#Hong Kong Company Formation

[mckallen]

Why Hong Kong is Crucial for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners Seeking Expansion?

With its strategic location and pro-business environment, Hong Kong has become a top destination for Indian entrepreneurs aiming to expand. But what exactly makes Hong Kong the ideal choice for company incorporation?

Hong Kong’s Strategic Advantage

Situated at the crossroads of East and West, Hong Kong serves as a key gateway to the expansive Asian markets. Its world-class infrastructure and established legal system provide businesses with a strong foundation to thrive. Entrepreneurs around the globe view Hong Kong company formation as an essential starting point for their ventures.

A Pro-Business Climate

One of Hong Kong’s most appealing aspects is its business-friendly environment. With no trade barriers and a liberal investment regime, the city offers a streamlined experience for foreign investors. Its low, predictable tax system — with a corporate profits tax rate as low as 8.25% — along with no capital gains tax, VAT, or sales tax, makes Hong Kong a prime destination for company incorporation and business services.

Access to Capital and Skilled Talent

Hong Kong’s financial sector is a powerhouse, offering ample funding opportunities for startups, ranging from government initiatives to private investors. This makes forming a company in Hong Kong especially advantageous.

Additionally, Hong Kong’s ability to attract top talent from around the world offers startups access to a diverse, highly skilled workforce, fueling innovation and growth.

The Greater Bay Area Opportunity

Hong Kong’s strategic role within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) unlocks even more opportunities. Serving as a critical “Gateway to China,” Hong Kong company registration now connects Indian entrepreneurs to the fast-growing Chinese market. The GBA’s rapid development presents immense potential for those ready to capitalize on new opportunities.

Tackling Challenges

While Hong Kong offers numerous benefits, challenges such as high living costs and intense competition can be intimidating. However, tapping into government funding programs and alternative financing options can help entrepreneurs navigate these challenges. Additionally, offering a positive work culture and professional development opportunities can help businesses attract and retain top talent during the company registration process.

Conclusion: Unlocking Hong Kong’s Potential

Hong Kong’s vibrant business landscape is full of opportunities for those ready to take the plunge. But the real question is: how can you fully harness Hong Kong’s potential for your unique business needs? Curious to learn more? Explore our in-depth guide on Hong Kong company formation and business incorporation services. Uncover the strategies and insights that could power your next big move. Your journey toward successful expansion starts here — don’t miss out on the knowledge that could transform your business.

[onlinetranslpro]

At vOffice, our experienced team provides comprehensive company formation services to help entrepreneurs and investors set up limited companies in Hong Kong. From company name search and reservation to preparing incorporation documents, we handle every step of the registration process for you remotely. Our all-in-one incorporation package includes company secretarial service, virtual office address, business registration, and bank account opening. We also assist with any post-incorporation changes to keep your company compliant. With vOffice, you can have your Hong Kong company up and running quickly without visiting Hong Kong. Our goal is to make company registration smooth and stress-free. Trust our specialists with 20+ years of experience to incorporate your Hong Kong company efficiently. Enjoy end-to-end assistance from experts you can count on. Contact vOffice today to bring your business plans to life!

[jamesvince9898]

Comprehensive Support for SMEs: Your Trusted Hong Kong Company Formation Specialist and Accounting Firm

Introduction

In Hong Kong's thriving business landscape, having a reliable partner to navigate the complexities of company formation and financial management is crucial. Whether you're an entrepreneur launching a startup or a small to medium-sized enterprise (SME) seeking growth, 3E Accounting Limited offers the expert assistance you need. As a leading Hong Kong accounting firm and a recognized specialist in company formation, we are committed to supporting businesses at every stage. This article explores how our services, from Hong Kong company formation to SME support, make us the partner of choice for your business needs.

Hong Kong Company Formation Specialist: Why It Matters

Hong Kong is known for its business-friendly environment, boasting one of the simplest and most efficient company formation processes globally. However, navigating legal, regulatory, and administrative hurdles can still pose challenges, especially for newcomers. At 3E Accounting Limited, we specialize in guiding clients through each step of Hong Kong company formation, ensuring the process is smooth and hassle-free.

As your Hong Kong company formation specialist, we handle everything from name registration to acquiring the necessary licenses and permits. Whether you’re looking to set up a private limited company, a sole proprietorship, or a partnership, our experts provide tailored advice to suit your business model. We also assist with opening corporate bank accounts and meeting compliance requirements with government bodies like the Companies Registry and the Inland Revenue Department.

Choosing the right company structure is critical, as it impacts everything from taxation to liability. Our in-depth understanding of Hong Kong’s corporate laws ensures that your business starts on the right legal footing, paving the way for long-term success.

A Leading Hong Kong Accounting Firm

Once your company is set up, maintaining accurate financial records and adhering to local accounting standards is crucial for both compliance and growth. 3E Accounting Limited offers a comprehensive range of services as a Hong Kong accounting firm, tailored to meet the specific needs of SMEs. Our expertise extends beyond traditional accounting and bookkeeping; we provide full financial management services that allow you to focus on growing your business while we handle the numbers.

We understand that no two businesses are the same, which is why our accounting services are flexible and customizable. Whether you need monthly bookkeeping, annual auditing, or payroll management, we offer solutions designed to keep your business running smoothly. As an accounting firm near you, our services include:

Bookkeeping and Financial Reporting: Ensuring that your records are up-to-date and comply with Hong Kong Financial Reporting Standards (HKFRS).

Tax Planning and Compliance: Helping your business navigate Hong Kong’s tax laws to optimize tax benefits and avoid penalties.

