In a strategic move to execute the new direction to position the company as one of the world’s leading aviation leasing businesses, CDB Aviation Lease Finance (“CDBALF”), the aircraft leasing unit of China Development Bank Financial Leasing Co., Limited (“CDB Leasing”) (HKEX STOCK CODE:1606), announced today the addition of three new members to its executive team. Rob Murphy will join the company as General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer; Pat Hannigan will assume the role of Chief Commercial Officer; and John Cunningham will take the position of Senior Vice President Asia Pacific. All three executives will be tasked with supporting the next stage of expansion and growth, focusing on strengthening the company’s aircraft portfolio and expanding its market reach beyond China.

“We are very pleased to have the caliber of dynamic leaders joining our company,” said CDBALF President & Chief Executive Officer Peter Chang. “Rob, Pat and John’s contributions — both individually and as a team — will enable us to build a global leadership team with the most capable professionals and deliver on our strategy to reinvent our approach with a more western, customer centric focus, offering airline customers in all markets the comprehensive leasing services they need to meet the increasing demand for air travel. The addition of these leaders will soon be complemented by more top-tier talent as we focus on meeting the needs of our customers.”

Rob Murphy will join CDBALF as General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, a leading international law firm, where he led the global aviation and asset finance team and the global aviation sector group focused on aviation clients. Mr. Murphy has led a number of significant projects at Freshfields, including advising: on the formation of Avolon and advising Avolon on a variety of strategic projects including on the acquisition of the aircraft leasing business of CIT Group; AerCap on the $8 billion acquisition of International Lease Finance Corporation from American International Group; BOC Aviation on its IPO/Hong Kong listing; EQT VI Limited, a fund held by private equity firm EQT, on the acquisition of a majority stake in Nordic Aviation Capital; and Monarch Holdings Limited on the completion of its strategic review and restructuring program and its acquisition by Greybull Capital LLP. Mr. Murphy earned his Bachelor’s in Law degree from Trinity College Dublin and will join CDBALF in the spring.

Pat Hannigan will join CDBALF as Chief Commercial Officer. Mr. Hannigan is an accomplished executive with three decades of experience in finance, marketing, sales, and P&L oversight. Prior to CDBALF, he was Head of EMEA for Avolon, where he led the EMEA origination team, coordinating placement and remarketing of aircraft within the region. He also was a founding shareholder of Avolon in 2010 and served as CEO of Avolon’s leasing joint venture with Wells Fargo. Previously, Mr. Hannigan served as Senior Vice President, Marketing, for RBS Aviation Capital (now SMBC), where he was responsible for managing airline relationships within the EMEA region and OEM manufacturer relationships. He also held the role of Vice President Marketing at GE Capital Aviation Services, where he managed the pricing and marketing support function, as well as led the development of the company’s operations in the Middle East and Africa. During his career, Mr. Hannigan also held executive positions in business development, audit and corporate finance with Diageo and Deloitte and Touche. He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland.

John Cunningham will join CDBALF as Senior Vice President Asia Pacific. Mr. Cunningham is an experienced executive with a track record of business leadership, commercial success and financial expertise in aviation finance. Most recently, he was Chief Investment Officer Designate of a Private Aviation Investment Fund. Previously, Mr. Cunningham spent more than 20 years with GE Capital Aviation Services (“GECAS”), where he served as Chief Executive Officer of Aircraft Capital Trust Management Pte. Ltd., a standalone aircraft lessor structured as a Singapore Business Trust, as well as Managing Director of Shannon Engine Support Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of CFM International, a joint company between GE and Safran Aircraft Engines. In addition, Mr. Cunningham held other executive positions at GECAS including SVP Sales and Marketing Europe, and the roles of Vice President in Sales and Marketing, Structured Finance, and Portfolio Management. Mr. Cunningham started his aviation finance career with Guinness Peat Aviation and KPMG Ireland. He is a Chartered Accountant and Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants Ireland. He earned his Bachelor’s in Business Studies degree from Trinity College Dublin.

