Saturday, December 7, 2019

AFC Announces Joint Development Agreement with Brahms Oil Refineries Limited on the First Refinery in Guinea

LAGOS, Portugal-Saturday 7 December 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Africa Finance Corporation (“AFC” or the “Corporation”), the leading infrastructure solutions provider in Africa is pleased to announce its Joint Development Agreement (“Agreement”) with Brahms Oil Refineries Limited (“Brahms”), which is part of Brahms Group, a diversified company based in Switzerland that has a strong industrial & international finance network and an excellent knowledge of Sub-Saharan Africa, to act as co-developer on the development and subsequent financing to a petroleum storage and associated refinery project in Kamsar, Guinea. This will include a 76,000m3 crude oil storage terminal; 114,200m3 storage terminal for refined products; ancillary support transportation infrastructure, and 12,000 barrels oil per day modular refining facility (the “Project”).

Through this joint development, AFC will invest in the project development workstreams that should ensure the Project reaches financial close in 2020.

This Project will be instrumental for Guinea to achieve its economic and developmental goals, which are severely hampered by Guinea not having any refining capacity. Once operational, the Project will have a refinery capacity that is the equivalent of one-third of its demand for refined products, thereby reducing its reliance on imported refined products, improving the country’s balance of payments, and reducing foreign currency demand. It will also allow for direct & indirect job creation and enhance the development and productivity of other sectors, especially mining, which today accounts for 15.3% of the country’s GDP1 but could contribute even more if the country had the necessary infrastructure to maximise and locally beneficiate its natural resources. The Project is strategically located in Kamsar, which is one of the larger mining regions in the country.

To increase its impact on Guinea, AFC is considering several projects in the country to create an integrated ecosystem. This would include, alongside this Project, a 33MW solar project port, and other mining projects, all of which will complement AFC’s earlier investment in Alufer’s Bel Air bauxite mine.

Amadou Wadda, Senior Director Project Development and Technical Solutions Team at AFC, commented on the announcement: “We are delighted to work with Brahms to accelerate the development of this instrumental project in Guinea, an AFC member state. The Brahms refinery project will have a tremendous impact in the country’s development.”

Daouda Fall, CEO of Brahms Oil Refineries Limited, added: “ To partner with AFC is a great milestone and brings us one step closer to our goal of reaching financial close in early 2020 and kickstarting construction. We will greatly benefit from AFC’s experience in setting up and financing infrastructure projects.”

Follow us on Twitter - @africa_finance

About AFC - www.africafc.org

AFC, an investment grade multilateral finance institution, was established in 2007 with an equity capital base of US$1 billion, to be the catalyst for private sector-led infrastructure investment across Africa. With a current balance sheet of approximately US$5.07 billion,

AFC is the second highest investment grade rated multilateral financial institution in Africa with an A3/P2 (Stable outlook) rating from Moody’s Investors Service. AFC successfully raised US$650 million in 2019, US$500 million in 2017 and US$750 million in 2015 through Eurobond issuances; out of its Board-approved US$3 Billion Global Medium-Term Note (MTN) Programme. All Eurobond issues were oversubscribed and attracted investors from Asia, Europe and the USA.

AFC’s investment approach combines specialist industry expertise with a focus on financial and technical advisory, project structuring, project development and risk capital to address Africa’s infrastructure development needs and drive sustainable economic growth. AFC invests in high-quality infrastructure assets that provide essential services in the core infrastructure sectors of power, natural resources, heavy industry, transport, and telecommunications. To date, the Corporation has invested over US$6.6 billion in projects within 30 countries across Africa.

About Brahms Oil Refineries Limited - www.brahmsrefineries.com

Brahms Oil Refineries Limited, is a United Arab Emirates based company incorporated to promote, structure and implement modular refineries solutions that are able to provide local strategic production within countries and at the same time reduce the import burden.