Auditing Services: Offering statutory audit services to ensure compliance with local regulations, as well as internal audits for improving business efficiency.

Payroll Services: Managing employee compensation and benefits while ensuring compliance with labor laws and regulations.

Corporate Secretarial Services: Assisting with regulatory filings, maintaining statutory records, and ensuring compliance with corporate governance requirements.

By outsourcing your accounting needs to 3E Accounting Limited, you gain access to top-tier financial expertise without the burden of managing an in-house accounting team.

SME Support Hong Kong: More Than Just Accounting

Running a successful business in Hong Kong requires more than just good financial management. SMEs often need guidance on a variety of operational and strategic aspects, from regulatory compliance to expansion strategies. This is where 3E Accounting Limited excels beyond being just an accounting firm — we provide a holistic range of SME support services in Hong Kong that help your business thrive in a competitive market.

We offer business advisory services that cover everything from market analysis to internal process optimization. Whether you’re looking to expand locally or internationally, our consultants offer insights and actionable strategies to facilitate growth. Additionally, our corporate governance solutions ensure that your business operates with transparency and accountability, which is increasingly important in today’s regulatory environment.

For businesses seeking to expand, our international tax planning services are essential in structuring operations to optimize cross-border tax efficiencies. We help you identify tax-saving opportunities, reduce liabilities, and ensure compliance with both local and international tax regulations. Our deep understanding of Hong Kong’s status as a global financial hub positions us as the perfect partner to guide your business through expansion into new markets.

Moreover, our SME support services in Hong Kong include assistance with digital transformation. The adoption of accounting software and other digital tools can streamline operations, increase efficiency, and offer real-time insights into your company’s financial health. We provide end-to-end support, from software selection and implementation to ongoing maintenance and training, ensuring that your business remains at the forefront of technological advancements.

The Importance of Choosing an Accounting Firm Near Me

The accessibility of your accounting firm can significantly impact the efficiency of communication and the management of your financial needs. Choosing an accounting firm near you, like 3E Accounting Limited, means you can enjoy the convenience of face-to-face meetings and rapid response times, ensuring that any issues are resolved promptly. While remote services are increasingly popular, the benefits of having a local firm that understands the nuances of Hong Kong’s legal and economic landscape cannot be overstated.

As a local accounting firm in Hong Kong, we are well-versed in the latest developments in tax laws, government regulations, and industry standards. This local expertise allows us to provide accurate, timely advice that is relevant to your specific business environment. Moreover, being a firm based in Hong Kong enables us to offer personalized services that larger, more impersonal firms may not be able to provide.

Conclusion

At 3E Accounting Limited, we are committed to being more than just a service provider; we strive to be a strategic partner that contributes to your business’s success. As a Hong Kong company formation specialist and accounting firm, we offer a full suite of services that are essential for starting, running, and growing your business in one of the world’s most dynamic markets. Whether you need help with company formation, financial management, or broader business advisory services, we are here to provide the support your SME needs to thrive.

[bsw-company-formation-in-uae]

Hong Kong is best location for offshore company formation. It offers various benefits like lower tax rates, flexibility of business structure and many more. Business Setup Worldwide can help you to set your offshore business in hong kong.

[worldsetfree]

Stardust Crusaders × F!Reader: Halcyon and On and On

(+ a bonus character card in this booster pack!)

Around the World in Eighty Days is what Joseph Joestar compared this trip to, and hooh boy, you are really feeling that right now. It's been a non-stop bizarre whirlwind trek across the globe, and yet somehow you've found a few minutes to breathe. Maybe the next train isn't for a few hours, or the group needed to split up to get supplies for the next leg of the journey, but regardless you've decided to spend this precious downtime with the person closest to your heart.

(Feedback is welcome. This is my first time posting this type of content, and I'm still playing with the formatting.)

I. THE MAGICIAN

There's something about a good street market that excites Muhammad Avdol so much. He loves experiencing the culture of the places you're traveling through, and for him, the markets are the best way to do that.

Doubly so if it's with you. Link arms, hold hands, whatever you want. Avdol is happy to bask in your presence.

He wants to impress you with his knowledge! He'll be your tour guide through these busy streets. He makes it look effortless.

He really likes books! If you find a bookstore or a stall selling old tomes, the flame in his heart will burn just a bit brighter for you.

V. THE HIEROPHANT

He is a bit shy, but my God is Kakyoin Noriaki happy to spend time with you.

Really wants to do something very specific to the area with you. Visit a famous landmark, try the local cuisine. He read about it in a travel book once. This boy really values sharing these experiences with you.

Kakyoin will do anything to see your smile. He's the type to buy you pretty things that he spots in the street. Jewelry, mementos... he's really sweet. Notices your style, tries to work with that. Will spend irresponsibly, bless his heart.

Find him something in return and he'll be a mess. Nobody's ever treated him quite like you. He doesn't know how to handle it, but it makes his heart melt.

VII. THE CHARIOT

Jean Pierre Polnareff will talk your ear off in two languages. Mostly showering you with compliments. And complaining, as is par for the course.

Wander the streets together in search of food, some shade, or a good bathroom. He has needs, you know? He's thankful for your company on this little quest of his. Makes him feel important to you.

He'll find some way to spoil you, of course. Flowers, a salon. Let him treat you right, belle! He's always looking for excuses to pamper you. And always hoping you'll reward him with a kiss!

I'm so sorry, but you're running into a Stand User. It's Polnareff, what did you expect? At least he'll keep you safe. Il est vraiment désolé, chérie!

IX. THE HERMIT

Watch this silver fox try to barter like he thinks he knows what he's doing. Joseph Joestar has travelled the world, he's got this! (He doesn't)

OH MY GOD! Is that American cuisine? He is either excited by it or absolutely furious (see: hot cola in Hong Kong). Has a lot of good trivia and insight about whatever he's discovered.