Mr. Chang added: "The combination of significant experience in aviation and aircraft finance, as well as a track record of global leadership in delivering strategic value that Rob, Pat and John bring to the company, are truly impressive. They will be critical to our efforts to bridge and develop a new and dynamic global aviation leasing business that will help our industry innovate and benefit our airline customers globally, beyond the Chinese markets.”

 Wavex Technology, the IT Services company with a strong focus on user safety and business cyber security, has announced the launch of APEX™ Secure, its new suite of products and services that brings enterprise grade continuous vulnerability detection and penetration testing into the reach of all SMEs.

APEX Secure provides businesses with a central repository for a wide range of business risks. Each of the products and services is of a world-class standard and works to prevent any cybersecurity-related issues.

Gavin Russell, CEO of Wavex, says: “Our APEX platform has been built with security at its heart, and now with APEX Secure we’re able to take that focus even further. This is something that’s important to all businesses, especially in today’s landscape where the threat of cyber-attacks is rapidly increasing.”

APEX Secure is built on Wavex’s APEX platform — a unique IT management platform that offers organisations of all sizes access to the same systems used by market leading organisations across the globe — and has been designed to integrate seamlessly with its many tools and services.  At its core, APEX Secure offers a comprehensive and continually maintained overview of all current vulnerabilities, which are then immediately flagged and raised for review.

Bob Jansen, IT manager for Wavex’s client Incentive FM Group, says: “We chose to work with Wavex because they understood what we needed and could deliver the best IT solutions for our company. APEX Secure is one of the tools that we use as it provides us with a monthly scan of our whole network and searches for any possible vulnerabilities. A monthly report highlights any potential risks enabling us to identify any areas where we might consider raising the levels of security.

“Our organisation has grown significantly in the past few years and now turns over in excess of £100 million per annum.  Wavex has supported us during our development ensuring that every time there is a change in our infrastructure there is no negative impact and no other solutions are affected. Overall APEX Secure has made me confident in the security of our IT infrastructure.”

Increased demand for Bolero electronic trade documents prompts move by first of China’s “Big Four” banks

Bank of China (BOC) has become the first of the “Big Four” banks in China to offer exporters the multiple benefits of using the Bolero electronic trade document platform.

The move has been prompted by increased requests from BOC’s large customer-base for the use of Bolero’s ePresentation solutions and electronic documents such as bills of lading and documentary credits. As they expand their export activities outside China, with particular focus on Europe, UK, Singapore and South East Asia, exporters want to enjoy the benefits of the Bolero platform’s straight-through processing technology which slashes turnaround times for all parties while hugely improving security and operational efficiency. 

In another “Big Four” first, BOC has also announced it will offer its customers Bolero’s Multi-Bank Trade Finance (MBTF) solution, enabling corporates increased visibility and control in relation to applications for letters of credit or bank guarantees. The MBTF solution reduces working capital requirements and minimises risk, while allowing for far greater price arbitrage than conventional methods.

These latest moves follow the success of BOC’s 2013 adoption of the Bolero platform for import-related electronic presentation of documents.

Ross Wilkinson, Head of Global Accounts for Bolero, said: “We are very excited to have the first of the ‘Big Four’ banks in China offering Bolero ePresentation in support of increased export activity outside China, given that this is currently a very strong trend in global business. The fact that more of BOC’s overseas customers are requesting our platform for their export transactions is a sure sign that we are at the heart of world trade. As more Chinese banks expand their involvement in global trade, Bolero will be there to support them, bringing their customers all the gains in speed, ease-of-handling and security for which we are known.”

New senior management role underpins Asset Control’s commitment to best-in-class customer service

Asset Control today announces the appointment of Simon Rayfield as Head of Client Services with immediate effect.

The new appointment to Asset Control’s senior management team reinforces the company’s commitment to existing and new clients, recently outlined by new CEO Mark Hepsworth. In this role Mr. Rayfield will ensure a focus, at the highest level, on the service Asset Control clients receive.

