DGAP-News: Voltabox AG / Key word(s): Alliance

19.06.2018 / 08:05
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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*Voltabox Initiates New Market Strategy in Intralogistics - First Distributors and End Customers Acquired After Entrance Into Direct Sales*

*- Direct market access of intralogistics applications as additional sales channel for Voltabox*

*- Voltabox's established cooperation with Triathlon Batterien to continue*

*- Accelerated expansion of competitive position in lithium-ion battery systems for intralogistics applications*

*- Partnership with high-profile industrial truck distributor is first success of own sales activities*

*Delbrück, Germany, June 19, 2018 - Voltabox AG [ISIN DE000A2E4LE9] announced today that it will be expanding its close partnership with Triathlon Batterien GmbH. In parallel with the successful cooperation with Triathlon, Voltabox is also initiating direct sales of its battery systems for intralogistics applications.*

Market estimates expect the annual global market volume for battery systems in intralogistics to increase to around 1.5 million units, with a total market value of about $ 16 billion, by 2027. Due to the clear total cost benefits for users over conventional lead-acid batteries, there will be a considerable increase in modern lithium-ion battery systems to two-thirds of all the batteries sold in intralogistics worldwide.

As the leading supplier of modern lithium-ion battery systems for forklifts and automated guided vehicles, Voltabox aims to utilize this massive growth potential and decisively shape the ongoing process of using substitutes for conventional lead-acid batteries. The company announced this goal as part of its initial public offering (IPO) in October 2017 and is now taking an important step in executing it.

The cooperation with Triathlon Batterien GmbH, who has been the company's partner since 2014, is now being fundamentally updated. Triathlon will supply Voltabox's battery modules to continue to secure common cost advantages, and with it, will cover the increasing demand for lithium-ion-based systems for industrial applications. Additionally, Voltabox is now taking over direct sales to intralogistics companies across the whole of Europe and North America. According to the previous agreement with Triathlon, this direct market access would only have been possible starting in 2020. With this new agreement, the two companies will as of now simultaneously sell lithium-ion battery systems to customers for industrial trucks, jacking systems, cleaning machines and interruption-free emergency power supplies.

"The collaboration with Triathlon gave us our first indirect access to an important growth market. We are now taking the next obvious step and closing the gap to sell directly to forklift manufacturers," says Jürgen Pampel, Chief Executive Officer of Voltabox AG. "Manufacturers and major customers expect a direct supply so that they can meet their specific requirements for lithium-ion-based battery systems even faster. We are thus complementing our work perfectly with Triathlon's sales network."

"We are receiving more and more requests for innovative, safe and reliable battery systems. Our close and trusting partnership with Voltabox ensures that we can optimally meet this need. This step is therefore especially valuable because, through this cooperation, we can harness potential synergies even better than before," elaborates Martin Hartmann, Managing Director of Triathlon Batterien GmbH.

The first payoff from the simultaneously initiated expansion of the Voltabox team for direct sales comes in the form of orders for the supply of lithium-ion battery systems to a high-profile, large-scale German industrial company by an authorized industrial truck distributor. In the future, Voltabox will supply both OEM manufacturers in the intralogistics industry and large forklift truck fleet operators with high-quality battery systems - both in the European and U.S. markets.

In terms of the supply agreement between Voltabox and Triathlon, the concluded contract provides for the sale of Voltabox's lithium-ion battery systems designated for the EU to be assembled by Triathlon from now on. Voltabox will produce and deliver the modules, while Triathlon will install troughs as well as system and module electronics. The agreement stipulates that Triathlon will purchase a minimum number of modules. The lithium-ion battery systems for the North American region will be assembled by Voltabox of Texas, Inc., commencing immediately. Triathlon will deliver troughs as well as system and module electronics to Voltabox for these systems.

The already-high order backlog for battery modules and systems for intralogistics as well as the expected future demand in this market segment as a result of the new positioning will lead to optimized utilization of the automated series production. This will enable improved economies of scale, which could have a positive effect on the margin as early as the second half of the year if everything goes according to plan. According to the management of Voltabox AG, this should have no effect on the previously published forecast for the 2018 fiscal year.

*About Voltabox AG*

Voltabox is a high-growth e-mobility system provider for industrial applications. Its core business lies in intrinsically safe, highly developed high-performance lithium-ion batteries that are modular and in serial production. The battery systems are used in buses for public transportation, forklifts, automated guided vehicles and mining vehicles. The company also develops and produces high-quality lithium-ion batteries for selected mass market applications, such as high performance motorcycles. Voltabox has production sites at its headquarters in Delbrück, Germany, and in Austin, Texas, as well as a development site in Aachen, Germany. Additional information about Voltabox can be found at www.voltabox.ag/en/.

*Financial Press & Investor Relations Contact*

*Voltabox AG *

Dr. Kai Holtmann
Artegastraße 1
D-33129 Delbrueck
Phone: +49 (0) 52 50 - 99 30-964
Fax: +49 (0) 52 50 - 99 30-901
E-Mail: investor@voltabox.ag
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19.06.2018 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Archive at www.dgap.de --------------------

Language: English
Company: Voltabox AG
Artegastraße 1
33129 Delbrück
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)5250 9930 964
Fax: +49 (0)5250 9930 901
E-mail: info@voltabox.ag
Internet: www.voltabox.ag
ISIN: DE000A2E4LE9
WKN: A2E4LE
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
 
End of News DGAP News Service Reported by EQS Group 13 minutes ago.

While the Tata-Thyssenkrupp deal is potentially capable of delivering the largest synergies to the tune of 400-600 million euros initially, ArcelorMittal is aiming to make over 300 million euros from the Ilva deal Reported by Firstpost 11 minutes ago.

European officials are eager to paint Greece as a comeback story. But troubles in nearby Italy show that the euro’s issues have not been laid to rest. Reported by NYTimes.com 1 hour ago.

Greece is the EU’s former problem child, but is it now finally out of the woods?

*Emiel van den Heiligenberg, head of asset allocation at Legal & General Asset Management, says YES.*

Greek GDP data for the first quarter brought good news: year-on-year growth has increased to 2.3 per cent, the strongest since mid-2008.

That growth is now back in line with the Eurozone average. Greece now has nominal growth back above its nominal financing cost, which should lead to the primary surplus feeding straight into debt reduction. The independent Hellenic Fiscal Council estimates the primary surplus to be comfortably above the target of 3.5 per cent through to 2022.

The IMF loans are the most expensive part of the Greek borrowing mix: replacing them with either debt issuance or more European lending makes the debt arithmetic even easier.

With the Greek bailout programme ending in August, medium-term debt relief is on the table at the next EU summit. The exact form of that relief will be subject to political wrangling, but further extensions to the term of official sector loans (and reductions in their cost) will be part of the solution.

*Read more*: Jeremy Corbyn will return Elgin marbles to Greece if made Prime Minister

*Alastair Benn, news editor of Reaction, says NO.*

After the Hobbesian nightmare of the Thirty Years War in the seventeenth century, the aspiration to a common European unity became fashionable among continental thinkers. Following the new horror of WW2, that vision finally took shape in the founding treaties of the EEC – now the EU.

That ancient aspiration to “an ideal of Europe” has repeatedly run up against “problem children” – from the populist, nationalisms of the nineteenth century, through twentieth century British euroscepticism, to inefficient, corrupt Greece (and its Italian neighbour).

Although Greece has taken faltering steps towards growth, and crippling austerity measures are now ending, the social fabric remains fragile, and long-term debt is sky-high.

The lack of European-led initiatives on migrants means Greece struggles with new arrivals, and the (neo-fascist) group Golden Dawn remains a destabilising force, exacerbating fault lines in Greek society by staging vocal rallies in memory of civil war-era fascists and making open attacks on migrants.

*Read more*: Beware of Greeks bearing fresh spending plans Reported by City A.M. 3 hours ago.

President Trump’s policies are undermining the post-World War II rules-based multilateral trading system. Countries in the European Union and Asia should resist,and speak up. They should also strengthen the G20.

By Pradumna B. Rana(

On 1 June, President Trump launched the opening salvo of a trade war by unilaterally imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum imported into the country from the European Union (EU), Canada and Mexico. Canada has announced that it will “move forward with retaliatory measures on July 1, applying equivalent tariffs to the ones that the Americans have unjustly applied to us.” The EU and Mexico have their guns loaded.

The US and China, the two largest economies of the world, are also at the brink of a trade war. On 15 June, Trump announced tariffs on US $50 billion of Chinese goods and warned that any retaliation by Beijing would trigger another round of tariffs on Chinese goods. But China struck back within hours slapping the same amount of tariff on American imports, from agriculture and seafood to cars and energy products. The results of negotiations previously reached by the two parties are also invalid.

