Refinitiv Partners with AFGRI Technology Services to use AI and Alternative Data Sets to Enable Small Farmers to Gain Access to Banking Services Across Africa

NEW YORK & JOHANNESBURG-Thursday 26 September 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Refinitiv and AFGRI Technology Services (ATS) today announce the Bankable Farmer Research Initiative (BFRI). BFRI will be dedicated to the use of data science, alternative data sets and novel approaches to risk modelling in order to increase access to financial services for small commercial farmers across sub-Saharan Africa. Access to credit for small farmers continues to be a challenge due to lack of credit history and profile. BFRI proposes a highly innovative approach to establishing creditworthiness and is expected to be a significant enabler for growth and prosperity in the region. It is anticipated the BFRI will partner with public and private entities to expand the impact of this initiative.

Over 80% of sub-Saharan Africa’s population is engaged in agriculture. Smallholders, micro-commercial farms and the business ecosystem around these farms constitute the vast majority of economic activity on the African continent. The number of small commercial farmers in Africa is estimated at over 30 million, most of which are underbanked, and as a result find it difficult to pay for seed, fertilizer and other inputs. The World Bank’s Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) estimates the market opportunity for credit services to small farmers across Africa and South Asia to be $450bn.

Luke Manning, Global Head of Sustainability at Refinitiv said: “Two of our key sustainability pledges are to support the communities we operate in and put sustainability at the heart of our product offering, and our bankable farmer innovation delivers on both of those. We’re committed to using Refinitiv data and expertise wherever possible to support the UN’s sustainable development goals, and ultimately solve some of the world’s largest environmental and social challenges. As the solution emerges, Refinitiv looks forward to working with its banking customers to ensure the financial ecosystem develops across all demographics in Africa.”

“AFGRI Agri Services is proud to support this research initiative through our ATS division. We already have a strong focus on developing small and emerging farmers locally through our Lemang business and we want to see the number of successful farmers grow. Through innovation and new methodologies, we can improve how we collectively do this”, said Jacob de Villiers, CEO AFGRI Agri Services.

The Research & Development team will be based at AFGRI in Centurion, Pretoria (South Africa) and will be supported by Refinitiv’s global team of data scientists. “We are very excited about what we can achieve with this partnership. Not only are we striving to solve a critical business challenge faced by financial institutions, we are striving to solve a critical development need on the continent. It’s not an easy challenge to solve, successful farming comes with many variables and risks. A critical pillar to a farmer’s success is accessing the right funding at the right time,” added Niki Neumann, GM Innovation & Strategy (Head of ATS), AFGRI Agri Services.

Partnership and co-creation remain core tenets of the initiative going forward, and the team is keen to engage with additional partners.

“The world’s most intractable problems require deep collaboration and an approach to partnership grounded in shared values and shared vision to find viable, sustainable solutions. I’m thrilled to continue this journey with AFGRI.” said Saidah Nash Carter, previously head of Refinitiv’s Innovation Lab in Cape Town and now strategic advisor to the new initiative.

“I’m excited about what the combined strengths of the two companies’ cross-functional teams has produced – solving for real problems. The continued collaboration through Saidah Nash Carter and Niki Neumann will help to ensure that the BFRI scales for greater impact across Africa,” added Tim Baker, Head of Refinitiv Labs.

About AFGRI
AFGRI Agri Services is a leading South African agricultural services company with core competencies in farmer lending, retail, mechanization and grain management. www.afgri.co.za

About AFGRI Technology Services (ATS)
ATS is the strategic growth and innovation division of AFGRI Agri Services. Catalysing growth through superior strategy, insights, technology and innovation across the agricultural value chain, with the vision to introduce solutions that solve agriculture’s biggest challenges and enable food security. www.afgritechnologyservices.com

About Refinitiv
Refinitiv is one of the world’s largest providers of financial markets data and infrastructure. Serving more than 40,000 institutions in over 190 countries, we provide information, insights, and technology that drive innovation and performance in global markets. Our 160-year Reuters heritage of integrity enables customers to make critical decisions with confidence, while our unique open platform, best-in-class data, and cutting-edge technology bring greater opportunity to our customers. By advancing our customers, we drive progress for the entire financial community. For more information, go to www.refinitiv.com

About Bright Insights Global
Bright Insights global is a boutique women-owned consultancy dedicated to partnering with purpose driven, tech-forward companies with a desire to define and optimize financial performance through the prism of innovation, inclusion and impact.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190925005624/en/

Contacts

Lemuel Brewster
Communications
Refinitiv
Tel: +1 917-805-1089
Email: lemuel.brewster@refinitiv.com

