-game IPs, MOONTON Games takes these three original IPs as its starting point, integrating the essence of Chinese culture with modern creative expression. With its long-termist creative philosophy and open co-creation operation model, Moonton sets a new paradigm for the development of the global film-game integration industry. As the conference theme From Spark to Spotlight implies, this launch is not the end of MOONTON Games’ cross-border film and game journey, but the beginning of a new chapter. In the future, Moonton’s Lighthouse Studio will continue to polish high-quality original content, drive the in-depth integration and global development of film-game IPs, and let Chinese original film-game IPs shine brightly on the world stage.

Hashtag: #MOONTONGames

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/19/moonton-games-shines-at-hong-kong-filmart-unveiling-three-original-film-game-ips-and-forging-a-new-film-game-integration-ecosystem-for-the-future/

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HKSTP Brings Together Life and Health Tech Leaders at CTC Marketplace Proving Ecosystem’s Success in Driving Fundraising and Research Commercialisation

Source: Media Outreach

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) today hosted the CTC Marketplace Showcase Event: From Clinical Trials to Fundraising, Licensing Deals and Acquisitions, reinforcing its commitment to accelerating the city’s life and health tech sector. The event brought together 110 industry pioneers, investors, and corporate partners for a deep dive into the critical pillars shaping biotech success—from Hong Kong’s unique policy advantages for innovation and the evolving IPO landscape, to the city’s emergence as a global clinical trial hub.

The event featured a compelling lineup of company founders and executives who have leveraged HKSTP’s ecosystem to reach critical milestones, including Health Hope Pharma, Arthrosi Therapeutics Inc, Nuance Pharma and InxMed (Hong Kong) Limited.

With over 300 life and health tech companies in its ecosystem and strong policy support from the nation and the HKSAR Government, HKSTP is uniquely positioned to drive the next generation of medical breakthroughs. Through its end-to-end translational ecosystem, HKSTP accelerates biotech commercialisation by bridging the critical gap from lab discovery to global market access—delivering world-class infrastructure, strategic funding, and expert regulatory guidance.

As a strategic catalyst, HKSTP actively connects innovators with top-tier Principal Investigators (PIs), leading clinical centres, and institutional investors, helping to de-risk development pathways, streamline regulatory approvals, and fast-track clinical trials for transformative growth.

“At HKSTP, we recognise that a great idea is only the beginning. The real challenge is navigating the long and complex journey from lab to clinic, from concept to cure,” said Terry Wong, CEO of HKSTP, in his opening remarks. “Today’s CTC Marketplace represents the physical embodiment of our execution strategy. Our mission is to connect, collaborate, and accelerate, because every step forward brings us closer to the patients and communities who depend on our innovations.”

Health Hope Pharma is a Hong Kong-headquartered late-stage clinical oncology biopharma, specialising in novel oral anti-cancer drugs towards a safer and more convenient alternative to conventional intravenous therapy. Prof Dennis Lam, Founder of Health Hope Pharma, shared his experience in securing a major licensing agreement with global biopharmaceutical leader Gilead Sciences, with a potential value of up to USD 82.5 million for HHP, including milestone payments.

Arthrosi Therapeutics Inc. is a US-based clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing treatment option aimed at lowering uric acid levels and reducing joint damage for people living with gout. Dr Shunqi Yan, Co-founder and COO of Arthrosi Therapeutics, joined virtually and shared the company’s remarkable success in achieving USD 153 million in Series E funding and a subsequent acquisition valued at USD 1.5 billion.

Nuance Pharma is an innovation focused biopharma company, with late-stage clinical pipeline and commercial stage asset portfolio across respiratory, emergency care, iron deficiency anemia and pain management. Dr Charlie Chen, COO of Nuance Pharma, discussed how the company leveraged the “1+” mechanism to expedite commercialisation in Hong Kong. The Department of Health approved Ohtuvayre in March 2026, marking it as the first drug targeting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to gain approval under this scheme.

InxMed (Hong Kong) Limited is focused on addressing a key challenge in cancer therapy: drug resistance stemming from tumor defense mechanisms. The company officially submitted its IPO application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in August 2025. Mr Francis Cao, Co-founder and COO of InxMed, emphasised the critical role of fundraising in advancing their research, having completed five rounds of financing that total over USD 130 million.

Hashtag: #HKSTP

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/19/hkstp-brings-together-life-and-health-tech-leaders-at-ctc-marketplace-proving-ecosystems-success-in-driving-fundraising-and-research-commercialisation/

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Education delegation heads to Australia for maths engagements

Source: New Zealand Government

Education Minister Erica Stanford is heading to Australia with an education delegation of 15 principals and deputy principals to attend the Maths Fact Fluency Masterclass and Explicit Mathematics Conference.

“Raising student achievement and closing the equity gap are at the heart of our education reforms, and teaching maths brilliantly is absolutely central to that,” Ms Stanford says.

“Our engagements in New South Wales are set to provide valuable opportunities to learn from what Australia is doing well so that we can provide an even stronger maths offering for our children.

“Like New Zealand, the majority of schools in New South Wales are working to implement explicit mathematics instruction. During the visit, our delegation will hear from Australian experts and practitioners who have been leading that work. Topics include:

  • Understanding the Australian journey toward structured/explicit mathematics instruction
  • Exploring impacts from both school and system perspectives
  • Gaining insight into effective implementation across system, school and classroom levels
  • Learning from the real-world effects of significant shifts in mathematics instruction
  • Understanding how staff, families and wider communities have been engaged
  • Learning about the challenges encountered and lessons learned
  • Receiving practical guidance for those at the beginning of the journey

“We will also be sharing our Government’s plan to lift achievement and close the equity gap in New Zealand. I look forward to sharing experiences and ideas,” Ms Stanford says.

“When we began our education reforms, we promised to follow the research and evidence on how children learn best, so that we could give them the world-leading education they deserve. 