Although hopefully the worst can still be avoided, the experience of the 1930s and the subsequent Great Depression suggests that trade wars can have serious economic and social consequences not only in the warring countries but the entire global economy. The IMF has warned that Trump’s controversial new import tariffs pose a stark threat to the global trading system and will ultimately damage the US economy.

In addition to starting trade wars, Trump’s trade policies are undermining the post-World War II rules-based multilateral trading system established ironically by the US, as the hegemon, with the cooperation of other like-minded countries mainly in Europe. Under the auspices of the GATT and its successor the WTO (since 1995), globally tariffs had fallen to record low levels, volume of international trade had expanded manifold, and unprecedented economic prosperity had been achieved all over the world.

*Trump’s Threat to Withdraw from WTO*

Seventy years on, the Doha Round has stalled and some of the WTO rules and exceptions to the rules need to be revisited. But instead of reforming the institution Trump has threatened to withdraw the US from the WTO if it continues to rule against the country. The latter could happen if, for example, the WTO rules unfavorably on the recent metal tariffs which the US imposed on national security grounds so that they are consistent with a little-used WTO rule.

Another way that the US is undermining the WTO is by refusing to appoint new judges to the WTO Appellate Body accusing it of bias against the US. When the next judge’s term expires in September the Appellate Body will not have the requisite three members to adjudicate disputes. The WTO has traditionally appointed judges based on consensus among its members. Perhaps it is time to change this method to save the rules-based system.

*From G7 to G6+1*

At the recent G7 summit, with a single tweet from Air Force One while flying to Singapore, Trump drove a deep wedge between the US and other G7 countries that traditionally consider themselves Washington’s closest allies. These countries had cooperated closely with the US and helped it to build the post-World War II rules-based trading system. The summit was a fiasco. The future of the G7, which is supposed to be an oversight body for global matters including trade, is therefore uncertain. Contrary to what Trump had said at the recent Davos meeting that “America First does not mean America Alone”, the G7 is now being described by many as G6+1 with the US being isolated.
How should the rest of the world including Asia respond?

Given that the rules-based multilateral trading system is under threat, countries in the European Union and in Asia (such as Japan, China, and India) should unite, resist, and speak up in favor of the WTO. They should also cooperate more closely in resolving issues, for example, on agriculture trade and in reforming the WTO. One reform proposal is that the WTO should address the 21st century trade issues which are “behind the border” issues such as rules for investment protection, intellectual property and regulations on product standards and their harmonization. Global value chain or parts and components trade now comprise about 70 percent of global trade. Currently the WTO focuses on 20th century trade issues such as tariffs, quotas, and subsidies. It is the mega-free trade agreements such as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and, to a lesser extent, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) that are focusing on 21st century trade issues.

*G7 to G20?*

It is also time to start thinking of replacing the G7 with the G20. Of course, the G20 is not perfect and there is a need to enhance both its “input” legitimacy – its exclusive nature and lack of broader representation – and “output” legitimacy – its ability to strengthen international cooperation and come up with solutions. But it is the only forum where, in addition to the G7 countries, systemically important emerging markets have a representation and voice. The G7 members once ruled the world but now their share of world GDP is declining from about three-fourths in the 1990s to about one-half currently. The G7’s share of world population has also declined from about 20 percent to 15 percent during the same period, with aging populations in most countries. On the other hand, the G20 accounts for 85 percent of the world’s GDP and over 60 percent of its population and is more relevant. It could well save the global trading system from the depredation of the go-it-alone tendency of the US.

**Pradumna B. Rana* is Associate Professor and Coordinator of the International Political Economy Programme in the Centre for Multilateralism Studies (CMS) at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. Reported by Eurasia Review 3 hours ago.

Board of Directors Continues to Focus on Governance and Shareholder Value

SAN FRANCISCO, June 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BrainChip Holdings Ltd. (“BrainChip” or the “Company”) (ASX:BRN), a leading developer of software and hardware accelerated solutions for advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning applications, is pleased to announce the appointment of Ms Julie H. Stein as Lead Independent Director.Ms Stein joined the Company’s Board of Directors in November of 2016 and currently serves as Chair of the Company’s Audit Committee and as a member of the Company’s Remuneration Committee.  Ms Stein has an exemplary background in strategic planning, finance and corporate governance. She is a Leadership Fellow with the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD), holds a Certificate from the Stanford University Law School Directors’ College and holds a CERT Certificate in Cybersecurity Oversight from the Carnegie Mellon University Software Engineering Institute.

Lou DiNardo, BrainChip’s Executive Chairman and CEO commented, “Julie’s contribution as a non-executive Director, Chair of the Company’s Audit Committee and service on the Remuneration Committee has proven invaluable. Julie has been a primary force in driving the Company’s Intellectual Property and Cybersecurity initiatives and she has consistently provided insight and guidance on the many areas of strategic importance to our high growth company. We look forward to working with Julie as our Lead Director along with the rest of our board of directors, Emmanuel Hernandez, Adam Osseiran and Steve Liebeskind to build a great company in the highly disruptive Artificial Intelligence market.”

Ms Stein added, “The goal of our board is to advance shareholder value through excellence in governance and oversight and in working closely with management on strategy and execution. I look forward to continuing to support and advance these goals.  I would also like to add that I am proud to be a part of a company that is not only a leader in its industry but is also a leader with respect to diversity in the boardroom.  BrainChip has an exciting future and we are fortunate to have a team of extraordinarily talented people to usher forward our corporate mission.”

*About BrainChip Holdings Ltd *(ASX:BRN)
BrainChip Holdings Ltd. is a leading provider of software and hardware-accelerated solutions for Advanced Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning applications.  The Company has developed a revolutionary new spiking neural network technology that can learn autonomously, evolve and associate information just like the human brain. The technology, which is proprietary, is fast, completely digital and consumes very low power. The Company provides software and hardware solutions that address the high-performance requirements in Civil Surveillance, Gaming, Facial Recognition and Visual Inspection systems. www.brainchipinc.com.

*Company Contact *
Robert Beachler
bbeachler@brainchipinc.com    
+1 (949) 330-6750

*Investor Relations (US): *
Ryan Benton
rbenton@brainchipinc.com    
+1 (949) 330-6750

*Investor Relations (Australia): *
Rod Hinchcliffe
Media and Capital Partners
ir@brainchipinc.com 
+61 412 277 377

*Media Contact (US): *
Kerry McClenahan
Publitek North America
kerry.mcclenahan@publitek.com 
+1 (503) 546-1002

*Media Contact (Europe):*
Nayl D’Souza
Publitek
nayl.dsouza@publitek.com 
+44 20 3813 6423

*Media Contact(Australia):*
Daniel Paproth
Media and Capital Partners
daniel.paproth@mcpartners.com.au 
+61 421 858 982  Reported by GlobeNewswire 3 hours ago.

On World Refugee Day (20 June), it is important to touch upon the sensitive issue of uniting families at a time when separation is happening on the US border. However, separation is also a consequence of the Dublin regulation, which must be reformed, writes Iverna Mc Gowan. Reported by EurActiv 3 hours ago.

Here’s what you need to know to start your day. Reported by NYTimes.com 1 hour ago.

· *The US T**reasury** yield curve flattening continues.  *
· *The 10's/7's curve could invert soon - which is widely considered an advance indicator for a US recession.*
· *Fears of yield curve inversion could put a bid under the EUR/USD pair.*

The EUR/USD is on the defensive, having failed to take out the bearish (falling) 5-day moving average (MA) in Asia, however, the pair may pick up a bid in Europe on fears the US treasury yield curve could invert soon.

As of writing, the spread or the difference between the US 10-year treasury yield and the 7-year treasury yield stands at 3.5 basis points and could soon turn negative (inverted yield curve) if the US-China trade tensions escalate.

An inverted yield curve is widely considered as a sign the economy is heading for a recession.

Also, 10's/7's curve continues to flatten in the USD-negative manner, i.e. the spread between the 10-year Treasury yield and the 2-year yield fell to 34 basis points in Asia - the lowest level since August 2007.

Hence, the greenback may find offers. That said, only a convincing move above the ECB day high of 1.1852 would put the EUR bulls back into the driver's seat.

*EUR/USD Technical Levels*

Resistance: 1.1644 (previous day's high), 1.1852 (Thursday's high), 1.1893 (falling 50-day moving average).

Support: 1.1531 (previous day's low), 1.1510 (May 29 low), 1.1404 (200-week moving average).

  Reported by FXstreet.com 3 hours ago.

