Day: October 12, 2021

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Sri Lanka top team in Group A but do not discount the others

Dubai, October 12, 2021 (PPI-OT): Sri Lanka, Ireland, the Netherlands and Namibia will contest Group A in the first round of the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup for the right to reach the Super 12 stage.

Only the top two teams will progress from the group after all four have played against each other once in the round-robin format, kicking off with the first games on October 18.

Namibia will make history after qualifying for the tournament for the first time, having qualified through the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier with victory over Oman.

Ireland and Netherlands also secured their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup berths through the same route while 2014 champions Sri Lanka qualified through their world ranking.

The top seeds from Group A will enter Group 1 of the Super 12 stage along with Australia, England, South Africa, West Indies and the second seed from Group B.

Meanwhile, the second team from Group A go into Group 2 with Afghanistan, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and the top seeds from Group B after the first round of fixtures.

Sri Lanka (seventh appearance)

Favourites on paper to progress as top seeds from Group A, Sri Lanka have been inextricably intertwined with the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup ever since the first one in 2007.

They have contested every single tournament since then, finishing runners-up in 2009 and 2012 before finally lifting the trophy with victory over India in the 2014 final.

Outside the top eight of the MRF Tyres ICC Men’s T20I Team Rankings at the cut-off date and currently ranked 10th, their form going into the 2021 edition has been up and down to say the least.

A landmark 2-1 series win over India in July this year was also bookended by 3-0 series whitewashes to England in their own back yard and the Proteas in South Africa.

But no team has won more T20 World Cup games than Sri Lanka and their experience – along with a talented squad – makes them prime candidates to reach the Super 12 stage.

Captained by Dasun Shanaka, Avishka Fernando, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dushmantha Chameera and Maheesh Theekshana are all potential match-winners for Sri Lanka on their day.

They will open their campaign against debutants Namibia on 18 October in Abu Dhabi before a potentially decisive meeting two days later with Ireland, ranked two places lower in 12th.

Sri Lanka conclude their Group A fixtures on 22 October with a clash in Sharjah against the Netherlands, who they defeated by nine wickets en route to claiming the 2014 title.

Ireland (sixth appearance)

Since missing out on the inaugural tournament in 2007, Ireland have been a regular feature of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup and will contest their sixth in the UAE and Oman.

Their best ever performance to date came on their debut at the 2009 edition hosted by England, progressing from the first round to reach the Super 8s after beating Bangladesh.

Ireland have failed to progress beyond the first round in their last four appearances, missing out on net-run rate in 2014 following group stage wins over Zimbabwe and the UAE.

But as shown by their victory against Bangladesh in 2009, they have made a penchant of beating teams higher in the standings than them at major tournaments over the years.

Pakistan, England, West Indies and Zimbabwe have all fallen to Ireland in the 50-over Cricket World Cup and they will definitely fancy their chances of progressing from Group A.

They booked their place at this year’s tournament by topping their group in the 2019 qualifier on net run rate despite dropping matches to Canada and the UAE in the process.

A series victory over Zimbabwe earlier this year will certainly have encouraged captain Andrew Balbirnie ahead of his side’s opening fixture against the Netherlands on October 18.

And with the likes of Paul Stirling, Kevin O’Brien and rising star Josh Little among their ranks, the world No.12-ranked team possess the experience and talent to cause more upsets.

Netherlands (fourth appearance)

The Dutch showed their pedigree in the shortest format by winning the 2019 ICC T20 World Cup Qualifier, beating Papua New Guinea by seven wickets in the final in Dubai.

Netherlands had already secured their qualification by reaching the semi-final stage, where they defeated Ireland by 21 runs to lay down a marker to their Group A rivals.

In fact, Netherlands have won seven of their 12 T20Is against Ireland and came out on top in their recent ODI series, meaning they will also be targeting a place in the Super 12 stage.

