Day: March 6, 2023

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Nuvei announces next step in its global expansion plan with Australia launch

Nuvei is enabling eCommerce businesses in the world’s 12th largest economy to accelerate their growth

MONTREAL, March 05, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nuvei Corporation (“Nuvei” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: NVEI) (TSX: NVEI), the Canadian fintech company, announces today that businesses operating in Australia can now access its full suite of market-leading payments solutions including acquiring, processing, alternative payment methods and risk management.

Australian businesses operating locally and globally will benefit from Nuvei’s cutting-edge, agile technology that’s built to accelerate their growth. Nuvei’s payments platform enables businesses to optimize operating costs and boost conversion rates by maximizing payments acceptance, minimizing risk, and enhancing the consumer payment experience. This includes offering all local and relevant payment methods.

Launching in Australia is the latest initiative from Nuvei as it continues to grow its presence and capabilities in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, following its successful launch in Singapore and Hong Kong in 2022.

Nuvei Chair and CEO Philip Payer commented on the announcement: “Our mission is to help our customers connect with their customers regardless of location, payment method or currency. Launching in Australia is a natural step for our continued expansion in APAC, having already established a strong and growing presence in the region.”

Nuvei is launching in Australia having secured regulatory and scheme licenses to support customers with local acquiring in the country.

Fayer continued: “We know the role local acquiring plays in payments optimization, which is why Nuvei’s local acquiring network across the globe is unparalleled. Being able to support merchants in Hong Kong, Singapore, and now Australia with local acquiring solutions demonstrates our commitment to our customers’ growth.”

While debit and credit card payments are the preeminent online payment method for Australian consumers, alternative payment methods (APMs) are also growing in popularity. Nuvei technology enables businesses to accept all the relevant payment methods in the region (including local currencies for cross-border transactions) in addition to card acquiring. This includes New Payments Platform (NPP), Australia’s account-to-account fast payments open access infrastructure, giving consumers even more choice over their payments experience.

Benefits of NPP for consumers include instant, 24/7/365 settlements, making this payment method particularly relevant for industries where payouts are critical to the overall payments experience.

Australia is a significant market for eCommerce in APAC and globally. It is the world’s 12th largest economy and had an eCommerce market value of $47bn (with 8.9% growth)[1] in 2022. Internet penetration in Australia is 91%[2] and over 90% of Australian internet users make online purchases.

About Nuvei 

Nuvei (Nasdaq: NVEI) (TSX: NVEI) is the Canadian fintech company accelerating the business of clients around the world. Nuvei’s modular, flexible and scalable technology allows leading companies to accept next-gen payments, offer all payout options and benefit from card issuing, banking, risk and fraud management services. Connecting businesses to their customers in more than 200 markets, with local acquiring in 45+ markets, 150 currencies and more than 600 alternative payment methods, Nuvei provides the technology and insights for customers and partners to succeed locally and globally with one integration.

For more information, visit www.nuvei.com

[1] https://www.savvy.com.au/australias-online-shopping-behaviour-report-2022/#:~:text=Australia’s%20online%20shopping%20industry%20is,retail%20therapy%20continues%20to%20skyrocket

[2] https://www.statista.com/statistics/680142/australia-internet-penetration/

Alex Hammond
Nuvei
alex.hammond@nuvei.com

Investor Relations
Nuvei
IR@nuvei.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8781827

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Japan supports improvements of sanitary environment at school in Luang Prabang

The Government of Japan is providing grant assistance worth approximately USD 190,000 for the benefit of students in Luang Prabang through its Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Project.

The project supports the construction of toilets and hand washing stations in a total of 2 primary schools in both of Luang Prabang and Phonxay District as well as educational activities to improve knowledge and awareness of how to maintain and manage facilities and school sanitation to improve the educational and sanitary environment.

The grant contract was signed on March 2 between Mr. Kobayashi Kenichi, Ambassador of Japan to the Lao PDR and Ms. Phoutthanaly Thammamixay, Country Manager of Shanti Volunteer Association in Laos.

The contract signing was witnessed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Silinthone Sacklokham, Director General, Department of External Relations, Ministry of Education and Sports.