Yuan Rated Top Large Company CEO Based on Employee Reviews

SAN JOSE, Calif., June 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Zoom Video Communications, Inc. today announced that its founder and CEO, Eric S. Yuan, has won a Glassdoor Employees’ Choice Award honoring the Top CEOs in 2018. Yuan is the #1 CEO of a large company on Glassdoor, with 99% employee approval. Zoom has a 4.9/5 star approval rating and 96% positive employee recommendations on Glassdoor.Glassdoor, one of the world’s largest job and recruiting sites, released its annual report recognizing the top CEOs, which highlights leaders employees most love working for in companies throughout North America and parts of Europe. Among the chief executives recognized by employees in the U.S., Yuan received the top approval rating based on the anonymous and voluntary reviews that Zoom employees shared on Glassdoor throughout the past year.

When employees submit reviews about their company on Glassdoor, they are asked to rate various factors about their employment experience, including their senior management and CEO. Among the 770,000 companies reviewed on Glassdoor, the average CEO approval rating is 69 percent.

“What an incredible honor to receive such a recognition from my employees,” said Yuan. “I am humbled not just by the award, but by the hard work and dedication that they demonstrate at Zoom every day. This award represents the culture that they have built as much as it does any achievement on my part. Thank you to each and every one of them.”

“Winning a Glassdoor Top CEO award is a true acknowledgement of exceptional leadership, as it reflects the opinions of the employees who work with a chief executive every day. I congratulate all of this year’s winners on this significant achievement,” said Robert Hohman, Glassdoor co-founder and CEO. “It can be a real recruiting advantage to have a top-rated CEO at the helm of a company who has strong support from his or her employees. The best CEOs are inspiring, trustworthy, innovative and can be great motivators for people to bring their best selves to work.”

See the complete list of all Top CEOs in 2018, visit Glassdoor.  

*About Zoom*
Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise video communications, with an easy, reliable cloud platform for video and audio conferencing, collaboration, chat, and webinars across mobile devices, desktops, telephones, and room systems. Founded in 2011, Zoom helps businesses and organizations bring their teams together in a frictionless environment to get more done. Zoom Rooms, the leading software-based conference room solution, features video and audio conferencing, wireless content sharing, and calendaring running on off-the-shelf hardware. Zoom Rooms suit any meeting or collaboration space, from huddle rooms to training centers. Zoom is a private company headquartered in San Jose, CA. Visit zoom.us and follow @zoom_us.

*About Glassdoor*
Glassdoor is one of the largest job and recruiting sites in the world today. Set apart by the tens of millions of reviews and insights provided by employees and candidates, Glassdoor combines all the jobs with this valuable data to make it easy for people to find a job that is uniquely right for them. As a result, Glassdoor helps employers hire truly informed candidates at scale through effective recruiting solutions like job advertising and employer branding products. Launched in 2008, Glassdoor now has reviews and insights for more than 770,000 companies in more than 190 countries. For labor market trends and analysis, visit Glassdoor Economic Research. For company news and career advice and tips, visit the Glassdoor Blog and for employer-related news and insights to help employers hire, visit the Glassdoor for Employers Blog. Visit Glassdoor.com or download our apps on iOS and Android platforms.

*Zoom Media Contact:*
Priscilla Barolo, press@zoom.us

*Glassdoor Media Contact:*
Amelia Green-Vamos, pr@glassdoor.com  Reported by GlobeNewswire 2 hours ago.

SHANGHAI, June 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- On June 19th, DaDa's Vice President Joyce Shen spoke at the Fifth Annual EdTech X Europe in London, UK. This year's theme was "Eternally Learning," something that Mrs.Shen is well equipped to handle, as DaDa, formerly DaDaABC, lays the educational foundation for students across China. In an interview, she stated, "Learning is not limited to your age: we can learn anytime, anywhere. Learning is a lifetime pursuit, with more diverse access points thanks to technology and the internet. As an edtech company, we play an important role in making learning possible." Mrs. Shen's speech was the highlight of EdTech's "Ideation Lab" track, where she was among top innovators in the edtech space.DaDa co-founder and vice president Joyce Shen speaking at the 2018 EdTech event

Founded in 2013, DaDa, China's leading online education platform, aims to "empower our children to do more." DaDa connects Chinese students, ages 4-16, to English tutors from around the world. Earlier this year, U.S. investment firm Tiger Global Management and New York Exchange-listed education and technology firm TAL Education invested USD $100 million in DaDa's series C financing.

A selling point for investors and partners alike, is the platform's adherence to a unique "one-on-one" model. Unlike other companies that use a flexible matching system, matching students to a different teacher each time, DaDa's platform uses an exclusive matching algorithm to match students with the most suitable teachers, allowing teachers to cultivate meaningful relationships with students and customize lessons according to student needs.

"Through several years of research and development, we have found the exclusive algorithm to be the most effective way to accurately match students and instructors. This finding has become our technical edge," said Johnny Wang, CTO, DaDa.

DaDa's priority is student learning and, more than the algorithm alone, the cross-screen interactive technology makes these connections possible across all devices. The interactive platform allows students to see teachers in real time, with the virtual space mirroring a classroom environment. The system also uses an AI-powered facial expression recognition system, coupled with big data, to capture students' facial expressions, collecting student feedback and allowing parents and teachers to evaluate lesson effectiveness.

The key to DaDa's success, however, is more than their technology. Exclusive partnerships with leading educational resource providers, such as McGraw-Hill Education, allow DaDa to provide the best English curriculum to their students. The curriculum is also a big selling point for teachers. Each lesson is curated, making them easy to understand and easy to teach.

In fact, the teachers in western countries gain a lot from DaDa's "one-on-one" digital platform, including a flexible schedule, supplemental income, and cultural immersion. DaDa gives students and teachers a peek inside a different culture. This cross-cultural immersion creates lasting bonds and authentic learning experiences that would be hard to replicate in a traditional classroom setting, amplifying the student-teacher engagement and learning retention. These long-lasting relationships have another unintentional benefit: income stability. DaDa can virtually guarantee work for teachers, giving them a reliable source of income.

*Visions for the Future*

DaDa has always believed in the power of cross-industry and intra-industry collaboration. Cultivating partnerships beyond those with English education companies, DaDa has linked up with National Geographic and Highlights to create integrated learning opportunities for DaDa students. According to Mrs. Shen: "As the Chinese proverb says: When I walk along with two others, they serve as my teachers. At DaDa, we believe in the power of connection. We value our partners, which is strategically important for our development. When we all think of making education better together, we create a huge energy we can all benefit from."

Given DaDa's history, it was no surprise when DaDa dropped the ABC from its name, a symbolic gesture implying further integrated learning offerings and commitment to move beyond English training without losing its core. The company established an R&D center called Brain Spark Lab in Hong Kong last September and recently announced partnerships with the international healthcare brand, United Foundation for China's Health, and STEM learning powerhouse, Mad Science. Blending the online portal with STEM education and optimized pedagogy could launch DaDa to the next frontier of education companies, not just in China, but on the global stage. The platform has the potential to grow internationally, educating students worldwide. With that said, DaDa's key focus has been and will always be refining their technology to provide superior learning experiences irrespective of location.

*The Chinese Education Industry*

In 2017, education spending exceeded $295 billion and is expected to reach $500 billion by 2020. China's thriving middle class drives this segment boom with their dedication to childhood enrichment. The industry provides everything from foreign language training to application consulting for students looking to study abroad. According to iResearch, the online English tutoring industry is on track to reach $8 billion by 2019. 

View original content with multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-empowerment-dada-vice-president-speaks-at-edtech-x-europe-2018-300669157.html Reported by PR Newswire Asia 2 hours ago.

By Nick Cunningham

The U.S. dollar has jumped to its strongest level in nearly a year, raising questions about how a strong greenback could act as a drag on debt and oil demand in much of the world.

The U.S. Federal Reserve announced another rate hike a few days ago, which helped edge up the dollar to a new high for the year.

The greenback has “a little room to run,” Kathy Jones, a New York-based chief fixed-income strategist at Charles Schwab, said in a Bloomberg interview. “We have seen softer numbers out of Europe and firmer numbers out of the U.S.” The U.S. Federal Reserve is unwinding its extraordinary monetary intervention after a decade of near-zero interest rates. The Fed has announced quarter-point interest rate hikes twice and is planning on at least two additional increases this year.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank is heading in the other direction in an effort to keep sovereign bond yields from spiraling out of control, particularly after the recent political turmoil in Italy unnerved bond markets on the continent. The ECB said it would keep interest rates low through at least next summer.

The diverging policy paths for the two central banks points to a further strengthening of the dollar relative to the euro. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index jumped to 1,187 in early trading on Friday, the highest level since July 2017. The greenback has strengthened about 6 percent in the past two months.

“(ECB President Mario) Draghi came out a little bit more dovish than people thought he was going to be. And that really caused the euro to take a dip and the (U.S.) dollar to go up, which is putting downward pressure on prices,” Phil Flynn, analyst at Price Futures Group in Chicago, told Reuters.