Their squad is packed with experience, with Ryan ten Doeschate and Roelof van der Merwe two of the names who will be expected to play a prominent role during the middle overs.

Stephan Myburgh is another player who will be able to provide plenty of know-how, with the 37-year-old scoring 280 runs at an average of 31.11 in his previous T20 World Cups.

Another dangerous weapon comes in the form of tall fast bowler Paul van Meekeren, who can touch 140kph and possesses a slower ball that could cause plenty of problems.

This is the fourth time that the Dutch have qualified for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, making their debut in 2009 when they stunned England at Lord’s in a last-ball thriller.

But their best performance in the tournament came five years later, topping Group B to reach the Super 10 stage where they notched another famous win over England.

Namibia (debut appearance)

The lowest ranked team in the tournament at 19th, Namibia are making their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup debut this year and will be viewed as underdogs to progress from Group A.

Yet their road to the showpiece event showed that they do not give up without a fight, clinching their maiden appearance with five straight wins after defeats to Netherlands and PNG.

Namibia’s 54-run win over Oman in their semi-final play-off at the 2019 T20 World Cup Qualifier sealed their place and capped an impressive year for Pierre de Bruyn’s emerging side.

They also earned ODI status by winning the ICC World Cricket League Division 2 before securing their berth at this year’s T20 tournament with a string of impressive performances.

While this will be Namibia’s first taste of the T20 World Cup and their first match at an ICC World Cup in either limited overs format since 2003, their squad is not without experience.

Former South African international David Wiese has been included for his second T20 World Cup after the all-rounder qualified for the team through his Namibian-born father.

Meanwhile, potent bowler JJ Smit is another of the team’s stars along with their skipper Gerhard Erasmus, who is capable of anchoring an innings or accelerating when needed.

Namibia’s historic first match will be up against 2014 champions Sri Lanka, a tough examination that will be followed by meetings with Netherlands and Ireland in their bid for a Super 12 spot.

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com

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Young guns – Who could be the ‘surprise packages’?

Dubai, October 12, 2021 (PPI-OT): You only have to delve into the history of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup to see there’s no better platform for emerging talents to announce themselves on the global stage.

The shortest format of the game is conducive to individual displays of brilliance, whether that be a headline-stealing explosive innings with the bat or a deadly bowling spell.

Carlos Brathwaite’s stunning match-winning cameo for West Indies in the 2016 final is perfect evidence of this, with his clinically brutal 34 from 10 balls catapulting his name into the big time.

The all-rounder went from journeyman to national hero in one fell swoop, while the same tournament also saw Quinton de Kock and Rashid Khan star for South Africa and Afghanistan, respectively.

But who are the young players who could shine at the 2021 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup? Here are just a few of the up-and-coming names to keep an eye on in the UAE and Oman.

Rahul Chahar (India)

One of the rising stars of Indian cricket, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar is still finding his feet in international cricket but has the talent to stay there for a long time.

The 22-year-old broke through in the 2019 IPL and was called up to the India squad later that year, going on to take seven wickets in five T20I matches.

His selection came at the expense of the more experienced Yuzvendra Chahal but his exploits with Mumbai Indians suggest he is more than comfortable on the grandest stage.

Chahar played 13 and 15 matches for the successful franchise in the 2019 and 2020 editions of the IPL, claiming 13 and 15 wickets respectively as they won both tournaments.

Josh Inglis (Australia)

England-born Josh Inglis is yet to make his international debut for Australia in any format but has starred as a wicket-keeper batter in T20 leagues around the world.

The 26-year-old’s call-up comes after making his debut T20 century for Leicestershire in 2021, hitting 103 before smashing 118 from 61 balls a month later to hammer home his batting pedigree.

Speaking about his call-up, Australia’s head of selectors George Bailey said: “We think he brings some great flexibility. His transformation into the middle-order at the Scorchers was seamless.

“He’s a good player of spin, and provides a few different finishing abilities by playing all around the ground, but he’s really powerful as well – a great all-round player.”