“I look forward to hearing from overseas professionals as we strengthen education ties and continue our job to provide the best education for Kiwis.”

Minister Stanford travels to New South Wales on Wednesday 18 March and returns to New Zealand on Saturday 21 March. 

MIL OSI

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/18/education-delegation-heads-to-australia-for-maths-engagements/

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Wildberries Sees Surging Consumer Demand for African Products

Source: Media Outreach

MOSCOW, RUSSIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – Wildberries, a leading digital platform in Eurasia, reports a significant increase in demand among marketplace customers in Russia and neighboring countries for products originating from Africa.

Sales of coffee from Ethiopia increased 2.3 times in 2025 and continues to grow at a similar pace in 2026. Another fast-growing Ethiopian product is amulets—bracelets, keychains, and brooches made from natural opal. Sales in this category increased eightyfold in 2025.

In 2025, sales of black seed oil from Egypt grew 2.7 times. This plant-based oil is valued for its anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties and is also used in cooking. Apparel sales from Egypt rose 2.4 times in 2025 and surged elevenfold in January–February 2026.

Sales of tea from South Africa doubled year-on-year in 2025 and tripled in January–February 2026 compared to the same period last year. Sales of cosmetic creams from South Africa increased sixfold in 2025 and continued to grow in early 2026.

Sales of seeds from Morocco rose 2.4 times, driven by demand for rosemary, an aromatic plant used in cosmetics production and as a culinary spice. Moroccan boots are also popular on Wildberries, reflecting the country’s longstanding traditions in leather footwear craftsmanship.

Sales of fish products from Tunisia, such as anchovies, increased 2.7 times in January–February 2026, while olive oil sales from the country grew 6.6 times in the same period. Tunisia ranks among the leading exporters of these product categories.

Sales of Zambian jewelry and Senegalese kanekalon – an artificial fiber used for braiding hair in the African style – both doubled in 2025. From Tanzania, coffee is in demand, along with postage stamps, which recorded a sixfold sales growth in 2025. The stamps, depicting the country’s unique natural heritage – including Mount Kilimanjaro, savannas, wildlife, and the everyday life of local Maasai tribes – enjoy well-deserved popularity among stamp collectors.

Hashtag: #Wildberries

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/18/wildberries-sees-surging-consumer-demand-for-african-products/

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NBA and The Coca-Cola Company Announce Multiyear Global Partnership

Source: Media Outreach

NEW YORK, US – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and The Coca-Cola Company today announced a new global marketing partnership, bringing Sprite® back as the league’s Official Global Soft Drink Partner.

The agreement marks the return of one of the NBA’s most iconic brand collaborations, reuniting two names that have shared a deep connection to basketball culture for decades. Sprite, the world’s leading lemon-lime soft drink, will serve as the exclusive soft drink partner of the NBA across a global footprint.

The Coca-Cola Company first partnered with the NBA in 1986, and for nearly three decades, Sprite helped shape how basketball connects with fans across sport, music, fashion and self-expression. From the cultural impact of “Obey Your Thirst” in North America, to streetball tournaments in Asia, player-led collaborations in Latin America, and culture-driven activations across Europe and Africa, Sprite’s heritage within basketball culture spans generations and continents. Sprite also served as the title sponsor of the Slam Dunk Contest at NBA All-Star from 2003-2016. Together, Sprite and the NBA helped define how brands show up authentically in the culture surrounding the game.

“Sprite has always been a brand that celebrates individuality and self-expression, values that resonate deeply with basketball fans worldwide,” said Kerry Tatlock, EVP Global Marketing Partnerships and Media, NBA. “We’re thrilled to welcome Sprite back to the NBA family and look forward to collaborating together on new ways for fans to experience the game.”

“Basketball is central to the DNA of Sprite,” said Manolo Arroyo, EVP and Global Chief Marketing Officer, The Coca-Cola Company. “Reuniting with the NBA is about co-creating what’s next – experimenting with new fan experiences, exploring emerging formats and meeting the next generation where they are. Basketball is not just a game; it’s a global cultural engine, and Sprite, together with the NBA, will help to fuel the moments and memories that drive it.”

Deepening its commitment to athletes who embody bold originality and individuality, Sprite is continuing to build on its existing relationship with 2026 NBA All-Star Game MVP Anthony Edwards. Edwards represents a new generation of global stars whose influence extends beyond the court, making him a natural partner for Sprite.

“I love that Sprite has always been a brand that pushes you to do things your way,” said Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves Guard. “Being a part of this legendary partnership between Sprite and the NBA is incredible. I’m excited to represent the brand and show the next generation the power of staying true to yourself.”

Under the new agreement, Sprite will activate across NBA’s biggest global stages, including league tentpole moments, as well as international events like NBA Global Games. Through the partnership, fans will see immersive experiences, custom content series on NBA platforms, and exclusive promotions that bring them closer to NBA fandom.

The renewed collaboration builds on recent momentum, including the introduction of co-branded, limited-edition Sprite cans featuring select NBA teams in participating markets – giving fans a new way to celebrate their local fandom and regional pride. Through integrated global marketing campaigns, digital-first storytelling, retail programs and in-market fan experiences, Sprite will connect the energy of basketball directly to ultimate refreshment. The partnership builds on Sprite’s existing relationships with the NBA family, which include team partnerships with 17 NBA teams.

Hashtag: #NBA #Cocacola

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/18/nba-and-the-coca-cola-company-announce-multiyear-global-partnership/

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Takapuna golfers may get 12 holes: ‘It just gives us a more meaningful round of golf’

Source: Radio New Zealand

The council is pushing ahead with plans to reduce the Takapuna Gold Course to nine holes. Nick Monro

Hopes of retaining an 18-hole golf course in Takapuna have been sunk – but 12 holes could still be on the cards for the golfers.

Auckland Council is turning half of the existing 18-hole golf course at AF Thomas Park into a floodwater catchment, aimed at mitigating the city’s increasing flood risks.

