Day: November 21, 2022

DUBAI, UAE and RIYADH, Saudi Arabia, Nov. 21, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — CoverGo, the leading global no-code insurance SaaS platform for P&C, health, and life, is expanding to the Middle East after a US$15 million Series A funding, with a Middle East insurance fund Noria Capital joining as one of the strategic investors.

CoverGo has been adopted by a growing number of P&C, health and life insurance companies and emerging insurtech companies across the globe to build and launch all types of insurance products within days, develop omni-channel distribution and digitize policy admin and claims. CoverGo’s clients include AXA, Bupa, MSIG (MS&AD), Dai-ichi Life, DBS Bank, Bank of China Group Insurance and many others.

CoverGo has recently set up its presence in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and became part of DIFC FinTech Hive, the largest financial technology accelerator in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia region.

CoverGo’s expansion in the Middle East is led by newly appointed Regional Director George Majdalani. George is a senior executive with over 17 years in digital insurance transformation and health insurance innovation.

“CoverGo’s next-generation no-code platform provides insurance companies with an unbeatable speed to market and cost savings while driving efficiencies across the whole value chain. CoverGo is uniquely positioned to become the insurance platform market leader, in particular for health insurance in the Middle East, and help companies accelerate their digital transformation without heavy IT development”, said Rakan Abunayyan, General Partner of Noria Capital. “We are excited to support CoverGo on its growth journey and expansion in the Middle East as well as the African market.”

“Middle East insurance companies are realizing now more than ever that custom IT development is too slow and costly while rigid legacy systems can’t satisfy changing customer needs and product requirements. As a result, we have seen a fast-growing demand for CoverGo as a truly configurable no-code platform,” said Tomas Holub, Founder & CEO of CoverGo. “The strategic investment from Noria Capital will further accelerate CoverGo’s growth in the Middle East and provide relationships with key partners and insurance companies in the region.”

“CoverGo’s no-code API-driven insurance platform is a perfect fit for the Middle East insurance stakeholders who are looking to launch and efficiently manage new innovative products and enable seamless digital distribution without disrupting their existing systems,” said George Majdalani, Regional Director, MENA.

About Noria Capital

Noria is a venture capital fund that works with Insurtech startups during their growth and scaleup phases. The fund’s mission is to bring innovation to the insurance industry in the Middle East & Africa. To learn more, visit http://www.noriacapital.co

About CoverGo

CoverGo is the leading global no-code insurance platform for P&C, health, and life, enabling insurance companies to transform digitally in the most flexible, scalable and cost-effective way. To learn more, visit https://covergo.com.

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BEIJING, Nov. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Since joining the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) 31 years ago, China has been committed to regional partnerships and win-win cooperation, and this year the Chinese side reiterated the importance for a free and open trade environment for the APEC economies.

Home to 2.9 billion people, the 21 APEC member economies share a total economic volume of over 60 percent of the world’s total gross domestic product (GDP). Amid the headwinds coming from the pandemic, high inflation, geopolitical crisis and climate change, APEC members sat down in Bangkok, capital of Thailand, and decided to further deepen their multilateral cooperation.

Free and open trade and investment are the purposes and principles of APEC, said Chinese President Xi Jinping at the 29th APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting on Saturday, in which issues related to sustainable trade and investment were discussed.

That is also the pillar for the realization of the Putrajaya Vision 2040, Xi added.

Upholding true multilateralism

President Xi called for upholding true multilateralism and preserving the multilateral trading system.

More should be done to safeguard the rules-based multilateral trading system, keep global industrial and supply chains secure and stable, foster an open, fair and non-discriminatory trade and investment environment, and strive for the early realization of a comprehensive, high-standard Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), he said.

China, which was among the first to ratify the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement last year, is also seeking to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Digital Economy Partnership Agreement (DEPA) for further regional economic integration.

Both the RCEP and CPTPP are believed to be viable pathways toward the wider FTAAP, which the 21 APEC members aim to establish.

Upholding inclusiveness for the benefit of all

Highlighting the importance of inclusive development, Xi stressed that efforts are needed to build a regional economic cooperation architecture featuring equal-footed consultation, joint participation and shared benefits, and foster a big Asia-Pacific market that delivers benefits to all.

All economies could grow together through interconnected development and carry out win-win cooperation through complementarity, he said.

China has put forward initiatives on revitalizing rural areas, supporting small and medium-sized enterprises that use special and sophisticated technologies to produce novel and unique products, and advancing economic inclusion through trade and investment, according to Xi.

Upholding open regional cooperation

The Chinese president also underlined upholding open regional cooperation, saying that it is important to take greater initiative to open up and raise the level of regional economic cooperation in all respects.