Shoriful Islam (Bangladesh)

At 6ft 3ins tall, left-arm pace sensation Shoriful Islam undoubtedly stands out from the crowd in more ways than one and has already made a name for himself in Bangladesh despite only being 20-years-old.

The exciting seamer was one of the instant heroes of Bangladesh’s victory in the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup back in 2020, rising to the occasion in the knockout games.

He took nine wickets in total in the tournament in South Africa and played a starring role in the final win over India with his aggressive and confrontational style.

His T20I debut came at the beginning of 2021 against New Zealand and he has gone from strength to strength since then, taking 17 wickets in just 11 matches.

Avishka Fernando (Sri Lanka)

One of the standout performers for Sri Lanka at the 2019 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, 23-year-old Avishka Fernando will look to rise to the occasion once again on the T20I stage.

While he has not yet transformed his ODI form to the shortest format, Fernando showed in England two years ago that he possesses a game that looks made for T20.

His 49 from 39 balls against the hosts helped his country defeat the eventual champions in the group stage while he also made a brilliant century against the West Indies.

Fernando’s talent was clear from an early age, racking up hundreds for his school’s first XI before he was 14-year-old, so don’t be surprised if he scores big in the UAE and Oman.

Obed McCoy (West Indies)

West Indies boast an experienced squad for this year’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup but 24-year-old Obed McCoy helps to balance it out, with raw energy and lots of ability.

The left-arm bowler has only played in 12 T20I matches but he already has 19 wickets to his name at just 16.21 and will hope to add to that tally in the UAE and Oman.

With lots of variations up his sleeve, McCoy has already shown in his burgeoning career that he is tailor-made for T20 cricket and could be a key weapon for Windies in the death overs.

2021 has seen McCoy take four-wicket hauls in T20I matches against South Africa and Australia, suggesting he is peaking at just the right time for the defending champions.

Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)

While it is easy to get caught up in Pakistan’s batting talent, baby-faced 21-year-old Shaheen Afridi could provide the X Factor that turns them into title contenders.

Pakistan have won four out of the last five T20I series they have played with the left-arm fast bowler in their side, having made his debut in the format against the West Indies in 2018.

Compared by Mickey Arthur to a young Mitchell Starc, Afridi stands at an imposing 6ft 6ins and will be able to capitalise on his height to extract bounce on the pitches of the UAE.

His yorker is fearsome while he can also hit a consistent line and length as demonstrated by his impressive 10-wicket haul with the red ball against the West Indies in August.

Mujeeb Ur Rahman (Afghanistan)

Described by former Afghanistan coach Andy Moles as the “complete package”, 20-year-old off-spinner Mujeeb Ur Rahman has already made a significant impression.

A veteran of 19 T20I matches, he looks set to follow in the footsteps of Rashid Khan and has already picked up 25 wickets in the shortest format since his debut in 2018.

His talent first came to the fore as part of Afghanistan’s Under-19 side, taking 17 wickets in a 3-1 ODI series win over Bangladesh – the most by a bowler in a bilateral Youth ODI series.

As well as being able to bowl traditional off spin, Mujeeb can also mix it up with leg spin and googlies which will most certainly cause batters problems in the UAE and Oman.

Josh Little (Ireland)

Still just 21, Josh Little made his Ireland debut five years ago and is now a major weapon in the bowling attack, capable of reaching 90mph with his left-arm bowling.

At the time of his debut in 2016 – two months short of his 17th birthday – he was the second youngest player ever to play in a T20I and could now star on the biggest stage.

Since then, he has gone from strength to strength, removing England captain Eoin Morgan with a sharp bouncer and taking 4 for 45 on his ODI debut against the world’s No.1-ranked side.

He caused England problems again in 2020, picking up five wickets in two ODIs, while his three for 29 against the West Indies helped Ireland claim a memorable T20 win in the Caribbean earlier that same year.