Sonwabise Sebata
Communications
Refinitiv
Tel: +27 11 775 3000
Email: sonwabise.sebata@refinitiv.com

Saidah Nash Carter
Principal
Bright Insights Global
Tel: +27 63 684 5007
Email: saidah.nashcarter@brightinsightsglobal.com

AFGRI Technology Services
Email: ats@afgritechnologyservices.com
Deborah Chapman
ATS PR and Communications Representative
Keyter Rech Investor Solutions
Email: Deborah@kris.co.za
Tel: +27 11 063 2347
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Refinitiv Marks UN Climate Week with New Digital Finance Initiative & Sustainable Leadership Monitor at a Reception Hosting Members of the UN Secretary-General’s Task Force on Digital Financing of the Sustainable Development Goals

 Refinitiv is a proud strategic partner for the United Nation Secretary General's Task Force on Digital Financing of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), charged with harnessing the potential of financial technology to advance the UN 2030 agenda.

NEW YORK & LONDON -Thursday 26 September 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Refinitiv today announced the first fruits of its strategic partnership with the United Nations Secretary-General’s Task Force on Digital Financing of the Sustainable Development Goals (the Task Force) - a Digital Governance of Infrastructure (DGI) initiative and the Sustainable Leadership Monitor (SLM) - at a reception hosting members of the UN Task Force, held at Refinitiv’s Times Square offices.

David Craig, CEO of Refinitiv, said: “Earlier this year, we made several pledges in support of the SDGs. We believe that the private sector has a key role to play in the achievement of the SDGs, and we are honoured to be a strategic partner to the Task Force to harness the power of data to bring about insight and drive informed decision making. Providing investors with access to trusted, holistic information about global infrastructure – including macroeconomics, projects, markets, financing, and geopolitical and operational risk data – is absolutely critical to achieving the SDGs.”

The objective of the DGI initiative is to improve the alignment of investments with the SDGs through the use of digital, end-to-end mapping and builds upon the work Refinitiv have done with BRI Connect in mapping global Infrastructure projects.

“Infrastructure investment is emerging as a critical policy focus for the public sector,” added Craig. “But data transparency remains a key obstacle to growth in private sector funding. Working with the G20 and other multilateral and public entities to pursue policies focused on boosting private sector investment is therefore fundamental to addressing the infrastructure funding gap.”

The world faces an infrastructure investment gap, with capital allocation at levels significantly lower than what is required. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates that meeting the SDGs will require ~$6.3T in annual investment immediately, increasing to ~$6.9T to meet the Paris Agreement goals.

To activate private investment the sector needs standardized, trusted and transparent data serving multiple use cases, at the degrees of granularity (and aggregation) needed to assess performance, returns and risk. Refinitiv can play a key role in framing and delivering this potential.

Dr. Simon Zadek, principal of Project Catalyst at the United Nations Development Programme and an expert advisor to the Task Force, commented: “Digitalization can be harnessed in support of financing the SDGs. The Task Force’s partnership with Refinitiv is already showing how fintech can direct investment to SDG-aligned companies, and provide digital governance of infrastructure investment globally.”

The second sustainability initiative announced is the Sustainable Leadership Monitor (“SLM”). The SLM measures and reports on sustainability leadership across a deep range of financial, environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria. The SLM was developed in a partnership with the World Economic Forum (“WEF”), a Task Force partner, to use as a measurement framework with practical benchmarking capabilities powered by industry-leading ESG and financial data.

The SLM allows for companies to analyze the trajectory of their data versus that of their peers on more than 400 ESG measures. Companies can also receive timely updates, with ESG data updated weekly and financial analytical models updated daily. The tool also allows users to evaluate detailed company rankings with the ability to filter results by industry, country and market cap. They can also view the world map which illustrates the geographical distribution of companies chosen to be peer assessed, while accessing a universe of more than 7,000 companies with ESG data.

Debra Walton, Chief Revenue Officer at Refinitiv, said: “We have worked closely with the WEF and our partners to develop and bring this much needed benchmark to a wider audience. I am thrilled that we can now share this robust dataset and measurement tool with our clients so that they can visualize trends in specific ESG criteria against their peers and inform critical decisions that are both short-term, and long-term in nature. The SLM reflects Refinitiv’s commitment to enable our clients with specialized data and analytics tools that not only provide insight but also enable measurable action.”

Maha Eltobgy, Head of Investors and Infrastructure, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum, said: “The SLM is a comprehensive tool that draws information from a multitude of public sources to provide leaders with 400 data points on sustainability, governance, citizenship, and long-term financial performance. Through this effort, we are replacing simple belief in responsible business with insights about business impact driven by hard data.”