1 https://www.afdb.org/en/countries/west-africa/guinea/guinea-economic-outlook

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191204005576/en/

Contacts
For more information contact:
Lucy Savage
Senior Vice President, Communications
Tel: + 234 1 279 9600
Email: lucy.savage@africafc.org

Buchanan Communications
Bobby Morse / Augustine Chipungu
Tel: +44 20 7466 5000



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YKK Brand Contents Spread the Idea “Little Parts. Big Difference.” Around the World: The Fourth Episode of the Series That Has Hit 30.6 Million Plays at Home and Abroad -- Short Anime “FASTENING DAYS 4” to Be Released for Three Consecutive Weeks

- To be released on Thursday, December 5 on the official website and YouTube in 7 languages -



TOKYO-Saturday 7 December 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- As part of its activities to broadly communicate its corporate brand and “fasteners (zippers) ”, YKK Corporation(President: Hiroaki Otani; head office: Chiyoda, Tokyo; “YKK”) has created a short anime, “FASTENING DAYS 4”. “FASTENING DAYS 4” is the fourth episode to follow the series “FASTENING DAYS” (released in 2014), “FASTENING DAYS 2” (2016), and “FASTENING DAYS 3” (2017), which have hit a total 30.6 million plays in Japan and abroad. Starting December 5 (Thu), it will become available for global release on YKK’s official YouTube channel (URL: https://www.youtube.com/user/YKKfastening), on the special site (URL: http://www.ykkfastening.com/fd/), and on YOUKU (URL: http://i.youku.com/u/UMTgzMTA0NzM0NA) in both English and Japanese audio and with Spanish, Chinese (simplified), French, Thai, Vietnamese subtitles. It will also be distributed as Commercial Ads on YouTube in each country.

In this installment, Yoji, Kei, Kelly, and Oscar the bear robot, who use fasteners to save their town from crisis, are joined by Samhen, a transfer student, and the robot, Jack. Look forward to the vigorous activities the young heroes engage in as one to save their town in a near-future world.

YKK has set up a “FASTENING DAYS” Facebook page in parallel to the release of this short feature and will be continually releasing related information. (URL: https://www.facebook.com/Fastening-Days-1416880495005232/)

About YKK Corporation
The YKK Group engages in the fastening business (which includes items such as zippers and snap buttons) with YKK Corporation at its core, which is based on regional management conducted through a global business management structure and six regional bases around the world including about 70 countries and regions.

Company name: YKK Corporation
President: Hiroaki Otani

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191204005311/en/

Contacts

PR Office re: Short Animated Feature FASTENING DAYS 4
(PR company INITIAL Inc.)
TEL: +81-3-5572-6316 E-mail: YKKdougaPR@vectorinc.co.jp

YKK Corporation
Corporate Communications Group
Yuki Matsukura, Mizuho Taniguchi
Tel: +81-3-3864-2064 E-mail: k_ykk@ykk.com

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Friday, December 6, 2019

Excel Dryer Again Sets a New Standard: XLERATOR Hand Dryer Models Now Offered With 50% Longer Life and Industry-leading 7-Year Warranty

Improvements come without an increase in price

EAST LONGMEADOW, Mass.-Friday 6 December 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- To Excel Dryer, leading is nothing new. After all, their signature product, the XLERATOR® Hand Dryer, created the high-speed, energy-efficient product category, and set a new standard for performance, reliability and customer satisfaction. Excel Dryer has again set a new industry standard, this time, by offering an improved product with 50% longer life and an industry-leading 7-year warranty, without increasing the list price.

Effective December 1, 2019, all XLERATOR® and XLERATOReco® Hand Dryers are warrantied for seven years; this covers all parts, and most importantly, the motor. Many other hand dryers on the market offer a lesser, more restrictive warranty, typically 1–5 years. William Gagnon, vice president of marketing and sales at Excel Dryer recommends buyers thoroughly review the warranty of any dryer they are considering purchasing.

He cautions, “Though some manufacturers offer longer warranties, a review of the fine print shows that motors are typically only covered for three years and sensors are only covered for one. Both of these parts are crucial to hand dryer functionality and are covered for a full seven years by Excel Dryer.”

Recently, other well-known hand dryer manufacturers increased the list price of their products, without making any substantive improvements to product or warranties. Excel Dryer’s price list, on the other hand, is remaining the same despite the manufacturer’s notable product improvement and extended warranty.

With XLERATOR’s extended product life and unrivaled warranty, the best just got better. “We pride ourselves on manufacturing a dependable product our customers can rely on,” expressed Gagnon. “We are always looking for ways to improve our products and deliver more value to our customers. And with our latest product improvement, we’ve done just that.”

For more information about Excel Dryer and its improved XLERATOR Hand Dryers, visit Excel’s website.