For more information, contact:
Headquarters,
International Cricket Council (ICC)
Street 69, Dubai Sports City,
Sh Mohammed Bin Zayed Road, Dubai, UAE
Phone: +97-143828800
Fax: +97-143828600
E-mail: enquiry@icc-cricket.com
Website: www.icc-cricket.com

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Nearly 6 in 10 Pakistanis (59%) are afraid that they themselves or someone in their household will be infected by the coronavirus; this is an increase from 32% in Wave 11 in July: Gallup and Gilani Pakistan

Islamabad, October 12, 2021 (PPI-OT): According to a survey conducted by Gallup and Gilani Pakistan, 59% of Pakistanis are afraid that they themselves or someone in their household will be infected by the coronavirus.

Complete report for Wave 12 of the COVID-19 tracker survey can be accessed here:

https://gallup.com.pk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Gallup-COVID-19-Tracker-Wave-12.pdf

A nationally representative sample of adult men and women from across the four provinces was asked the following question, “To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: ‘I am afraid that myself and someone in my household will be infected by coronavirus’?” In response to this question, 22% completely disagreed, 16% somewhat disagreed, 19% somewhat agreed, 40% completely agreed while 2% did not know. 1% did not provide any response.

Question: “To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: ‘I am afraid that myself and someone in my household will be infected by coronavirus’?”

For more information, contact:
Head Office,
Gallup Pakistan
Islamabad, Pakistan
Tel: +92-51-8445080
Email: isb@gallup.com.pk, caf@gallup.com.pk
Website: www.gallup.com.pk

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Investments & Wealth Institute and Association of Professional Fund Investors Form Strategic Alliance

Certified Investment Management Analyst® -CIMA® certification recognized as global standard for fund allocators

Denver, Co, Oct. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Two associations for investment practitioners who are committed to competent and ethical practice of investment management analysis and fund allocation have formed a multi-year strategic alliance to raise the bar of professionalism, and promote standards of quality for investment professionals around the world.

The strategic alliance aims to support and advance each organization’s respective objectives.

  • The Association of Professional Fund Investors (APFI) will work collaboratively with the Institute to promote global awareness and adoption of the CIMA certification as the most relevant global standard for manager research and fund investing, thereby enhancing the competency and professionalism of services delivered to investors.
  • Investments & Wealth Institute® has entered into a service agreement with APFI to support their aims to empower professional fund investors to learn, share ideas, network with their peers, and have a collective voice to national and global standards bodies and regulatory authorities.

The APFI has previously released a International Accreditations for Fund Selectors evaluating international accreditations available to industry professionals. While the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation is by far the most widely-held and most well-known accreditation in the financial services industry, the APFI believes that the Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA) accreditation is a better fit for professional fund selectors and recommended the CIMA certification as the most relevant and practical for fund allocators.

Adam Choppin, Executive Chairman of the Board for the APFI said, “All of the credentials we reviewed have excellent curricula and provide professionals with the necessary educational core to act as professional fund and manager selectors. But what sets them apart when you look at them side by side is how relevant, practical and useful each one is to a real working professional and what you have to do to maintain it. When we looked at those things objectively, the CIMA certification rose to the top.”

“We really started from a point that said, what set of tools and skills should a fund allocator have, based on our individual experience from across the globe,” said APFI Director, Gandy Gandidzanwa .

The CIMA accreditation is one of only six global accreditations approved by the APFI and of those only two require ongoing education to maintain the designation. “I was actually shocked when we did this review and found how few of these accreditations required ongoing education,” Choppin said. “That you would say you never have to do anything ever again to be equally qualified doesn’t make sense to me. I would never hire a fund manager who never made an effort to improve themselves.”  Formed in 1988 as a credential for investment management consultants, CIMA certification is one of only a handful of professional certifications in financial services that meets the rigorous accreditation requirements of ISO 17024, a global standard for personnel certifications. Earlier this year, CIMA certification was accredited by the ANSI National Accreditation Board under this standard. Today, the certification requires three years of professional experience, several background checks detailing a clean disciplinary and legal history, completion of a comprehensive executive education program at one of four registered programs – The Wharton School, Chicago Booth School, Yale School of Management, or the Investment Management Research program in Australia. Following 300 hours of self-study, candidates must then pass a 140 question, five-hour examination, with a first time pass rate of 56%. All certified professionals must recertify every two years by maintaining ongoing ethics and continuing education requirements (40 hours every two years).

