Technology

Keep Inc. Announces 2024 Interim Results

Published

1 month ago

August 23, 2024

BEIJING, Aug. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Keep Inc. (“Keep” or the “Company”), the largest online fitness platform in China, today announced its unaudited interim results for the six months ended June 30, 2024.

2024 Interim Results Highlights

Total revenues were RMB1,037.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, a 5.4% increase from RMB984.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023.Gross profit was RMB477.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, a 12.7% increase from RMB423.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023.Gross profit margin was 46.0% for the six months ended June 30, 2024, compared to 43.0% for the six months ended June 30, 2023.Adjusted net loss (non-IFRS measure) was RMB160.7 million, compared to RMB223.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023.Adjusted net loss margin narrowed to 15.5% for the six months ended June 30, 2024, compared with 22.7% for the six months ended June 30, 2023.

2024 Interim Operational Highlights

Six months ended June 30,

2024

2023

Average monthly active users (“MAU(s)”) (in thousands)

29,660

29,549

Average monthly revenues per MAU (in RMB)

5.8

5.6

Average monthly subscribing members (in thousands)

3,282

3,017

Membership penetration rate

11.1 %

10.2 %

Mr. Wang Ning, Chief Executive Officer of Keep Inc., commented, “We are pleased of our solid performance for the first half of 2024, which is a result of our proactive efforts in propelling our corporate strategies and tactics to meet the various needs of our consumers and communities through the new release of App 8.0 version, expanding portfolio of services and benefits, integrating marketing campaign across online fitness services, smart fitness devices and complementary products, as well as enhancing user trust and consumer sentiment in the Keep brand. We are on track to healthy recovery and are committed to sustaining high-quality development.

Total revenues reached RMB1,037 million, up 5.4% year-over-year, driven by the increased resilience and scale of our monetization initiatives across self-branded fitness products, online membership subscriptions, and advertising sales. By prudently reducing costs and increasing efficiency, our gross profit margin expanded to 46.0% while adjusted net loss considerably narrowed by 28.0% year-over-year. More importantly, we continue to see elevated user experience and activity level as our membership penetration rate increased to 11.1% in the first half of 2024, up from 10.2% in the first half of 2023. Looking ahead, we will continue to implement our strategic priorities of enhancing overall offerings of online content, outdoor categories, AI-centric solution, as well as evaluating potential synergistic cooperation throughout our value chain, driving sustained momentum across our ecosystem for our long-term growth.”

2024 Interim Financial Results

Revenues

Total revenues were RMB1,037.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, representing a 5.4% increase from RMB984.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, due primarily to increased revenues from self-branded fitness products and advertising and others.

Revenues from self-branded fitness products were RMB501.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, representing a 7.5% increase from RMB466.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, mainly attributable to the increase in wholesale channels sales, as well as the increased sales of fitness gear and apparel products.

Revenues from online membership and paid content were RMB437.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, representing a 2.6% decrease from RMB448.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, primarily due to a decrease in revenues from virtual sports events, which was partially offset by the increased revenues from online membership.

Revenues from advertising and others were RMB98.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, representing a substantial increase of 42.4% from RMB69.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, primarily attributable to online to offline integrated advertising services.

Cost of revenues

Cost of revenues was RMB560.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, representing a decrease of 0.2% from RMB561.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, primary due to a decrease in cost of online membership and paid content, which was partially offset by an increase in cost of advertising and others.

Cost of self-branded fitness products was RMB343.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, representing a 2.1% increase from RMB336.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, mainly attributable to an increase in sales of self-branded fitness products. Due to economies of scale, the growth rate of costs is lower than the growth rate of revenues.

Cost of online membership and paid content was RMB140.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, representing a 21.8% decrease from RMB179.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023. The decrease was mainly attributable to decreases of (i) RMB14.4 million in costs associated with virtual sports events; (ii) RMB9.8 million in content related costs as the Company optimized IP costs associated with third party influencer partnerships; and (iii) RMB5.4 million in employee benefit costs (including related share-based compensation expenses) mainly due to the fluctuation of share-based compensation expenses.

Cost of advertising and others was RMB76.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, representing a 68.5% increase from RMB45.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, mainly attributable to an increase of RMB23.9 million in advertising production costs associated with the expanded advertising services the Company offers and relatively higher cost of certain offline advertising activities.

Gross profit and gross profit margin

Gross profit was RMB477.3 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, representing a 12.7% increase from RMB423.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023.