The Wairau area on Auckland’s North Shore has been hit hard by floods, and the council has said its decision was about “saving lives, protecting homes and businesses, and strengthening the city against flood risk”.

But thousands of people have signed a petition to keep the 18 holes on the course – with supporters including Hall of Fame golfer Dame Lydia Ko.

The council decided last year to push ahead with plans to reduce the course to nine holes.

But Takapuna Golf Course is taking another swing at the proposal, and has come up with a plan to give the council the area it needs for the wetland, while squeezing 12 holes into the remaining space.

Takapuna Golf Course head greens keeper Stephen Dowd told Checkpoint the three extra holes would make a big difference, and followed moves in Europe and the United States towards 12-hole golf.

“It just gives us a more meaningful round of golf. We can play two sixes, which you can associate with playing two nines, and it can be more like a normal round of golf, rather than just playing nine holes, and it lets us operate pretty much as we are now. We can sell an extra tee-off time in the morning for a couple of hours, so people can play the other six.

“It just lets us operate and then we can continue to provide more affordable golf to as many Kiwis as we can, and get more people on the course.”

Head greens keeper Stephen Dowd. Takapuna Golf Club

Dowd said the golf course had not yet seen the council’s full proposal, but they were confident they could make the 12 holes work.

“We just have to come up with our own plan. They’ve seen our plan and we believe some of them actually like it.

“We anticipate the wetland will take up around a third of the course. So we need about 22 hectares of the rest of the course.”

He said they were working with a designer and were trying to accommodate other peoples wishes that they wanted extra recreation on the course.

“If we want more land, it won’t be very much more, only two or three more hectares.”

The local community board will discuss the new proposal at a meeting next week.

While the golfers had fought to keep the 18 holes, Dowd said they had accepted that the course needed to change.

“Obviously, the flooding was a massive issue and that was last year’s fight, we made the decision last year that we needed to start working with the council.

“And we think this is a good plan that accomplishes all their goals, while leaving meaningful golf on Takapuna Golf Course for our 100,00 users we get every year.”

The Takapuna Golf Course. Nick Monro

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/18/takapuna-golfers-may-get-12-holes-it-just-gives-us-a-more-meaningful-round-of-golf/

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Chris Hipkins says he considered his future in politics after ex-wife’s claims

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Mark Papalii

New Zealand First’s leader Winston Peters says he’s not interested in weighing in on the personal relationship of Labour’s leader Chris Hipkins.

He’s issued a statement, however, clarifying that Mr Hipkins’ ex-wife Jade Paul does not work for his party or have any affiliation or role with it.

“We are not interested in a politician’s current personal relationship issues and won’t be commenting at all on the matter – apart from the fact that there are lies now being spread including that the person involved works for New Zealand First – this is false.

“This person does not work for New Zealand First nor has any affiliation or role with New Zealand First. They worked for a short period of time in an office then left amicably for another role around a year ago.”

It was understood Paul worked as a ministerial advisor for Cabinet minister Casey Costello.

Earlier on Wednesday, Hipkins said he did consider his future in politics after his ex-wife levelled claims at him on social media, but he remains “absolutely committed” to staying on.

Hipkins appeared on a suite of morning media shows – including Morning Report – where he again flatly denied all the claims, but said he would not be litigating them in public for the sake of his children.

The claims are not criminal and relate to a lack of support for his ex-wife Jade Paul during and after their relationship.

Speaking on Morning Report, Hipkins acknowledged he had considered stepping down, noting the impact on his family.

“It would be untrue to say that those thoughts hadn’t crossed my mind in the last 48 hours, but everybody in their lives at some point goes through rough patches, and you just have to keep getting out of bed every day.

Labour leader Chris Hipkins. RNZ / Mark Papalii

“I love my job and and I’m absolutely committed to continuing to do it.”

Later on Wednesday outside Parliament, Hipkins told reporters people should not read “too much” into his comments, insisting he was “not going anywhere”.

“I’m passionate about my job, I’m passionate about New Zealand. I’m passionate about many, many things that I care deeply about. But these things have a big impact on the people who I care a lot about.”

On Morning Report, Hipkins said the public debate was “very unfair” on his children, partner and parents – “you do pause and think about that” – but he had received a lot of support over the past day or two.

“Our marriage broke up. That was a traumatic thing. You know, clearly, there are always going to be lots of regrets in a situation like that.

“Many, many people have contacted me in the last 24 hours to indicate that they’ve been through a relationship break-up that has been difficult. I think people will understand that litigating those things through the public is in no one’s best interest.”

Hipkins confirmed he had sought legal advice about the further publication of his ex-wife’s allegations by others, as well as the addition of other “completely unsubstantiated things”.

“The online world is a bit of a sewer pit, and it seems that no one has any hesitation in adding to that,” he said.

“Social media certainly has emboldened a lot of people, and, you know, we have a virtual vigilante approach on social media that anybody in a public profile role now has to contend with. I don’t think that’s been healthy for democracy.”

Paul’s initial post was published on her private Facebook page on Sunday evening, but screenshots were quickly circulated online.

Paul later removed the post, but told RNZ she stood by the comments.

Since then, false rumours have circulated online that Paul works for New Zealand First. In a statement on Facebook on Wednesday, leader Winston Peters said that claim was not true.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/18/chris-hipkins-says-he-considered-his-future-in-politics-after-ex-wifes-claims/

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Relief for parents and students as Ministry of Education pauses school bus reviews

Source: Radio New Zealand

Toby Williams

  • Ministry of Education pauses reviews and changes to rural school bus routes.
  • Officials to review policy and consult with schools and communities.
  • Changes already brought in won’t be reversed.

Rural families worried about whether their children are still eligible for government-funded buses to school can for now breathe a sigh of relief.

The Ministry of Education confirmed it’s pushed pause on reviews into compliance with rules such as attending the closest high school while it reviews its transport assistance policy.