About Excel Dryer, Inc.
Excel Dryer has been manufacturing the finest American-made hand dryers for more than 50 years. The family-owned and -operated company revolutionized the industry with the invention of the patented XLERATOR® Hand Dryer that created the high-speed, energy-efficient hand dryer category and set a new standard for performance, reliability and customer satisfaction. Excel Dryer continues to lead the industry with its expanded and enhanced product line featuring adjustable sound, speed and heat controls. Combined with the most options and complete line of accessories, the best hand drying solution can be designed for any restroom environment. Excel Dryer prides itself on offering the best customer service and making sustainable products people can depend on. Available for distribution worldwide, Excel Dryer products can be purchased through an established network of sales representatives who call on more than 5,000 distributors globally. Learn more about Excel Dryer at exceldryer.com.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191203005715/en/

Contacts

Contacts for Excel Dryer: Lisa Twarog or Michelle Abdow
(Office) 413-787-1133
ltwarog@marketmentors.com


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DigiCert and Ubisecure partner for next-generation Legal Entity Identifier organization identity solutions

The companies will collaborate on extending the use of Legal Entity Identifiers (LEI) for multiple types of digital certificate-based use cases

LEHI, Utah & LONDON-Friday 6 December 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- DigiCert, Inc., the world’s leading provider of TLS/SSL, IoT and PKI solutions, and Ubisecure, a digital identity services provider and accredited Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) issuer through the Global LEI Foundation (GLEIF), today jointly announced their collaboration to help solve organizational identity challenges through the addition of LEIs into future DigiCert offerings. The partnership will also extend the availability of LEIs to DigiCert customers via Ubisecure’s RapidLEI platform.

“DigiCert is excited to work with the Ubisecure team and GLEIF to explore how LEIs can have a positive impact for our customers and their end-users,” said DigiCert CEO John Merrill. “DigiCert has a long history of commitment to confirming identity for digital interactions. Our work with LEIs represents another step to further enhance online trust for various connected ecosystems.”

DigiCert and Ubisecure will explore the identity assurance benefits of LEIs in digital certificates, including for secure email, code signing and certificate-based access control for employees, contractors and other third parties. LEIs offer a standardized, reliable and consistent means of asserting organization identity and ownership and avoiding identity-based collisions. LEIs contain a specific code that is generated based on the company organization type and jurisdiction information. With over 1.5m LEIs in use today, they are fast becoming the de-facto globally recognized organization identifier. Ubisecure is also developing cutting-edge LEI-based services like Right to Represent – an Identity Provider (IdP) service to validate mandated rights of individuals to represent their company.

Paul Tourret, Corporate Development Officer at Ubisecure, said, “As a Certificate Authority with a focus on high-assurance certificates, DigiCert has long understood that being able to assert a verified organizational identity to end users is essential to making the internet a more transparent place to do business. We are honored to be collaborating with the world’s largest Certificate Authority to connect the LEI and CA ecosystems. DigiCert has a well-earned reputation as a responsible and forward-thinking Certificate Authority.”

Stephan Wolf, CEO of GLEIF, said, “The Ubisecure and DigiCert partnership means we see one of the first global Certificate Authorities join the Global LEI System. We are very excited that two technology leaders are working together to extend the availability of LEIs through new solutions. And we see this as an endorsement of how LEIs connect identity ecosystems to simplify legal entity identification in the digital age for the benefit of all stakeholders globally.”

DigiCert is the world’s leading Certificate Authority and one of the original CAs to provide industry requirements and related solutions that assert the value of validated identity, whether that’s organizations, individuals or things. The company has committed to numerous cutting-edge R&D projects around organization identity, quantum computing and IoT device identity, and customers rely on DigiCert to solve complex identity, authentication and encryption challenges.

Ubisecure has been the fastest growing Legal Entity Identifier issuer throughout 2019. Its LEI service, RapidLEI, was founded by Certificate Authority industry veterans previously responsible for launching GeoTrust into Europe and co-founding another of the top global certificate authorities. After exiting that company, the team developed the RapidLEI solution to make LEIs accessible where on-demand, verified organizational identity assurance is essential – including Banking, FinTech, compliance, and now to Certificate Authority (CA) customers and partners.

Standalone LEIs are available to DigiCert customers at www.rapidlei.com/digicert. The companies will continue to collaborate with industry stakeholders on other innovative uses of the LEI.