Operated and managed entirely by member volunteers, and independent of commercial interests, the APFI is a hub for professional allocators and manager research professionals from across the globe. Originally founded in Switzerland and now headquartered in the UK, with a leadership team spread from Cape Town to Kerala and Seattle to Sweden, the APFI’s membership reflects the global diversity of the fund investing profession. The APFI has turned to the Investments & Wealth Institute as a technical partner to enable its global membership access to the modern tools of networking and collaboration for an increasingly digital age. Working with the Institute to globalize the reach of the APFI’s most highly recommended accreditation (the CIMA), also furthers the APFI’s goals of promoting the industry’s highest levels of professional standards and integrity in fund investing.

“This partnership will unlock opportunities for members of the Association of Professional Fund Investors and bring substantial benefits to both organizations,” said Sean Walters, Chief Executive Officer of the Investments & Wealth Institute. “Members and practitioners around the world can benefit from rich content sharing, moderated discussions, and a networked community of the world’s best and brightest global investment professionals, hosted on our new community platform, and facilitated by APFI members, who work on nearly every continent around the globe.”

About the Investments & Wealth Institute

Founded in 1985, the Investments & Wealth Institute is the premier professional association, education provider, and standards body for financial advisors. Through its award-winning events, publications, courses, and acclaimed certifications—Certified Investment Management Analyst® (CIMA®), Certified Private Wealth Advisor® (CPWA®), and Retirement Management Advisor® (RMA®)—the Institute delivers Ivy league-quality, highly-practical education to more than 30,000 practitioners annually in over 40 countries.  Members of the Institute include the industry’s most successful investment consultants, advanced financial planners, and private wealth managers who embrace excellence and ethics in applying a broad set of knowledge and skills in their daily work with clients. www.investmentsandwealth.org

About the Association of Professional Fund Investors

Formed in 2011, the Association of Professional Fund Investors advances the interests of investors by promoting professional standards and integrity in fund investing. APFI members are all professional fund investors – professionals whose principal occupation is the identification and evaluation of investment managers, funds, vehicles, etc. that are external to their own organization. APFI promotes best practices in fund investing by setting global standards of professionalism and accreditation, while empowering professional fund investors to learn, share ideas, network with their peers, and have a collective voice to national and global standards bodies and regulatory authorities. www.profundinvestors.org

Cindy Chaifetz
Investments & Wealth Institute
303.850.3079
cchaifetz@i-w.org
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FreedomPay Selects Hill+Knowlton Strategies as Communications Agency of Record Amidst Global Expansion

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Oct. 12, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — FreedomPay, a global leader in Next Level Commerce™ has selected Hill+Knowlton Strategies (H+K) as its communications partner, following a competitive agency review. H+K will work with FreedomPay’s in-house marketing team to execute the global fintech leader’s national communications strategy as it continues its global expansion across 130+ countries, more than one hundred currencies and thousands of commerce partners.

FreedomPay is the only, fully independent, ‘open’ and agnostic Commerce Platform supporting the most innovative partners across banking, acquiring, processing and software vendors around the world. A pioneer in Commerce Technologies, FreedomPay’s cutting edge technology is unrivaled in speed, security, and capacity. With its award-winning, world-class Platform now serving 3 Billion+ transactions across the globe and accelerating into advanced cloud infrastructure, the company is growing rapidly to meet the needs of merchants with over 600+ integrations and the ‘new norm’ consumer demanding more experiences across in-store, online and on mobile commerce.