Rambles about this kind of thing specifically to make these strange and far-off places feel a little bit more familiar for you. He knows it's been a stressful trip.

But you've noticed the stress wearing him down too, so you tell the boys to handle the usual errands and take the time to get a bite to eat with Joseph. He's very grateful for the impromptu date.

XVII. THE STAR

On the outside, Kujo Jotaro is perpetually cool and mildly disinterested. Of the group, he is the most likely to want to stay put. But you want to explore? Good grief. He'd better come with you so you don't get into trouble.

Inside, his heart is hammering like he's about to beat down a Stand User. This is all so new and exciting, it's making him nervous. What does he even say??? Fuck, he's out of his element here!

You'll complete an errand and wander aimlessly, silently enjoying each other's company. Maybe you'll end up by the beach. You're looking out at the sunlight shimmering on the water and he's... watching you.

He might not understand what he's feeling in that moment, but someday he will. Love hits a Joestar particularly hard, his grandpa told him once. He'll never forget how beautiful you looked.

0. THE FOOL

(Platonic, he is a dog. I shouldn't have to explain this.)

Fuck you, Iggy goes where he pleases.

You're gonna be cleaning up the mess he leaves in his wake, or chasing after him.

He stole kebab from a child. You're mortified.

You're just gonna wait at the hotel next time.

Bonus Card:

XXI. THE WORLD (uh oh)

Hopefully you caught him in a good mood. Ah, but your presence is almost always enough to lift DIO's spirits.

Do you believe in gravity? (I'm only half-kidding.) He loves to talk philosophy like this with you. Your perspective is both intriguing and amusing to him.

He's surprisingly chatty with you. He's missed what, the past 100 years? He has so many questions for you. Civilization changed so much, and you are one of the lucky few he can trust with his idle curiousities.

Just don't bore him, or else.

[y2klostandfound]

New Game Express - Rez on Game Players magazine Vol.24 (Video game magazine)(Hong Kong)(07/11/2001)

Translation in English:

Machine type: DC/PS2 Publisher/Manufacturer: SEGA/UGA Genre : STG Release date: November 22 Price: 6800 Yen Capacity : DVD-ROM/GD-ROM Memory: DC: 9 Blocks PS2: 53kb

The new generation of physical shooting games A new sense of sound and light

The new type of music beat game "Space Channel 5" produced by SEGA and UGA, which was a sensation in the entire game industry and won many awards and prizes, and two years after the release of this work, they will work together again to develop a new music-themed physical shooting game "Rez", and the PS2 and DC version will be released at the same time.

The special feature of this game is that when the enemy is knocked down, the game will play special music, coupled with a unique sense of pleasure, as well as in the light and vibration times the fusion of performance, the formation of this new era of physical game "Rez" was born.

GAME SYSTEM

The gameplay of this game is roughly the same as that of ordinary shooting games, but the stage will be to enter a world of computer space and eliminate the viruses that invaded it. In terms of operation, only the direction control is needed and the X button is used to release the missile (Layer). When the player's hand leaves the button, the enemy will be automatically calmed down. A maximum of several enemies can be locked at the same time.

After pressing the O button for a certain period of time, you can launch an OverDrive attack with the energy bar at the bottom right of the screen. As for the player to shoot down some very heavy energy enemies, the background music subtle changes, If the enemies are knocked down rhythmically, the auditory effect of music harmony can be played!

THE STORY OF "REZ"

The story of this game is about a network company that has adopted a new central network system called "Project-K", but just when the core artificial intelligence "eden" is about to officially operate, it has an enormous amount of intelligence, It was suddenly dormant and unable to function. So, as a player, you have to invade the computer space and revive the artificial intelligence "eden".

Game Flow

At the beginning of each edition, some common viruses appear. Players only need to calm them down to eliminate them. After knocking down a certain number of viruses, an object called NETWORK OPENING will appear. When it is successfully knocked down, the boss of this version will appear on the stage. As long as it is eliminated, the player can proceed to the first version, and finally liberate "eden" as the game goal. As for the music used in the game, they are all played by world famous music, including Ken lshii, DJ TSUYOSHI, Adam Freeland, Coldcut & Tim Bran, ebz, oval, Keiichi Sugiyama, etc.

Sense of Compression ↓ Audiovisual Effects ↓ Attack

Props that appear in the game

NETWORK OPENING

A lighted cube appears during the game, and the player needs to lock and destroy it in order to enter the next level and improve the ability of the machine.

OVER DRIVE

Shoot down the red objects that appear on specific targets. The main purpose is to fill up the energy bar at the bottom right of the screen , and use it to launch the special attack of Over Drive.

LEVEL UP

A blue object that appears when an enemy is knocked down. After successful recovery, the energy at the bottom left of the screen will increase by one bar; when a few bars are full, the machine's ability will be strengthened.

Peripheral Machine I TRANCE VIBRATOR

In order to thoroughly enjoy the music rhythm in the game, this work will launch a somatosensory device corresponding to the USB terminal together with the PS2 version. The vibration produced by this device is different from that of DUAL SHOCK, and the game will have a different vibration effect when different music is played. As for the price, the same version of the game is 8,800 yen, and the individual purchase is 2,480 yen. In addition, the game also launched a super deluxe limited edition. In addition to the game and TRANCE VIBRATION, there are also special T-Shirt, vibrating Head Phone and Wristband. The quantity is limited to 500 sets. Unfortunately, it is only available for reservations in Japan. The price is 12,800 yen.