Refinitiv has been serving the financial industry with ESG data and solutions for over 15 years and offers one of the richest ESG databases in the industry – a fully transparent resource that is trusted by investors and corporates to drive positive impact and provide comprehensive analysis. As members of the UN Global Compact, Refinitiv is part of a community of 9,000+ businesses across 135 countries that are committed to operating with responsible business practices at its core.

Refinitiv is at the heart of an ecosystem of change-makers, empowering investors to shift towards sustainable finance initiatives and practices. We call it sustainable leadership.

To learn more about BRI Connect, please visit: https://www.refinitiv.com/en/belt-road-initiative-data-insight

To learn more about Sustainable Leadership, please visit: https://www.refinitiv.com/en/about-us/sustainable-leadership

To learn more about Refinitiv’s Sustainability Leadership Monitor, please visit: https://www.refinitiv.com/content/dam/marketing/en_us/documents/brochures/sustainable-leadership-monitor-brochure.pdf

To learn more about Refinitiv ESG offerings, please visit: https://www.refinitiv.com/en/financial-data/company-data/esg-research-data

About Refinitiv

Refinitiv is one of the world’s largest providers of financial markets data and infrastructure, serving over 40,000 institutions in over 190 countries. It provides leading data and insights, trading platforms, and open data and technology platforms that connect a thriving global financial markets community - driving performance in trading, investment, wealth management, regulatory compliance, market data management, enterprise risk and fighting financial crime. For more information visit: www.Refinitiv.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190925005869/en/

Contacts

Lemuel Brewster
Refinitiv
Senior PR Director
Office +1 646-223-5147
Mobile +1 917-805-1089
Lemuel.brewster@refinitiv.com

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Amazon Prime Video Launches New Features for Thursday Night Football Allowing NFL Fans Around the Globe to Customize Their Streaming Experience

X-Ray puts viewers in control of how they experience the game and delivers Next Gen Stats powered by AWS to fans in a whole new way

Kay Adams and Chris Long host NFL Next, a new live show produced by NFL Films and featuring expert insights exclusively on Prime Video

Twitch doubles co-streamers broadcasting on their interactive social video service

Hannah Storm and Andrea Kremer returning to lead play-by-play and analysis for TNF



SEATTLE-Thursday 26 September 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- (NASDAQ: AMZN) — For the third straight year, Amazon Prime Video brings NFL fans around the world Thursday Night Football Presented by Bud Light Platinum and launches new innovations allowing Prime members to experience the game they love like never before, with a new lineup of expert insight and analysis, access to robust live data and a simplified experience.

“We’re revolutionizing the way football fans stream Thursday Night Football and allowing Prime members to personalize how they watch and hear the game,” said Marie Donoghue, Vice President of Prime Video Sports. “There’s something for every football fan — from deeper gameplay analytics at their fingertips, to differentiated commentary, to the ability to easily discover and watch on any device, anywhere in the world. We think both longtime sports fans and those new to the game will love watching and engaging with TNF on Prime Video and Twitch.”

The Thursday Night Football schedule on Amazon Prime Video and Twitch kicks off Thursday, September 26 at 8:20 PM Eastern with the Green Bay Packers hosting the Philadelphia Eagles.

X-Ray Puts Fans in Control

X-Ray for TNF creates opportunities for fans to watch and understand the game without taking their eyes off the screen or missing a play. This season, X-Ray brings some of the same Next Gen Stats previously available only to coaches and announcers to all TNF fans on demand, on every play and at their fingertips, driving a deeper appreciation for the on field action. Fans can dive into leading edge insights like a quarterback’s average time to throw, a running back’s average yards after contact and a wide receiver’s average yards of separation, which are enabled through Next Gen Stats’ real-time player tracking.

X-Ray is available for football fans streaming TNF on Android, iOS, and Fire TV. Prime Video is also enabling analytics on the go with a discoverable and easy to use mobile experience that allows customers to bring up and dismiss real-time stats by simply flipping their phones. To access X-Ray, fans can simply flip their phones, tap the “Stats by X-Ray” button on their phone or tablet or click ‘up’ on the Fire TV remote control during the game.

A Different Kind of NFL Show

NFL Next, a new 30-minute live show available exclusively on Prime Video at 7:00 PM Eastern each Thursday and produced by NFL Films, will provide viewers with fresh insight and smart commentary from two-time Super Bowl Champion Chris Long, NFL Network’s Kay Adams and Next Gen Stats expert James Koh. NFL Next will host featured guests including current and former players, while iconic sports journalists Hannah Storm and Andrea Kremer will return to provide commentary, in addition to leading play-by-play and analysis.

