Web Desk, Author at Qatar Business News

CGTN: China officially in a ‘Xiaokang society’ as CPC celebrates centenary

BEIJING, July 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — At a grand ceremony to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Thursday, Beijing officially announced that it has completed its goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. That marks the culmination of the Chinese people’s 2,500-year journey […]

That marks the culmination of the Chinese people’s 2,500-year journey to pursue ‘Xiaokang’ – a peaceful and happy life – through 100 years of diligent endeavors by the CPC as well as over four decades of relentless government work and Chinese ingenuity.

“We have realized the first centenary goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects,” General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping said at the grand gathering.

Loud cheers from the crowd in the Tian’anmen Square encapsulated the pride and exhilaration of the entire Chinese nation in reaching the hard-fought achievement.

What does a ‘Xiaokang society’ mean in a country of 1.4 billion people?

Rooted in China’s traditional culture, “Xiaokang” is used by the CPC to describe the development goals towards which the country has been striving. Its most widely used form – “an all-around Xiaokang society” – captures the broader goals of modernization and elimination of poverty.

The concept features an “income-doubling plan,” aimed at doubling the GDP and per capita income of both urban and rural residents by 2020 in comparison with 2010 levels.

China, a relatively poor country just decades ago, has become the world’s second largest economy with a gross domestic product (GDP) exceeding 100 trillion yuan (about $15 trillion). Its per capita GDP has reached over $10,000, 10 times higher than in 2000 – making China one of the top middle-income countries.

The country declared victory in eradicating absolute poverty nationwide at the end of 2020, and both urban and rural residents have seen their incomes grow rapidly.

In 2020, the per capita disposable income reached 32,189 yuan ($4,665). The Engel coefficient dropped to 30.2 percent in 2020, from 60 percent a few decades earlier, indicating the country’s rising standards of living.

By the end of 2020, 1.36 billion people – 95 percent of the population – had basic medical insurance. Meanwhile, 999 million people – over 90 percent of the population – were covered by the pension system.

And the “moderately prosperous” ambition has gone further than meeting people’s basic needs. As Xi put it on Thursday, “since the very day of its founding, the Party has made seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation its aspiration and mission.”

China’s seventh national census in 2020 showed that people’s level of education had steadily increased, while China’s cultural industry has seen rapid growth. In 2019, it accounted for 4.5 percent of GDP, up nearly 1.7 percentage points from 2010.

In terms of resources and the environment, the proportion of clean energy has increased rapidly. In 2020, clean energy accounted for 24.3 percent of China’s total energy consumption.

As China embarks on a new journey toward socialist modernization, Xi vowed that the CPC will continue to practice a people-centered philosophy of development, address the people’s concerns and promote common prosperity for all.

“On the journey ahead, we must rely closely on the people to create history,” he said on Thursday.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-07-02/China-officially-in-a-Xiaokang-society-as-CPC-celebrates-centenary–11zKFonw3mM/index.html

Video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViJ8Ba1uhoA

Swim Caps for Thick, Curly Hair Not Allowed at Olympics

Swimming caps designed for natural Black hair won’t be allowed at the upcoming Tokyo Olympics, with the sport’s world governing body saying they are unsuitable due to them not “following the natural form of the head.”The British brand Soul Cap sought t…

The British brand Soul Cap sought to have its products officially recognized by FINA, the federation that administers international competitions in water sports, but its application submitted last year was rejected. The company makes extra-large caps designed to protect thick, curly, and voluminous hair.

The caps were barred by FINA on the grounds that to their “best knowledge, the athletes competing at the international events never used, neither require to use, caps of such size and configuration.”

FINA described the swim caps as unsuitable due to them not “following the natural form of the head.”

The Switzerland-based governing body said Friday that it is currently reviewing the situation with Soul Cap and similar products while “understanding the importance of inclusivity and representation.”

FINA said in the statement that it is committed to ensuring all aquatics athletes have access to appropriate swimwear for competition as long as such swimwear doesn’t provide a competitive advantage.

“We don’t see this as a setback, but a chance to open up a dialogue to make a bigger difference in aquatics,” Soul Cap cofounders Toks Ahmed-Salawudeen and Michael Chapman tweeted. “A huge thanks to all who have supported us and our work so far.”