Gross profit margin was 46.0% for the six months ended June 30, 2024, representing a 3.0 percentage points increase from 43.0% for the six months ended June 30, 2023, mainly attributable to an increase in gross profit margin from online membership and paid content and self-branded fitness products.

Gross profit of self-branded fitness products increased by 21.6% from RMB130.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 to RMB158.2 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, mainly attributable to the increase in the sales of self-branded fitness products and improvement in gross profit margin.

Gross profit of online membership and paid content increased by 10.1% from RMB269.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 to RMB296.6 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, as the Company generated higher sales from membership subscription with optimized content related cost.

Gross profit of advertising and others decreased by 6.7% from RMB24.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023 to RMB22.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, primarily due to the relatively higher cost of certain offline advertising activities.

Fulfillment expenses

Fulfillment expenses were RMB61.9 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, representing a 25.8% decrease from RMB83.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, primarily due to optimized warehousing, packaging and delivery expenses.

Selling and marketing expenses

Selling and marketing expenses were RMB323.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, representing a 25.8% increase from RMB257.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, primarily due to increase in promotional and advertising expenses associated with more marketing activities for brand promotion and user acquisition.

Administrative expenses

Administrative expenses were RMB90.5 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, representing a 19.3% decrease from RMB112.0 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, primarily attributable to decreases of (i) RMB14.6 million in expected credit loss in accounts receivables because the Company optimized the receivables management measures; and (ii) RMB7.2 million in administrative personnel costs (including related share-based compensation expenses), mainly due to the fluctuation of share-based compensation expenses.

Research and development expenses

Research and development expenses were RMB195.7 million for the six months ended June 30, 2024, representing a 19.6% decrease from RMB243.4 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023, primarily attributable to decreases of (i) RMB39.6 million in research and development personnel costs (including related share-based compensation expenses); (ii) RMB4.6 million in cloud computing service fees; and (iii) RMB2.1 million in outsourcing and other labor costs.

Fair value changes of convertible redeemable preferred shares

Fair value changes of convertible redeemable preferred shares was RMB1.4 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2023. The change in the fair value of convertible redeemable preferred shares was primarily attributable to the changes in the valuation of the Company. The Company did not record any further fair value changes of the convertible redeemable preferred shares following the listing of the shares of the Company on the Main Board of the Stock Exchange (the “Listing”) as preferred shares liabilities were redesignated and reclassified from liabilities to equity after automatically converting into ordinary shares upon the Listing.

(Loss)/profit

Net loss was RMB163.4 million for the six months ended 2024, compared with a net profit of RMB1.2 billion for the six months ended June 30, 2023. Net profit for the six months ended June 30, 2023 was primarily due to fair value changes of convertible redeemable preferred shares.

Adjusted net loss (non-IFRS measure)

Adjusted net loss (non-IFRS measure) was RMB160.7 million for the six months ended 2024, compared to RMB223.1 million for the six months ended June 30, 2023.

Liquidity and capital resource

We had cash and cash equivalents of RMB1.4 billion as of June 30, 2024, as compared to RMB1.6 billion as of December 31, 2023. The decrease was primarily due to the use of cash for operating and financing activities. Most of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents were denominated in Renminbi while most of the time deposits were denominated in U.S. dollars.

Share repurchase programs

Under the HK$16 million and HK$100 million Share Repurchase Programs announced on February 14, 2024 and May 20, 2024, respectively, as of June 30, 2024, the Company repurchased a total of 5,256,200 shares of the Company on the Stock Exchange at the aggregate consideration of HK$35.49 million before expenses.

Outlook

2024 will mark a year of comprehensive upgrades for Keep platform with continued execution of the strategies. The Company will continue to promote synchronized improvements in scale and efficiency. While overall consumer confidence is gradually recovering, the Company recognizes that both opportunities and challenges exist. Keep will continue to invest in several key areas: (i) enhance overall online offerings; (ii) further explore the outdoor category by enriching member privileges, leveraging the value of fitness data, and actively expanding its offline presence; (iii) expand AI-driven overseas fitness app portfolio to deliver innovative fitness experiences; and (iv) promote the growth of self-branded fitness products. In addition, Keep will continue to actively seek collaboration opportunities along the industry chain to increase commercial value across our ecosystem, ensuring sustainable long-term development.

Conference Call

The Company’s management will host an earnings conference call at 8:00 p.m. Beijing Time on August 23, 2024.