“We’re excited to collaborate once again with Amazon Prime Video to produce a different kind of NFL show,” said Ross Ketover, Chief Executive of NFL Films. “To have the talents of Chris Long, one of the most insightful players to play this game, paired with a dynamic personality like Kay Adams makes for a show we think fans are going to love.”

“I am excited to be part of NFL Next and the Amazon family,” said Chris Long. “It was important to me that my first venture into football broadcasting was in a forum that I feel will give the viewer a unique under the hood look of the game.”

Choose Your Audio

Prime Video is once again producing multiple audio options to enable football fans around the world to customize their viewing experience. In addition to the default FOX broadcast with Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, Prime members can choose from two additional Prime Video exclusive audio streams: Hannah Storm and Andrea Kremer and U.K. English language broadcasters Derek Rae and Tommy Smyth.

“I can’t wait for another season of Thursday Night Football!” said Hannah Storm. “It’s such a challenging and fun opportunity and we have an awesome group of women in front of the mic and behind the scenes to give Prime members our own unique perspective on the game.”

“I’m thrilled that Hannah and I are building on our groundbreaking first season coupled with our expanding roles on NFL Next as well as offering the most unique viewing experience with Amazon’s technical innovations,” said Andrea Kremer.

FOX Deportes Spanish Production

Additionally, Prime members in the US and Mexico have access to FOX Deportes, the exclusive Spanish-language broadcast.

Join the Twitch Party

For the third year, TNF will also be available to Twitch viewers, including co-streamed commentary from popular streamers on Twitch’s interactive social video service, so get ready to fill chat with your finest cheers, memes, and emotes. Many of your favorite streamers will be co-streaming the matchups and adding their unique commentary to the broadcasts, including surprise guests coming later this season. Fans can cheer on their favorite teams with NFL themed emotes and test their fandom with real-time game trivia all season long. Check out the Twitch blog post to see a complete list of co-streamers for every week. Visit Prime Video to view the full TNF schedule and watch the official FOX broadcast available in over 200 countries and territories around the world.

The TNF games scheduled to air on FOX, NFL Network and Amazon Prime Video kick off Thursday, September 26 at 8:20 PM Eastern with the Green Bay Packers hosting the Philadelphia Eagles. TNF games will be available to stream on Amazon via Prime Video and Twitch in addition to NFL, FOX and FOX Deportes digital properties across devices. NFL Network and Amazon availability subject to change.

About Prime Video

Prime Video is a premium streaming service that offers customers a vast collection of digital videos — all with the ease of finding what they love to watch in one place.

    Included with Prime: Watch thousands of popular movies and TV shows, including our critically-acclaimed Amazon Originals including the Emmy Award-winning The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, The Boys, Homecoming, Hanna, Fleabag, Good Omens, Carnival Row, Mindy Kaling’s Late Night, Donald Glover’s Guava Island, the Academy Award-winning Manchester by the Sea and The Salesman, Academy Award-nominated The Big Sick and Cold War, and exclusives, live sports including Thursday Night Football and licensed and self-published content available in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.
    Watch more with Prime Video Channels: Prime members can add 150+ channels in the US like HBO, Cinemax, STARZ, SHOWTIME, CBS All Access, NBA League Pass and MLB.tv — no extra apps to download, and no cable required. Only pay for the ones you want, and cancel anytime. View the full list of channels available at amazon.com/channels.
    Rent or Buy: Enjoy hundreds of thousands of titles, including new-release movies and entire seasons of current TV episodes, available for all Amazon customers to rent or buy.
    Instant access: Watch where and when you want with the Prime Video app on your smart TV, mobile device, Fire TV, Fire tablet, Apple TV, Chromecast, game consoles, Comcast X1 or from the web. For a complete list of compatible devices, visit amazon.com/howtostream.
    Enhanced experiences: Make the most of every viewing with 4K Ultra HD- and High Dynamic Range (HDR)-compatible content. Go behind the scenes of your favorite movies and TV shows with exclusive X-Ray access, powered by IMDb. Save it for later with select mobile downloads for offline viewing.

In addition to access to movies and TV shows included with Prime, the Prime membership includes unlimited fast free shipping options across all categories available on Amazon, more than two million songs and thousands of playlists and stations with Prime Music, secure photo storage with Prime Photos, unlimited reading with Prime Reading, unlimited access to a digital audiobook catalogue with Audible Channels for Prime, a rotating selection of free digital games and in-game loot with Twitch Prime, early access to select Lightning Deals, exclusive access and discounts to select items, and more. To sign up for Prime or to find out more visit: amazon.com/prime.

