KUALA LUMPUR, July 6 (Bernama) -- Japan Corporate Advisory Institute Ltd (JCAI), a Tokyo-headquartered cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) advisory firm, has advised on the acquisition of WKS Group by Messer.
Messer, the world’s largest privately held specialist for industrial, medical, electronic and speciality gases, has acquired Singapore-based WKS Group, which operates across Singapore and southern Malaysia. Messer reported consolidated sales of approximately 4.5 billion euros for its 2025 financial year. (1 Euro = RM4.65)
According to JCAI in a statement, the acquisition expands Messer’s operating footprint in Southeast Asia and strengthens access to key industrial clusters across the region, with transaction terms undisclosed.
“As global investors increasingly seek opportunities across Asia, access to reliable market intelligence and the right counterparties has become a key driver of successful M&A outcomes.
“JCAI works to improve transparency in APAC’s private markets by connecting business owners with strategic investors through a structured cross-border M&A process,” said JCAI Managing Partner, Olimjon Sadinov.
Meanwhile, WKS Group shareholder, Wong Koh Hoi said the company appreciates JCAI’s professionalism and dedication throughout the transaction, noting that its expertise was instrumental in achieving a successful outcome.
Founded in Singapore in 1977, WKS Group comprises six companies and employs about 195 people across Singapore and southern Malaysia.
Headquartered in Tokyo, JCAI advises business owners, corporates and investors on strategic M&A transactions across APAC.
-- BERNAMA
Sunday, July 5, 2026
Thursday, July 2, 2026
8X8 BAGS 2026 METRISTAR TOP PROVIDER FOR CPAAS BY METRIGY
KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) -- Global business communications platform provider, 8x8 Inc has been named a 2026 MetriStar Top Provider for Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) by Metrigy, an independent research and advisory firm.
The CPaaS recognition is part of a broader result in Metrigy’s 2026 MetriStar Award programme, with 8x8 also receiving the MetriStar Top Provider recognition for Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS).
“Most of the companies we work with are not just looking for a messaging API; they need the whole chain: campaign management, AI, analytics, and a contact centre that talks to all of it.
“This recognition from Metrigy validates our approach helping organisations improve customer satisfaction, drive growth, and simplify operations at scale,” said 8x8 General Manager, CPaaS, Sylvain Chaperon in a statement.
The awards are based on Metrigy’s Customer Experience MetriCast 2026 study, which surveyed 1,437 customer experience (CX) leaders across 10 countries in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
8x8 achieved above-average scores on both business success and customer sentiment, with particular strength in CSAT improvement, revenue growth, platform reliability, and no-code/low-code application quality.
Metrigy highlighted 8x8's integrated communications portfolio as a key differentiator, noting that the company is among a small number of vendors offering CPaaS, CCaaS, and Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) within a single platform.
The research also highlighted 8x8's approach to treating CPaaS not as a standalone developer toolkit but as a programmable layer across the CX stack, expanding customer engagement capabilities beyond the contact centre to sales, field service, and frontline teams.
-- BERNAMA
The CPaaS recognition is part of a broader result in Metrigy’s 2026 MetriStar Award programme, with 8x8 also receiving the MetriStar Top Provider recognition for Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS).
“Most of the companies we work with are not just looking for a messaging API; they need the whole chain: campaign management, AI, analytics, and a contact centre that talks to all of it.
“This recognition from Metrigy validates our approach helping organisations improve customer satisfaction, drive growth, and simplify operations at scale,” said 8x8 General Manager, CPaaS, Sylvain Chaperon in a statement.
The awards are based on Metrigy’s Customer Experience MetriCast 2026 study, which surveyed 1,437 customer experience (CX) leaders across 10 countries in North America, Europe and Asia-Pacific.
8x8 achieved above-average scores on both business success and customer sentiment, with particular strength in CSAT improvement, revenue growth, platform reliability, and no-code/low-code application quality.
Metrigy highlighted 8x8's integrated communications portfolio as a key differentiator, noting that the company is among a small number of vendors offering CPaaS, CCaaS, and Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS) within a single platform.
The research also highlighted 8x8's approach to treating CPaaS not as a standalone developer toolkit but as a programmable layer across the CX stack, expanding customer engagement capabilities beyond the contact centre to sales, field service, and frontline teams.