It’s a welcome decision for regions where changes were due to soon take hold, but has left those already affected feeling frustrated.

Grateful for pause

Tairāwhiti farmer Toby Williams’ two sons attend Gisborne Boys’ High School.

Changes to take effect in the Gisborne region from the second term of the school year are now on hold.

But before the ministry backdown this week, Williams was worried about how his boys and dozens of other teens in the area would get to school from next term. They were ruled ineligible for ministry-funded services to Boys’ High.

Tairāwhiti farmer Toby Williams. RNZ / Jimmy Ellingham

“We’re really grateful to the ministry for pausing these changes for us and giving us that bit of extra time to work with them and the schools and the transport providers to be able to provide some routes that work for the community, but also work in terms of being cost efficient and affordable for the government.”

Williams’ 17-year-old son Tristin was stressed about passing his driving test, in case he had to get himself and younger brother Jackson into town, 30 minutes away, each day for class.

Williams wonders why rules most people didn’t know about were suddenly being enforced after being overlooked for so long.

“This bus has run for 40 years and must have been through multiple iterations of reviews. There were 50 kids on the bus.

“It was funny how the bus suddenly needed such drastic changes in our region. Parents were left a bit dumbfounded by the whole thing.”

Changes won’t be reversed

The ministry reviewed more than 250 routes, out of about 1400, throughout the country.

Although it’s paused making new changes, it won’t undo those it’s already made, it confirmed to RNZ on Wednesday.

In Manawatū, Nikita Walker helped organise a user-pays service for children from the towns of Rongotea and Tangimoana to get to school in Palmerston North.

The ministry said a school in Foxton is closer, so it will only put on buses there despite previously funding students on the Palmerston North service for decades.

Nikita Walker, pictured with her daughter Jasmine, says parents are finding a user-pays bus service tough to fund. RNZ/Jimmy Ellingham

“It’s just hugely disappointing. There are a lot of us who are really in hard times, financially, and we’re all struggling to be able to afford these term passes.”

The user-pays service cost more than $500 a term, she said.

“There has been a drop off in numbers due to the prices. Some people were able to just manage to get by with doing a few concession cards to get on the bus, however, long term it’s just not doable.”

Becs Barr’s petrol bill has tripled to more than $300 a week this year now she has to drive her son Murphy to and from school in Palmerston North from their Horowhenua home.

She’s also unhappy changes already implemented will stay.

“I find that quite bizarre. It should be the same for everybody. All our children should get to school.

“It seems crazy that there are decisions they’ve made for term two that they’re going to put a hold on, but they can’t reverse decisions for term one.”

Becs Barr says all children should be treated equally, so changes already made should be reversed. Becs Barr

Thorough review needed – principal

The ministry has said reviews were a routine, ongoing part of its work, but now said it was reviewing its transport assistance policy so changes were “lasting and reflect up to date policy settings”.

“Education minister Erica Stanford has been discussing current transport settings with the ministry for some time and, based on our advice, agreed last week to initiate a policy review,” said James Meffan, the ministry’s group manager for school transport.

“We’ll work with schools, communities and transport providers, and we’ll keep people updated on next steps.”

Gisborne Boys’ High School headmaster Tom Cairns said the ministry needed to come up with something that worked in the regions.

“I think the policy certainly needs to be reviewed and I think it needs to be far more comprehensive than the current review, which was, ‘We’ve got a policy from 1908. We have to enact it.’

“There needs to be some community consultation for it to be purposeful and there was none of that.”

He said schools were just told what was happening for the now-paused changes to the Gisborne region, with no chance to have a say.

“I believe there needs to be a thorough look at it. The untidy bits based around arbitrary geographic locations of schools need to be done away with.”

About 300 students at Palmerston North Boys’ High School are affected by bus eligibility changes brought in this term.

Rector David Bovey said some were finding it hard to get to school.

“The fact that they’ve stopped to have a look at it now is possible, of course, but I’m hoping that will be expanded to looking at the areas where the changes have already been made.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/18/relief-for-parents-and-students-as-ministry-of-education-pauses-school-bus-reviews/

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TrendAI™ to Secure Enterprise Adoption of Agentic AI with NVIDIA

Source: Media Outreach

TrendAI to support NVIDIA OpenShell open source runtime to add security for autonomous AI agents

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – TrendAI , the enterprise AI security leader, today announced expanded collaboration with NVIDIA to support NVIDIA OpenShell, a new open source runtime for agentic AI introduced at NVIDIA GTC. The solution enables organizations to deploy autonomous AI agents with built-in governance, continuous risk visibility, and runtime enforcement, addressing key barriers to production adoption of agentic AI.

TrendAI is teaming with NVIDIA to add security for the open source NVIDIA OpenShell runtime as the ecosystem evolves. Learn more: https://resources.trendmicro.com/2026-nvidia-gtc.html

Rachel Jin, Chief Platform and Business Officer, Head of TrendAI : “Agentic AI changes the security equation. When AI systems can plan, take action, and interact with other tools on their own, the risk profile looks very different from traditional AI. Our collaboration with NVIDIA allows us to bring security directly into the architecture so organizations can adopt agentic AI with the visibility and control they expect.”

Traditional AI security models were built for short-lived interactions between users and models. Agentic AI changes that dynamic by operating continuously and taking action across environments.

NVIDIA OpenShell is an open source runtime for long-lived, self-evolving agents capable of planning, memory, and tool execution. While these capabilities unlock significant productivity gains, they also introduce risks related to unauthorized skills, hidden behaviors, prompt injection, and unintended system access.

Pat Lee, vice president, Strategic Enterprise Partnerships at NVIDIA: “Agentic AI opens the door for a new class of applications that can plan, reason, and take action. By working with TrendAI , we’re helping developers add visibility and controls to make it safer to run autonomous AI.”