Mr. Rayfield brings the experience of a 25 year career in the financial services and IT industries, including 10 years in futures trading; six years in IT consultancy; and latterly 10 years in client services roles within financial data and application software & services.

He joins Asset Control from IHS Markit where he served as Global Head of Client Services, demonstrating strong leadership skills and instilling a quality-focused culture across a 90+ team spanning EMEA, North America and APAC.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Rayfield says:

“I am delighted to be joining Asset Control in this newly-created senior management position. Asset Control has a very strong reputation within financial data management and supports a global client base of the world’s leading financial institutions. I am genuinely inspired by the company’s vision for the future, and I look forward to working closely with customers to provide world-class services that echo the quality of Asset Control products.”

Based at Asset Control’s City of London headquarters, Mr. Rayfield will be responsible for Customer Support, Professional Services, Managed Services, Training and IT Support globally to ensure consistent implementation of best practice across customer service and support.

Commenting on Mr. Rayfield’s appointment, Mark Hepsworth, CEO, Asset Control, says:

“Our clients are our most important assets, so it is paramount that we continually enhance the services we provide to them. Simon brings vital, direct industry experience and a passion for customer service, and I am therefore thrilled to have him on board to spearhead Asset Control’s client-first approach in 2017 and beyond.”

OneView Commerce (AIM: ONEV), the retail industry’s leader of digital transformation in the store, today announces that as part of its partnership with IBM, the company has integrated its Inventory Management solution with IBM’s Watson Commerce Insights. The integration provides retailers with real-time, actionable analytics about product performance, inventory availability, prices, and promotions across e-commerce and store channels.

The OneView-IBM Watson Commerce Insights integration allows retailers to interpret and act on changes in customer demand within a unified commerce experience. Through the integration with IBM’s Watson Commerce Insights, OneView’s valuable real-time information is now expanded to include the full 360-degree view of stock, order, and inventory information from all channels to facilitate quick, direct action that ensures timely order fulfillment. OneView will now leverage the powerful Commerce Insights capabilities to show key metrics such as fastest and slowest moving products by store or region, allowing for immediate action and decisions about how price, promotion or goods movement can improve overall store and retail operations.

Linda Palanza, Chief Operating Officer of OneView commented:

“Real-time inventory visibility across the entire supply chain is critical to omnichannel success. It enables merchandisers, product managers, and marketers to meet changing customer behaviors and demand by nimbly managing and adjusting inventory levels and replenishment.

The biggest challenge has been store visibility of inventory in real-time as product is being sold. Retailers want to provide services such as click and collect, yet prevent lost sales due to stock-outs. Real-time inventory is key to optimizing sales opportunities and margins since approximately two-thirds of shoppers who experience stock-outs take their business elsewhere or don’t buy at all.”

Steve Mello, Vice President of IBM Watson Commerce Solutions and Strategy commented:

"Shoppers today seek out brands that can meet their expectation for convenience, price and seamless experiences across channels. Together, OneView and IBM give online merchandisers the real-time customer and business insight they need to predict and exceed shopper expectations while also maximizing revenue and profit for the brand."

Tool assists traders in meeting regulatory and best execution requirements

OTAS Technologies (OTAS), a specialist provider of market analytics and trader intelligence, today announced the launch of Intraday Lingo, an extension of its existing Lingo natural language reporting technology. OTAS Intraday Lingo pairs Lingo’s automated natural language with their microstructure charts to provide a textual report identifying intraday moves and alerts, both in real-time and historically. The tool, providing analyses for the entire trade lifecycle from pre-trade, in-trade and post-trade, provides valuable insights to traders and compliance departments alike.

With Intraday Lingo, traders are presented with an alert-driven timeline of intraday events to build a narrative of what happened during the trading day with a verification option through clicking on each entry and inspecting the microstructure. This functionality focuses on assisting traders in managing regulatory, compliance and best execution obligations by essentially creating an audit trail and tracking every decision made during each trade. With real-time alerts, the software also assists the trader in capturing risk to act accordingly.