“FreedomPay’s singular focus on the evolving needs of both merchants and consumers distinguishes our solution set and is driving exponential growth,” said Chris Kronenthal, President & CTO at FreedomPay. “As technology continues to unite markets across all continents, our international partners are turning to our globally available and scalable Platform to support increasingly complex requirements to satisfy merchant and consumer requirements. With a focus on continued innovation for the fintech industry, as well as an extensive US and global presence that delivers an understanding of the markets and stakeholders that we are expanding to reach – we look forward to collaborating with Hill+Knowlton as our communications partner and sharing our entrepreneurial drive and culture of innovation.”

FreedomPay’s global footprint delivers full Omni-channel capabilities to merchants in 130+ countries and territories. FreedomPay’s Next Level Commerce™ platform is now fully compliant with PSD2 strong customer authentication, on-line PIN and foreign language support now meeting the needs of hundreds of thousands of merchants around the world.

About FreedomPay

FreedomPay’s Next Level Commerce™ platform transforms existing payment systems and processes from legacy to leading edge. As the premier choice for many of the largest companies across the globe in retail, hospitality, lodging, gaming, sports and entertainment, food service, education, healthcare and financial services, FreedomPay’s technology has been purposely built to deliver rock solid performance in the highly complex environment of global commerce. The company maintains a world-class security environment and was first to earn the coveted validation by the PCI Security Standards Council against the Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE/EMV) standard in North America. FreedomPay’s robust solutions across payments, security, identity, and data analytics are available in-store, online and on-mobile and are supported by rapid API adoption. The award winning FreedomPay Commerce Platform operates on a single, unified technology stack across multiple continents allowing enterprises to deliver an innovative Next Level experience on a global scale. www.freedompay.com

 

About Hill+Knowlton Strategies   

Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Inc. is an international communications consultancy, providing services to local, multinational, and global clients. H+K operates 77 offices in 43 countries worldwide, as well as an extensive associate network, delivering award-winning campaigns to clients across all sectors and disciplines and with a focus on continued innovation for the industry. Headquartered in New York, the firm is part of WPP, one of the world’s largest communications services groups.

Media Contact

Amy Dalkoff

Hill+Knowlton for FreedomPay

Amy.dalkoff@hkstrategies.com

312-255-3078 

Taylor Durovsik
FreedomPay
taylor.durovsik@freedompay.com
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Hangzhou: rising distribution center of digital resources in China and key player in globalization reconstruction

HANGZHOU, China, Oct. 12, 2021 /Xinhua-AsiaNet/– In a recent Economist Intelligence Unit ranking of emerging Chinese cities, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai and Zhuhai stood out as the top five. These cities in southeast China are estimated to boast the greatest economic growth potential in the next five years and are expected to play an important role in China’s transition to a more technology-driven growth model.

Hangzhou, the pioneer city in China’s digital economy development, topped the ranking. According to the analysis, the eastern Chinese city will become an important distribution center of the country’s new digital resources and play a more important role in the new round of global economic system reconstruction, which is different from the globalization brought about by the last round of goods trade and financial resources flow and a series of international cities formed by it.

The 17th China International Cartoon & Animation Festival was held in Hangzhou, China from September 29th to October 4th, attracting many fans wearing various gorgeous costumes.

Hangzhou and other eastern coastal cities will benefit from the central government’s expected innovation and productivity drive under the 14th Five-Year Plan, as they have attracted large inflows of skilled workers, according to the report. Meanwhile, the pandemic has contributed to transformative changes in business dynamics. E-commerce penetration deepened as consumers developed a stronger preference for online shopping and businesses adopted new marketing formats, like live streaming.

According to Hangzhou Municipal Government, Hangzhou’s rise in China’s emerging market status and great potential for future economic growth are inseparable from the surging power of the digital industry. Data showed that in the first quarter of this year, the core industries of Hangzhou’s digital economy achieved a total added value of 112 billion yuan, up 28.1 percent year on year, achieving an average growth of 16.6 percent in two years and accounting for 26.7 percent of GDP.