China will not waver in its commitment to high-standard opening-up and will open its door still wider, he said.

The fifth China International Import Expo held recently is a good demonstration of China’s firm resolve to support free and open trade.

Tentative deals with a total worth of $73.5 billion were reached during the import-themed event, a testament to China’s gigantic market and numerous business opportunities.

Meanwhile, as a vivid epitome of the country’s exploration of high-level opening-up, Beijing, China’s capital, has been accelerating the development of the city’s “two zones” — the pilot free trade zone and the national comprehensive demonstration zone for expanding opening-up in the services sector.

Over the past two years, the Chinese capital has introduced more than 100 pioneering or breakthrough policies related to the “two zones” and landed over 100 landmark projects and functional platforms.

The reform and opening-up have tremendously propelled China’s social and economic development, especially in the past decade.

China contributed more than 30 percent of global economic growth on average between 2013 and 2021, ranking first in the world, according to a report released by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-11-19/China-urges-for-a-free-open-trade-environment-for-APEC-economies-1f5uxVsV9UQ/index.html

BEIJING, Nov. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — The digital economy and green development have become major trends in global economic and social transformation.

Chinese President Xi Jinping urged on Friday for all APEC members to enhance economic and technical cooperation, speed up coordinated digital and green development.

With a combined population of 2.9 billion, the 21 APEC economies account for over 60 percent of the world’s total gross domestic product (GDP) and about half of its trade. The region’s status is globally significant, and achieving coordinated digital and green development is of vital importance.

Relationship between digital and green economy

Digitalization and green growth are interdependent and mutually reinforcing, Wang Song, an official at the Office of the Cyberspace Administration of China, said at a press conference on November 7.

Wang made the remark when introducing a white paper titled “Jointly Build a Community with a Shared Future in Cyberspace,” which was issued by China’s State Council Information Office. The paper called for “joint efforts to coordinate the transformation towards digitalization and green growth.”

Digital technology plays an increasingly prominent role in promoting the green economy, Wang added. It is estimated that by 2030, industries in China will reduce carbon emissions by 12.1 billion tonnes thanks to advancements in digital technologies, Wang said.

China and other APEC members cooperating on digital economy

China has made the development of the digital economy a national strategy.

The scale of China’s digital economy has ranked second in the world for years, according to the State Council in a report submitted to the National People’s Congress Standing Committee for review on November 28.

Steady progress has also been made in cooperation on the digital economy among China and other APEC economies.

China’s Alibaba Group and the Thailand government signed an agreement in April 2018 in Bangkok which saw the two sides cooperate in e-commerce, digital logistics, tourism and personnel training.

The company in May 2022 launched a data center in Thailand to bolster local businesses’ digital innovation capabilities, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce.

The Philippines and Australia, have also cooperated with Alibaba in retail and logistics, finance and fintechs, digital entertainment and public enterprise services, said the company.

Cooperation in digital payment has also been strengthened. China Unicom said in November that more than six million UnionPay cards have been issued in Southeast Asia since the beginning of this year, an increase of 40 percent year on year.

So far, over 40 million UnionPay cards have been issued in 10 ASEAN countries, among which seven are APEC members.

China’s green development

Green growth provides a practical and flexible approach for achieving sustainable development of the world economy.

The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China included a call for the country to accelerate the transition to a model of green development, boost green and low-carbon industries, and promote green and low-carbon ways of production and life.

China aims to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and to achieve carbon neutrality before 2060.

The country’s national carbon market covers about 4.5 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, making it the largest globally after one year’s operation, said Zhao Yingmin, head of the Chinese delegation to the 27th session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change on November 8 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

China’s biggest maker of electric and hybrid cars, BYD, signed an agreement in September with Thailand’s industrial estate developer WHA Group to build a new electric vehicle (EV) factory in the country with a planned annual production capacity of 150,000 units.

With an aim to grow its EV market in hope of establishing 30 percent of its auto production as EV based, Thailand has introduced a new round of investment and promotion policies to encourage investment in the whole industrial chain of electric vehicles this year, according to the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade in February.

BYD’s entry into Thailand will help its auto industry move closer to that goal, as well as help the country become a global hub for EV manufacturing, said WHA’s co-founder and chairman Jareeporn Jarukornsakul.

The automaker hoped its EV technology will contribute to the country’s EV industry, said Liu Xueliang, the general manager of BYD Asia-Pacific Auto Sales Division.

China has urged its businesses to integrate green development throughout the overseas investment and cooperation, according to a guideline issued by China’s Ministry of Commerce and Ministry of Ecology and Environment in 2021.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2022-11-20/China-urges-faster-digital-green-development-among-APEC-members-1f5mSw5e1ri/index.html