OTAS Intraday Lingo specifically addresses best execution post-trade analysis requirements relating to MiFID II. With this innovative solution to the MiFID II compliance problem, both traders and risk officers alike can quickly and easily access OTAS Intraday Lingo reports, which summarize  important events from the trading day for a security. Additionally, OTAS Intraday Lingo provides standard TCA metrics and includes the context of the market dynamics over the life of the order, making it easier to understand the whole situation, including out of the ordinary occurrences.

“In a rapidly changing regulatory environment, we are committed to helping our clients maximize efficiency while being compliant to new regulatory requirements,” said Tom Doris, CEO of OTAS Technologies. “Today’s traders are already faced with an immense amount of data to sift through while making trading decisions. Traders make hundreds, if not thousands of trades daily, sometimes with only a fraction of a second to make those decisions.”

Having OTAS Intraday Lingo means that risk and compliance teams can review trades in a few seconds, rather than minutes or hours. Instead of needing to wade through tick data and fill logs, it can be read in a simple plain English report that captures all the important information. Traders can go back and recreate market conditions that day to show why those decisions were made for regulatory and compliance requirements. Intraday Lingo keeps OTAS clients ahead of the forthcoming regulatory mandates to ensure they can continue to trade at their best.

OTAS Intraday Lingo is already live for European and US Markets and will extend to Asia soon.

The UK’s technology sector drew more investment than that of any other European country in 2016, according to data from London & Partners, the Mayor of London’s promotional company.

Calypso Technology, Inc., a leading provider of capital markets and investment management software, announced today it has launched a new Cloud Services Division featuring a comprehensive lineup of Cloud solutions.

Leading global investment firm KKR today announced that HK Holdings Co., Ltd. (the “Bidder”), an entity owned by investment funds controlled by KKR, intends to make a tender offer for all the existing common shares and stock acquisition rights of leading power tool and life science equipment manufacturer Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd. (“Hitachi Koki” or the “Company”) (Code number: 6581, First Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange).

In connection with the tender offer, the Bidder has entered into a tender agreement (the “Tender Agreement”) with Hitachi Ltd. (“Hitachi”), the lead shareholder in Hitachi Koki, to acquire in the tender offer Hitachi’s approximate 40.25% holding of Hitachi Koki’s common shares, and also with Hitachi Urban Investment, Ltd. (“HUI”) to acquire in the tender offer HUI’s approximate 10.90% holding of Hitachi Koki’s common shares. The tender offer will launch subject to the fulfillment of certain conditions in the Tender Agreement, and is expected to commence on January 30, 2017 (for details regarding the conditions for the commencement of the tender offer, please refer to the full text of the press release issued today by Hitachi Koki titled “Announcement Concerning Opinion Regarding the Tender Offer for the Shares of Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd. by HK Holdings Co., Ltd.” and its attachment titled “Announcement Regarding the Tender Offer for the Shares of Hitachi Koki Co., Ltd. (Securities Code 6581)” (the “HK press release”).

Hitachi Koki is a leading supplier of high performance, high quality power tools and life science equipment, competing in the global marketplace to introduce cordless technology to a wider range of power tool products and applications. The Company is actively pursuing expansion in global markets, and has acquired German power tool company metabo Aktiengesellschaft in March 2016. It has also formed a strategic alliance with major North American hardware chain Lowe’s Companies, Inc. in 2015.

Pending a successful outcome in the Bidder’s tender offer, KKR intends to work closely with Hitachi Koki’s management and employees, leveraging Hitachi Koki’s excellent technology development capabilities and KKR’s global resources and the experience of its worldwide team to identify opportunities to strengthen the Company’s business platform. These opportunities may include implementing operational improvement initiatives and identifying and executing acquisitions globally with the aim of growing Hitachi Koki’s corporate value.