Participants who wish to join the call should follow the following method:

1) Please click on the call link and complete the online registration form. Kindly register at least one working day before the event.
https://register.vevent.com/register/BI0e1af0f1c86f4526ac796550f5b10a03

2) Upon registering you will receive the dial-in info and a unique PIN to join the call as well as an email confirmation with the details.

3) Select a method for joining the call:

Dial-In: A dial in number and unique PIN are displayed to connect directly from your phone.Call Me: Enter your phone number and click “Call Me” for an immediate callback from the system. The call will come from a US number, and this function is only applicable for participants outside China.

4) Please dial in 15 minutes before the call is scheduled to begin and provide the personal PIN to join the call.

Additionally, a live and archived webcast of the conference call will be available at https://ir.keep.com/en/news_events.php.

About Keep Inc.

Keep Inc. (HKEX Stock Code: 3650) is the largest online fitness platform in China in terms of MAUs and number of workout sessions completed by users in 2022, according to CIC. Keep offers a comprehensive fitness solution to help users achieve their fitness goals. On the Keep platform, extensive, professional, and premium fitness content with diverse activities and services are offered to encourage users to engage in daily exercise. Keep platform leverages AI technology to provide personalized workout programs incorporating recorded courses and interactive live streaming classes, dynamically customized to each user’s athletic levels, fitness goals, daily workout patterns and diet. Keep’s services seamlessly connect the physical and digital realms, spanning smart devices, workout equipment, athletic apparel and food to provide an immersive fitness experience.

For more information on Keep Inc., visit https://keep.com/.

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the business outlook, estimates of financial performance, forecast business plans and growth strategies of the Company. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and are stated herein on the basis of the outlook at the time of this press release. They are based on certain expectations, assumptions and premises, some of which are subjective or beyond our control. These forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect and may not be realised in the future. Underlying these forward-looking statements are a lot of risks and uncertainties. In light of the risks and uncertainties, the inclusion of forward-looking statements in this press release should not be regarded as representations by the board of directors of the Company or the Company that the plans and objectives will be achieved, and investors should not place undue reliance on such statements.

Non-IFRS Measures

To supplement our consolidated financial statements, which are presented in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards as issued by the IASB, we also use adjusted net loss as an additional financial measure, which is not required by, or presented in accordance with, IFRS Accounting Standards.

The Company’s management believe adjusted net loss provides useful information to investors and others in understanding and evaluating our consolidated results of operations in the same manner as they help our management. However, our presentation of adjusted net loss may not be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. The use of adjusted net loss has limitations as an analytical tool, and you should not consider it in isolation from, or as a substitute for an analysis of, our results of operations or financial condition as reported under IFRS Accounting Standards.

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF PROFIT OR LOSS

Six months ended June 30,

2024

2023

RMB’000

(Unaudited)

Revenues

1,037,343

984,656

Cost of revenues

(560,021)

(560,985)

Gross profit

477,322

423,671

Fulfillment expenses

(61,921)

(83,431)

Selling and marketing expenses

(323,412)

(257,103)

Administrative expenses

(90,455)

(112,044)

Research and development expenses

(195,690)

(243,371)

Other income

3,809

10,312

Other gains, net

2,531

3,320

Operating loss

(187,816)

(258,646)

Finance income

25,834

24,755

Finance expenses

(1,371)

(3,246)

Finance income, net

24,463

21,509

Fair value changes of convertible redeemable
preferred shares

–

1,432,261

(Loss)/profit before income tax

(163,353)

1,195,124

Income tax expense

–

(Loss)/profit for the period

(163,353)

1,195,124

(Loss)/earnings per share (expressed in RMB per
share)

Basic

(0.35)

8.64

Diluted

(0.35)

(0.52)

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

As at

June 30,

As at

December 31,

2024

2023

RMB’000

(Unaudited)

(Audited)

ASSETS

Non-current assets

Property and equipment

13,076

17,982

Right-of-use assets

44,503

62,256

Intangible assets

9,869

11,561

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss

52,167

13,519

Other non-current assets

55,312

51,994

174,927

157,312

Current assets

Inventories

182,057

121,380

Accounts and notes receivables

264,636

228,279

Prepayments and other current assets

202,316

174,842

Financial assets at fair value through profit or loss

69,111

65,199

Short-term time deposits

56,760

88,960

Cash and cash equivalents

1,376,029

1,612,769

2,150,909

2,291,429

Total assets

2,325,836

2,448,741

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION (CONTINUED)

As at

June 30,

As at

December 31,

2024

2023

RMB’000

(Unaudited)