There are plenty of factors influencing oil prices right now, and the OPEC+ decision expected in a few days will be the single most important driver in the near-term. But the U.S. dollar is one important variable influencing oil prices. A stronger dollar helps push down prices because it makes oil, which is priced in dollars, much more expensive in much of the world.

Moreover, emerging markets now account for a majority of oil demand, and nearly all of the growth in oil demand. More specifically, additional consumption over the next few decades is expected to overwhelmingly come from China and India. In 2018, the two countries have accounted for nearly 70 percent of oil demand growth.

As a result, actions from the Fed reverberate through the oil markets. Higher oil prices act as a drag on demand, but a stronger greenback magnifies the expense in local currency.

Some governments are desperate to shield their economies from higher prices. As Reuters notes, the price of a liter of diesel in India is up 27 percent from a year ago, which, while costly, is actually subdued given the 70 percent increase in Brent prices over that time period. The Indian government is stepping in to blunt the impact of higher fuel prices, at great expense to public coffers.

The IEA said last week that oil demand is set to grow by 1.4 million barrels per day (mb/d) in each of 2018 and 2019, although that forecast was vulnerable to several potential pitfalls. “Of course, there are downside risks: these include the possibility of higher prices, a weakening of economic confidence, trade protectionism and a potential further strengthening of the US dollar,” the IEA wrote.

We have already seen some flashpoints flare up this year as a result of both higher fuel prices and currency problems, and while there are always multiple causes to such events, the strength of the U.S. dollar cannot be discounted. In Argentina, the peso lost nearly a quarter of its value relative to the dollar, forcing the government to seek a financial rescue from the IMF. In Brazil, crippling protests over high fuel prices paralyzed the country – prices were particularly painful for the truckers staging the strikes because Brazil’s currency lost nearly 15 percent of its value relative to the dollar, exacerbating the rise in oil prices.

“Currency risks are also mounting for several emerging market economies and some OECD countries,” the IEA wrote in its report. “For example, between the start of April and the end of May, the Argentinian peso has depreciated by 24% versus the US Dollar, the Brazilian real by 12.6%, the Mexican peso by 9.7%, the Russian ruble by 9.2%, the Turkish lira by 14.4%, the South African rand by 7.3% and the euro by 5.4%.”

This currency turmoil threatens oil demand growth. “These depreciations forced some countries to increase interest rates to defend their currency, which could weigh on growth in due course,” the IEA concluded.

Source: https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-Fed-Is-Driving-Down-Oil-Prices.html Reported by Eurasia Review 1 hour ago.

Improved risk appetite offered a sigh of relief across the fx board in Asia this Wednesday, as markets shrugged-off the renewed tensions over the US-Sino trade spat. However, most majors held onto tight trading ranges, as markets took a breather ahead of the key panel discussion at the European Central Bank (ECB) Sintra Forum.

Amongst the Asia-pac currencies, the USD/JPY pair managed to take on the recovery above the 110 handle, but lacked further upside momentum amid subdued US dollar and flattening US yield curve. The Antipodeans also staged a minor comeback, with the Aussie extending its bounce from 2018 lows. The Kiwi is back above the 0.69 upside barrier, having ignored downbeat New Zealand’s current account data.

Looking at the related markets, the Asian equities attempted a tepid bounce, but the sentiment was roiled by losses in China stocks. Also, mixed trading seen in oil prices, despite a drawdown in the US crude inventories while gold prices continued to flirt near the $ 1275 support area.

*Main topics in Asia *

New Zealand current account deficit hit 9-year high

Stats New Zealand reported a seasonally adjusted current account deficit for the March 2018 quarter at $3 billion- the highest level since the 2008 global financial crisis. 

BOJ Minutes: members ditch timeframe for achieving price target

Some Bank of Japan (BOJ) board members feel it is appropriate to ditch the timeframe for achieving the inflation target because investors are linking the timeframe to changes in the monetary policy, the minutes of the BOJ's April policy meeting revealed on Wednesday. 

US treasury yield continues to flatten, could invert soon

The US Treasury yield curve continues to flatten and could invert as early as next week. The spread between the 10-year yield and the 2-year yield fell to 34 basis points today - the lowest level since August 2007.

S. Korea ForeignMin: Sanctions on N. Korea will remain in place until "complete denuclearisation" achieved

South Korea’s Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is on the wires now, via Livesquawk, commenting on the North Korean issue.

Asian stocks rebound, but Shanghai remains in the red as China equities suffer

Asian equities dipped in early Wednesday action as the US' tariffs on Chinese goods, with promises of more on the way, continued to eat away at market sentiment …

*Key Focus ahead*

There is nothing of note to be reported from today’s macro calendar, except for the second-tier releases in the German PPI, UK CBI industrial order expectations and US current account data. Besides, the ECB-speaks by the Governing Council members Lautenschlaeger and Coeure will be delivered at 0800 GMT and 1030 GMT respectively.

Markets look forward to the ECB Central Banking Forum held in Sintra, Portugal. The day 2 sees the top central banks’ Heads participating in a Panel Discussion on the topic – ‘Microeconomics of price and wage-setting’.

The Policy panel discussion scheduled at 1330 GMT includes: 

· ECB President Draghi
· Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kuroda
· Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Lowe
· Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Powell
· Moderator: Stephanie Flanders, Bloomberg Economics

Following the panel discussion, the US existing home sales and EIA crude inventories report will be published, which could offer some fresh trading impetus to the NA traders, as the focus shifts towards New Zealand’s Q1 GDP figures slated for release at 2245 GMT.

EUR/USD could find bids on increased odds of treasury yield curve inversion

The *EUR/USD* is on the defensive, having failed to take out the bearish (falling) 5-day moving average (MA) in Asia, however, the pair may pick up a bid in Europe on fears the US treasury yield curve could invert soon.

GBP/USD continues to drip towards 1.30 with a quiet day ahead

Wednesday is another thin showing for the GBP on the economic calendar, and traders' focus will remain locked on the upcoming Bank of England (BoE) rate decision, due on Thursday at 1100 GMT, where the BoE is expected to hold off once again on a rate increase.

How to trade the US Existing Home Sales with EUR/USD

Existing Home Sales serve as an indicator for the important housing sector and it has a significant impact on markets. The Market Impact Tool shows trading opportunities in both upside and downside surprises on this event.

BOE to stand pat this Thursday - Barclays

The Barclays Research Team offers a sneak peek at what to expect from the *Bank of England* (BOE) ‘Super Thursday’.

OPEC Meeting: Will oil production rise and by how much?

On June 22nd and 23rd, energy ministers from the OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and ministers from countries outside the organization will meet in Vienna to discuss future oil policy. 

  Reported by FXstreet.com 2 hours ago.

Jackson’s approach makes colleagues feel more like friends

Citroën CEO Linda Jackson has just topped the 2018 Autocar Great British Women in the Car Industry list. We shadow her for a day

In the four years since Linda Jackson became CEO of Citroën, lots of water has flowed under the double-chevron-shaped bridge.

Design, engineering, marketing, car naming policy and much of the Citroën car range itself have been overhauled, and European sales have risen by around 22% to a new record in response.

The biggest expansion has happened in the past year as important chickens have come home to roost: the new C3 supermini has completed its first full year of sales and the C3 Aircross SUV is now on sale in Europe. In China, the C5 Aircross SUV flagship, due here towards the end of this year, has already sold 40,000 copies.

*Click here to read about Linda Jackson's award win for Great British Women in the Car Industry 2018*

The good times will keep rolling, Jackson predicts. The current development plan runs to 2023, by which time Citroën will have volume sellers in every important market plus an all-new range of saloons that includes the much- missed ‘big Citroën’, this time aimed principally at China.

One thing hasn’t changed: the pervading sense of wonder outside the PSA Group, which owns Citroën, that a British woman should hold the top job at this most French of car companies, 99 years old this month.

Every time Coventry-born Jackson appears in the UK, as she periodically does for both work and family, her presence generates a flurry of interview requests. Interestingly, Jackson is slightly less of a curiosity in France these days. Back in 2014, PSA chief Carlos Tavares stated simply that he had “appointed the best person available” to run the company. The way Jackson seized the opportunity, and Citroën’s progress since, have shown he was right.

*Click here to see the full list of winners for the 2018 Great British Women of the Car Industry*

They have also encouraged Autocar’s Great British Women judging panel to decide overwhelmingly that for 2018 Jackson is again our country’s most powerful and inspirational motor industry woman – for the second time in three years – as well as its winner in the Executive sub-category.

Following the victory, we were quick to grab an offered opportunity to shadow Jackson in Paris for a day. Here’s how it went...