-- BERNAMA
Bitget Launches Third Year of Anti-Scam Month with New Report on Multi-Asset Fraud
VICTORIA, Seychelles, June 30 (Bernama-GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bitget, the world's largest Universal Exchange (UEX), has launched the third year of its Anti-Scam Month initiative with the release of its Anti-Scam Report 2026 titled “The Evolution of Fraud in the Multi-Asset Era”, developed in partnership with blockchain security firm SlowMist. As digital finance expands across cryptocurrencies, tokenized assets, stocks, CFDs, wallets, and AI-powered investment tools, the report examines how fraud is adapting to changing investor behavior and increasingly interconnected financial ecosystems.
The report finds that changes in user behavior are reshaping how fraud campaigns are designed and deployed across digital finance. According to Bitget Research, the share of active users participating across two or more asset classes grew from under 1% in mid-2025 to more than 10% by May 2026. As users move across a wider range of products and platforms, fraud campaigns are increasingly blending multiple narratives, social engineering tactics, AI-generated content, and multiple communication channels within a single operation.
Drawing on Bitget Research and investigations conducted by SlowMist, the report found that many successful scams no longer rely on a single point of compromise. Fraud operators guide victims through a sequence of interactions spanning social media platforms, messaging applications, investment communities, phishing infrastructure, and wallet activity before assets are ultimately stolen. Between July 2025 and June 2026, Bitget's security infrastructure intercepted more than 150 million malicious requests, identified over 13,000 high-risk malicious IP addresses, handled 18,135 user protection cases, and supported the recovery of $32.3 million linked to security incidents and fraudulent activity.
“Security challenges evolve alongside markets. As more users participate across crypto, stocks, tokenized assets and AI-powered products, fraud campaigns are becoming sophisticated in how they build trust and influence decision-making. Understanding those risks is an important step toward protecting users and strengthening confidence across the broader ecosystem,” said Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget.
The report identifies several trends shaping the current fraud environment, including AI-generated investment personas, deepfake-enabled scams, voice-cloning attacks, synthetic investment communities, wallet-draining operations, malicious smart contracts, and increasingly sophisticated phishing campaigns. Among the cases examined are a deepfake investment scam impersonating Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, an AI-generated investment advertising campaign that reportedly defrauded thousands of Swedish investors, the Truman Show synthetic community scam involving approximately 90 fabricated investor identities, and the Rublevka Team wallet-draining operation documented in early 2026.
Beyond examining how scams operate, the report explores victim psychology, common scam entry points, post-theft asset movement, and recovery challenges. It also outlines practical measures users can take to strengthen account security, recognize AI-enabled deception, evaluate investment opportunities more effectively, and respond to security incidents.
Since launching Anti-Scam Month in 2024, Bitget has worked with security researchers, ecosystem partners, and industry organizations to improve awareness around emerging threats and promote stronger user protection practices. Throughout June, Bitget's Anti-Scam Month campaign will feature educational content, security awareness initiatives, and collaborations with industry partners aimed at helping users identify emerging threats and strengthen their ability to protect digital assets.
For more information, please read the report here.
About Bitget
Bitget is the world's largest Universal Exchange (UEX), serving over 125 million users and offering access to over 2M crypto tokens, 500+ tokenized stocks, ETFs, commodities, FX, and precious metals such as gold. The ecosystem is committed to helping users trade smarter with its AI agent, which co-pilots trade execution. Bitget is driving crypto adoption through strategic partnerships with LALIGA and MotoGP™. Aligned with its global impact strategy, Bitget has joined hands with UNICEF to support blockchain education for 1.1 million people by 2027. Bitget currently leads in the tokenized TradFi market, providing the industry's lowest fees and highest liquidity across 150 regions worldwide.
For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Telegram | LinkedIn | Discord
For media inquiries, please contact: media@bitget.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a8f5db1d-cc85-4a6f-b010-d5c81296509c
SOURCE: Bitget Limited
DISCLAIMER: BERNAMA MREM are not accountable for any causes of website defacement, misuse, or illegal activities connected to cryptocurrency, blockchain, tokenisation, or bitcoin. This material should not be considered as guidance or an opinion, as it does not constitute financial or investment advice. Use this information at your own risk; we are not liable for any losses or damages caused by the republication of this article.
--BERNAMA
Drawing on Bitget Research and investigations conducted by SlowMist, the report found that many successful scams no longer rely on a single point of compromise. Fraud operators guide victims through a sequence of interactions spanning social media platforms, messaging applications, investment communities, phishing infrastructure, and wallet activity before assets are ultimately stolen. Between July 2025 and June 2026, Bitget's security infrastructure intercepted more than 150 million malicious requests, identified over 13,000 high-risk malicious IP addresses, handled 18,135 user protection cases, and supported the recovery of $32.3 million linked to security incidents and fraudulent activity.