The men founded the company in 2017 after meeting a woman with natural Black hair who struggled with her swim cap. According to the company’s website, it has shipped over 30,000 swim caps to customers worldwide.

“For younger swimmers, feeling included and seeing yourself in a sport at a young age is crucial,” Ahmed-Salawudeen said in an online post. “There’s only so much grassroots and small brands can do — we need the top to be receptive to positive change.”

Alice Dearing, who will compete in marathon swimming in Tokyo as the only Black swimmer for Britain, endorses the company’s caps.

“People used to tell me my hair was ‘too big’ for the cap — never that the cap was too small for my hair,” she said in a blog post on the company’s website.

FINA pointed out Friday that there is no restriction on Soul Cap usage for recreational and teaching purposes. It said it appreciates the efforts of the company and other suppliers in making sure people have a chance to enjoy the water.

FINA said it would speak with Soul Cap officials about using the company’s products at its development centers located in Dakar, Senegal, and Kazan, Russia.

Source: Voice of America

WHO Calls for Urgent Action to Slow COVID-19 Spread in Africa

The World Health Organization is calling for urgent action to stem the rapid spread of COVID-19 across Africa, which is being fueled by a surge of more contagious variants of the disease. Latest reports say COVID-19 cases in Africa have been rising by …

The World Health Organization is calling for urgent action to stem the rapid spread of COVID-19 across Africa, which is being fueled by a surge of more contagious variants of the disease.

Latest reports say COVID-19 cases in Africa have been rising by 25% every week for the past six weeks, bringing reported cases there to more than 5.4 million, including 141,000 deaths.

WHO regional director for Africa, Matshidiso Moeti, warns the rampant spread of the more contagious alpha, beta, and delta variants is raising the pandemic threat across the continent to a new level.

“The speed and scale of Africa’s third wave is like nothing we have seen before,” said Moeti. “Cases are doubling every three weeks, compared to every four weeks at the start of the second wave. Almost 202,000 cases were reported in the past week and the continent is on the verge of exceeding its worst week ever in this pandemic.”

In the same period, WHO reports deaths have risen by 15% across 38 African countries to nearly 3,000. The jump is largely due to the highly transmissible coronavirus variants, which have spread to dozens of countries. The most contagious delta variant has been found in 16 countries. It reportedly has become the dominant strain in South Africa.

Moeti says more people are falling ill and requiring hospitalization, even people younger than 45 years. She says evidence is growing that the delta variant is causing longer and more severe illness.

With Africa’s lack of life-saving vaccines, Moeti says it is important for people to practice public health measures, such as wearing masks, social distancing, and frequent handwashing to prevent the disease from spreading.

“With WHO’s guidance, countries are taking action to curb the rise in cases,” said Moeti. “All countries in resurgence in the region have put limits on people gathering to help with physical distancing. …They are using nuanced, risk-based approaches, informed by the local epidemiology, in an effort to avoid nationwide lockdowns that we know cause great harm to livelihoods, particularly for low-income households.”

Vaccines are proving highly effective against the COVID-19 variants and in ending devastating surges of severe cases of the disease. They are widely available in the world’s richest countries, but not Africa.

Moeti is urgently appealing to countries to share their excess doses to help plug the continent’s vaccine gap, saying Africa must not be left languishing in the throes of its worst wave yet.

Source: Voice of America

At Least 43 Migrants Drown in Shipwreck off Tunisia, Red Crescent Says

At least 43 migrants drowned in a shipwreck off Tunisia as they tried to cross the Mediterranean from Libya to Italy, while another 84 were rescued, humanitarian organization the Tunisian Red Crescent told Reuters on Saturday.The boat that set off from…

The boat that set off from Zuwara, on Libya’s northwest coast, included migrants from Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea and Bangladesh.

Source: Voice of America

Parexel to be Acquired by EQT Private Equity and Goldman Sachs Asset Management

BOSTON and DURHAM, N.C., July 02, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Parexel, a leading global clinical research organization (CRO) focused on development and delivery of innovative new therapies to advance patient health, today announced the execution of a definitive merger agreement under which it will be acquired by EQT IX fund (“EQT Private Equity”) and the […]

“Over the past 18 months Parexel has continued its strong growth trajectory delivering on its patients-first focus and accelerating new therapies to patients in need around the world,” said Parexel CEO Jamie Macdonald. “With the market for outsourced clinical research services anticipated to grow at a conservative CAGR of 8 to 9 percent, our focus remains on advancing and innovating Parexel to meet our customers’ needs across the evolving clinical development landscape. EQT and Goldman Sachs support this vision and are committed to investing in Parexel and our people to capitalize on this exciting market opportunity and make a difference for patients.”