(Audited)

EQUITY

Share capital

168

Other reserves

8,170,955

8,187,464

Accumulated losses

(6,477,836)

(6,314,483)

Total equity

1,693,287

1,873,149

LIABILITIES

Non-current liabilities

Lease liabilities

14,940

32,453

Other non-current liabilities

5,505

10,968

20,445

43,421

Current liabilities

Accounts payables

233,674

157,417

Accrued expenses

209,285

177,355

Other current liabilities

40,144

57,838

Contract liabilities

97,633

93,280

Borrowings

–

10,009

Lease liabilities

31,368

36,272

612,104

532,171

Total liabilities

632,549

575,592

Total equity and liabilities

2,325,836

2,448,741

The following table reconciles the adjusted net loss for the periods presented to the most directly comparable financial measure calculated and presented in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards, which is (loss)/profit for the six months ended June 30, 2024 and 2023:

For the six months ended June 30,

2024

2023

RMB’000

(Unaudited)

Reconciliation of (loss)/profit to adjusted net loss

(Non-IFRS measure):

(Loss)/profit for the period

(163,353)

1,195,124

Adjustments for:

Share-based payment expenses

2,663

13,994

Fair value changes of convertible redeemable
preferred shares

–

(1,432,261)

Adjusted net loss for the period

(Non-IFRS measure)

(160,690)

(223,143)

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SOURCE Keep Inc.

Technology

Siemon Announces Optical Patching Solutions for GenAI Networks Using NVIDIA Accelerated Computing

Published

60 mins ago

September 22, 2024

Siemon announces it is offering its full range of optical patching solutions to work specifically with NVIDIA AI infrastructure for generative AI networks.

WATERTOWN, Conn., Sept. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — The Siemon Company, a global leader in network infrastructure solutions, today announced it is offering its full range of optical patching solutions to work specifically with NVIDIA AI infrastructure for generative AI networks. Large complex GPU clusters can benefit from using structured cabling patch panels versus point-to-point cabling. Siemon acts as a trusted advisor to customers by providing expert advice and best practice recommendations for design & deployment of NVIDIA AI Infrastructure.

“Siemon is very familiar with NVIDIA reference architectures and has worked with many customers to design and deploy NVIDIA clusters… Siemon offers a full range of AI-ready fiber cabling, DAC, and AOC solutions that support 400G, 800G, and 1.6T applications.”

As part of the solution integration, Siemon has joined the NVIDIA Partner Network (NPN) as a Solution Advisor Consultant. NPN Solution Advisor Consultants provide consultation services and expert advice to customers looking to implement NVIDIA-based solutions or technologies. Siemon joins the network to offer its expertise in addressing the unique infrastructure and cabling challenges presented by accelerated computing.

NVIDIA optical reach specifications are calculated assuming two optical patch panels are used in the link and assuming each employ two optical connectors, which makes for a total allowance of four optical connectors in the link. The Siemon optical patching solutions meet NVIDIA requirements and provide customers with flexibility and ease of management.

Media Contact

Brian Baum, Siemon, 1 8609454200, brian_baum@siemon.com

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SOURCE Siemon

Technology

AMSimpkins & Associates Awarded Wisconsin Technical Purchasing Consortium Contract RFB 25-002TP – for Identity Verification Solutions

Published

2 hours ago

September 22, 2024

AMSimpkins & Associates has been awarded the Wisconsin Technical Colleges Purchasing Consortium (WTC-PC) contract for Identity Verification Solutions. This partnership includes providing their advanced S.A.F.E. (Student Application Fraudulent Examination) platform to 16 Wisconsin technical colleges, enhancing security and safeguarding against fraudulent student applications. With a focus on higher education, AMSA aims to support these institutions in maintaining the integrity of their admissions processes and preventing identity fraud. This collaboration underscores AMSA’s commitment to delivering innovative solutions tailored for the education sector.

ATLANTA, Sept. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — AMSimpkins & Associates is proud to announce its selection by the Wisconsin Technical College System Purchasing Consortium (WTC-PC) to provide Identity Verification Solutions through the S.A.F.E. platform. The WTC-PC comprises 16 independent, publicly funded two-year technical colleges across Wisconsin, including Blackhawk Technical College, Chippewa Valley Technical College, Fox Valley Technical College, and Milwaukee Area Technical College, among others.

“We are honored by the Wisconsin Technical College Consortium’s trust in AMSA. This partnership further emphasizes our commitment to providing secure, innovative identity verification solutions that support the needs of educational institutions in protecting their students and operations.”