[ev1eve]

ZHANG YUEHUA was born on christmas day, 1997 in hong kong. her mother, yizhao, entered her in beauty pageants at the age of six, which yuehua loved. from a young age she always loved dressing up and being in front of the camera. her participation in pageants lead her to be signed by an agency for child stars. she appeared in magazines and commercials and was on her way to earning a stable career in china. in 2013, she was scouted by CHROME ENTERTAINMENT to become a trainee. initially, becoming a singer was never something she thought of, but because she was a huge kpop fan, she took the risk and moved to korea at the age of sixteen.

YUA made her first debut as an idol in 2015 as member of NOiR, which was CHROME ENTERTAINMENT’s first girl group. after one of the members of NOiR got caught in a bullying scandal, it negatively affected the entire group, leading to NOiR’s disbandment. yua would be the only member to remain under CHROME and worked as a model until came the formation of EViE, where she would be the first member.

upon the announcement of EViE’s debut and yua's redebut many were skeptical. some korean netizens still had negative opinions about yua and didn't think the group would last long. yua and EViE would prove them wrong by still being around today, and with yua being one of the most popular members.

yua’s popularity in china and south korea outweighs the group at times. many people believed that EViE was basically created around yua, which isn’t too far from the truth. her popularity in china is massive and a lot of people wondered why she didn’t leave CHROME after her first group disbanded. when asked about this, she said that she respected the company and they respected her, so she stayed and decided to re-debut.

STAGE NAME : yua

BIRTH NAME : zhang yuehua ╱ 张月华

BIRTH DATE : december 25th, 1997

ZODIAC SIGN : capricorn

ETHNICITY : chinese

NATIONALITY : hong-kongese

HOMETOWN : tuen mun district, hong kong

HEIGHT : 5’3

FACE CLAIM : vivi (loossemble)

VOICE CLAIM : handong (dreamcatcher)

DANCE CLAIM : winter (aespa)

COMPANY : CHROME ENTERTAINMENT (2013 - present)

GROUP : NOiR (2015 - 2017), EViE (2020 - present)

POSITIONS : lead dancer, sub vocalist, sub rapper, face of the group

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (October 9-15, 2022)

Supreme shock sensation of our times: a Godzilla comic released on schedule! Godzilla: Monsters & Protectors - All Hail the King! #1 dropped on Wednesday. I'll confess I forgot about it for a couple of days; your priorities get scrambled when you're recovering from knee surgery. This is a direct sequel to last year's Monsters & Protectors; I don't recommend going in blind. Two big reasons to pick it up: Gabara's debut in American comics (in a dream, natch) and a professional Xilien troll who muses over which reaction .gif he should deploy. Yeah, me too.

Toho released a teaser and this very cool still for the upcoming short Fest Godzilla 3: Gigan's Attack, showing off the Showa Gigan replica suit Shinichi Wakasa built. It's strange to see it opposite FinalGoji (presumably the same stunt suit from last year's Godzilla vs. Hedorah short). I guess it's just his destiny to face Godzilla suits that are barely holding themselves together.

I cannot hope to comprehensively cover the deluge of Godzilla merchandise forever threatening my bank account in this column, but I would like to spotlight this enamel Baragon pin, designed by Christian Gonzalez for Ghost X Ghost. When I saw it my hands simply moved to order of their own volition.

The Dino De Laurentiis King Kong films are getting format upgrades. StudioCanal has a 4K restoration of the 1976 remake slated for November 28, while Umbrella Entertainment is bringing King Kong Lives, long out of print in the States, to Blu-ray on January 18. Neither company is American, but 4Ks don't have region codes and I hear Umbrella Blu-rays are typically region-free.

Probably neither will be a buy for me. The color grading on the 4K King Kong doesn't look great, and the special features don't measure up to the Blu-ray Shout! released last year. I will grant that the King Kong Lives Blu looks like a winner, with great packaging and new special features including a Ray Morton audio commentary. (They had to be new; the old DVD didn't have a thing to mine.) But it's not exactly one of my favorites, and since Shout! recently picked up the rights to it, I'd rather hold out for a version I don't have to import.

Just over a year after it premiered at Fantastic Fest, Iké Boys is out on digital courtesy of (they just keep coming up) Shout! Factory. Hopefully a physical release will follow, because this heartfelt American tribute to tokusatsu doesn't deserve to be buried in the Google Play Store. Set in the last month of 1999, it concerns a pair of Oklahoma tokusatsu geeks and a Japanese exchange student trying to prevent the apocalypse, empowered by the obscure 1969 anime film that predicted it. It's very low-budget and hits a lot of predictable coming-of-age beats, but it's got a good heart and Yumiko Shaku (yes, Akane in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla) classes it up. Also... it's not often I'm pandered to so directly. The director's one of us, to put it mildly.

Big thing are happening on the bootleg circuit... a couple of them last week, but I never posted about them on Tumblr and this is the first installment of this column. Yesterday, Skeweds Translations posted fansubs for What to Do with the Dead Kaiju?, Toei and Shochiku's kaiju comedy with no U.S. release outside of film festivals in sight. The film is catastrophically bad, I'm sorry to say, failing as a satire and as a genre exercise; Day of the Kaiju handled the same premise far better in a quarter of the time. But if you're so inclined, you can find a copy of the movie itself on the cat site... along with a higher-quality copy of Shin Ultraman than was uploaded there previously. I don't know where these things are coming from (Zarab?), but I'm not complaining.