“The project is to improve hygiene and sanitary situations at target schools in Luang Prabang and Phonxay District, Luang Prabang Province with the involvement of people in both districts that particularly need supports for protecting children’s lives from diseases and ensuring suitable education environment.”

“Under this project, we will improve sanitation facilities and include educational activities to improve knowledge and awareness of school sanitation and how to maintain and manage these facilities safely in the target schools. We will do our best and use all our knowledge, skills, and experience in order to make the project successful and achieve the project goals,” said Ms. Phoutthanaly, Country Manager of Shanti Volunteer Association in Laos.

“Many villages in mountainous areas in the Luang Prabang Province lack sufficient infrastructure. In terms of households having sanitation facilities with access to water and soap, Luang Prabang Province has the third lowest percentage in the country”, said Ambassador Kobayashi.

“We hope these efforts made by Shanti Volunteer Association contribute to improving the sanitary environment in schools while helping children stay safe from infectious diseases and other threats. As such, Japan is proud to support better sanitation at school. This in turn is set to lead to an improvement in children’s school attendance and academic achievements,” he added.

Japan’s Grant Assistance for Japanese NGO Project is provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan for economic and social development projects that are voluntarily planned and implemented by Japanese international cooperation NGOs in developing countries and regions including the Lao PDR.

The Government of Japan has provided more than USD 14 million over the past five years to the Lao PDR to support education, health, UXO and other areas. In shared effort to address regional disparities in socioeconomic development, Japan will continue to actively cooperate with NGOs to support initiatives to improve the basic standard of living at grassroots level in the Lao PDR to ensure “No-one is left behind”.

Source: Lao News Agency

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Lasting certification introduced to businesses in Laos’ tourism industry

SUSTOUR Laos Project in partnership with the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Provincial Chambers of Commerce and Industry, organised three business engagement events from Feb 27 to Mar 2 in Luang Prabang, Vientiane Province and Vientiane.

These events introduced local tourism businesses to the Lasting Laos certification, providing businesses with information and resources to begin the certification process.

“The supplier businesses will get to know Lasting Laos standards and benefits that they will gain after being awarded the Lasting Laos Certification.

The benefits will include reputation, being competitive suppliers and increasing income,” said Ms Veomany Douangdala, Vice President of the Luang Provincial Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Lasting Laos certification is a local sustainability programme for supplier businesses in the tourism industry that have demonstrated sustainable environmental, social and economic practices.

Training, coaching and assessments of businesses will be administered locally by the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with support from the SUSTOUR Laos Project: Supporting Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in the Lao Tourism Industry Supply Chain to Access Markets for Sustainable Practices Project.

The goal of this certification is to improve the overall sustainability of the tourism supply chain by providing benchmarks and guidance for local businesses to measure and improve their sustainability. The certification is provided free of charge.

Mr. Khounphithak Ratrisavath, Founder of Sansin Association – Lao traditional textile and handicraft, joined the Lasting Laos Engagement event and found out this certification allows him to explore sustainable business management and markets. “Lasting Laos certification is exciting and critical for my business. I believe my business can be part of a sustainable supply chain of the tourism industry,” said the owner.

Lasting Laos is adapted from the Travelife sustainability certification, which is recognised internationally as the leading certification in the tourism industry, and is based on a set of sustainability criteria that have been developed for four key tourism industry sectors. Waste management is also a priority cross-cutting issue across all sectors. These criteria have been developed in consultation with over 200 stakeholders from the private and public sectors.

“Over the last year, we at Plan International Laos have worked closely with our project partners to develop Lasting Laos, the first local sustainability certification for tourism businesses in Laos. It has been developed with input from over 200 Lao tourism stakeholders from the private and public sectors, as well as international experts from Travelife. We expect this programme to encourage and support local tourism businesses to improve their sustainability,” stated Connor Bedard, SUSTOUR Laos Project Manager.

Businesses must demonstrate compliance with the sustainability criteria in order to become a Lasting Laos certified business. They can report their compliance with the checklists online via the Travelife online platform or through hardcopy checklists. All businesses will be supported by the SUSTOUR project with free training and follow-up coaching.

The Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry will conduct assessments to verify compliance with the criteria, with technical support provided by the SUSTOUR Project. Businesses that comply with the checklists will be awarded and recognised as leading sustainable suppliers in the tourism industry supply chain.