With a focus on preventing identity fraud, AMSimpkins & Associates’ comprehensive solutions will strengthen the security measures across admissions, enrollment, and financial aid processes, ensuring secure verification and compliance with federal and state regulations. S.A.F.E. will now support Wisconsin’s higher education system, offering its cutting-edge technology to streamline operations and safeguard student data.

“We are honored by the Wisconsin Technical College Consortium’s trust in AMSimpkins & Associates,” said Maurice Simpkins, President and Founder. “This partnership further emphasizes our commitment to providing secure, innovative identity verification solutions that support the needs of educational institutions in protecting their students and operations.”

As part of this agreement, AMSimpkins & Associates will deliver comprehensive services, including system integration, training, and ongoing support to ensure seamless implementation. S.A.F.E.’s capabilities are designed to evolve with growing threats of fraudulent activities, keeping institutions one step ahead in securing student identities.

Institutions in the Wisconsin Technical College System:

Blackhawk Technical CollegeChippewa Valley Technical CollegeFox Valley Technical CollegeGateway Technical CollegeLakeshore Technical CollegeMadison Area Technical CollegeMid-State Technical CollegeMilwaukee Area Technical CollegeMoraine Park Technical CollegeNicolet Area Technical CollegeNorthcentral Technical CollegeNortheast Wisconsin Technical CollegeNorthwood Technical CollegeSouthwest Wisconsin Technical CollegeWaukesha County Technical CollegeWestern Technical College

The S.A.F.E. platform’s advanced identity verification services will play a pivotal role in securing sensitive data and ensuring a safe and fraud-free environment for Wisconsin’s technical colleges and their students.

For more information about AMSimpkins & Associates and the S.A.F.E. platform, please visit amsa-highered.com.

Media Contact

LAQWACIA SIMPKINS, AMSimpkins & Associates, 1 6786824193, LSIMPKINS@AMSA-CONSULTING.COM, amsa-highered.com

Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

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SOURCE AMSimpkins & Associates

Technology

Shijingshan: Committed to High-Level Openness

Published

7 hours ago

September 22, 2024

BEIJING, Sept. 22, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Following the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, China successfully hosted its first national-level international large-scale fair—the China International Fair for Trade in Services (CIFTIS) 2024, which concluded on September 16. The event featured exhibitors from 85 countries and international organizations, participating under their national governments or headquarters, with over 450 Fortune Global 500 companies and industry leaders showcasing their offerings both online and offline.

Adhering to the open, cooperative and mutually beneficial principle, the CIFTIS injects new momentum into global economic development through concrete actions. As one of the “dual venues” for the fair, Shijingshan District hosted a variety of business activities, including exhibitions, negotiations, and conferences. While providing meeting organization services, it showcased the achievements of Shijingshan in fostering openness and development. By leveraging the Fair’s platform, Shijingshan seeks to promote its developmental advantages globally and aims to attract more partners to this welcoming district for mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation.

Presenting Achievements in Open Cooperation and Development in Multiple Dimensions

This CIFTIS’s Shougang Park venue is composed of nine thematic exhibitions, including telecommunications, computer and information services; financial services; culture & tourism services; education services; sports services; supply chain & business services; engineering consulting & construction services; health services; and environmental services. It circles around cultivating new quality productive forces while showcasing the latest achievements, technologies, and applications in the digitalization, intelligentization, and greening of services trade, creating a “debut stage” for global services trade.

Shijingshan leverages its strengths by organizing five thematic exhibitions and four promotional booths on-site. The culture & tourism services exhibition promoted Shijingshan’s rich culture and tourism resources, while also building a support area for paired assistance to highlight its revitalization efforts to a global audience. The financial services exhibition showcased its achievements in economic development across five sectors, that is, sci-tech finance, green finance, inclusive finance, pension finance, and digital finance. The exhibition of telecommunications, computer and information services highlighted the growth of Shijingshan’s the artificial intelligence large model industry cluster and key humanoid robot enterprises. In addition, the primary and secondary school science education experimental zone invited participation from six national-level science education centers, including Shijingshan District, to display their accomplishments. Four schools, including the Beijing National Day School Shijingshan, showcased their scientific research and learning outcomes through visual presentations and videos, while also engaging visitors in interactive science experiments.