Eric Liu, Partner and Global Co-Head of Healthcare at EQT, commented, “We have followed Parexel closely during the past few years and have been impressed by the company’s development and trajectory. Our investment in Parexel reflects EQT’s thematic focus on the life sciences industry, as well as our commitment to partner with businesses that have a positive impact on society. We are excited to partner with Goldman Sachs for the next stage of Parexel’s journey, and to back Jamie, who prior to his role at Parexel had been a long-time senior advisor to EQT, as well as the rest of the Parexel team.”

Jo Natauri, Partner and Global Head of Private Healthcare Investing within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, commented, “We are thrilled to partner with Jamie Macdonald, the entire Parexel management team and EQT to support Parexel, which has a distinguished track record of delivering clinical excellence to their large pharma and biotech customers globally. We believe this investment will accelerate Parexel’s growth as it builds on the company’s global footprint, strong operational capabilities and expansive healthcare network.”

John Halsted, Managing Partner, Pamplona Capital Management, commented, “We’re very proud of Parexel’s progress over the past four years and the important work they do in helping bring exciting new therapies to patients in need. In particular, they successfully adapted the business to work in the midst of a global pandemic, and supported the development of therapies to combat the COVID-19 pandemic itself. We wish them every success in their next phase of growth.”

“We have enjoyed our partnership with Pamplona, and thank them for their leadership and support in helping to transform Parexel under their ownership,” concluded Mr. Macdonald. “Over the past months, our ability to pivot and adapt have fostered new ways of working while developing a strong track record of quality and delivery for customers around the world. As we continue in this new era of clinical development and focus aggressively on meeting our customers’ needs for innovation in such areas as Real World Evidence, Decentralized Clinical Trials, Biostatistics and Data Management — and in key regions such as Asia/Pacific where we’re among the largest and longest-tenured CROs — we’re excited to be partnering with EQT and Goldman Sachs. We look forward to benefitting from their strong industry experience and to further accelerating Parexel as one of the world’s leading and fastest-growing CROs.”

The transaction is subject to customary conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals. Evercore acted as the financial advisor to Parexel, and Kirkland & Ellis LLP provided legal counsel in connection with the transaction. Goldman Sachs and Jefferies LLC acted as financial advisors to EQT Private Equity and Goldman Sachs Asset Management, and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP provided legal counsel in connection with the transaction.

About Parexel
Parexel supports the development of innovative new medicines to improve the health of patients. We provide services to help life sciences and biopharmaceutical clients everywhere transform scientific discoveries into new treatments. From decentralized clinical trials to regulatory consulting services to leveraging real world insights, our therapeutic, technical, and functional ability is underpinned by a deep conviction in what we do. Parexel was named “Best Contract Research Organization” in December 2020 by an independent panel for Informa Pharma Intelligence. For more information, visit parexel.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram.

About EQT
EQT is a purpose-driven global investment organization with more than EUR 67 billion in assets under management across 26 active funds. EQT funds have portfolio companies in Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Americas with total sales of approximately EUR 29 billion and more than 175,000 employees. EQT works with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth, operational excellence and market leadership. For more information, visit www.eqtgroup.com or follow EQT on LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

About Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Equity
Bringing together traditional and alternative investments, Goldman Sachs Asset Management provides clients around the world with a dedicated partnership and focus on long-term performance. As the primary investing area within Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS), we deliver investment and advisory services for the world’s leading institutions, financial advisors and individuals, drawing from our deeply connected global network and tailored expert insights, across every region and market—overseeing more than $2 trillion in assets under supervision worldwide as of March 31, 2021. Driven by a passion for our clients’ performance, we seek to build long-term relationships based on conviction, sustainable outcomes, and shared success over time. Goldman Sachs Asset Management invests in the full spectrum of alternatives, including private equity, growth equity, private credit, real estate and infrastructure. Established in 1986, the Private Equity business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management has invested over $75 billion since inception. We combine our global network of relationships, our unique insight across markets, industries and regions, and the worldwide resources of Goldman Sachs to build businesses and accelerate value creation across our portfolios. Follow us on LinkedIn.