Under the terms of the announced offer under Japan’s Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, among other terms, the Bidder will commence the tender offer to acquire the issued common stock and stock acquisition rights of Hitachi Koki. In addition, based on the Bidder’s proposal, Hitachi Koki plans to pay a special dividend (the “Special Dividend”) conditional upon the success of the tender offer, with a record date of January 29, 2017. The Bidder has set a value of Hitachi Koki common shares of JPY 1,450 per common share. Assuming the payment of the Special Dividend of JPY 580 per common share upon the success of the Tender Offer, the Bidder has set a tender offer price per common share of JPY 870. The tender offer price per Hitachi Koki stock acquisition right will be JPY 144,900. (For further details please see the HK press release issued by Hitachi Koki today)

The value per share represents:1

• A premium of 89.8% to Hitachi Koki’s 12-month average closing price to October 4, 2016
• A premium of 108.0% to Hitachi Koki’s 6-month average closing price to October 4, 2016.

Since the total number of Hitachi Koki’s common shares is equal to 101,429,921 (number of issued shares excluding treasury shares; including the number of shares subject to stock acquisition rights), this transaction values Hitachi Koki at JPY 147.1 billion (approx. US$1.28 billion at the exchange rate of US$1=JPY115).

Mr. Hiro Hirano, Member of KKR and CEO of KKR Japan, said, “Hitachi Koki is a world-class manufacturer of power tools and a developer of innovative tool technologies. The Company is well-positioned for further organic and inorganic growth given the high quality of its products, its high-caliber team and the attractive environment for power tools through cordless and digital trends. Looking ahead, we are fully committed to leveraging our global network and resources to provide full support to Hitachi Koki in pursuing its growth strategy.”

KKR makes its proposed investment predominantly from its Asian Fund II. KKR has been investing in Japan through its pan-regional private equity funds since 2010. Japan has been and continues to be a key focus for KKR in the region. To date, KKR has completed three acquisitions in the market: Intelligence Ltd., a leading human resources services company; Panasonic Healthcare, the carve-out health care business of Panasonic Corporation; and Pioneer DJ, the carve-out DJ equipment business of Pioneer Corporation. In addition, on November 22, 2016 KKR announced the launch of a tender offer for Calsonic Kansei.

This press release should be read in conjunction with the full text of the HK press release, which is available on www.jpx.co.jp.

This press release has been prepared for the purpose of informing the public of the tender offer and has not been prepared for the purpose of soliciting an offer to sell, or making an offer to purchase, any securities. If shareholders wish to make an offer to sell their shares in the tender offer, they should first read the Tender Offer Explanation Statement for the tender offer and offer their shares or stock options for sale at their own discretion. This press release shall neither be, nor constitute a part of, an offer to sell or purchase, or a solicitation of an offer to sell or purchase, any securities, and neither this press release (or a part thereof) nor its distribution shall be interpreted to be the basis of any agreement in relation to the tender offer, and this press release may not be relied on at the time of entering into any such agreement.

The tender offer will be conducted for common shares and stock acquisition rights of Hitachi Koki, a company established in Japan. The tender offer will be conducted in accordance with the procedures and information disclosure standards prescribed by Japanese law, which may differ from the procedures and information disclosure standards in the United States. In particular, Section 13(e) and Section 14(d) of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules prescribed thereunder do not apply to the tender offer, and the tender offer does not conform to those procedures and standards.

Unless otherwise specified, all procedures relating to the tender offer are to be conducted entirely in Japanese. If all or any part of a document relating to the tender offer is prepared in the English language and there is any inconsistency between the English-language documentation and the Japanese-language documentation, the Japanese-language documentation will prevail.

The financial advisors to the Bidder and the Company as well as the tender offer agent may engage in the purchase of shares of the Company for their own account or for their customers’ accounts to the extent permitted under the Japanese Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, and the Bidder acknowledges such purchases. In the event information regarding such purchases is disclosed in Japan, such information will also be disclosed in English on the website of Hitachi Koki or the financial advisor conducting such purchases or the website of the tender offer agent, or will otherwise be made publicly available.