For more information about LEIs and Ubisecure services please visit ubisecure.com or rapidlei.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191203005042/en/

Contacts
Hotwire for Ubisecure
Jenny Morris
UbisecureUK@hotwireglobal.com
07393465529

Permalink : https://www.aetoswire.com/news/digicert-and-ubisecure-partner-for-next-generation-legal-entity-identifier-organization-identity-solutions/en

FLIR Systems Completes Strategic Investment in Providence Photonics, LLC

Investment Provides Exclusive Access to Providence Photonics’ Industry-Leading Gas Quantification Software Products


ARLINGTON, Va.-Thursday 5 December 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) and Providence Photonics, LLC announced today that FLIR has made a strategic investment in Providence Photonics, developers of advanced software used to quantify invisible gas emissions using FLIR Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) cameras.

Providence Photonics specializes in the development and utilization of advanced technology in the field of optical gas imaging while tackling some of the industry’s most challenging environmental and safety problems. Using patented technology, advanced computer vision techniques, and state-of-the-art infrared imagers, they create solutions for several applications, including leak quantification, leak survey validation, autonomous remote leak detection, and flare combustion efficiency monitoring.

As part of the strategic investment, FLIR will gain exclusive access to certain elements of Providence Photonics’ intellectual property, while helping to expand FLIR Systems’ set of offerings to its oil and gas industry customers. The companies will work to deploy Providence Photonics’ quantification algorithms in current and future FLIR OGI cameras and digital services.

“Our investment in Providence Photonics represents another example of our evolution from solely being a leading sensor company to one that adds decision support to create intelligent sensing solutions,” said Frank Pennisi, President of the Industrial Business Unit at FLIR. “This investment enables to us to better serve our existing Oil and Gas industry customers who rely on our optical gas imaging technology to improve efficiency and safety, while ensuring compliance with methane mitigation regulations.”

About FLIR Systems, Inc.

Founded in 1978, FLIR Systems is a world-leading industrial technology company focused on intelligent sensing solutions for defense, industrial, and commercial applications. FLIR Systems’ vision is to be “The World’s Sixth Sense,” creating technologies to help professionals make more informed decisions that save lives and livelihoods. For more information, please visit www.flir.com and follow @flir.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may contain words such as “anticipates,” “estimates,” “expects,” “intends,” and “believes” and similar words and expressions and include the assumptions that underlie such statements. Such statements are based on current expectations, estimates, and projections based, in part, on potentially inaccurate assumptions made by management. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in such forward-looking statements due to numerous factors. Such forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and FLIR does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release, or for changes made to this document by wire services or Internet service providers.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191203005237/en/

Contacts

Media Contact:
Tim McDowd
FLIR Systems, Inc.
Phone: 503-498-3146
Email: tim.mcdowd@flir.com

Investor Relations:
Lasse Glassen
Addo Investor Relations
Phone: 424-238-6249
Email: lglassen@addoir.com


Permalink : https://www.aetoswire.com/news/flir-systems-completes-strategic-investment-in-providence-photonics-llc/en

Thursday, December 5, 2019

Global Research Shows AI to Shape Technology Landscape of 2020s, But Unintended Consequences Pose Big Risks

 ISACA marks 50th anniversary by surveying 5,000+ tech pros on the next decade of tech



SCHAUMBURG, Ill.-Thursday 5 December 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- The evolving relationship between artificial intelligence, automation and humans is expected to create promising opportunities in the tech workforce while simultaneously presenting sobering concerns for the general public, according to new ISACA research sizing up the tech landscape of the 2020s.

ISACA’s Next Decade of Tech: Envisioning the 2020s survey of more than 5,000 business technology professionals comes during ISACA’s 50th anniversary year as the global professional association continues its commitment to helping its members navigate the future of technology. The research shows that respondents are significantly more optimistic about how technology advancements in the new decade will impact their career (59%) than they are about how it will impact society as a whole (40%).

From a workplace standpoint, respondents are optimistic that technological sea changes will both position their organizations for success and bolster their paychecks:

    Nearly 9 in 10 respondents (87%) say AI/machine learning will have a major or moderate impact on enterprises’ profitability.
    Fifty-eight percent expect that the evolving technology landscape will result in pay increases for tech professionals.

Most technology roles are expected to be recalibrated by AI and increased integration of technology in the workplace, with 93% of respondents expecting an augmented workforce—or people, robots and AI working closely together—to reshape how some or most jobs are performed.

“The pace of technology-driven change will continue to accelerate, so it’s more important than ever to be always learning,” said ISACA CEO David Samuelson. “Both as individuals and in our companies, we will need new skills and frameworks to be equipped to navigate the inevitable change ahead. As the next decade quickly approaches, our human potential, combined with these advancing technologies, will ensure an era of positive technology breakthroughs, and a future where we all thrive.”

