Dubai, United Arab Emirates-Wednesday, February 14th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] Lovers of high quality Japanese cuisine are in for a treat with the launch of a new dining concept called ONI, a Japanese, street-style restaurant, lounge and sake bar located in the Shangri-La Hotel on Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. Opened on the 31st of January the Asian infused cuisine combines the freshest locally sourced ingredients with a relaxed ambiance and special themed nights to provide customers with a unique dining experience. The message behind the new dining concept is authentic, varied dishes mixed with warmth, friendliness, and a laid-back vibe in order to create a sense of place and community for diners. “The aim with ONI is to make you linger whilst enjoying our menu. We encourage our clientele to mingle while they experience our great tasting food, in an intriguing atmosphere with excellent, attentive service. The mission is not only to have a great dining experience, but to have all round ente ... Read more »

Exclusive, Multi-Year Agreement Will Bring Farmers Edge Decision Agriculture Platform to at least 20 Million Acres Worldwide PEMBROKE, Bermuda & WINNIPEG, Manitoba-Wednesday, February 14th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] (BUSINESS WIRE) -- PartnerRe Ltd. today announced an innovative deal with Farmers Edge™, a global leader in decision agriculture, that will help insurers to close the insurance gap among farmers across all continents. This exclusive, four-year agreement between Farmers Edge and PartnerRe brings together precision farming technology and agriculture insurance in a landmark deal that will fundamentally advance the $5 trillion global food and agriculture industry. Under the terms of the agreement, PartnerRe and Farmers Edge will jointly develop new agriculture insurance products in main crop growing areas worldwide, aimed at addressing the specific needs and challenges of farmers. For farmers, the insurance product with integrated precision-farming capabilities will improve the ... Read more »

LONDON-Tuesday, February 13th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] (BUSINESS WIRE) -- A.M. Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating of B (Fair) and a Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “bb+” to Jordan French Insurance Company Limited (JOFICO) (Jordan). The outlook assigned to these Credit Ratings (ratings) is positive. The ratings reflect JOFICO’s balance sheet strength, which A.M. Best categorises as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, limited business profile and marginal enterprise risk management (ERM). The positive outlooks reflect A.M. Best’s expectation of robust operating performance and good internal capital generation, which will bolster the company’s risk-adjusted capitalisation. JOFICO reported pre-tax operating losses in several years leading up to 2013; however, following remedial actions taken by management to improve technical performance, strong operating profits have been achieved from 2014 onward. JOFICO reported a combined ratio of below 92% in 2015 an ... Read more »

LONDON -Tuesday, February 13th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] (BUSINESS WIRE)-- A.M. Best has a negative outlook on the insurance markets of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). Insurers in the GCC (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) have historically enjoyed significant capital buffers and benefited from extensive reinsurance support; however, continuing headwinds could lead to potential volatility in the operating performance and capitalisation of market participants. A new Best’s Market Segment Outlook, “Gulf Cooperation Council Market Outlook is Negative” states that challenges include persistent low hydrocarbon prices (and the resultant pressure on public spending), the introduction of value-added tax (VAT), political tensions and trade embargos and the unrelenting level of price competition. Insurers in the GCC have historically relied on government spending for premium growth – particularly for infrastructure projects. As hydrocarbon prices are tradin ... Read more »

SES to Enable NBC Olympics to Transmit High Dynamic Range Signal Across the United States During Its Coverage of 2018 PyeongChang Olympics STAMFORD, Conn.-Tuesday, February 13th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] (BUSINESS WIRE) -- NBC Olympics, a division of the NBC Sports Group, has selected SES to provide 4K High Dynamic Range (HDR) satellite distribution for its production of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games, which take place in PyeongChang, South Korea, from February 8 - February 25. The announcement was made today by David Mazza CTO & SVP, NBC Olympics, and Steve Corda, Vice President, North America Media Platform, SES. SES will use its satellite platform to distribute the NBC Olympics HDR feed to their affiliates throughout the United States, utilizing the SES-1 satellite located at 101 degrees West. As part of the implementation, SES has provided preconfigured satellite receivers to the affiliates that will be receiving the HDR feed. SES’s 4K platform provides multichannel video progra ... Read more »

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates-Tuesday, February 13th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] During a late afternoon session at the 6th World Government Summit, Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, launched the “Global Inspiration Platform – Zayed the Inspirer,” to serve as a global platform to share inspirational success stories from around the world. The initiative aims to celebrate the legacy of the UAE founder, late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and is in line with the directives of HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, who has declared 2018 as the "Year of Zayed." The session was attended by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and ruler of Dubai; HH Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs; HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation; HH Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid ... Read more »

Combination of Comtrade Software HYCU and ExaGrid Hyper-converged Secondary Storage Leverage HCIS’ Capabilities for IT Data Centers WESTBOROUGH, Mass.-Tuesday, February 13th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] (BUSINESS WIRE) -- ExaGrid®, a leading provider of hyper-converged secondary storage for backup, and Comtrade Software, developer of HYCU, – intelligent application data protection – have partnered to offer a backup-application-to-backup-storage solution purpose-built for virtualized environments. Comtrade Software’s HYCU and ExaGrid’s scalable disk-based backup appliance together provide an elegant yet simple end-to-end data protection solution for IT data centers. HYCU auto-detects applications running in virtual machines (VMs) and makes them transparent to the infrastructure teams. With this new level of visibility, HYCU ensures that no critical applications are left unprotected – a key challenge for enterprises embracing cloud and HCI architectures in their modern data centers. Since HYC ... Read more »

