HONG KONG, Jan 19, 2022 - (ACN Newswire) - CEFC Hong Kong Financial Investment Company Limited ("CEFC Financial", together with its subsidiaries, "the Group"; stock code: 1520.HK) is pleased to announce that the Group has entered into a licensing agreement (the "Licensing Agreement") with Chengdu Dreamtoys Cultural Creativity Company Limited ("Chengdu Dreamtoys") pursuant to which Chengdu Dreamtoys grants the exclusive right of use of the intellectual property right of four animated characters (the "IP Characters") worldwide to a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Group for the development, production and sales of apparel of the IP Characters for the period from 19 January 2022 to 18 January 2023. Furthermore, the Group has the right to sublicense the IP Characters to third parties upon obtaining consent from Chengdu Dreamtoys.

Chengdu Dreamtoys is principally engaged in the research and development, operation and promotion of trendy cultural products. It has combined blockchain technology, near-field sensing technology, digital interaction and other new digital modules to create a meta-universe IP ecosystem that communicates with digital content. The IP Characters developed by Chengdu Dreamtoys could be used in the production of toys and figures, apparels and virtual images in games. The use of IP Characters in the development of apparel not only increases the variety of the Group's products, but also helps create apparel products that appeal to the younger generation, enabling the Group to explore the younger generation's market and accelerate the expansion in the design, manufacturing and trading of its apparel business. At the same time, the Group is proactively seeking more potential intellectual property rights for the production of apparel with the aim to develop new products, and to achieve the purpose of optimising its product portfolio, thereby laying a solid foundation and enhancing growth momentum for the Group.

The Group is committed to diversifying from its current focus of manufacturing private label women apparels and tap into the men and young adults' markets, with a view to strategically transform itself from women's apparel manufacturer to an all-rounded trendy apparel product manufacturer. The Group has previously announced its proposed change of company name to "Virtual Mind Holding Company Limited" to better align with the Group's business development strategies. Meanwhile, the Group has entered into a strategic cooperation agreement with Qingdao Weiding Sports Supplies Company Limited ("Qingdao Weiding") in trendy apparel markets earlier on and appointed Dr. Zhou Yibing, senior designer of global luxury goods company LVMH Group, as Chief Creativity Officer, to create unique fashion apparel products and accelerate trendy apparels business of the Group through multiple channels.

The management of the Group believes that the grant of exclusive right to use the intellectual property rights of animated characters is in line with the Group's overall strategic development blueprint, enabling it to expand its business in the trendy apparel market and enhance its core competitiveness. Looking ahead, the Group is poised to seize the huge opportunities in the global trendy apparel market as it further diversifies its product portfolio in trendy apparel and related products, and bring better investment returns to its shareholders.

About CEFC Hong Kong Financial Investment Company Limited
CEFC Hong Kong Financial Investment Company Limited (1520.HK) is principally engaged in (i) design, manufacturing and trading of apparel; and (ii) provision of money-lending business. The Group's apparel operation is classified into two categories, namely, private label products and own brand products. Private label products are those designed and manufactured under the private labels owned or specified by the Group's customers, while own brand products are those designed and manufactured under the Group's proprietary labels. The Group's production plant is located in Jiaxing in the PRC with most apparel products exported to the U.S. The U.S. market is the principal market for Group's apparel operation.

For more details, please visit www.cefcfi.com.hk


Copyright 2022 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. www.acnnewswire.comCEFC Hong Kong Financial Investment Company Limited ("CEFC Financial", together with its subsidiaries, "the Group"; stock code: 1520.HK) is pleased to announce that the Group has entered into a licensing agreement (the "Licensing Agreement") with Chengdu Dreamtoys Cultural Creativity Company Limited

Current Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick is reportedly set to […]

The post Bobby Kotick Likely to Leave Activision After Microsoft Deal is Complete appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

A whirlwind of news has followed Microsoft’s behemoth acquisition announcement of Activision Blizzard, one priced at nearly $70 billion USD. It’s a staggering deal, and Microsoft will bring in a long list of triple-A franchises, as well as a company bathed in workplace concerns. Activision Blizzard has broiled in controversy in the past six months, with claims of sexual misconduct and frat boy culture run rampant. Many have called out the company due to the shameful issues, and stockholders have repeatedly encouraged CEO Bobby Kotick to step down. Kotick didn’t seem eager to budge. But according to The Wall Street Journal, Kotick will reportedly leave Activision Blizzard once the acquisition is complete. This is, however, not what Microsoft communicated in a press release on Tuesday morning. According to a press release: “Bobby Kotick will continue to serve as CEO of Activision Blizzard, and he and his team will maintain their focus on driving efforts to furt...

Microsoft is acquiring Activision Blizzard, the companies announced on Tuesday, but the deal isn’t exactly done yet. And even when the $68.7 billion...

On Tuesday Microsoft announced its plan to acquire Activision Blizzard — makers of Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, Candy Crush, and many...

The NFT marketplace buys the nearly five-year-old DeFi protocol but does not share financial terms.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has discussed the company's blockbuster buyout of Activision Blizzard, which hasn't been approved by regulators yet but could end up being one of the biggest gaming news stories in a long time. In a presentation this morning, Nadella laid out his thoughts on the buyout and spoke about why it's such a momentous occasion for Microsoft and Xbox as they look to the future.

Starting off, Nadella said Activision Blizzard's mission to "connect and engage the world through epic entertainment" lines up with what Microsoft is trying to achieve. "Together, our ambition is to bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet," Nadella said.