*07.40, WESTERN PARIS: *We’re at Jackson’s apartment in leafy western Paris, ready to ride to work in her dark blue C4 Cactus 1.2-litre. She likes the Cactus: right size for the traffic; soft-riding for a bumpy drive to work that includes some impressive back-doubles.

She finishes her tea and emails, remarking that the most welcome things UK visitors can bring are PG Tips and Marmite.

She drives herself, partly because it’s policy but mainly because she likes driving. Also because it helps understand the customer. Jackson is well known for her pragmatic outlook (which lovers of generalisation would not list as the foremost French characteristic) and for well-developed diplomacy skills.

*08.00: *It has been bucketing. Metro stations are flooded, kids who usually walk are being driven to school, and Paris’s working population has taken to the roads. The traffic is so awful that the usual half-hour journey to PSA’s Vélizy technology centre takes more than twice as long. Jackson phones PA Sylvie Danes (“she’s the woman who rules my life”) to warn of a lost half hour and we chat about driving in Paris.

Jackson’s quiet advice is to the point: “Don’t be polite. Just keep going.”

We discuss the working day. Looks momentous to me but she’s relaxed. By the time it ends, Jackson will be on her way to China for a business review – things are going much better now – and she’ll be back early Friday morning in time to nip home for a shower, then to work as usual.

*09.00, VELIZY: *The vast ADN (French for DNA) technical centre, situated beside the A86 autoroute heading west towards Versailles, has been in the PSA family since 2004.

It’s so secret that it’s listed as a governmental restricted area, and aircraft are prohibited from flying over it because they could view the designers’ outdoor display area.

ADN security procedure takes time. We follow our guide up lifts and down tunnels, through barriers and steel doors to a sanctum where Jackson and Xavier Peugeot, Citroën’s director of product strategy, are already viewing colour and trim choices for the forthcoming European C5 Aircross.

Despite his name and membership of the founding family, Xavier Peugeot is a Citroën stalwart, one of a close-knit leadership quartet that also includes marketing director Arnaud Belloni and design director Alex Malval. Everyone says they’re like friends. It’s how Jackson operates.

*10.00: *Turns out there’s more to this than just surveying one model. Four tables show the choices available for four models: the C3 Aircross, C4 Cactus, C5 Aircross and new Berlingo, coming soon. The idea is to check the consistency of colours, details and materials, one to another. Consistency heightens quality and modernity, says Peugeot. He talks of “optimistic” colour touches, a special Citroën characteristic. Each car has them.

The two executives talk quietly as they work along the tables. This is serious work. After 20 minutes, the CEO looks up and smiles: “We’re happy, I think.”

*10.50:* Almost before we notice, Jackson is smuggled away through another steel door to view some important maquettes – models of forthcoming cars. We’re not allowed to follow but she later confides that these are clays that include the mythical ‘big Citroën’ for the early 2020s, a car I’m seriously impatient to see.

*11.00:* We set off by C5 Aircross to the new PSA headquarters, a massive, newly built edifice that houses staff from every marque of the new PSA empire (Peugeot, Citroën, DS and Opel-Vauxhall). It is truly massive, yet there’s a homeliness about the Citroën floor that aims to embody the brand’s values: comfort, practicality, optimism and a willingness to go with what works and leave the rest behind.

*11.30:* Jackson joins Bellonu and team for a fi gal review of what he eloquently describes as a “global toolbox” of advertising and marketing materials for the new Citroen Berlingo, now about four months away.

For-TV videos present several different stories of varying lengths and for several uses. Belloni explains that this variety reduces the likelihood that Citroen people in outlying markets will decide (as they have sometimes done in the past) that centrally produced material doesn’t work for them.  We see posters, press ads, banner ads and more, all impressively clear and slick. Unique music is sourced from upcoming young French bands. “Everything is available three months ahead,” says Belloni, “so we have time to react, whatever happens.”

*12.45:* Jackson’s lunch is brief but convivial, consisting of upmarket sandwiches while sitting with other team members in a break-out room on the Citroën floor at the HQ. There are no walled offices here: the bosses sit comfortably with everyone else.

*13.15:* Back in the C5 Aircross, Jackson heads towards Alésia, a densely urbanised part of inner Paris – inside the M25, as it were – where a new kind of small urban dealership, labelled La Maison Citroën, has just been opened. As in London, it’s cripplingly expensive to open big dealerships where property prices are high. These smaller ones are Citroën’s answer. But they’re not mere brand centres, insists Jackson. They have to sell cars and turn a profit. This is the second in Paris, and it looks promising.

*13.50 - 14.30:  *Dealership boss Eric Coppens has clearly been sprucing the place for the CEO’s arrival. There are beads of sweat on his brow as he welcomes Jackson and offers coffee, but she rapidly reduces the tension with lots of smiles and friendly questions in fluent French about the business and customers. Having started in the motor industry 40 years ago as a teenager doing menial work, Jackson isn’t one to stand on her dignity and the French love her for that. Soon she and Coppens are like friends, and our photographer is pressed to take a commemorative group happy snap.

*14.45 - 16.00: *Time’s getting away. Jackson is soon due at the airport, and the variable Paris traffic needs respect, especially given this morning’s chaos. If there’s any spare time, Jackson will use it for reflecting and planning. The traffic’s not bad and we arrive at Terminal 2E in decent time. Jackson jumps out of the car, flashes a smile and disappears inside. In just over two days, she’ll be back at work having completed a 16,000-mile round trip and a review of the marque’s biggest market as if it were a trip to the shops. If you remark on the hectic nature of it all, she simply disagrees.“I do this because I love it,” she says. “How many people can say that?”

*Click here to see the winners of Autocar's Great British Women in the Car Industry 2018*

*Read more*

*Citroen C3 Aircross review*

*Citroen C4 Cactus review*

*Citroen C1 review* Reported by Autocar 1 hour ago.

Jackson’s approach makes colleagues feel more like friends

Steve Cropley shadows Citroen’s Global CEO for the day to find out how she leads from the top

In the four years since Linda Jackson became CEO of Citroën, lots of water has flowed under the double-chevron-shaped bridge.

Design, engineering, marketing, car naming policy and much of the Citroën car range itself have been overhauled, and European sales have risen by around 22% to a new record in response.

The biggest expansion has happened in the past year as important chickens have come home to roost: the new C3 supermini has completed its first full year of sales and the C3 Aircross SUV is now on sale in Europe. In China, the C5 Aircross SUV flagship, due here towards the end of this year, has already sold 40,000 copies.

*Click here to read about Linda Jackson's award win for Great British Women in the Car Industry 2018*

The good times will keep rolling, Jackson predicts. The current development plan runs to 2023, by which time Citroën will have volume sellers in every important market plus an all-new range of saloons that includes the much- missed ‘big Citroën’, this time aimed principally at China.

One thing hasn’t changed: the pervading sense of wonder outside the PSA Group, which owns Citroën, that a British woman should hold the top job at this most French of car companies, 99 years old this month.

Every time Coventry-born Jackson appears in the UK, as she periodically does for both work and family, her presence generates a flurry of interview requests. Interestingly, Jackson is slightly less of a curiosity in France these days. Back in 2014, PSA chief Carlos Tavares stated simply that he had “appointed the best person available” to run the company. The way Jackson seized the opportunity, and Citroën’s progress since, have shown he was right.

*Click here to see the full list of winners for the 2018 Great British Women of the Car Industry*

They have also encouraged Autocar’s Great British Women judging panel to decide overwhelmingly that for 2018 Jackson is again our country’s most powerful and inspirational motor industry woman – for the second time in three years – as well as its winner in the Executive sub-category.

Following the victory, we were quick to grab an offered opportunity to shadow Jackson in Paris for a day. Here’s how it went...

*07.40, WESTERN PARIS: *We’re at Jackson’s apartment in leafy western Paris, ready to ride to work in her dark blue C4 Cactus 1.2-litre. She likes the Cactus: right size for the traffic; soft-riding for a bumpy drive to work that includes some impressive back-doubles.

She finishes her tea and emails, remarking that the most welcome things UK visitors can bring are PG Tips and Marmite.

She drives herself, partly because it’s policy but mainly because she likes driving. Also because it helps understand the customer. Jackson is well known for her pragmatic outlook (which lovers of generalisation would not list as the foremost French characteristic) and for well-developed diplomacy skills.

*08.00: *It has been bucketing. Metro stations are flooded, kids who usually walk are being driven to school, and Paris’s working population has taken to the roads. The traffic is so awful that the usual half-hour journey to PSA’s Vélizy technology centre takes more than twice as long. Jackson phones PA Sylvie Danes (“she’s the woman who rules my life”) to warn of a lost half hour and we chat about driving in Paris.