“Security challenges evolve alongside markets. As more users participate across crypto, stocks, tokenized assets and AI-powered products, fraud campaigns are becoming sophisticated in how they build trust and influence decision-making. Understanding those risks is an important step toward protecting users and strengthening confidence across the broader ecosystem,” said Gracy Chen, CEO of Bitget.
The report identifies several trends shaping the current fraud environment, including AI-generated investment personas, deepfake-enabled scams, voice-cloning attacks, synthetic investment communities, wallet-draining operations, malicious smart contracts, and increasingly sophisticated phishing campaigns. Among the cases examined are a deepfake investment scam impersonating Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides, an AI-generated investment advertising campaign that reportedly defrauded thousands of Swedish investors, the Truman Show synthetic community scam involving approximately 90 fabricated investor identities, and the Rublevka Team wallet-draining operation documented in early 2026.
Beyond examining how scams operate, the report explores victim psychology, common scam entry points, post-theft asset movement, and recovery challenges. It also outlines practical measures users can take to strengthen account security, recognize AI-enabled deception, evaluate investment opportunities more effectively, and respond to security incidents.
Since launching Anti-Scam Month in 2024, Bitget has worked with security researchers, ecosystem partners, and industry organizations to improve awareness around emerging threats and promote stronger user protection practices. Throughout June, Bitget's Anti-Scam Month campaign will feature educational content, security awareness initiatives, and collaborations with industry partners aimed at helping users identify emerging threats and strengthen their ability to protect digital assets.
For more information, please read the report here.
About Bitget
Bitget is the world's largest Universal Exchange (UEX), serving over 125 million users and offering access to over 2M crypto tokens, 500+ tokenized stocks, ETFs, commodities, FX, and precious metals such as gold. The ecosystem is committed to helping users trade smarter with its AI agent, which co-pilots trade execution. Bitget is driving crypto adoption through strategic partnerships with LALIGA and MotoGP™. Aligned with its global impact strategy, Bitget has joined hands with UNICEF to support blockchain education for 1.1 million people by 2027. Bitget currently leads in the tokenized TradFi market, providing the industry's lowest fees and highest liquidity across 150 regions worldwide.
For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Telegram | LinkedIn | Discord
For media inquiries, please contact: media@bitget.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a8f5db1d-cc85-4a6f-b010-d5c81296509c
SOURCE: Bitget Limited
DISCLAIMER: BERNAMA MREM are not accountable for any causes of website defacement, misuse, or illegal activities connected to cryptocurrency, blockchain, tokenisation, or bitcoin. This material should not be considered as guidance or an opinion, as it does not constitute financial or investment advice. Use this information at your own risk; we are not liable for any losses or damages caused by the republication of this article.
--BERNAMA
Wednesday, July 1, 2026
NIPPON KINZOKU LAUNCHES DECORATIVE STAINLESS STEEL FINISHES FOR EXTERIOR USE
KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Bernama) -- Nippon Kinzoku Co Ltd, a manufacturer of cold-rolled stainless steel, has introduced its new "Decorative Stainless Steel Finishes for Exterior Use".
The premium cold-rolled stainless steel strips, widely used in automotive mouldings and telecommunications enclosures, are designed to help manufacturers eliminate post-processing steps while significantly reducing their environmental footprint.
According to Nippon Kinzoku in a statement, the new product line offers a wide range of aesthetic options for automotive exterior trims and housings for smartphones and personal computers.
The company said its core strength lies in its "coil-to-coil" continuous processing technology, refined through decades of cold-rolling expertise, enabling it to deliver unique designs, consistent quality and high productivity.
The decorative finish is integrated directly into the material, eliminating the need for secondary polishing, painting and surface treatments, resulting in higher production yields and lower overall production costs.
In addition, the product line also helps reduce environmental impact by minimising carbon dioxide emissions through streamlined manufacturing processes. As an "Eco-Product", it supports the global transition towards carbon neutrality by 2050.
The company said standard 2D (annealed and pickled) and 2B (skin-passed) finishes are also available while offering customised combinations of different finishes to create bespoke textures.
-- BERNAMA
ATON LAUNCHES AI-POWERED FAMILY SAFETY PLATFORM AMID BULLYING CONCERNS
KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Bernama) -- ATON Inc has launched FamGuard, an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered family safety platform designed to help parents monitor children's digital activities and identify potential signs of online risks, as concerns over school bullying and cyberbullying continue to grow in Singapore.
The launch comes amid heightened public attention to child safety following the widely reported Sengkang Green Primary School bullying case, which sparked broader discussions on student protection and the early identification of behavioural warning signs.