The AIES Beijing Open is made up of four competition areas, virtual cycling, virtual rowing, virtual dance, and virtual table tennis. The event welcomed international competitors, domestic professional athletes, high-level amateurs, and university students, while showing the achievements of the “digital + sports” industry. Besides, four promotional booths focused on taxation, justice, investment, and commerce showcases Shijingshan’s tax and judicial policies, offering one-stop policy guidance for participating businesses and visitors. These booths also clarified investment promotion policies, creating a unique event that integrates commerce, tourism, culture, and sports.

Working Together for Global Open Cooperation and Development

The Open Cooperation Forum 2024 was held on the afternoon of September 13. Experts, scholars, government representatives, and business leaders from both domestic and international backgrounds gathered at the Shougang Park to engage in in-depth discussions on promoting high-level open cooperation and supporting regional economic development. Shijingshan District is committed to taking industrial transformation as the strategic foundation for its initiatives, establishing several distinctive industrial parks, including the Intelligent Technology Park, Industrial Internet Park, Virtual Reality Park, Science Fiction Industry Cluster, and Artificial Intelligence Large Model Cluster. What’s more, the district is focusing on new opportunities in future information, future health, future manufacturing, and future space, continually enhancing its innovation capacity, development vitality, economic strength, and overall competitiveness.

It is dedicated to expanding openness as a key driver for integrating into the capital’s new development pattern. The district capitalizes on a range of policy opportunities, including the construction of Beijing’s two zones, effectively leveraging the role of expanding services and deepening economic reforms. It continues to optimize the business environment, actively participates in organizing the CIFTIS, and develops high-standard international cooperation zones to provide a broad platform and efficient services for enterprises to settle and cluster. Shijingshan aims to implement high-level openness to promote high-quality development, enhance mechanisms for foreign openness, innovate and elevate services trade, and align with international economic and trade standards, creating a premier business environment characterized by marketization, rule of law, and internationalization.

Three parallel forums took place during this CIFTIS. With the theme of “Leveraging Overseas Strength for Development • Pursuing Broad Horizons Through Innovation”, the Dream Incubator of Overseas Chinese Beijing Forum set up ten sub-venues abroad, aiming to enhance the involvement of overseas Chinese’s capital and expertise in Beijing’s high-quality development. The Artificial General Intelligence Computility Forum focused on “Releasing New Quality Productive Forces with Unbounded Intelligence and Computational Foundations”, where industry experts and scholars explored new possibilities in artificial general intelligence computility. The Digital Energy Development Forum 2024, themed as “Energizing the Future with Digital Innovation”, showcased a range of quality development achievements and finalized partnerships for several high-quality projects, uniting all parties to advance digital innovation and development.

The rich array of side events is one of the highlights of this CIFTIS. The International Open Cooperation Promotion Conference circled around developing the international open cooperation zone, drawing representatives from international organizations, leading global companies, and prospective businesses seeking to establish a presence in these areas. It centered on the advantages of Shijingshan’s key industries to attract target enterprises. Furthermore, the Roundtable Discussion of Foreign-Funded Enterprises engaged representatives from international organizations, business associations, and foreign-funded companies from countries like Malaysia, Singapore, and France to explore collaboration in aligning with high-standard international economic and trade rules, as well as market access in the service sector, sharing the successes of modernization with Chinese characteristics.

To enhance the consumer experience for attendees of the CIFTIS, Shijingshan has expanded its comprehensive service offerings in areas such as food, accommodation, transportation, tourism, entertainment and shopping. The Second “Here I Am for CIFTIS” Shijingshan Culture and Tourism Carnival has been significantly upgraded, evidenced by the “Divine Beasts Ascend to Immortal Mountain”: Enchanting Night Tour in Shijing Mountain. The “Surprises Await in Shijingshan. Hey There, CIFTIS!” promotional event was held during the 14th Shijingshan Consumption Festival. This included online surprise announcements and a consumption map showcasing quality shopping venues. Special surprise floats were on display, with oversized themed shopping bags distributed. Shopping centers like Joy City, Xirondo Plaza, Modern Plaza, and Chang’an Mills in Shijingshan also launched supporting promotional activities. Business tours in Shijingshan offered three dedicated routes, inviting exhibitors from digital technology, finance and insurance, culture and tourism, and sports related industries to explore relevant industrial parks and attractions for in-depth exchanges.

The China International Fair for Trade in Services 2024 has successfully concluded. Utilizing this platform, Shijingshan has once again showed its high-quality development achievements and favorable business environment to a global audience. We look forward to collaborating with more partners in an open and inclusive manner to create a win-win future.

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SOURCE Open Cooperation Forum