Jackson’s quiet advice is to the point: “Don’t be polite. Just keep going.”

We discuss the working day. Looks momentous to me but she’s relaxed. By the time it ends, Jackson will be on her way to China for a business review – things are going much better now – and she’ll be back early Friday morning in time to nip home for a shower, then to work as usual.

*09.00, VELIZY: *The vast ADN (French for DNA) technical centre, situated beside the A86 autoroute heading west towards Versailles, has been in the PSA family since 2004.

It’s so secret that it’s listed as a governmental restricted area, and aircraft are prohibited from flying over it because they could view the designers’ outdoor display area.

ADN security procedure takes time. We follow our guide up lifts and down tunnels, through barriers and steel doors to a sanctum where Jackson and Xavier Peugeot, Citroën’s director of product strategy, are already viewing colour and trim choices for the forthcoming European C5 Aircross.

Despite his name and membership of the founding family, Xavier Peugeot is a Citroën stalwart, one of a close-knit leadership quartet that also includes marketing director Arnaud Belloni and design director Alex Malval. Everyone says they’re like friends. It’s how Jackson operates.

*10.00: *Turns out there’s more to this than just surveying one model. Four tables show the choices available for four models: the C3 Aircross, C4 Cactus, C5 Aircross and new Berlingo, coming soon. The idea is to check the consistency of colours, details and materials, one to another. Consistency heightens quality and modernity, says Peugeot. He talks of “optimistic” colour touches, a special Citroën characteristic. Each car has them.

The two executives talk quietly as they work along the tables. This is serious work. After 20 minutes, the CEO looks up and smiles: “We’re happy, I think.”

*10.50:* Almost before we notice, Jackson is smuggled away through another steel door to view some important maquettes – models of forthcoming cars. We’re not allowed to follow but she later confides that these are clays that include the mythical ‘big Citroën’ for the early 2020s, a car I’m seriously impatient to see.

*11.00:* We set off by C5 Aircross to the new PSA headquarters, a massive, newly built edifice that houses staff from every marque of the new PSA empire (Peugeot, Citroën, DS and Opel-Vauxhall). It is truly massive, yet there’s a homeliness about the Citroën floor that aims to embody the brand’s values: comfort, practicality, optimism and a willingness to go with what works and leave the rest behind.

*11.30:* Jackson joins Bellonu and team for a fi gal review of what he eloquently describes as a “global toolbox” of advertising and marketing materials for the new Citroen Berlingo, now about four months away.

For-TV videos present several different stories of varying lengths and for several uses. Belloni explains that this variety reduces the likelihood that Citroen people in outlying markets will decide (as they have sometimes done in the past) that centrally produced material doesn’t work for them.  We see posters, press ads, banner ads and more, all impressively clear and slick. Unique music is sourced from upcoming young French bands. “Everything is available three months ahead,” says Belloni, “so we have time to react, whatever happens.”

*12.45:* Jackson’s lunch is brief but convivial, consisting of upmarket sandwiches while sitting with other team members in a break-out room on the Citroën floor at the HQ. There are no walled offices here: the bosses sit comfortably with everyone else.

*13.15:* Back in the C5 Aircross, Jackson heads towards Alésia, a densely urbanised part of inner Paris – inside the M25, as it were – where a new kind of small urban dealership, labelled La Maison Citroën, has just been opened. As in London, it’s cripplingly expensive to open big dealerships where property prices are high. These smaller ones are Citroën’s answer. But they’re not mere brand centres, insists Jackson. They have to sell cars and turn a profit. This is the second in Paris, and it looks promising.

*13.50 - 14.30:  *Dealership boss Eric Coppens has clearly been sprucing the place for the CEO’s arrival. There are beads of sweat on his brow as he welcomes Jackson and offers coffee, but she rapidly reduces the tension with lots of smiles and friendly questions in fluent French about the business and customers. Having started in the motor industry 40 years ago as a teenager doing menial work, Jackson isn’t one to stand on her dignity and the French love her for that. Soon she and Coppens are like friends, and our photographer is pressed to take a commemorative group happy snap.

*14.45 - 16.00: *Time’s getting away. Jackson is soon due at the airport, and the variable Paris traffic needs respect, especially given this morning’s chaos. If there’s any spare time, Jackson will use it for reflecting and planning. The traffic’s not bad and we arrive at Terminal 2E in decent time. Jackson jumps out of the car, flashes a smile and disappears inside. In just over two days, she’ll be back at work having completed a 16,000-mile round trip and a review of the marque’s biggest market as if it were a trip to the shops. If you remark on the hectic nature of it all, she simply disagrees.“I do this because I love it,” she says. “How many people can say that?”

*Click here to see the winners of Autocar's Great British Women in the Car Industry 2018*

*Read more*

*Citroen C3 Aircross review*

*Citroen C4 Cactus review*

*Citroen C1 review* Reported by Autocar 17 minutes ago.

DGAP-News: Biotest AG / Key word(s): Miscellaneous

20.06.2018 / 07:00
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
--------------------

/

PRESS RELEASE

*Biotest AG opens third plasma collection centre in Czech Republic*

*- 19 plasma collection centres in Europe to ensure long-term plasma supply*Dreieich, 20 June 2018. Biotest received an operating permit for its third plasma collection centre in Czech Republic from the country's national public health authority SUKL. The centre is located in Brno the south-eastern part of the country. Biotest has thus completed the expansion of the centre in Brno already planned in the acquisition phase of Cara Plasma s.r.o. on schedule.

"With the third plasma collection centre in the Czech Republic we continued the expansion plan of Cara Plasma s.r.o. With the donated plasma, we can produce life-saving medications for critically ill patients. My thanks also go to our team in the Czech Republic, which opened two new plasma centres in the first half of 2018", stated Dr Martin Reinecke, Senior Vice President Global Plasma Alliances and Protein Supply of Biotest AG.

The collected plasma is processed only by Biotest AG at Dreieich, Germany. Regular audits in Czech Republic ensure that the strict legal and internal quality requirements are met.

About human blood plasma
Human blood plasma is a raw material used to produce plasma derived products, which are used to treat various illnesses of the immune system, the blood system, as well as in emergency medicine. Biotest ranks as one of the world's sixth largest plasma protein product manufacturing groups. Biotest is one of the world's six largest manufacturers of plasma protein products.

About Biotest
Biotest is a provider of plasma proteins and biological drugs. With a value added chain that extends from pre-clinical and clinical development to worldwide sales, Biotest has specialised primarily in the areas of clinical immunology, haematology and intensive medicine. Biotest develops and markets immunoglobulins, coagulation factors and albumins based on human blood plasma. These are used for diseases of the immune and haematopoietic systems. In addition Biotest develops monoclonal antibodies in the indications of cancer of plasma cells and systemic lupus erythematosus which are produced by recombinant technologies. Biotest has more than 1,600 employees worldwide. The preference shares of Biotest AG are listed in the SDAX on the Frankfurt stock exchange.

*IR contact*
Dr. Monika Buttkereit
phone: +49-6103-801-4406
email: investor.relations@biotest.de

*PR contact*
Dirk Neumüller
phone: +49-6103-801-269
email: pr@biotest.com

Biotest AG, Landsteinerstr. 5, 63303 Dreieich, Germany, www.biotest.com

Ordinary shares: securities' ID No. 522720; ISIN DE0005227201
Preference shares: securities' ID No. 522723; ISIN DE0005227235
Listing: Frankfurt (Prime Standard)
Open Market: Berlin, Düsseldorf, Hamburg/ Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate

Disclaimer
This document contains forward-looking statements on overall economic development as well as on the business, earnings, financial and assets position of Biotest AG and its subsidiaries. These statements are based on current plans, estimates, forecasts and expectations of the company and are thus subject to risks and elements of uncertainty that could result in significant deviation of actual developments from expected developments. The forward-looking statements are only valid at the time of publication. Biotest does not intend to update the forward-looking statements and assumes no obligation to do so.

 
--------------------

20.06.2018 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Archive at www.dgap.de --------------------

Language: English
Company: Biotest AG
Landsteinerstraße 5
63303 Dreieich
Germany
Phone: 0 61 03 - 8 01-0
Fax: 0 61 03 - 8 01-150
E-mail: investor_relations@biotest.de
Internet: http://www.biotest.de
ISIN: DE0005227235, DE0005227201
WKN: 522723, 522720
Indices: SDAX
Listed: Regulated Market in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Regulated Unofficial Market in Berlin, Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, Tradegate Exchange
 
End of News DGAP News Service Reported by EQS Group 1 hour ago.

· Idorsia to host an investor webcast to discuss the Phase 3 program today at 14:00hrs CEST

             
*Allschwil, Switzerland - June 20, 2018 *
Idorsia Ltd (SIX: IDIA) today announced that the first patient has been enrolled into PRECISION, a Phase 3 study to investigate the efficacy and safety of aprocitentan for resistant hypertension management in adults.