About Amazon

Amazon is guided by four principles: customer obsession rather than competitor focus, passion for invention, commitment to operational excellence, and long-term thinking. Customer reviews, 1-Click shopping, personalized recommendations, Prime, Fulfillment by Amazon, AWS, Kindle Direct Publishing, Kindle, Fire tablets, Fire TV, Amazon Echo, and Alexa are some of the products and services pioneered by Amazon. For more information, visit amazon.com/about and follow @AmazonNews.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190925005313/en/

Contacts

Amazon.com, Inc.
Media Hotline
Amazon-pr@amazon.com
www.amazon.com/pr

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Schlumberger Announces Pricing of Tender Offer for Any and All of Schlumberger Holdings Corporation’s Outstanding 3.000% Senior Notes Due 2020 and 3.625% Senior Notes Due 2022

HOUSTON-Wednesday 25 September 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE) -- Schlumberger Limited (“Schlumberger”) today announced that Schlumberger Holdings Corporation, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Schlumberger (“SHC”), has priced the previously announced cash tender offer for any and all of its outstanding (a) 3.000% Senior Notes due 2020 (the "2020 Notes") and (b) 3.625% Senior Notes due 2022 (the "2022 Notes,” and together with the 2020 Notes, the "Notes"), on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Offer to Purchase, dated September 18, 2019 (as may be amended or supplemented from time to time, the "Offer to Purchase") and the related Notice of Guaranteed Delivery attached to the Offer to Purchase (as may be amended or supplemented from time to time, the "Notice of Guaranteed Delivery"). The tender offer is referred to herein as the "Offer." The Offer to Purchase and the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery are referred to herein collectively as the "Offer Documents."

The applicable "Tender Offer Consideration" for each $1,000 principal amount of Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn and accepted for purchase pursuant to the Offer was determined in the manner described in the Offer Documents by reference to the applicable fixed spread for such Notes specified in the table below plus the yield based on the bid-side price of the applicable U.S. Treasury Reference Security specified in the table below, as determined by the Dealer Manager (as defined below) at 2:00 p.m., New York City time, on September 24, 2019.

Certain information regarding the Notes and the pricing for the Offer is set forth in the table below.

Title of
Security
   

CUSIP
Numbers
   

Aggregate
Principal
Amount
Outstanding
   

U.S. Treasury
Reference
Security
   

Bloomberg
Reference
Page
   

Reference
U.S.
Treasury
Security
Yield
   

Fixed Spread
   

Consideration

3.000% Senior Notes due 2020
   

806851AC5 / U8066LAC8
   

$1,198,732,000
   

1.875% U.S. Treasury Notes due December 15, 2020
   

PX4
   

1.793%
   

25 bps
   

$1,011.58

3.625% Senior Notes due 2022
   

806851AE1 / U8066LAD6
   

$616,522,000
   

1.500% U.S. Treasury Notes due September 15, 2022
   

PX1
   

1.546%
   

35 bps
   

$1,051.27

Holders must validly tender (and not validly withdraw) their Notes, or deliver a properly completed and duly executed Notice of Guaranteed Delivery for their Notes, at or before the Expiration Time (as defined below) in order to be eligible to receive the applicable Tender Offer Consideration. In addition, holders whose Notes are purchased in the Offer will receive accrued and unpaid interest from the last interest payment date to, but not including, the Settlement Date (as defined in the Offer to Purchase) for the applicable Notes. SHC expects the Settlement Date to occur on September 27, 2019, the third business day after the Expiration Time.

The Offer will expire today on September 24, 2019 at 5:00 p.m., New York City time (such time and date, as it may be extended, the "Expiration Time"), unless extended or earlier terminated by SHC. The Notes tendered may be withdrawn at any time at or before the Expiration Time by following the procedures described in the Offer to Purchase.

SHC's obligation to accept for purchase and to pay for Notes validly tendered and not validly withdrawn pursuant to the Offer is subject to the satisfaction or waiver, in SHC's discretion, of certain conditions, which are more fully described in the Offer to Purchase. The complete terms and conditions of the Offer are set forth in the Offer Documents. Holders of the Notes are urged to read the Offer Documents carefully.

SHC has retained D.F. King & Co., Inc. ("D.F. King") as the tender agent and information agent for the Offer. SHC has retained Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC as the dealer manager (the “Dealer Manager”) for the Offer.