TrendAI can transform agentic AI from a high-risk experiment into an enterprise-ready architecture. Organizations gain the ability to define trust boundaries, enforce policy at runtime, and maintain continuous visibility into autonomous AI behavior, all while preserving the flexibility and power that make agentic systems valuable.

TrendAI adds an enterprise-grade security layer that governs how agents behave, what tools they can access, and how risk is detected and enforced, before, during, and after execution.

The collaboration extends across the NVIDIA AI-Q blueprint and the NVIDIA NeMo Agent Toolkit, enabling consistent security, governance, and observability as agentic systems scale across enterprise environments.

TrendAI Vision One ’s layered security architecture for OpenShell provides:

  • Centralized AI governance and compliance enforced directly in the agent runtime
  • Skill and tool risk visibility, including continuous scanning of agent skills and MCP integrations
  • Dynamic behavioral analysis to detect hidden or malicious actions
  • Inline policy enforcement that blocks untrusted skills and actions at runtime
  • AI specific threat protection, including prompt injection and sensitive data exposure detection
  • Continuous monitoring and auditability through agentic telemetry and SIEM integration. These capabilities allow organizations to define trust boundaries, enforce policy, and maintain visibility across autonomous AI agents without limiting innovation.

https://www.trendaisecurity.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/trendai-security
https://x.com/trendaisecurity
https://www.facebook.com/trendaisecurity/
https://www.instagram.com/trendaisecurity/

Hashtag: #trendai #trendmicro #trendvisionone #trendaivisionone #visionone #cybersecurity #nvidia

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/18/trendai-to-secure-enterprise-adoption-of-agentic-ai-with-nvidia/

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XTransfer’s CSO Speaks at Inclusive FinTech Forum 2026 in Rwanda

Source: Media Outreach

KIGALI, RWANDA – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – XTransfer, the world’s leading B2B cross-border financial platform, was honoured to have its Chief Strategy Officer, Neil Ni, speak at the Inclusive FinTech Forum 2026 in Rwanda, underscoring the company’s growing expansion across Africa to deliver more inclusive financial services for SMEs engaged in international trade across the continent.

XTransfer’s CSO, Neil Ni (Left), speaks at the Inclusive FinTech Forum 2026 in Rwanda.

Neil joined the panel discussion, “Securing the Global Payments Highway: Cybersecurity for Real-Time Cross-Border Transactions” during the forum to share perspectives on how the industry can strengthen cybersecurity, anti-money laundering (AML) controls, and operational resilience as cross-border payments scale in speed and volume.

Drawing on XTransfer’s experience supporting SMEs in international trade, Neil noted that traditional B2B cross-border payments often pass through multiple correspondent banks, creating complex procedures, settlement delays and high costs that can strain SME cash flow. He shared that transfers can take several days to settle, and fees can materially impact businesses operating on tight margins, sometimes pushing SMEs toward unlicensed channels that raise compliance and transparency risks.

“As the industry scales, the challenge isn’t only transaction volume, it’s speed and trust,” Neil said. “To keep legitimate trade moving safely, risk and compliance must become more intelligent, consistent, and scalable.”

Neil shared that AI is now foundational to XTransfer’s risk and compliance capability. He highlighted TradePilot, XTransfer’s self-developed large language model (LLM) tailored for the global foreign trade financial sector, which helps identify suspicious patterns earlier, prioritise alerts, reduce false positives, and support more consistent decisions across markets, strengthening AML and compliance at speed.

Neil also discussed XTransfer’s accelerating expansion in Africa, noting more than 300% growth in the region in 2025 as SMEs seek faster and lower-cost ways to manage cross-border trade payments. He added that XTransfer is focused on working with ecosystem partners and regulators to support safer, more standardised cross-border information flows, one reason XTransfer is building X-Net, the industry’s first Unified Global B2B Trade Settlement Network and Risk Control Platform, to enhance interoperability and shared security standards across payment rails.

“Building resilience requires collective effort,” Neil added.

https://www.xtransfer.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/xtransfer.cn
https://x.com/xtransferglobal
https://www.facebook.com/XTransferGlobal/
https://www.instagram.com/xtransfer.global

Hashtag: #XTransfer #Africa #IFF2026 #Crossborder #Payment #SMEs

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/18/xtransfers-cso-speaks-at-inclusive-fintech-forum-2026-in-rwanda/

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Marlborough District Council wants region’s current environment plan preserved

Source: Radio New Zealand

Marlborough Mayor Nadine Taylor. RNZ / Tracy Neal

The Marlborough District Council wants the government to protect the region’s current environment plan, saying new planning and environmental laws threaten to blow up a decade of hard work.

Marlborough Mayor Nadine Taylor told the Environment Select Committee the region’s geography and climate were distinct and maintaining its environment plan would provide certainty to its primary producers.

The Select Committee heard submissions on the Planning Bill and Natural Environment Bill – which would together replace the Resource Management Act – on Wednesday.

“I’m calling on MPs to protect Marlborough’s status as its own planning region and to safeguard our new planning framework – both are critical to the region’s economy and long-term sustainability,” Taylor said.

The Marlborough District Council is a unitary authority, a single local government body that combines the responsibilities of both a regional council and a territorial authority, which means it manages both local services and regional resource management for the entire Marlborough region.

Taylor said the council managed those functions across more than one million hectares of land and one of New Zealand’s most intricate coastlines.

“Our geography, climate and the industries we support are distinct. Parliament has recognised these differences in previous reform processes – I am asking the Select Committee to confirm that Marlborough remains a separate planning region,” she said.

The region’s combined environment plan provided a stable and well-understood framework for the region’s industries – including viticulture, aquaculture, forestry, farming and tourism – should be deemed fully operative until 2033, Taylor said.

She asked for the select committee to include a provision in Schedule 1 of the Planning Bill to deem the Marlborough Environment Plan fully operative for a defined period or, alternatively, to have the ability to apply for a longer transition during which the plan would continue to apply.