Hypertension, or high blood pressure, remains the most frequent addressable risk factor of cardiovascular morbidity/mortality outcomes, ahead of smoking and obesity, as reported by the 2015 Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Project collaborating with WHO.

Patients whose blood pressure remains high despite receiving at least three antihypertensive medications from different classes, including a diuretic, at maximal tolerated dose are categorized as having resistant hypertension. Patients with resistant hypertension are typically older and often suffer from obesity, sleep apnea, and/or diabetes mellitus.  Uncontrolled hypertension can lead to multiple cardiovascular and renal adverse outcomes, including stroke, heart disease, and kidney failure. These co-morbidities increase a patient's vulnerability and the complexity of their treatment.

*Prof. John Chalmers, MD, Senior Director of The George Institute for Global Health and Professor of Medicine at the University of NSW Sydney, commented:
*"Despite hypertension being a serious and growing problem around the world, there is surprisingly little research going on in the field. It has been over 30 years since an anti-hypertensive drug working via a new pathway has been brought to the market. Moreover, depending on the source of information, it is estimated that anywhere from 5 to 30 per cent of the hypertension patient population can be classified as treatment 'resistant' due to their uncontrolled blood pressure levels despite receiving multiple antihypertensive medications, though 'true resistant hypertension' may be much less frequent, of the order of 5 to 10%. There is an urgent public health need for additional therapies acting on pathways different from those currently used, in line with the underlying disease mechanism."

Clinical and preclinical evidence suggest that resistant hypertension may be endothelin-dependent. Indeed, the endothelin system plays an important role in forms of volume and salt-dependent hypertension, a common feature in patients with resistant hypertension. Endothelin-1 is a potent vasoconstrictor and also induces neurohormonal activation, vascular hypertrophy and remodeling, cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis, and endothelial dysfunction.

Aprocitentan is an orally active dual endothelin receptor antagonist. Aprocitentan counteracts these deleterious effects in animal models of hypertension, including in salt-sensitive models. In such models, aprocitentan also provide significant blood pressure lowering effects on top of existing therapies (e.g. renin angiotensin system blockers).

In a dose-finding study to explore the efficacy, safety and tolerability of aprocitentan in 490 patients with essential hypertension, aprocitentan significantly lowered blood pressure in a dose-dependent manner.

*Martine Clozel, MD and Chief Scientific Officer, commented:*
"The dose response of aprocitentan was consistent across blood pressure measurements, resulting in a minimum effective dose of 10 mg and an anticipated therapeutic dose of 25 mg. Aprocitentan was well tolerated across all doses. The clinical pharmacology profile suggests that it has a low propensity for drug-drug interaction, and could therefore be combined with other background hypertension therapies as well as other medications. This means that a compound targeting the endothelin pathway, one of the pathways in hypertension, could become a new treatment option for difficult to treat patients."

*About the PRECISION study*
PRECISION is a multi-center, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomized, parallel-group, Phase 3 study to demonstrate the blood pressure lowering effect of aprocitentan when added to standard-of-care in resistant hypertension patients. Idorsia, following consultation with regulatory agencies, has designed an efficient, single Phase 3 study. The study will address both the short-term efficacy of aprocitentan and the durability of its effect on long-term treatment in a placebo-controlled manner.

Patients with history of resistant hypertension will undergo a thorough screening and run-in period. This will confirm the diagnosis of resistant hypertension by excluding pseudo or apparent resistant hypertension. During the screening period, patient's background anti-hypertensive therapies will be transitioned to a standardized fixed combination of a calcium channel blocker (amlodipine), an angiotensin receptor blocker (valsartan) and a diuretic (hydrochlorothiazide).

Patients with true resistant hypertension will then be randomized to receive aprocitentan 12.5 mg, 25 mg, or placebo once-daily. The study consists of 3 sequential treatment periods. The first is a double-bind treatment period designed to demonstrate the effect of aprocitentan on blood pressure at Week 4, compared to placebo. Patients then enter a treatment period where they are treated with 25 mg aprocitentan for 32 weeks. This is followed by a double-blind, randomized withdrawal treatment period where patients will remain either on aprocitentan 25 mg or switch to placebo for 12 weeks. The latter treatment period is designed to demonstrate the durability of the blood pressure lowering effect of aprocitentan. Patients will then enter a 30-day safety follow-up period.

From the initial screened patient population, at least 600 patients will be randomized and at least 300 patients are expected to complete the study. The study will be conducted in approximately 100 sites in around 20 countries.

*Guy Braunstein, MD and Head of Global Clinical Development, commented:
*"The efficient study design of PRECISION has been established following consultation with regulatory agencies, including the FDA. The design will ensure that we are focused only on patients with true resistant hypertension. It intends also to minimize the placebo response in the treatment period. This maximizes the chance to demonstrate both the short-term blood pressure lowering effect of aprocitentan, when added to standard-of-care, and the durability of its effect on long-term resistant hypertension management. If successful, the study should provide all the information required for filing and bring a therapy to patients who have exhausted many other options."

In December 2017, Idorsia entered into a collaboration with Janssen Biotech, Inc., one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson, to jointly develop and commercialize aprocitentan and any of its derivative compounds or products.

*Notes to the editor*

*About resistant hypertension*
According to international guidelines, RHT is defined as uncontrolled blood pressure - i.e. failure to lower blood pressure to a pre-defined threshold and is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease.

The diagnosis of true RHT (vs. apparent RHT) requires appropriate methodology to measure blood pressure in order to eliminate white-coat effects, as well as clinical expertise to exclude secondary causes of hypertension, avoid poor medication dosage and/or selection and insufficient therapeutic adherence.

The estimated prevalence of RHT varies from 5% to 30% of the hypertensive population. This unusually broad range is mainly due to the different sources of information, e.g., insurance healthcare system, registries, specialized centers, or controlled clinical trials. 'True resistant hypertension' is more likely to be in the order of 5% to 10% of the hypertensive population.

RHT is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular events. This has been demonstrated in different settings (i.e., clinical trials, observational studies, and international registries) comparing RHT versus non-RHT patients with adjustment for patient and clinical characteristics, i.e., level of control of blood pressure, gender, presence of chronic kidney disease, and/or diabetes mellitus.

Patients with resistant hypertension often have a medical history of diabetes mellitus and may develop chronic kidney disease as a complication of the hypertension, increasing their vulnerability and the complexity of treatment.

The RHT population is, by definition, on a background therapy of three drugs (usually A + C + D) at maximal or optimal dose, where, according to most clinical guidelines, "A" is always an angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEI) or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB), and "D" is always a long-acting thiazidic diuretic. "C" stands for a calcium channel blocker (CCB), which is the most commonly used type of third background agent in RHT. However, individualization therapy is needed for some patients, such as those with ischemic heart disease, who may then use a beta-blocker (A + B + D) instead of a CCB as a third agent.

As for RHT patients, blood pressure remains uncontrolled despite the third-therapy step mentioned above, the generally recommended therapeutic approach for the fourth antihypertensive medication is to add a drug with a different mechanism of action, compared to the three medications already prescribed. These includes well-known therapeutic antihypertensive classes such as mineral corticoid receptor antagonists or beta blockers, if not previously used. These therapies have their own limitations though and are associated with adverse effects that often lead to discontinuation of therapy, which reinforces the medical need for new treatment options in resistant hypertension.

*Data supporting aprocitentan for the treatment of resistant hypertension*
In May 2017, the results of a multi-center, double-blind, double-dummy, randomized, placebo-controlled with an active-reference arm, parallel group, dose-finding study with aprocitentan, an orally active dual endothelin receptor antagonist, in patients with essential hypertension, were reported. The study evaluated the efficacy, safety and tolerability of a once-a-day oral regimen of 4 dose levels of aprocitentan (5, 10, 25, and 50mg) to identify the optimal doses for further studies.

In this study, 490 patients were randomized to receive either aprocitentan 5, 10, 25, 50 mg, placebo, or lisinopril 20 mg once daily. After 8 weeks of treatment the mean reduction from baseline in diastolic blood pressure - as measured at trough with a novel automated office blood pressure device - ranged between 6.3 and 12.0 mmHg in a statistically significant dose-dependent manner for the aprocitentan groups versus a decrease of 4.9 mmHg in the placebo group and a decrease of 8.4 mmHg in the lisinopril group (in the per-protocol population comprised of 410 patients). Systolic blood pressure reductions ranged from 10.3 to 18.5 mmHg in a statistically significant dose-dependent manner in the aprocitentan groups and were 7.7 and 12.8 mmHg in the placebo and lisinopril groups, respectively. These findings were confirmed in all randomized patients (Intent-to-Treat principle) and by 24 hours Ambulatory Blood Pressure Monitoring.