Holders who would like additional copies of the Offer Documents may call D.F. King at (866) 530-8635 or email at slb@dfking.com. Copies of the Offer to Purchase and the Notice of Guaranteed Delivery are also available at the following website: www.dfking.com/slb. Questions regarding the terms of the Offer should be directed to Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC at 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, telephone (800) 828-3182 (toll-free), (212) 902-6351 (collect), Attn: Liability Management.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to buy or a solicitation of an offer to sell any Notes. The Offer is being made solely pursuant to the Offer Documents. The Offer is not being made to holders of Notes in any jurisdiction in which the making or acceptance thereof would not be in compliance with the securities, blue sky or other laws of such jurisdiction. In any jurisdiction in which the securities laws or blue sky laws require the Offer to be made by a licensed broker or dealer, the Offer will be deemed to be made on behalf of SHC by the Dealer Manager or one or more registered brokers or dealers that are licensed under the laws of such jurisdiction.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the federal securities laws — that is, statements about the future, not about past events. Such statements often contain words such as “expect,” “may,” “believe,” “plan,” “estimate,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “should,” “could,” “will,” “see,” “likely,” and other similar words. Forward-looking statements address matters that are, to varying degrees, uncertain, such as statements regarding the terms and timing for completion of the Offer, including the acceptance for purchase of any Notes validly tendered and the expected Expiration Time and Settlement Date thereof. Schlumberger and SHC cannot give any assurance that such statements will prove correct. These statements are subject to, among other things, the risks and uncertainties detailed in Schlumberger’s most recent Forms 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K filed with or furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission. Actual outcomes may vary materially from those reflected in Schlumberger’s forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made, and Schlumberger disclaims any intention or obligation to update publicly or revise such statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190924006032/en/

Contacts

Simon Farrant – Vice President of Investor Relations, Schlumberger Limited
Joy V. Domingo – Director of Investor Relations, Schlumberger Limited
Office +1 (713) 375-3535
investor-relations@slb.com


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GSMA Partnership Programme Expands to Create the Largest IoT Community in Asia Pacific

 31 Operators in 15 Countries Creating Innovative IoT Solutions; APAC IoT market to Reach 11 billion Connections by 2025

LONDON-Wednesday 25 September 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The GSMA APAC IoT Partnership Programme has expanded to include more than thirty mobile operators making it the largest IoT community in the Asia Pacific region (APAC), the GSMA announced today. The programme brings operators and their partners together including developers, manufacturers and system integrators to share best practice, discuss challenges and progress updates on the development of IoT across the region. The initiative has seen 7 operators open 9 new IoT Labs in the region to help develop new IoT-based solutions. APAC has the largest IoT market in the world and is expected to reach 11 billion connections by 2025 and be worth $386 billion, according to GSMA Intelligence.

“The programme has doubled in size in less than a year and that is testament to the support, engagement and commitment of the mobile operator community who are collaborating closely with their partners to lead the expansion and growth of IoT across the region,” said Julian Gorman, Head of Asia Pacific, GSMA. “This is now the largest cross-regional IoT community in the world and we are already seeing the impact it is having in terms of the development of new solutions. I look forward to seeing how it continues to grow in the coming years.”

APAC Impact

Since launch in October 2018, the APAC IoT Partnership Programme has had an instant impact throughout the region, encouraging more than 120 companies such as IoT developers or solutions companies to work with operators. The programme has also supported the development, design and funding of 9 new IoT Labs throughout the region that is encouraging the development of new products. The IoT labs are a key mechanism for collaboration, encouraging the joint development of new use cases, services and applications that are enabling IoT innovations to be effectively deployed. The programme has also held a series of workshops exploring key industry topics such as Mobile IoT, AI and 5G as well as offered capacity building for local regulators and stakeholders and provided best practice support.

Mobile IoT Experiencing Fastest Global Growth

The APAC region is the fastest growing IoT market in the world, accounting for approximately 40 per cent of the total global IoT spend in 2018. Global Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) or Mobile IoT network connections have also been driven primarily by the APAC region accounting for nearly 97% of all NB-IoT connections according to ABI Research. Mobile IoT networks are being merged into 5G standards to support low latency, massive IoT and large bandwidth. Thirty-seven of the world’s 119 Mobile IoT networks are also deployed in Asia Pacific across 15 countries. China in particular has been a key market in driving early adoption, accounting for 40 per cent of the global LPWA connections in 2018.