And in the how-can-this-be-real category, a treat for your ears: the recently unearthed Hong Kong dub of Hanuman and the Seven Ultramen. As in Godzilla vs. Megalon, Ted Thomas, Chris Hilton, and Warren Rooke voice many of the characters. You won't believe the words coming out of their mouths—I don't think they did either. Between the child murder, checkmated atheist, and Hanuman's unquenchable thirst for carnage, this was always one of the kaiju movies with the most jaw drops per minute, and it just got better. A VHS containing the dub turned up in Lebanon; @Redcome40977685, @PrissMegaforce, Omayyad, and Elie Al Hajj got it digitized and @spacehunter-m synced the audio up to a fine-looking widescreen version.

[xiaoxiaopuff]

What are Trendy Toys?

In recent years, alongside the craze for "everything can be blind boxed," trendy toys have gradually entered the public eye. Also known as art toys or designer toys, trendy toys integrate concepts from art, design, trends, painting, sculpture, and more. They are primarily targeted at adults. According to reports, the development of trendy toys in China has been rapid, with the market size growing from 6.3 billion yuan in 2015 to 20.7 billion yuan in 2019. Many trendy toy companies have started to venture into overseas markets, and some Chinese designs have gained popularity among international consumers, demonstrating strong innovation and cultural influence. Trendy toys are no longer a niche hobby for a few; they have risen to become a form of spiritual consumption and a cultural phenomenon.

In physical stores, many prominent locations in large shopping malls are occupied by trendy toy shops and vending machines, where people enthusiastically spend tens of yuan to buy a "small moment of happiness." Online, domestic trendy toy brands like Pop Mart have surpassed LEGO and Bandai for two consecutive years, ranking first in the toy category sales list on Tmall's "Double Eleven" shopping festival. Additionally, some museums have also experimented with launching cultural and creative products in blind box formats, traditional stationery companies are exploring this market, and many internet companies are entering this industry...

This is a consumer frenzy among young people and an attempt to bring art closer to daily life at affordable prices.

Trendy Toys: A New Business Format Linking Art and Commerce

"In fact, trendy toys are a form of art peripherals, bridging the gap between art and toys." The current consensus in the industry is that trendy toys in a narrow sense originated in late 20th-century Hong Kong and Japan, created by independent designers and artists, also known as art toys or designer toys. These works often feature a hint of street culture, rebellion, and anti-mainstream style, produced in limited quantities and thus relatively expensive, initially appealing to a small circle of enthusiasts.

By the early 21st century, the concept of trendy toys fused with local anime, film, and television industries in Europe, the United States, and Japan, giving rise to globally renowned trendy toy brands and characters such as KAWS and BE@RBRICK.

After entering mainland China, trendy toys diversified in form and shifted their focus from being purely art or designer toys to targeting a larger market—the art peripherals market. More and more companies related to toys have entered the industry chain, forming a preliminary ecosystem for trendy toys from design, production, and sales to the secondary market and large-scale offline exhibitions.

Among them, large-scale offline exhibitions have become a window for quickly observing the trendy toy industry. Designers seize the opportunity to communicate and exchange ideas with peers, discovering new trends and changes in the industry. "You will find that this circle is experiencing iteration and integration. People are playing with things that are increasingly similar. Those who used to only collect statues are now also starting to play with trendy toys and figurines. Those who didn't play with statues before are now paying attention to them with the rise of trendy toys," says Zhu Jiaqi, Art Director of Kai Tian Studio, seeing this as a sign of the trendy toy industry gradually maturing.

[mundagenta]

Knock knock, KaiOS.

The ephemeral taste of innovating nearly obsolete bricks might be reaching its inevitable demise.

Nokia 8110 4G displayed in a kiosk at Mobile World Congress 2018. Image courtesy of Kārlis Dambrāns.

Despite the recent boom of feature phone sales over digital minimalism and dopamine detox trends, the future for KaiOS remains bleak as they fail to be consistent with their promises, thus miserably lagging against established giants in the market.

The good start

KaiOS is a partially open-source operating system developed by the Hong Kong-based company, KaiOS Technologies Inc. It was initially released in October 2017 and was forked from Boot 2 Gecko. Their name is from the Chinese for open – 开 (kāi) which “captures the idea of being inclusive.”

In just one year, they have overtaken Apple’s iOS as the second most popular operating system in India, with Android remaining on top, despite losing their 9% market share. In that same timeframe as well, they managed to sell around 450 million devices worldwide. Furthermore, their platform is compatible to WhatsApp, Twitter, YouTube, Google Maps, and Google Assistant.

To oversimplify things, KaiOS took the Boot 2 Gecko code (based from FirefoxOS) and modified it to run on hardware similar to that of feature phones and added the KaiOS Store. Other than that, they also implemented recent innovations that are becoming today’s standard, like 4G LTE and 5G, GPS, and Wi-Fi. By doing so, they effectively just created a separate phone segment, which some people call as the quasi-smartphones or smart feature phones.

KaiOS specifically chose the hardware present in their devices for an appealing approach to developing markets, like India and Pakistan, to bridge the digital divide and bring cheaper internet access. They removed the touch screen which they consider as the most costly part of the device, and replaced it with a cheaper T9 keypad input. Additionally, their devices only need 256MB to work and are also compatible with cost-efficient Spreadtrum chipsets.

What went wrong

By doing so, they effectively avoided the mistakes that Mozilla made. They chose a target audience first and offered them a product. They made an operating system out of the web but used that as a tool rather than the end goal, the latter being their approach to the digital divide. But not all products are perfect on their own, as their approach is a double-edged sword.

The T9 keypad meant that the apps had to be optimized to work on such inputs. Likewise, dissimilar to FirefoxOS, not all webpages can run on KaiOS devices due to hardware restraints. Such disadvantages make it an appealing short-term solution while their users save up for better entry-level Android devices.