Teams participating – India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka – T20 cricket series will be exclusively live streamed on YuppTV NEW DELHI-Tuesday, February 13th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Cricket aficionados can catch the fast-paced action and the nerve-wracking excitement of the upcoming tri-nation series, Hero Nidahas Trophy 2018, between Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka on YuppTV, the world’s leading OTT brand for South Asian content. The T20 matches will be held in Colombo, between March 6th and March 18th. All the matches will be exclusively available on YuppTV in the USA, Canada, Middle East and North Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, United Kingdom and Europe. The tri-series tournament, played in celebration of Sri Lanka’s 70th year of independence, will open with India taking on Sri Lanka in the opening match. The tournament will follow a round robin format, with all three teams playing each other twice, and the top two teams progressing to the final on March 18th ... Read more »

–– Optimizes the supply chain and operations by enabling plant personnel to work more efficiently –– ORLANDO, Fla.-Tuesday, February 13th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Yokogawa Electric Corporation (TOKYO:6841) announces the February 14 release of Operations Management, a software package for recording and managing data on the work performed by plant personnel. Yokogawa has developed this solution as part of its Operational Excellence Transformation (a transformation by our customers to achieve operational excellence) through the expanded offering of consulting and solution services that lead to the optimization of the supply chain and operations. The Operations Management software assists plant operations and management personnel by facilitating the sharing of information on items such as unusual events, work progress, and operation workflows. By digitalizing and standardizing how this data is handled, this software helps plant personnel carry out their work correctly, sa ... Read more »

—All Business Sectors Strong— TOKYO-Tuesday, February 13th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (TOKYO:7272)(ISIN:JP3942800008) announced today that net income soared nearly 61% to a company-record 101.6 billion yen in fiscal 2017, which finished on December 31. The huge increase was driven by sales of higher-end products and cost reductions achieved through advanced processes for manufacturing and refined development methods for platform- and global-model motorcycles. Net sales rose over 11% to 1.67 trillion yen on strong sales of motorcycles in the ASEAN region, outboard motors in the US and surface mounters and industrial robots. Ordinary income surged nearly 52% to 154.8 billion yen. Motorcycle unit sales in the ASEAN region scored their highest YoY gain since 2011. Net sales overall increased and operating income rose substantially on increased sales of products in higher price ranges and the effects of cost reductions in emerging markets such as Brazi ... Read more »

Dubaï, Émirats Arabes Unis-Mercredi 14 Février 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] Au cours du 6ème Sommet Mondial du Gouvernement organisé à Dubaï, SE Reem Al Hashimy, Ministre d'État de la Coopération Internationale et Directrice Générale du Bureau d’Expo 2020 Dubaï, SE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, Directeur Général et PDG de L'Autorité de l'Electricité et de l'Eau de Dubaï (DEWA) et Joe Kaeser, PDG de Siemens, ont signé un protocole d’entente visant à lancer un projet pilote pour la première installation d’électrolyse d’hydrogène à énergie solaire de la région, dans les installations d'essai extérieures du Parc Solaire de Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. L'installation vise à tester et présenter une centrale intégrée à l'échelle MW pour produire de l'hydrogène en utilisant l'énergie solaire photovoltaïque renouvelable au parc solaire de Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, stocker le gaz, puis le déployer pour ré-électrification, transport ou d'autres utilisations industrielles. Les technologies de l'hydro ... Read more »

Dubai, United Arab Emirates.-Tuesday, February 13th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] During 6th World Government Summit in Dubai, HE Reem Al Hashimy, UAE Minister of State for International Cooperation and Director General, Dubai Expo 2020 Bureau, HE Saeed Mohammed Al Tayer, MD & CEO of Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (DEWA), and Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens, signed an MoU to kick- off a pilot project for the region’s first solar-driven hydrogen electrolysis facility at DEWA’s outdoor testing facilities at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park. The facility aims at testing and showcasing an integrated MW-scale plant to produce hydrogen using renewable energy from solar photovoltaic at the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, store the gas, and then deploy for either re-electrification, transportation or other industrial uses. Hydrogen technologies will accelerate renewable energy integration and deployment in the region and pave the way for the transition to a sust ... Read more »

Fuel retailing of the future to be characterised by newer business models, APP and cloud-based operations, personalized customer services, and increased adoption of alternative profit opportunities Dubai, United Arab Emirates-Tuesday, February 13th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] Forecourts have undergone a massive evolution from the stand-alone fuel dispensing kiosks of the 60s to supermarket and convenience retailing zones of current times; from personnel operated to self-service to automated pumping and also the transition from a fuel station to a pit stop. Over years, forecourts have transformed in accordance with the shift in consumer preferences and requirements. Be it brand owned and operated, licensed or franchised, the evolution of forecourts has not been just restricted to transformation of real estate but to changes in business models, introduction of newer players, inclusion of alternative profit opportunities and upgrades of services. Introduction and adoption of electric vehicl ... Read more »

COLOMBES, France-Tuesday, February 13th 2018 [ AETOS Wire ] (BUSINESS WIRE) -- IDEMIA, the global leader in Augmented Identity for an increasingly digital world, today announces its presence at the Mobile World Congress 2018, the world’s largest gathering for the mobile industry, organized by the GSMA and held in Barcelona, from 26 February to 1 March 2018. Securing our identity has become mission critical in the world we live in today. By standing for Augmented Identity, IDEMIA guarantees secure, authenticated and verifiable transactions for international clients from Financial, Telecom, Identity, Public Security and IoT sectors. At the Mobile World Congress 2018 in Barcelona, IDEMIA invites you to experience its solutions to reinvent the way we “Communicate”, “Connect”, “Get Around”, “Transact” and “Identify” easier, through five dedicated demonstration areas. A wide range of innovations will be showcased on the IDEMIA booth: Know Your Customer solution for mobile customer onbo ... Read more »