“We provided training to our local trainers, and these trainers closely coach interested supplier businesses to ensure their operations and services are aligned with the Lasting Laos Criteria before we give them certification. Within this year, we expect to certify around 80 supplier businesses across four key tourism industry sectors in three provinces,” said Ms Souphaphone Khamsennam, Vice Secretary of the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Source: Lao News Agency

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Vietnamese, Lao firms join hands in developing railway project

Vietnamese infrastructure developer Deo Ca Group JSC has signed a joint venture agreement with Laos’ Petroleum Trading Lao (Petro Trade) Public Company to develop a railway project linking the two countries.

The rail route spans 554.7 kilometers from Vung Ang Port in Vietnam’s coastal province of Ha Tinh to Vientiane, the capital and largest city of Laos.

The project will be built under the public-private partnership, with a total investment of 149.55 trillion VND (US$6.3 billion).

As part of the deal, Deo Ca Group and Petro Trade will pour 27.48 trillion VND into constructing a 103-km section of the railway between Vung Ang Port and Mu Gia Pass in Quang Binh province. The section, which will have one terminal and seven stations, is designed for a top speed of 150 kilometers per hour.

Once put into operation, the project is expected to enhance freight forwarding services between Vietnam and regional countries, notably from Vung Ang Port to the economic centers in the north of Laos and the southern part of China.

Source: Lao News Agency

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Month of Francophonie launched

On the occasion of a reception at the Residence of France in Vientiane on March 3, Ambassador of France Siv-Leng Chhuor officially launched the month of Francophonie, scheduled to be last through the end of this month.

The other French speaking countries represented in Laos namely Switzerland, Canada and Luxembourg are fully associated to this month of celebration.

Alongside Laos, which has been a member of the international organization of the Francophonie since 1972, the French-speaking countries are celebrating this common language by highlighting its richness and modernity.

Over the next few weeks, many activities will be organized to highlight the French language: photo exhibitions, theatre performances, film screenings, activities in bilingual classes and at the national University of Laos, and a spelling competition.

One of the main events will be a French song contest on March 18, at the French Institute of Laos. The full programme is available on the Facebook pages of the French Embassy and French Institute of Laos.

Many French-speaking Laotians attended the opening ceremony: alumni who studied in France, French teachers from schools and universities, students, among others.

In her speech, the French Ambassador thanked her Swiss, Canadian and Luxembourg counterparts for their contribution to the evening.

She reminded the audience that the French-speaking world is a community of nearly 300 million speakers throughout all five continents, who share a language, but also common values. The French language is the second most learned language in the world, with nearly 125 million students and approximately 900,000 teachers.

The Ambassador underlined the success of the many past Francophone projects and said many more were already planned in Laos. She confirmed her participation to the official celebration of the Francophonie that will be organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Pakse on March 23. She also thanked the many actors of the Francophonie in Laos: teachers, students, administrative officials and all the volunteers who keep the French language alive on a daily basis by perpetuating the deep link of friendship that unites Laos and France.

Source: Lao News Agency

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Lao Airlines to re-operate direct fights to Da Nang late this month

Lao Airlines will resume direct flights from Vientiane to Da Nang city, central Vietnam, on March 30.

Accordingly, the Da Nang – Vientiane air route will see two flights per week on Thursdays and Sundays.

Noudeng Chanthaphasouk, commercial director of Lao Airlines, said that the resumption of the direct route, favoured by a large number of tourists before the COVID-19 outbreak, will meet increasing demand of visitors in the region after the removal of travel restrictions caused by the pandemic.

Lao Airlines previously operated the route to Da Nang with stops at Pakxe and Champasak in southern Laos, using ATR72-600 aircraft. However, carrier dropped the Pakxe stop and started nonstop flights just weeks before the two-year pandemic brought all international flights to a halt.

Later this month, it will use airbus A320, with a flight time of 1 hour and 15 minutes and a round-trip ticket costing about 4.8 million LAK (290 USD).

Earlier, Lao Airlines resumed direct flights to Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City right after the country reopen its door for international tourism on May 9, 2022.

Source: Lao News Agency