AI’s Potential Pitfalls Counterbalance Enthusiasm

While AI/machine learning is identified as the most important enterprise technology of the next decade, followed by cloud platforms and big data, only 50% of respondents think it is likely or very likely enterprises will give the ethical ramifications of AI deployments sufficient attention.

Whether through malicious or errant uses of AI, the potential consequences of misuse could be severe, with respondents most concerned about AI attacks involving:

    Critical infrastructure (73%)
    Social engineering (58%)
    Autonomous weapons (56%)
    Attacks targeting the healthcare sector (56%)
    Data poisoning (55%)

Additional notable findings from ISACA’s Next Decade of Tech research include:

    Cybersecurity skills gap remains problematic. Only 18% of respondents expect the cybersecurity skills gap to be mostly or entirely filled in the new decade.
    Rise of digital natives will change enterprise culture. As digital natives, or those who grew up with mainstream digital technology, increasingly ascend into leadership positions, 72% of respondents expect cybersecurity will become a higher priority for enterprises while 56% say enterprises will become more proactive about deploying emerging technologies.
    Many everyday activities could be phased out. Respondents expect technological innovations of the new decade to make several routine activities and necessities less commonplace, including using cash (75%), physical keys (60%), physical IDs/boarding passes (58%) and going to physical office locations (58%). Respondents are more mixed about the future of autonomous vehicles, with 48% saying it is likely or very likely that driverless cars become mainstream by the end of the decade.

For more resources related to this research, visit www.isaca.org/next-decade-of-tech.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191203005233/en/

Contacts

Emily Van Camp, evcamp@isaca.org, +1.847.385.7223



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The State of Eritrea Becomes Africa Finance Corporation’s 24th Member State

ASMARA, Eritrea-Thursday 5 December 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Africa Finance Corporation (“AFC” or “the Corporation”) is pleased to announce the accession of the State of Eritrea (“Eritrea”) as its 24th member state. This decision was ratified by His Excellency, Isaias Afwerki, President of Eritrea, on 6 November 2019.

Eritrea has experienced stable growth; driven by increased investment in the mining and extractive sectors, with an expectation to deliver an average annual GDP growth rate of circa 4-5% between 2019 and 2024. The country’s economic growth strategy highlights a focus on scaling up infrastructure investments, specifically water and energy, to promote agricultural and industrial transformation. Additionally, the government is committed to improving the mining sector through a natural resource planning strategy.

AFC, in line with its mandate, has committed to provide financing to the Colluli Mining Share Company for the development and construction of the Colluli Potash Project in the Danakil Depression region of Eritrea. Successful execution of this project will make significant contributions to exports, employment, agricultural productivity, and overall social and economic development of the country.

AFC President and CEO, Samaila Zubairu, commented on the announcement: “It is my pleasure to welcome Eritrea as a member state of AFC. The government’s efforts at prioritising infrastructure investments bodes well for the country and we are committed to supporting Eritrea’s economic development programmes.”

Notes to Editors

About AFC - www.africafc.org

AFC, an investment grade multilateral finance institution, was established in 2007 with an equity capital base of US$1 billion, to be the catalyst for private sector-led infrastructure investment across Africa. With a current balance sheet of approximately US$5.07 billion,

AFC is the second highest investment grade rated multilateral financial institution in Africa with an A3/P2 (Stable outlook) rating from Moody’s Investors Service. AFC successfully raised US$650 million in 2019, US$500 million in 2017 and US$750 million in 2015 through Eurobond issuances; out of its Board-approved US$3 Billion Global Medium-Term Note (MTN) Programme. All Eurobond issues were oversubscribed and attracted investors from Asia, Europe and the USA.

AFC’s investment approach combines specialist industry expertise with a focus on financial and technical advisory, project structuring, project development and risk capital to address Africa’s infrastructure development needs and drive sustainable economic growth. AFC invests in high-quality infrastructure assets that provide essential services in the core infrastructure sectors of power, natural resources, heavy industry, transport, and telecommunications. To date, the Corporation has invested over US$6.6 billion in projects within 30 countries across Africa.

Follow us on Twitter - @africa_finance

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191203005841/en/

Contacts

Lucy Savage
Senior Vice President, Communications
Tel: + 234 1 279 9600
Email: lucy.savage@africafc.org

Buchanan Communications
Bobby Morse / Augustine Chipungu
Tel: +44 (0) 207 466 5000
Email: afc@buchanan.uk.com


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