“The Marlborough Environment Plan is the product of more than a decade of work with extensive involvement from iwi, industry and the community and an investment of around $10 million,” Taylor said.

“Industry partners have invested millions more. It’s a sophisticated and newly-settled planning framework that gives confidence to businesses and enables long-term investment decisions.”

Nearly 90 percent of New Zealand’s wine exports were produced in Marlborough and the plan’s rules about water use ensured the viticulture industry was viable.

“Our growers and commercial lenders rely on the stability of the current plan. Requiring us to unravel this new framework now would be unnecessarily destabilising,” she said.

“With proposed rates capping, councils face real limits on funding new planning processes. Marlborough ratepayers should not be asked to repeat a process they have just completed.”

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/18/marlborough-district-council-wants-regions-current-environment-plan-preserved/

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Nationwide outage hit 2degrees mobile customers

Source: Radio New Zealand

It is not known how many customers were impacted. RNZ / Nate McKinnon

The nationwide outage that affected some 2degrees mobile customers, preventing them from making or receiving calls, has been resolved.

The company confirmed the outage in a network status update on its website at 3.12pm on Wednesday.

A few hours later, 2degrees said mobile calling, SMS, and data services had been restored and were operating as normal.

“A small number of customers may continue to see issues with the data clock or the 2degrees mobile app, which our teams are actively investigating.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused and thank you for your patience.”

It is not known how many customers were impacted.

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HealthMutual Group and Hong Kong Data Ltd. Sign Cooperation Agreement to Streamline Cross-Border Healthcare with AI-Driven eTPA Platform

Source: Media Outreach

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – HealthMutual Group (HMG) and Hong Kong Data Ltd. (HK Data) (formerly known as CU Datahub) signed a Cooperation Agreement today to integrate and scale a pioneering electronic Third-Party Administrator (eTPA) system. This collaboration marks a definitive shift toward a data-driven insurance ecosystem, integrating advanced AI to bridge the gap in, and thus enhance cross-border healthcare administration.

The partnership centers on HMG adopting HK Data’s proprietary Trusted Cross-border Data Space (TCDS). For HMG, this technology is the engine that will help turn its long-term strategic vision into a functional reality. By leveraging TCDS, HMG will provide its 700,000+ members with a seamless, secure, and legally compliant framework for data transmission, ensuring that high-quality medical care is never hindered by administrative borders.

The new eTPA system streamlines the insurance lifecycle by digitizing the “medical concierge” experience through a secure, automated framework. By connecting Grade 3A hospitals in the Greater Bay Area directly with Hong Kong insurers, the platform provides an end-to-end solution—integrating underwriting, network management, and one-tap mobile claims. This secure data flow reduces operational overhead while ensuring high standards of data integrity and patient privacy.

Beyond individual memberships, the two companies will co-develop specialized eTPA solutions tailored for the Hong Kong Employee Benefits market. This initiative aims to transform how corporate schemes handle cross-border medical activity. By utilizing AI-powered automation, the platform will offer employees a “cashless” experience with zero upfront payments, making healthcare within the Greater Bay Area more accessible and simpler to navigate than ever before.

Mr. KC Chan, Founder of HealthMutual Group, noted the significance of the partnership. He said, “this cooperation is a natural progression of the vision we held when establishing HMG: to ensure that medical insurance remains a sustainable funding source for Hong Kong healthcare. Facilitating smooth cross-border medical activity is essential to achieving that goal. By teaming up with a leader in AI and data security, we are leveraging our deep experience in medical concierge services to better serve the broader insurance industry.”

Mr. Aldous Ng, Founder and CEO of Hong Kong Data Ltd., added: “We are proud to partner with HMG to deploy world-leading technologies for the public good. Our TCDS platform connects key stakeholders—from Grade 3A hospitals to financial institutions—ensuring that patients seeking treatment in the Chinese Mainland can enjoy ‘one-tap access’ with total peace of mind. We provide a trusted space where innovation directly benefits the people of Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area.

Hashtag: #HealthMutualGroup #HMG

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/18/healthmutual-group-and-hong-kong-data-ltd-sign-cooperation-agreement-to-streamline-cross-border-healthcare-with-ai-driven-etpa-platform/

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Biggest bank raises interest rates

Source: Radio New Zealand

RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

ANZ is the latest bank to increase interest rates.

It is increasing its 18-month to five-year rates by 20 basis points, and its one-year rate by 10 basis points.

Its six-month special rate remains at 4.49 percent.

It is also increasing the rates it pays on term deposits by between 15 basis points and 40 basis points.

The three-year rate is now 4.4 percent, which the bank said was an 18-month high.

ANZ managing director for personal banking Grant Knuckey said it was a response to rising wholesale interest rates.

“Since the fixed rate changes we made in February, wholesale rates have continued to rise across all terms.”

Knuckey said customers were still seeing the benefit of earlier cuts to interest rates.

“Seventy-eight percent of ANZ’s fixed home loans are now on rates below 5 percent, a significant shift from the end of 2024 when fewer than 10 percent of loans were on rates below 5 percent.”

Economists and forecasters have been split on the likely outlook for rates.

While tension in the Middle East is likely to be a damper on the economy, it is also expected to fuel inflation.

Earlier, Squirrel chief executive David Cunningham said there could be merit in fixing for six months, on the assumption that the economy would be weak enough that the official cash rate was unlikely to rise in that time.

But Infometrics chief forecaster Gareth Kiernan said two-year rates were offering good levels of certainty at reasonable prices.

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LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/18/biggest-bank-raises-interest-rates/

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China Tower (788.HK) Announces 2025 Annual Results

Source: Media Outreach

– 18 March 2026 – The world’s largest telecommunications infrastructure service provider

(“China Tower”, or the “Company”) (Stock Code: 0788.HK) is pleased to announce its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2025.