Platform immaturity

The platform is still quite immature, despite five years since its initial launch. Some users claimed that their devices sometimes cannot receive calls, and crashes on related functions constantly. The battery also does not live up to its expectations and provides a ‘disappointing’ performance. Additionally, the calendar’s sync and date functionality is unstable, the alarm clock doesn’t ring from time to time, and the lack of note-taking, file browsing, multitasking, and wide audio format support. Besides, the platform lacked proper app quality control, bug reports, and feedback system, along with a slew of advertisements. Perhaps, the most lambasted functionality of the platform is the T9 input. Users characterized the input as slow and unreliable, thus ineffective for efficient user interface navigation. The predictive text input, which might sound good, is something they’d rather have disabled due to its restraints such as inaccurate suggestions and buggy input.

Some have mentioned that users may be over-estimating KaiOS and pitching it against smartphone platforms. Then on, we can’t deny that a platform still has to be stable and reliable, albeit hardware-restricted. Some went on to compare the system to its older counterparts such as Nokia’s Series 40, Microsoft’s Lumia, Vodafone’s MobiWire, and Blackberry’s Blackberry 10, which the users characterized as more ‘stable.’

Unfortunately, version 2.5.4 onwards faced a downward trend as certain apps were no longer maintained and supported, due to the decrease of development activity. For instance, the optimized Google and YouTube apps have been pulled out from the app store, around the same time as the update. In version 3, WhatsApp support has already been dropped and new app submissions to the store also plummeted. Google Assistant, the primary tool for users to voice type and issue commands (albeit stripped-down in comparison to Android), also dropped KaiOS support last June 30, 2021. Some users reached out to the company regarding this matter, to which they replied that they are developing an in-house voice assistant alternative. Until now, it is nowhere near worldwide coverage, given the limited devices it was shipped upon.

The company and its partners

Even more worse, the problem rests beyond that. The project development of has been consistent enough until the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the company’s blog statement “the growth was still not like how we achieved in the pre-COVID times, but these numbers and new partnerships are going up and in the right direction in this second year of the pandemic.”

In 2022, the project updates has since then plummeted. There weren’t any major announcements across all their social media platforms, even from the company website. Their Github repositories are no exception as well, as they still haven’t received any commits until now. Their only active repo is the gecko-b2g, which serves as the operating system base.

It is not implicit that their users are complaining about the bugs and speculating on the project’s downfall but it seems that they have no proper public relations and customer support as the company fails to actively respond to these messages.

Nokia

Nokia, or should we say, HMD Global has been a primary partner of KaiOS Technologies over the years. They manufactured the higher-end devices of the platform that were considerably the most popular in KaiOS’ lineup, such as the Nokia 6300 4G, Nokia 2780 Flip, and the Nokia 8110 4G.

Regardless, their approach is somehow vague as enthusiasts are confused over what their target audience is supposed to be, and what were they trying in the first place. Their approach started with the reboot of their classic devices, so it’s safe to assume that their target consumers are the ones who are nostalgic over their retro bricks. HMD, for a matter of fact, might have just been the worst example of a KaiOS partner.

Their devices are the most expensive ones of the platform, almost close to the entry-level Android Go smartphones. HMD Global has also been long criticized over the failure to deliver software updates from KaiOS to their devices, as they provide only about a year of support for these. The users also cannot help to complain over the significant bloatware present in such a limited hardware they provide.

Just recently, HMD Global took a step back from this approach and cherished their barebones Series 30 and Series 30+ platforms once again. Their last KaiOS device is the 2780 Flip from November 2022 and was then on followed by a series of Android Go and dumbphones from their C and 1xx series. In a reply to a user inquiry, they reportedly blamed KaiOS as the Google Assistant support for the platform was dropped.

Alcatel and TCL

Alcatel and TCL are also major partners of KaiOS. In fact, TCL Corporation is the largest shareholder of KaiOS Technologies. Both of them are popular for their Go Flip line. Despite the successes of Go Flip 1, 2, 3, and V, they didn’t get to experience the luxury of getting updated to the latest version of the OS, unlike the Go Flip 4. A user reached out to the company, to which they replied that they are still planning to serve these said updates to such devices, although there is still no update to talk of until now. 

Unfortunately, similar to HMD Global, they seem to be diverging away from the platform as recent releases from both manufacturers are focused on midrange to high-end Android devices, as well as the Tab series of TCL.

Jio

The Indian telecommunications company, Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited is the catalyst of KaiOS’ takeover against Apple in the country, all thanks to their aggressive marketing approach. They offered the competitively priced JioPhone for free to their users who are subscribed to their data plans.

Unluckily, even Jio is also straying away from KaiOS. There have been rumors that the JioPhone and the JioPhone 2 have been discontinued, as they are no longer sold. They last received the version 0258 update back on May 22, 2021, and clearly missed version 3.0 by a long shot. On June 24, 2021, Reliance Jio announced the JioPhone Next, a budget Android Go smartphone made in collaboration with Google. Recently this year, they partnered with Karbonn to release the Jio Bharat K1 Karbonn and V2 to provide access to UPI payments, Jio ecosystem, and cheaper 4G to the rural areas of India that remain untapped by recent advancements in technology.

What happened?