The safety population included 327 patients in the aprocitentan groups, 82 patients in the placebo group and 81 in the lisinopril group. Aprocitentan was well tolerated across all four doses in this patient population. Discontinuation from study treatment due to an adverse event ranged between 1.2% and 3.7% for the aprocitentan groups versus 6.1% in the placebo group and 3.7% in the lisinopril group. The overall frequency of adverse events was similar to those observed in the placebo group. There were two cases of increased liver enzymes above three times the upper limit of the normal range, one in the placebo and one in the aprocitentan 5 mg group. Four cases of peripheral edema were observed, two in the aprocitentan 25 mg group and two in the aprocitentan 50 mg group. Mean body weight remained unchanged from baseline in the aprocitentan 5, and 10 mg groups, increased by 0.4 kg in the aprocitentan 25 and 50 mg groups, and by 0.3 kg in the placebo group and decreased by 0.3 kg on lisinopril. There was an expected dose related decrease from baseline in the hemoglobin concentration in the aprocitentan groups (ranging from 1.3 to 6.7 g/L) versus increases of 2.2 and 0.1 g/L in the placebo and lisinopril groups, respectively.

*About Prof. John Chalmers, MD, PhD, FRACP*
John Chalmers is Senior Director of The George Institute for Global Health and Professor of Medicine at the University of NSW Sydney. He is Emeritus Professor of Medicine at the University of Sydney and at Flinders University of South Australia, and a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science. His research has focused on the prevention of cardiovascular diseases in high risk groups including those with diabetes, with elevated blood pressures and with previous stroke. He was the Principal Investigator for the PROGRESS and ADVANCE trials and one of the founders of the Blood Pressure Lowering Treatment Trialists' Collaboration. He was awarded the Volhard Medal of the International Society of Hypertension (1998), the Zanchetti award of the European Society of Hypertension (2008) and the Research Medal of the National Heart Foundation of Australia (2009). He is a past President of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and the International Society of Hypertension and Past Chairman of the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia and of the Scientific Advisory Board of the World Heart Federation. He has published over 700 papers in the scientific literature. He was appointed a Companion in the Order of Australia (1991) and more recently appointed as an Officer in the French National Order of Merit (2010).

*References*

· Iglarz M, et al. Clin Sci 2010; 119:453-63
· 2015 Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Project collaborating with WHO
· Gaddam, et al. Arch Intern Med. 2008 Jun 9;168(11):1159-64.
· Achelrod D, et al. Am J Hypertens. 2015 Mar;28(3):355-61

*Investor webcast*
An investor conference call and webcast will be held to discuss the Phase 3 program. The call will start with presentations by senior management, followed by a Q&A session (live access to the speakers).

Date:     *Wednesday June 20, 2018*
Time:    *14:00 CEST | 13:00 BST | 08:00 EDT*

Webcast participants should visit Idorsia's website www.idorsia.com 10-15 minutes before the webcast is due to start.
Conference call participants should start calling the number below 10-15 minutes before the conference is due to start.

Dial-in:*            CH: +41 (0)44 580 65 22 | UK: +44 203 009 2470 | US: +1 877 423 0830*
PIN:*                67188992#*

*About Idorsia*
Idorsia Ltd is reaching out for more - We have more ideas, we see more opportunities and we want to help more patients. In order to achieve this, we will develop Idorsia into one of Europe's leading biopharmaceutical companies, with a strong scientific core.

Headquartered in Switzerland - a biotech-hub of Europe - Idorsia is specialized in the discovery and development of small molecules, to transform the horizon of therapeutic options. Idorsia has a broad portfolio of innovative drugs in the pipeline, an experienced team, a fully-functional research center, and a strong balance sheet - the ideal constellation to bringing R&D efforts to business success.

Idorsia was listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (ticker symbol: IDIA) in June 2017 and has over 650 highly qualified specialists dedicated to realizing our ambitious targets.

*For further information please contact: *
Andrew C. Weiss
Senior Vice President, Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications
Idorsia Pharmaceuticals Ltd, Hegenheimermattweg 91, CH-4123 Allschwil
+41 (0) 58 844 10 10
www.idorsia.com

The above information contains certain "forward-looking statements", relating to the company's business, which can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "estimates", "believes", "expects", "may", "are expected to", "will", "will continue", "should", "would be", "seeks", "pending" or "anticipates" or similar expressions, or by discussions of strategy, plans or intentions. Such statements include descriptions of the company's investment and research and development programs and anticipated expenditures in connection therewith, descriptions of new products expected to be introduced by the company and anticipated customer demand for such products and products in the company's existing portfolio. Such statements reflect the current views of the company with respect to future events and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Many factors could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performances or achievements that may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as anticipated, believed, estimated or expected.

*Attachment*

· Press Release PDF.pdf Reported by GlobeNewswire 2 hours ago.

Reported by FT.com 1 hour ago.

LYON, France, June 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- *ERYTECH Pharma *(Euronext Paris:ERYP) (Nasdaq:ERYP)*, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies by encapsulating therapeutic drug substances inside red blood cells, today announced that Chief Executive Officer, Gil Beyen, will present at the JMP Securities Life Science Conference, June 20, 2018 at The St. Regis, New York, in New York City.**Conference Details:*

· Conference: JMP Securities Life Science Conference
· Date: June 20, 2018
· Presentation Time: 9:00 AM EDT / 3:00 CET

*About ERYTECH and eryaspase (GRASPA®): **www.erytech.com*

Founded in Lyon, France in 2004, ERYTECH is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapies for rare forms of cancer and orphan diseases. Leveraging its proprietary ERYCAPS platform, which uses a novel technology to encapsulate therapeutic drug substances inside red blood cells, ERYTECH has developed a pipeline of product candidates targeting markets with high unmet medical needs. ERYTECH’s initial focus is on the development of products that target the altered amino acid metabolism of cancer cells, depriving them of nutrients necessary for their survival.

The Company’s lead product, eryaspase, also known under the trade name GRASPA®, consists of an enzyme, L-asparaginase, encapsulated inside donor-derived red blood cells. L-asparaginase depletes asparagine, a naturally occurring amino acid essential for the survival and proliferation of cancer cells. L-asparaginase has been a standard component of multi-agent chemotherapy for the treatment of pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), but side effects limit treatment compliance, especially in adults and patients with weak performance status.

Eryaspase demonstrated positive efficacy and safety results in various clinical trials in ALL, including in a Phase 2 study in patients over 55 years of age and in a Phase 2/3 trial in relapsed or refractory ALL patients, as well as in pancreatic cancer, where it achieved positive results in a Phase 2b trial of second-line treatment of patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer. ERYTECH is preparing for the launch of a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial in second line pancreatic cancer and Phase 2 trials in first line pancreatic cancer and triple-negative breast cancer.

ERYTECH produces eryaspase at its own GMP-approved and operational manufacturing site in Lyon (France), and at a site for clinical production in Philadelphia (USA). ERYTECH has entered into licensing and distribution partnership agreements for eryaspase for ALL and AML in Europe with Orphan Europe (Recordati Group), and for ALL in Israel with TEVA, which will market the product under the GRASPA® brand name. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have granted orphan drug designations for eryaspase for the treatment of ALL, AML and pancreatic cancer.

In addition to eryaspase, ERYTECH is developing erymethionase, methionine-γ-lyase encapsulated in red blood cells, to target cancer cells’ amino acid metabolism and induce tumor starvation. ERYTECH is also exploring the use of its ERYCAPS platform for developing cancer immunotherapies (ERYMMUNE) and enzyme replacement therapies (ERYZYME).

ERYTECH is listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market in the United States (ticker: ERYP) and on the Euronext regulated market in Paris (ISIN code: FR0011471135, ticker: ERYP). ERYTECH is part of the CAC Healthcare, CAC Pharma & Bio, CAC Mid & Small, CAC All Tradable, EnterNext PEA-PME 150 and Next Biotech indexes.

*CONTACTS  *

*ERYTECH*
*Naomi Eichenbaum*
Director Investor Relations *NewCap*
*Julien Perez*
Investor relations
*Nicolas Merigeau*
Media relations
   
+33 4 78 74 44 38
+1 917 312 5151
naomi.eichenbaum@erytech.com +33 1 44 71 98 52
ERYTECH@newcap.eu Reported by GlobeNewswire 1 hour ago.

OECD Secretary-General Ángel Gurría has blamed governments for the rise of populism and political fragmentation across Europe, claiming they also did not deliver benefits that were promised to citizens, he told EURACTIV in an interview. Reported by EurActiv 1 hour ago.