About Pamplona Capital Management
Pamplona Capital Management is a specialist investment manager established in 2005 that provides an alternative investment platform across private equity and other diversified strategies. With offices in New York, London, Madrid, and Malta, Pamplona manages over $11 billion in assets for a variety of clients including public pension funds, international wealth managers, multinational corporations, family offices, and funds of hedge funds. Pamplona invests long-term capital across the capital structure of its portfolio companies in both public and private market situations.

CONTACTS

For Parexel:
Lori Dorer
Senior Vice President, Corporate Communications
+1 513 496 8121

Lindsay LeCain
Real Chemistry
+ 1 508 259 9521

For EQT:
Daniel Yunger, Kekst CNC, + 1 917 574 8582
EQT Press Office, press@eqtpartners.com, +46 8 506 55 334

For Goldman Sachs:
Leslie Shribman
+1 212 902 5400

For Pamplona Capital Management:
Ed Orlebar, TB Cardew
ed.orlebar@tbcardew.com
+44 (0)7738724630

Hisense Becomes the World’s 1st TV Brand Acquiring TÜV Rheinland Privacy by Design Certification Based on ETSI EN 303 645

QINGDAO, China, July 2, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — TÜV Rheinland Greater China (TÜV Rheinland) granted the ETSI EN 303 645 (IoT) product cybersecurity and privacy protection standard certification to VIDAA 72671 platform smart TV of Hisense Visual Technology Co., Ltd on June 25^th, 2021. Hisense became the world’s first TV brand to receive the certificate. Dr Chen Weikang, Vice President of Business Stream Industrial Services & Cybersecurity at TÜV Rheinland Greater China and Senior Engineer; Zhao Bin, General Manager of TÜV Rheinland Greater China Industrial Services & Cybersecurity; Yu Zhitao, Hisense Group Holdings Co., Ltd. Vice President and Liu Yong, Assistant Vice President of Hisense International and other members attended the Strategy Cooperation Agreement Signing Ceremony.

TÜV Rheinland Issues Privacy by Design Certificate to Hisense

“TÜV Rheinland and Hisense have always been tacit partners in the field of cybersecurity and privacy protection. By granting TÜV Rheinland’s worlds’ first ETSI EN 303 645 certificate demonstrates both parties’ unremitting pursuit for technology breakthrough and higher quality standards,” said Dr Chen.

In June 2020, The European Telecommunication Standards Institute (ETSI) with relevant product manufacturers, academia and governments, officially released the new standard ETSI EN 303 645, which regulates the cybersecurity baseline requirements for consumer IoT products such as user privacy protection, primary network attacks prevention and so on. ETSI EN 202 645 Standard provides a practical evaluation method to limit cybercriminals from controlling global devices, launching DDoS attacks, mining cryptocurrency, or peeping at users. It also reduces the risk of personal data leakage. The standard evaluates products from two aspects: cybersecurity provisions and data privacy protection provisions, focusing on technical control measures and organizational measures to combat cybersecurity defects and solve primary network attacks against cybersecurity vulnerabilities.

Hisense and TÜV Rheinland signed a strategic cooperation agreement

In this certification, TÜV Rheinland evaluated Hisense’s product performance according to the cybersecurity regulations and privacy protection requirements of ETSI EN 303 645 standards. In addition, TÜV Rheinland has carried out a comprehensive evaluation of the product utilizing a comprehensive design evaluation audit and security-related verification. The European market has always been an essential part of Hisense’s globalization strategy. As the official sponsor of EURO 2016 and EURO 2020, Hisense understands the needs of the European market and consumers and always committed to improving product privacy protection and data security in the European market through technology research and development, implementation of localization strategies and sponsoring the top sporting event. As the world’s leading TV brand, Hisense will focus on research and development investment and pay attention to data protection and finally become the most reliable brand in the world!

Media Contact:
Lori Luo (Ogilvy PR Team)
Tel: +86-135-1278-4739
Email: lori.luo@ogilvy.com / HisenseGlobal@ogilvy.com

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1556528/T_V_Rheinland_Issues_Privacy_Design_Certificate_Hisense.jpg
Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1556527/Hisense_T_V_Rheinland_signed_a_strategic_cooperation_agreement.jpg