IoT @ GSMA Mobile 360 – Digital Societies

The GSMA IoT programme will host a number of different activities at GSMA M360 – Digital Societies held in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday 26 September 2019. This includes the APAC IoT Innovation Summit which provides attendees with insight from mobile operators and their partners on the latest developments in Mobile IoT. There will also be a number of interactive demos showcasing Mobile IoT, 5G, AI, Big Data Analytics, Blockchain and Drones at IoT Expo – Connected APAC. This will include hands on demonstrations from key industry verticals such as agriculture, aviation and retail and host smart home, smart traffic and smart poultry solutions. For further information, please go here: https://www.gsma.com/iot/events/m360-apac-iot-summit/#expo

The Birth of Beyond Connectivity

The GSMA will launch the ‘Beyond Connectivity’ campaign at Mobile 360 – Digital Societies. Beyond Connectivity describes how mobile operators are delivering innovation and transformative solutions to customers across big data, machine learning, analytics, edge computing and distributed ledger technologies and delivering beyond just data connectivity. To find out more, please go to: www.gsma.com/BeyondConnectivity

Notes to Editors

    Operators include Axiata Group (Axiata Robi, Celcom, Dialog Axiata, Ncell, Smart Axiata, XL Axiata and Xpand), Indosat Ooredoo, Jazz, M1, Maxis, Mobitel, Smartfren, Singtel Group (Singtel, Optus), StarHub, Telenor Group (Digi, DTAC, Grameenphone, Telenor Connexion, Telenor Myanmar, Telenor Pakistan), Telstra, TM ONE, True, Rakuten, Viettel Group (Metfone, Mytel, Unitel, Viettel), Vodafone Idea

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators and nearly 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces the industry-leading MWC events held annually in Barcelona, Los Angeles and Shanghai, as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences.

For more information, please visit the GSMA corporate website at www.gsma.com. Follow the GSMA on Twitter: @GSMA.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190924005080/en/

Contacts

For the GSMA
Gearóid Cashman
+44 79 7679 0169
GCashman@webershandwick.com

GSMA Press Office
pressoffice@gsma.com


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Alibaba and WFP Unveil Next Generation of Machine Learning Technology in the Fight Against Hunger

NEW YORK & HANGZHOU, China-Wednesday 25 September 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Today, Alibaba Group and the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) announced the launch of “Hunger Map LIVE,” a groundbreaking global hunger monitoring system that uses Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning and data analytics to predict and track the magnitude and severity of hunger in over 90 countries in close to real-time.

Hunger Map LIVE brings together streams of publicly available information on food security, nutrition, conflict, weather and a variety of macro-economic data – including from WFP all in one place to show a holistic picture of the food security situation. It uses machine learning technology to make informed predictions on food security even in areas where data is currently limited.

Advanced data visualization tools then convert the resulting analysis of food insecurity at the global, country and subnational levels, and display it on an interactive map.

By having the most up-to-date information on food security on one central platform, WFP, the broader humanitarian community and global leaders can monitor progress and identify negative trends early, ultimately enabling better informed decision-making to improve efficiency in response time and curtailing costs.

"The Hunger Map LIVE is a visual wake-up call every day, showing us a real-time snapshot of the problem and reminding all of us that we must do more to defeat hunger," said WFP Executive Director David Beasley, speaking at an event with Heads of State, civil society and technology industry leaders on the sidelines of this year’s UN General Assembly in New York.

"The Hunger Map LIVE demonstrates WFP's commitment to digital transformation, working strategically with partners like Alibaba to use technology in ways that help us become more efficient and effective," Beasley said.

Underlining WFP’s renewed commitment to digital transformation, he added: “We started this strategic partnership with Alibaba in 2018 because we know that in the digital age, cooperation with the technology sector is critical. We need to continuously explore the latest technologies, newest ideas, and build lasting synergies with partners to help us reach those furthest behind.”

This launch marks the first milestone in the long-term partnership signed last year that aims to bring together WFP and Alibaba’s expertise to support efforts to achieve a world free of hunger by 2030.

“We are excited to provide our leading technology and resources to join WFP in the journey to fight hunger. Launching Hunger Map LIVE is only the first step,” said Alibaba Partner and Chairman of Alibaba Foundation Lijun Sun. “Across the Alibaba Group we have developed a leading technological ecosystem, and by working with the experts from WFP, we can really see it in a new perspective. This aligns with our vision of using technology to create a better world.”

“Hunger Map LIVE is a global public good, an online resource available for anyone to use,” said WFP’s Chief Economist and Director Arif Husain who oversees the team providing the food security data and analysis. “Food insecurity is usually measured in a static way even though we know that it is dynamic because it changes all the time. With the application of this technology, the global community has access to daily food insecurity estimates, and that is revolutionary.”