ATON said FamGuard combines real-time location tracking with AI-powered Conversation Insights and Friend Scoring to help parents better understand changes in their children's communication patterns and social interactions, enabling earlier conversations when unusual behaviour is detected.
“Technology cannot replace parents, but it can help families stay connected earlier and start conversations sooner,” an ATON representative said in a statement.
The platform also offers parental control features, including Screen Time Management, App Usage Monitoring and App Controls, to help families encourage healthier digital habits and oversee smartphone usage.
The company said growing use of messaging applications, social media and online group interactions has broadened expectations for family safety services beyond location tracking to include greater visibility into children's digital environments and behavioural patterns.
The launch follows research indicating that one in four upper primary school students in Singapore has experienced bullying, while many parents remain concerned about children's exposure to cyberbullying and other online risks.
ATON said FamGuard was developed to support families seeking additional tools to strengthen digital safety while complementing parental engagement and communication.
-- BERNAMA
The launch comes amid heightened public attention to child safety following the widely reported Sengkang Green Primary School bullying case, which sparked broader discussions on student protection and the early identification of behavioural warning signs.
ATON said FamGuard combines real-time location tracking with AI-powered Conversation Insights and Friend Scoring to help parents better understand changes in their children's communication patterns and social interactions, enabling earlier conversations when unusual behaviour is detected.
“Technology cannot replace parents, but it can help families stay connected earlier and start conversations sooner,” an ATON representative said in a statement.
The platform also offers parental control features, including Screen Time Management, App Usage Monitoring and App Controls, to help families encourage healthier digital habits and oversee smartphone usage.
The company said growing use of messaging applications, social media and online group interactions has broadened expectations for family safety services beyond location tracking to include greater visibility into children's digital environments and behavioural patterns.
The launch follows research indicating that one in four upper primary school students in Singapore has experienced bullying, while many parents remain concerned about children's exposure to cyberbullying and other online risks.
ATON said FamGuard was developed to support families seeking additional tools to strengthen digital safety while complementing parental engagement and communication.
-- BERNAMA
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
Abaxx Exchange Trading Volume Jumps 582 Pct In Second Year
KUALA LUMPUR, June 29 (Bernama) -- Abaxx Technologies Inc (Abaxx) announced that Abaxx Exchange has surpassed one million futures contracts traded year-to-date as it marked the second anniversary of the Singapore-based commodity exchange.
In a statement, the company said trading volume reached nearly 1.1 million contracts as of June 25, 2026, representing an increase of about 582 per cent from the 160,854 contracts traded in the full year 2025.
According to Abaxx, average daily trading volume rose to 17,665 contracts in June 2026 from 638 contracts per day in 2025, while daily open interest increased to 1,411 from 235 over the same period.
The company said the exchange has launched 18 futures contracts across seven markets since trading began in June 2024, covering liquefied natural gas (LNG), battery materials, precious metals, weather-linked products and environmental markets.
Abaxx said the exchange also recorded several milestones, including its first carbon, nickel sulphate, lithium carbonate and Germany Onshore Wind futures block trades, as well as its first deliveries under carbon and gold futures contracts.
The company added that Abaxx Exchange has continued expanding its ecosystem, with seven clearing firms, 22 brokers and 11 independent software vendors currently connected to the platform.
Abaxx said the exchange also secured regulatory recognition in key markets, including registration as a Foreign Board of Trade by the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission in November 2025 and registration as an Organised Market Place with the European Union Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators in April 2026.
-- BERNAMA
Monday, June 29, 2026
Spain Tops Summer 2026 Business Travel Destinations: Holafly Study
KUALA LUMPUR, June 26 (Bernama) -- Spain is the leading destination for business travellers this summer, followed by Japan and the United States, according to Holafly's Summer Travel & eSIM Report 2026.
The company said Spain continues to attract both business and leisure travellers at scale, while Japan's ranking reflects its growing importance in the Asia-Pacific business landscape.
The United States ranked third, followed by France, with Italy, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Greece completing the top 10 destinations.
Holafly for Business Vice President, Alex Bryzowski said business travel is increasingly influenced by destinations that combine economic relevance with accessibility, infrastructure and international appeal.
“Business travel today is about much more than attending meetings,” he said in a statement.
According to the report, the UAE remains one of the few destinations whose appeal is driven primarily by business activity, supported by its position as a regional hub for finance, technology, trade and international events.
The report said the findings reflect a shift in business travel patterns as professionals increasingly seek destinations that support both work and lifestyle amid more flexible working arrangements.
Holafly is a global eSIM provider offering digital connectivity solutions for leisure and business travellers in destinations worldwide.
-- BERNAMA
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