Microsoft is acquiring Activision Blizzard

Nadella observed that gaming is the fastest-growing category across all entertainment, surpassing movies, TV, music, and more. In the past two years alone during the pandemic, Nadella said games have proven to be "critical" to help people stay connected even when they aren't physically together.

Microsoft is buying Activision Blizzard because it believes Xbox still has lots of room to grow, Nadella said. Right now, there are around 3 billion gamers in the world, and this is projected to reach 4.5 billion by 2030, he said. "We are seeing more players, more streamers, more titles and more new game publishers than ever before," Nadella explained.

There are problems, though, Nadella said. To begin with, there is "too much friction" between content, consumption, and commerce in the gaming landscape, the executive said.

"We need to make it easier for people to connect and play great games, wherever, whenever and however they want. Today, we face strong global competition from companies that generate more revenue from game distribution than we do from our share of game sales and subscriptions. We need more innovation and investment in content creation and fewer constraints on distribution," Nadella said.

Microsoft is trying to create a "river of entertainment" where "content and commerce flow freely, driving a renaissance" in gaming to help make games more inclusive and accessible for everyone, Nadella said.

"And together with Activision Blizzard, that's what we will be able to deliver," he explained.

Microsoft's efforts to remove traditional barriers in the way it wants to will become more important going forward with the rise of the metaverse, Nadella said.

"When we think about our vision for what a metaverse can be, we believe there won't be a single, centralized metaverse and there shouldn't be," he explained. "We need to support many metaverse platforms, as well as a robust ecosystem of content, commerce and applications. In gaming, we see the metaverse as a collection of communities and individual identities anchored in strong content franchises, accessible on every device. And bringing fantastic entertainment together with new technologies, communities and business models is exactly what this transaction is about."

Another key component to this deal is the mobile element. Mobile games represent the largest segment of gaming already, Nadella pointed out, and Activision Blizzard's King division, which runs Candy Crush, gives Microsoft a bigger piece of the pie. Additionally, the deal helps improve the appeal of Xbox Game Pass, with "many" Activision Blizzard games both new and catalog, joining the library in the future.

"Together, we have one of the most diverse and robust content pipelines in the industry across every endpoint," Nadella said of Microsoft and Activision Blizzard.

Additionally, Nadella said there is great value in this deal regarding finding new players and connecting communities. Nadella pointed out that Activision Blizzard has a network of nearly 400 million monthly active players in 190 countries. "That reach builds on the strength of our own gaming community, from Minecraft and Xbox network to Game Pass," Nadella said.

"Together with Activision Blizzard, we will have one of the largest and most engaged communities in all of entertainment, and we’re excited to create new opportunities for both leading publishers, as well as for individuals and small teams to build and monetize their creations across this community," he said.

Another part of the deal is related to cloud gaming. Nadella said the buyout of Activision Blizzard should help Xbox's cloud gaming efforts reach new heights, and it might include bringing games like Overwatch and Diablo to streaming platforms as part of Game Pass.

Finally, Nadella alluded to the controversies at Activision Blizzard regarding sexual harassment and discrimination against women. He said company culture is his "number one priority."

"This means we must continuously improve the lived experience of our employees and create an environment that allows us to constantly drive every day improvement in our culture," Nadella said. "This is hard work. It requires consistency, commitment and leadership that not only talks the talk, but walks the walk. That's why we believe it's critical for the Activision Blizzard to drive forward on its renewed cultural commitments. We are supportive of the goal and the work Activision Blizzard is doing, and we also recognize that after close, we will have significant work to do in order to continue to build a culture where everyone can do their best work."

Microsoft's deal to buy Activision Blizzard is expected to close in FY2023, which runs July 2022-June 2023. Given the pending nature of the deal, executives from Microsoft and Activision Blizzard might not be very forthcoming with details about specifics pertaining to the future due to legal requirements.

Bobby Kotick, the CEO of Activision Blizzard who is accused of knowing about and covering up instances of sexual harassment, is reportedly planning to leave the company if/when the deal goes through.

Should the deal be finalized, Microsoft will take ownership of several massive franchises from Activision Blizzard, including Call of Duty, Warcraft, and Candy Crush, just to name a few.

For more on today's big news, check out the stories below.

• So, Is Call Of Duty Going Xbox-Exclusive?
• The Internet Reacts To Microsoft Buying Activision Blizzard
• Activision Blizzard Is Microsoft's Biggest Acquisition Of All Time, Here's How It Stacks Up
• Will Microsoft Now Own Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice?
• Xbox Creator "Sickened" By The Activision Buyout News, But Hopeful For Positive Change
• What Kind Of Culture Is Microsoft Buying In Activision Blizzard Acquisition Deal?

NFT marketplace OpenSea has confirmed its acquisition of Dharma Labs.

The post OpenSea confirms acquisition of Dharma, sets sights on fiat onramps appeared first on The Block.

Billionaire Chamath Palihapitiya recently ranked China's cultural genocide of its Uyghurs low on his list of things he cares about.

The post Bitcoin bull Chamath Palihapitiya reckons ‘nobody cares’ about Uyghur genocide appeared first on Protos.

Four lessons learned in 2021 speak to the universal truths about Bitcoin and why our world needs it.

The three-level loft features exposed brick walls and floating staircases.

Lokesh Vyas writes in with a post pondering the existence of a ‘right to research’ (r2r) in India. The query around r2r in general is not a new one – see for example Appadurai’s widely cited 2006 paper by the same name, or SPARC’s Coalition formed back in 2009. Lokesh attempts to find grounding for it in Indian law through the current post. He is an LLM Candidate (IP and Technology) at American University Washington College of Law (AUWCL), InfoJustice Fellow...