This is not the first time that WFP and Alibaba have joined forces to fight hunger and alleviate poverty. In August 2017, they worked on a poverty alleviation project connecting smallholder farmers in Anhui, a province in eastern China, directly with the market through e-commerce to provide this vulnerable population with access to market and to help the farmers obtain better prices for their agricultural produce, the Kiwi fruit.

The Hunger Map LIVE will be publicly accessible from 16 October, World Food Day, on hungermap.wfp.org.

About WFP

The United Nations World Food Programme is saving lives in emergencies and changing lives for millions through sustainable development. WFP works in more than 80 countries around the world, feeding people caught in conflict and disasters, and laying the foundations for a better future.

About Alibaba Group

Our mission is to make it easy to do business anywhere. We aim to build the infrastructure of commerce. We envision that our customers will meet, work and live at Alibaba, and that we will be a company that lasts at least 102 years. In December 2017, Alibaba established the Alibaba Poverty Relief Program to alleviate poverty with a focus on education, rural commerce advancement, empowering women, healthcare and environmental sustainability.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190925005712/en/

Contacts

Crystal Liu (Alibaba) Crystal.liu@alibaba-inc.com +86 15807506302/+852 6378 5626
Anoush Tatevossian (WFP New York ) Anoush.Tatevossian@wfp.org +1-703-819-2830

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Guidewire Announces New Data Model for Cyber Risk Management

New ransomware event modeling capability in Cyence for Cyber Risk Management designed to help insurers accurately underwrite in an evolving cyber landscape


SAN MATEO, Calif.-Wednesday 25 September 2019 [ AETOS Wire ]

(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Guidewire Software, Inc. (NYSE: GWRE), provider of the industry platform Property and Casualty (P&C) insurers rely upon, today announced the immediate availability of the fourth-generation model update (Model 4) for Guidewire Cyence™ for Cyber Risk Management – an enhanced cyber event risk modeling solution that includes a new event modeling scenario designed to estimate the origin of losses resulting from a mass business interruption following a ransomware event.

Ransomware criminals have grown more advanced, selective, and concentrated with their attacks. In the first quarter of 2019, ransomware attacks grew by 118%, new ransomware families were detected, and threat actors used innovative techniques.1 Attackers are looking for higher payouts from selected targets, and this trend shifts the victim profile from consumer to enterprise. Ransomware attacks in 2018 crippled numerous types of businesses, large and small, worldwide.

“Guidewire is at the forefront of cyber risk modeling, and we continue to evolve our data and models to enable insurers to more accurately underwrite and assess the latest cyber threats,” said George Ng, chief technology officer, Cyence Risk Analytics, Guidewire Software. “Model 4 will be delivered with an enhanced level of transparency. Users will be able to dive deeper into the model to more easily identify modeled assumptions, allowing them to better explain cyber risk and events in dollars and probability.”

In addition to the introduction of advanced analytics modeling for ransomware to reflect the evolving cyber landscape, Model 4 includes significant risk rating model enhancements, improved self-service capabilities, and the incorporation of extensive claims data and new data sources. The Model 4 advancements expand the parameters of risk evaluation with the addition of an accumulation event for ransomware, and provide the stability, granularity, and traceability of model outputs for Enterprise Risk Managers to efficiently report, better explain, and more accurately formulate capital decisions. By having a comprehensive view of cyber risk exposure, insurers can improve their portfolio exposure management, set appropriate limits, and gain the confidence to adapt and succeed in this fast-changing environment.

“Cyence for Cyber Risk Management, Model 4, introduces exciting new capabilities for insurers,” said Paul Mang, general manager, Analytics and Data Services, Guidewire Software. “We believe it will help underwriters more confidently assess and price ransomware risks and provide portfolio managers with new insights as they manage their overall cyber exposures.”

Insurers desiring more information can contact Guidewire to schedule a technology preview.

About Guidewire Software

Guidewire delivers the industry platform that Property and Casualty (P&C) insurers rely upon to adapt and succeed in a time of accelerating change. We provide the software, services, and partner ecosystem to enable our customers to run, differentiate, and grow their business. We are privileged to serve more than 350 companies in 34 countries. For more information, please visit www.guidewire.com and follow us on twitter: @Guidewire_PandC.

NOTE: For information about Guidewire’s trademarks, visit https://www.guidewire.com/legal-notices.

1 Source: McAfee Labs Threats Report, August 2019

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190924005400/en/

Contacts

Diana Stott
Director, Communications
Guidewire Software
+1 650-356-4941
dstott@guidewire.com

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