In 2025, the Company’s operating revenue maintained stable growth and profitability remained strong. Operating revenue for the year reached RMB100,411 million, an increase of 2.7% year-on-year. EBITDA reached RMB65,814 million, a decrease of 1.1% year-on-year, with an EBITDA margin

of 65.5%. Profit attributable to the owners of the Company reached RMB11,630 million, an increase of 8.4% year-on-year, with a net profit margin of 11.6%.

The Company maintained a strong and stable cash flow. Net cash generated from operating activities for the year amounted to RMB56,116 million, an increase of RMB6,648 million year-on-year. Capital expenditures stood at RMB29,486 million while free cash flow[3] reached RMB26,630 million, up by RMB9,103 million year-on-year.

As at 31 December 2025, our total assets amounted to RMB336,579 million, with interest-bearing liabilities of RMB90,460 million and a gearing ratio[4] of 27.7%, representing a decrease of 3.3 percentage points from the end of 2024. Our financial position remains healthy and stable.

The Company has always attached great importance to shareholder returns. After considering our profitability, cash flow and future development needs, the board of directors of the Company has recommended a final dividend of RMB0.32539 per share (pre-tax) for the year ended 31 December 2025. Together with the interim dividend distributed, the total full-year dividend amounted to RMB0.45789 per share (pre-tax), equivalent to a payout ratio of 77% of our annual distributable net profit.

Refined operations enabled steady progress in TSP business

The Company continued to play a leading role in new 5G infrastructure construction, further deployed the Dual-Gigabit network joint-entry implementation, and made solid progress in supporting special projects such as upgrading signal strength, extending broadband coverage to all border areas, forests and grasslands. Capturing the strategic opportunities arising from the wide-area 5G network coverage expansion and enhancement of in-depth coverage, we focused on enhancing intensive sharing of network resources and fully satisfying customers’ demands for network construction. As a result, our TSP business maintained stable growth in 2025, recording revenue of RMB84,725 million, an increase of 0.7% year-on-year.

Tower business. The Company seized opportunities arising from customers’ ongoing network expansion requirements and leveraged our competitiveness as a service provider by offering efficient delivery, superior maintenance and optimal cost structure, while minimizing management risks. We deepened the embedded service mechanism, precisely captured customers’ network planning needs, and comprehensively secured construction demands in key scenarios and key regions. Leveraging our site resources and base station data, we proactively conducted coverage analysis to enhance network optimization capabilities. We also enhanced our collaborations with TSPs to provide customers with better services. By adhering to a customer-oriented philosophy, we continued to optimize end-to-end business processes and management standards to enhance service capabilities across the board. In 2025, revenue from our Tower business amounted to RMB75,498 million, a decrease of 0.3% year-on-year. As at the end of 2025, the Company managed a total of 2.149 million tower sites, an increase of 55,000 from the end of 2024. We have gained 23,000 new TSP tenants since the end of 2024, bringing the total number of TSP tenants to 3.567 million at the end of 2025. Our TSP tenancy ratio was 1.70.

DAS business. We continued to focus on high-value and livelihood-critical scenarios, systematically enhancing resource coordination and sharing, and collaborative construction capabilities, as well as accelerating 5G network upgrades on high-speed railways. At the same time, we deployed shared repeaters at scale in everyday scenarios such as elevators, underground parking lots, tunnels, and residential communities, helping TSPs achieve efficient and low-cost network coverage extension. We continued to optimize the integrated active and passive DAS sharing solutions and promoted the implementation of innovative solutions such as shared frequency shifting in existing DAS 5G upgrades. By doing so, we enhanced product and service competitiveness to efficiently meet customer needs. In 2025, our DAS business achieved relatively high growth, with revenue reaching RMB9,227 million, an increase of 9.5% year-on-year. By the end of 2025, we had covered buildings with a cumulative area of 15.15 billion square meters, up by 19.5% year-on-year, while the coverage in railway tunnels and subways reached a cumulative length of 33,661 kilometers, an increase of 14.8% year-on-year.

Vertical advancement supported strong growth in Two Wings business

In the Two Wings business, we seized market opportunities while continuing to strengthen product competitiveness and drive rapid growth of the business. In 2025, revenue of the Two Wings business reached RMB14,985 million and accounted for 14.9% of our overall operating revenue, an increase of 1.2 percentage points over the same period last year.

Smart Tower business. Focusing on spatial digital intelligence governance and leveraging ourrich resources and capabilities, we continued to enhance our Smart Tower business, achievingrevenue in excess of RMB10 billion. We continued to deepen our presence in key industries andscenarios, steadily increasing market share in key areas such as straw burning prohibition, farmlandprotection, and disaster alert. We advanced our nationwide distributed platform, optimizingalgorithm service capabilities for mid-to-high point scenarios, with further improvements inplatform response speed, algorithm accuracy, and application availability. We maintained our focuson implementing the “AI+” special project, promoting the application of large models for spatialdigital intelligence governance, which were included in the first batch of strategic high-value AIscenarios for central state-owned enterprises. Customers are always at the center of everything wedo. Therefore, we strengthened the development of product iterations, construction delivery,and operation and maintenance support, as well as expanding our integrated technical support teams,with an aim to respond actively and promptly to customers’ needs. In 2025, our Smart Tower business generated revenue of RMB10,172 million, up by 14.2% year-on-year, among which, revenue from our Tower Monitoring business reached RMB6,327 million, accounting for 62.2% of the Smart Tower business revenue.

Energy business. We focused on key business segments such as battery exchange and powerbackup. By improving refined operations and strengthening core capabilities and competitiveadvantages in products, services, and platforms, we continued to develop our specialty in theEnergy business. For the battery exchange business, we continued to expand our share in the fooddelivery mass market while accelerating the expansion of our corporate customer base, resulting instable user growth. As at 31 December 2025, we had approximately 1.477 million battery exchangeusers, an increase of 173,000 since the end of 2024, further solidifying our leading position inthe low-speed electric vehicle battery exchange market. We accelerated the construction of acommunity-based low-speed electric vehicle charging facility network while optimizing operationalefficiency, resulting in expanded service coverage and user scale. For the power backup business,we continued to focus on pivotal industries and our premium customer base, creating the ChinaTower “energy butler” integrated industry solutions and enhancing the value of our “energy butler”brand. In 2025, our Energy business achieved revenue of RMB4,813 million, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%, of which the battery exchange business accounted for RMB3,029 million, an increase of21.2% year-on-year, and with its contribution to the Energy business reaching 62.9%.