Fast forward to August 2023, users speculate that the project has already died out due to lack of activity and stagnation since the release of 3.0. Their company's social media platforms are inactive, except for the usual, seemingly AI-generated content every national holiday across countries. On the other hand, KaiOS Technologies partnered with the cybersecurity firm Trustonic to expand their device affordability efforts in Africa. There have also been infrequent new device releases for the platform, such as the AT&T Cingular Flex in February, Cricket Debut Flex in June, and Logan Technology’s Panita this August. Truth be told, I find this section rather short and lacking. Unfortunately, I could say the same for the company’s recent efforts. Nonetheless, I hope that things eventually get better. As users worldwide expected a reliable feature phone platform, all these issues contributed to a downward trend of interest for KaiOS. It seems that they might end up like FirefoxOS, failing to keep up and desolate in the past. Whether they wake up to innovate again, or continue dormant and inevitably die out is up for them to decide.

For now, one thing’s for sure, if they fail to address these issues, they’ll be no better than the obsolete bricks of the bygone era.

[appgrowing]

New Open World Game Topped Pre-registration, Another Masterpiece by Nuverse

Recently, many new games from leading developers have gone on an advertising spree. In addition to Moonton's Watcher Of Realms, according to AppGrowing, Nuverse's Dragonheir: Silent Gods started a massive advertising campaign, topped the Google Play Pre-registration, and became a Top 5 game among loads of games that are already released by top Chinese developers.

Source: AppGrowing

Dragonheir: Silent Gods is about to be launched  in September 2023, according to data.ai. After the release of the global version of Earth: Revival（《星球：重啟》） in February, Dragonheir: Silent Gods will be the second Nuverse game to be available worldwide this year, carrying the company's expectation of building a global brand.

01 An Open-world TRPG on 5-Year Development and $15 M

Dragonheir: Silent Gods is a D&D open-world semi-real-time strategy RPG. It is said to have taken five years to develop and cost over $15 million, making it the most "heavyweight" of the known Nuverse games.

In terms of art, Dragonheir: Silent Gods combines vintage oil painting with the widely accepted dark western fantasy style, differentiating it from the "cartoonish" games of the same genre. Delicate character and scene modeling make the game looks sophisticated.

Image Credit: Dragonheir: Silent Gods

Of course, in the case of the increasingly competitive game market, "appearance" alone is not enough to attract players. Officially, the game story text is now approaching 1 million words, and all the dialogue is in English voice-over, including the invited DND series "Critical Role" voice actor Mathew Mercer. Moreover, with the support of high-level music, Dragonheir: Silent Gods tries to revive the D&D-style fantasy world in all aspects.

Along with the vast worldview and plot, the main selling point of Dragonheir: Silent Gods is the "open world adventure" gameplay. Players can freely explore the game world, collect resources, solve challenges, and learn about the characters‘ stories.

Dragonheir: Silent Gods has little innovation in combat. The game adopts a normal turn-based model, incorporating auto chess gameplay to enhance strategy. Players select characters to arrange a team of 5 to fight, and there is a common TRPG "dice throwing" in the process.

Similar to Earth: Revival, Dragonheir: Silent Gods will be released on multiple platforms. According to the official website, the game will not only be available on the mobile platform of App Store and Google Play but also on Steam.

02 Advertising Strategy of Dragonheir: Silent Gods

According to AppGrowing, Dragonheir: Silent Gods began advertising on May 24, which coincides with the opening of the game's PC and Android beta test in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan of China.

Source: AppGrowing

In terms of media, Dragonheir: Silent Gods mainly invested in Meta Audience Network, Messenger, Instagram, and Facebook, and the share of each is relatively average. Its target markets are in Europe and America. The ad format of the game is mainly in-feed, while creatives are mostly horizontal (including square) videos.

Source: AppGrowing

The creatives of Dragonheir: Silent Gods focus on the content of the game itself and did not go too far, probably because it is still in the early pre-registration advertising stage.

Showing World View & Scenes

DND theme is appealing enough for European and American players. Dragonheir: Silent Gods focuses on the abundant and detailed surroundings in the video, labeling the game as "high quality" and attracting players interested in the genre.

Some creatives also combine the exploration gameplay. For example, the following video shows the beautiful scenes of several maps through "team exploration".

Showing Characters

Characters have always been one of the promotional methods for RPG games. Dragonheir: Silent Gods stated that the number of heroes and NPCs in the game has exceeded 200, and the content is also used in ad creatives.

For example, this video shows the character's exquisite modeling at the beginning, and then turns to its combat skills, maximizing the audience's understanding of the character.

In addition to the direct display of characters, Dragonheir: Silent Gods also released many "character customization" ads. Besides the presets, the game supports a variety of detailed numerical adjustments, with a quality beyond the normal brutal character customization. It even shows the common "property points" of TRPG, highlighting the game's unique features.

From the advertising point of view, such character customization videos are mostly used for MMO games, which can capture a wide range of players. It may drive Dragonheir: Silent Gods to broaden its target audience.

Showing Strategy Gameplay

Dragonheir: Silent Gods has created ads showing the strategic gameplay. For example, this creative shows the animation effect of characters coming on the battlefield and discharging their skills in turn. Elements such as kill clears and blast damage figures highlight the excitement of the fight and attract users interested in this kind of gameplay.

Generally speaking, the current creatives of Dragonheir: Silent Gods revolve around the three major directions of game art, characters and gameplay to do simple display, and the entire idea is rather restrained, more to advertise as an auxiliary means of brand exposure. But considering the various ads of Earth: Revival after its launch, perhaps we will see more interesting ad creatives when Dragonheir: Silent Gods is officially released.

03 Will it be "the Year of Game" for Nuverse?

Entering 2023, Nuverse has announced three games, the globally released Earth: Revival, Dragonheir: Silent Gods in pre-registration, and CoA（《晶核》）, which is aimed at Mainland China and will be released on July 14. These three are different in art style and gameplay, but all present a high quality. Earth: Revival performed well in Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan of China, having taken the Top 2 in Taiwan iOS Top Grossing games. It was launched in Japan in April and once entered the Top 30 of the iOS Top Grossing games. The anime-style ARPG CoA have exceeded 9 million pre-registrations, according to the official website.