While continuously upgrading the level of digital industry, Hangzhou has accelerated the development of industrial Internet, 5G and other new-era infrastructure, with emerging digital applications such as smart workshops and digital factories.

In Hangzhou, there are many digital enterprises dedicated to making factories smart. At present, Hangzhou has gathered more than 400 digital engineering service organizations, offering about 70 percent of digital transformation service capabilities for Zhejiang and about 70 percent of cloud computing capabilities for China.

With a booming digital economy featuring smart digital governance and convenient digital life, Hangzhou, a city known for its beauty over the past thousands of years, has made digitalization as its most distinctive symbol of the times. Digitalization also makes Hangzhou a distribution center of new digital resources in China, and plays a pivotal role in the new round of transformation of China’s economy facing globalization, driving the reconstruction of various elements such as trade, manufacturing, artificial intelligence development and design.

The upgrading and vigorous development of urban industry cannot be separated from the support of talents. In terms of attracting talents, Hangzhou has a dazzling performance sheet: for three consecutive years, the net inflow rate of domestic and overseas talents and the net inflow rate of Internet talents remain the first in China, and it has been selected as one of the most attractive Chinese cities in the eyes of foreign talents for ten consecutive years. Why is Hangzhou so charming?

“All the work to improve the quality of the city comes down to attract and retain talents.” This is Hangzhou’s answer as well as its vision. In Hangzhou, a consensus has been reached that talent is the most important resource, and the major policies of the city must be coordinated with talent work in advance. Issues related with talent work that need coordination will also be put on the agenda for discussion and solution at the earliest opportunity.

More than 100 international students from more than 40 countries have entered the first entrepreneurship park for international students in Hangzhou. So far this year, Wei Shang, an Indian student, has won orders of nearly 400,000 yuan to sell Chinese products to India. Anna Lu, a British student, founded an education consulting company, introducing excellent foreign teachers to many universities in Jiangsu and Shanghai…

Hangzhou’s environment for talents is getting better. This city with a population of over 10 million is providing fresh development opportunities, attracting talents from home and abroad to settle in Hangzhou with a more open ecological environment for talents and a more confident attitude.

Hangzhou citizens are the most fashion-conscious people I have ever met. They stress civilization and courtesy, and their lives are full of the pursuit of individuality and internationalization, according to Alan Wilkinson, an Englishman who has lived in Hangzhou for many years.

The unique fashion consciousness of Hangzhou citizens can be said to come from the cultural genes engraved in Hangzhou, a famous city with a thousand years of history and culture. Today’s Hangzhou, with prosperous culture, has become a city of animation, exhibition and contest. The China International Animation Festival, which has been held 17 years, has been held as a carnival for animators in China and even around the world. More and more animation companies and creators are racing to explore this rich mine in Hangzhou and promote the integration of animation culture into every aspect of the city.

The 15th Hangzhou Cultural & Creative Industry Expo to be held this year will continue to stimulate the endogenous power of Hangzhou’s cultural industry and let Hangzhou citizens enjoy the feast brought by global creative culture; The 14th FINA World Swimming Championships in 2018 showed the world Hangzhou’s comprehensive strength and ability to run the competition. Former FINA President Julio Maglione once said that they spent a very unforgettable time in Hangzhou, a city of vitality. In 2022, Hangzhou will host the 19th Asian Games, and more and more top-level events will be settled in Hangzhou, which will gradually brand the city with distinct sports marks.

Hangzhou is committed to building itself into a digital city to inject new momentum into the construction of an innovative city, a green city to highlight ecological civilization, a city of humanity with stronger historical and cultural charm, a happy city as an example of Zhejiang’s high-quality development and common prosperity demonstration area, and an open city with increasing internationalization.

Source: Hangzhou Municipal Government

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