Innovation strategy resulted in remarkable technology empowerment

We made concrete progress in developing the “four lists” working mechanism of competencies and capabilities, task and project planning, resource allocation, and the commercialization of research outcomes. Focusing on the “One Core and Two Wings” businesses, we continued to intensify our efforts to address the challenges in key and core technologies, and accelerated the transformation of technological achievements to inject new momentum into high-quality business development. In 2025, our R&D investment and the number of R&D personnel increased by 82% and 22% respectively, compared to 2024. The number of patent applications and the cumulative number of patent authorizations increased by 77% and 54%, respectively, compared to the year before. We participated in the formulation of multiple international standards. A range of innovative products were commercialized and deployed at scale such as shared micro repeaters, monitoring platforms, and “one code for all”. Our technological innovation system continued to strengthen, as shown in the high-quality construction and development of six regional technological innovation centers, the expansion and quality improvement of joint innovation platforms, and the steady enhancement of innovation efficiency and performance.

Mr. Zhang Zhiyong, Chairman of China Tower said, “In 2025, we remained focused on high-quality development, promoting stability through progress while improving quality and efficiency. As a result, throughout the year our business maintained healthy, steady growth and demonstrated a positive outlook. Looking ahead, we will continue to uphold the philosophy of resource sharing and adhere to the “One Core and Two Wings” strategy to further enhance our core competitiveness, promote high-quality development, and create value for shareholders, customers, and society.”

[1] EBITDA is calculated by operating profit plus depreciation and amortization.

[2] EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing EBITDA by operating revenue, and multiplying the resulting value by 100%.

[3] Free cash flow is the net cash generated from operating activities minus the capital expenditures.

[4] Gearing ratio is calculated as net debts divided by the sum of total equity and net debt, then multiplying the result by 100%. Net debt is calculated as the amount of interest-bearing liabilities minus the amount of cash and cash equivalents.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

LiveNews: https://livenews.co.nz/2026/03/18/china-tower-788-hk-announces-2025-annual-results/

Posted on

‘I wouldn’t even know where to go’ – former US marine facing deportation to NZ

Source: Radio New Zealand

Paul Canton. Supplied

A NZ-born man who is facing deportation from the US – after living there for more than half his life and serving in the US Marine Corps – says he has no links to New Zealand and “no connection to that way of life”.

Paul Canton was a Marine for seven years and has built a life in Florida, where his children have grown up.

But after 36 years living in the US, a judge has denied his bid to stay – because he has never had US citizenship.

Born in New Zealand and raised in Australia, he first visited the US as an exchange student and enlisted in the Marines in the early 1990s.

“I feel like I’m fully bonded to it, I mean I love this country. It’s a way of life that is so unique and so beautiful,” he said.

“When I joined the military, to me that was one of the best times. Everyone who was serving with us, we all loved the country.”

Canton was born in a decade that automatically means he has birthright citizenship in New Zealand. He is in his 50s and that applies to anyone born in Aotearoa before 2006.

His Australian citizenship was revoked when he joined the US marines. At the time military service did not require recruits to be permanent residents.

Paul Canton during his service in the US Marine Corp. Military.com/Facebook/Supplied

Canton said he was promised US citizenship if he served and was discharged honourably, which he did in 1998.

It was only when renewing his drivers licence years later that he discovered that had not happened.

“The first time I found out I figured somebody failed to do the paperwork so I just [thought] okay I’ll just go down and fill out a few forms and we’ll be done.”

That was about a decade ago, and Canton soon found out it was not that straightforward to fix, despite being married to an American citizen – his wife passed away three years ago.

He then hired a lawyer and spent years trying to navigate the immigration system. In February after many lost appeals, a judge denied citizenship.

Canton said he has no links to New Zealand – his family moved to Australia about 50 years ago, when he was five years old.

“I have no connection to that way of life, I wouldn’t even know where to go or what to do and it’s so unique to live here in America. It’s a wonderful place to raise your kids.”

Attorney Elizabeth Ricci has represented him pro-bono for six years and said it was a complicated case.

Canton had voted, believing he was a US citizen, and that was now a barrier to citizenship.

“He was honourably discharged, he did four years active, four years reserve, believed himself to be a US citizen so he registered to vote and voted,” Ricci said.

“The rule about voting [and citizenship] changed in 1996 and if you voted or registered to vote after that rule changed, there’s now no waiver available for you to be eligible for you to naturalise, ever.”

Canton’s eligibility to gain US citizenship through the marines was linked to when he served. He had enlisted in 1991 just weeks before the Persian Gulf conflict ended.

Ricci said because his active service began after the conflict had ended, he was denied citizenship based on his military experience.

“The rule is that if you served during that period you could go from undocumented to citizen, so clearly enough people were serving in our military undocumented that they had to even make that rule. But the rule only applied for active duty.”

Ricci said they were now hoping for political intervention.

“We now need a special Bill through Congress or for the President to do something. He [Canton] has written several letters to both [then president Joe] Biden and [President Donald] Trump asking for intervention and has gotten no response.”

Ricci said he could be served with a notice to appear at Immigration Court in Orlando with a hearing weeks, months or years away, due to millions of backlogged cases.

The Department of Internal Affairs confirmed anyone born in New Zealand before the start of 2006 automatically is a New Zealand citizen.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

LiveNews: https://nz.mil-osi.com/2026/03/18/i-wouldnt-even-know-where-to-go-former-us-marine-facing-deportation-to-nz/