From the establishment of the Game Department in 2018, ByteDance has been exploring the game development for the past 5 years. Although there have been news of studio dissolution and project cancellation, Nuverse has done a lot of work, especially in mid core & hard core games, and some of them performed excellently. For example, the female-oriented game Flower Ariel (《花亦山心之月》)  and the Earth: Revival that confronted with Tencent and NetEase in the theme of doomsday survival.

The exposure of 3 new games in 2023 H1 reveals a clear increase in Nuverse's game productivity and self-development strength. Whether ByteDance's mid core & hard core games can gain more achievement this year is up to the performance of Dragonheir: Silent Gods and CoA.

*The content and media in this article are protected by copyright laws. Some information is cited from public sources for illustrative purposes only, with ownership retained by the original authors. This article provides general information only and is not meant as opinion or advice for specific situations.

Follow AppGrowing's social media accounts or register immediately at AppGrowing to learn more mobile advertising insights.

LinkedIn: @AppGrowing

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[vistaspr22]

The State of Mexico v. HSBC Bank

“It wasn’t just HSBC’s money laundering crimes over many years for the most notorious drug cartels. It was their admission of it and then their audacity to continue to commit those crimes.”

The United States Financial System is easily the largest in the world and in many aspects, the most advanced. It is also one of the most idiosyncratic systems, characterized by an unusually parochial set of laws and regulations that both constrain competition and shield inefficiencies. Banks doing business in the US routinely submit confidential reports to an intelligence office within the U.S Treasury Department known as the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation), is a banking and financial services organization, with multiple branches in several countries including the USA.

HSBC in the U.S took on clients whose massive wealth translated into huge profits, but who turned out to be criminals. Its compliance staff negligently monitored customer activity, filed reports lacking crucial customer information on 16 shell companies that processed nearly $1.5 billion in more than 6,800 transactions through the bank’s Hong Kong operations alone. More than $900 million of that was linked to criminal networks. Leaked records show HSBC processed at least $31 million for companies that were later revealed to have moved stolen government funds from Brazil. And more than $292 million for an organization, Vida Panama, branded by U.S authorities as a major money launderer for drug cartels. As the Mexican drug war spread in the mid-2000s, HSBC provided essential U.S. dollar-denominated accounts to narco-gangs needing to clear hundreds of millions of dollars in drug earnings (200,000+ people who died in Mexico because of the funds that passed through HSBC).

The cartels designed carefully shaped boxes that fit HSBC’s teller windows to deliver the massive amounts of illegal cash pouring in. HSBC didn’t report any unusual activity after Drug Enforcement Administration agents posing as drug dealers deposited millions of dollars in Paraguayan banks and then transferred the money to accounts in the U.S. through HSBC. All this information is based on dozens of leaked interviews and Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) with more than12 past HSBC anti-money-laundering employees. Former HSBC compliance officers said that the bank did not give them adequate time to meaningfully investigate suspicious transactions and that branches outside the U.S often ignored requests for crucial customer information. They stated that they were treated as a second-class workforce within the bank, with little to no authority to shut down problematic accounts. Instances where Bank employees misrepresented data sent to senior managers, and where management altered risk ratings on certain clients so that suspect transactions didn’t set off alarms were plenty. The bank understaffed its anti-money laundering compliance division and hired naive, incompetent, and poorly trained personnel.

Task at Hand:

As the legal representatives of HSBC Bank or The State of Mexico (as allotted), you are required to defend the stance and further the interests of your client in the court of law. You shall deliberate the case on the following grounds, and suggest strategies to overcome the same:

a) The Issue of Money Laundering and furthering the Activities of the Mexican Drug Cartel

b) The Question of Negligence and Non-Compliance to International Banking Laws

c) The Necessity for Increased Monitoring to ensure Banking Efficiency and a New Standard Operating Procedure for Cross-Border Transactions

This round shall be conducted as a moot court, and shall include the following components, in a to-and-fro format:

1) Opening Statements: Introduction to the Stance and Establishing Legal Precedence

2) Legal Argumentation: Providing an Interpretation of the Law to Support your Case by using the Existing Legislations, Previous Verdicts and Legal Principles, as well as Suggesting Remedies and Solutions

3) Closing Remarks: Concluding your Arguments and Suggesting Final Proposals.

[asiabchongkong]

Beyond the Basics: How to Master the Company Registration Process

While starting a business is exciting, mastering the HK company registration process ensures a smooth launch. Here’s how to take your company registration Hong Kong experience to the next level.

Understand Legal Requirements Beyond just filling out forms, familiarize yourself with local laws that govern company formation. In Hong Kong, this includes understanding the Companies Ordinance and setting up a compliant structure.

Prepare Comprehensive Documentation For company registration Hong Kong, precise documents such as the Articles of Association, incorporation forms, and details of your company secretary are essential. Any inaccuracies could delay your registration.

Set Up a Registered Office A physical address in Hong Kong is mandatory. This office will be the official location for your company’s legal communications.

Leverage Expert Support Mastering the HK company registration process often involves seeking advice from consultants or agencies experienced in navigating local requirements. They help you avoid common pitfalls and speed up the process.

With attention to detail and the right guidance, your company can be registered quickly and efficiently, positioning you for business success.

[thesunshinereporter]

Unlock Seamless Business Success: Asia Business Centre (AsiaBC) Offers Cutting-Edge Company Formation Service in Hong Kong

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