THE GSMA has cancelled Mobile World Congress (MWC) Barcelona 2020.

"Since the first edition of Mobile World Congress in Barcelona in 2006, the GSMA has convened the industry, governments, ministers, policymakers, operators and industry leaders across the broader ecosystem," a spokesperson said.

"With due regard to the safe and healthy environment in Barcelona and the host country today, the GSMA has cancelled MWC Barcelona 2020 because the global concern regarding the coronavirus outbreak, travel concern and other circumstances, make it impossible for the GSMA to hold the event.

"The host city parties respect and understand this decision," the spokesperson said.

"The GSMA and the host city parties will continue to be working in unison and supporting each other for MWC Barcelona 2021 and future editions.

"Our sympathies at this time are with those affected in China, and all around the world."

Further updates from the GSMA, are on the website  www.mwcbarcelona.com.

About the GSMA

The GSMA represents the interests of mobile operators worldwide, uniting more than 750 operators and nearly 400 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem, including handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and internet companies, as well as organisations in adjacent industry sectors. The GSMA also produces the industry-leading MWC events held annually in Barcelona, Shanghai and Los Angeles, as well as the Mobile 360 Series of regional conferences.

www.gsma.com. Twitter: @GSMA.

UNION members are playing a vital role in the recovery process of bushfire affected communities.

Unions NSW secretary Mark Morey said unions were offering their members support to cope with the trauma they had experienced, as well as providing practical support rebuilding communities.

“This work will be needed not just for a few weeks but for a few years. It’s up to the union movement to make sure affected workers and their communities remain at the forefront of everyone’s mind,” Mr Morey said.

Morey launched the innovative online professional development carried out by the IEUA NSW/ACT Branch to provide online trauma advice to 480 teachers and support staff, 350 of whom actively participated. Many were from the south coast of NSW, which was severely impacted by fires.

“This is a model for the type of support unions can offer their members. This initiative is bringing people together in an innovative way through a huge online union meeting. These innovative strategies enable workers to form connections and network with each other,” Mr Morey said.

“It’s particularly important that teachers and school support staff, who are central to the recovery process moving forward, are offered this type of assistance.”

The course, Responding to Bushfire Trauma,  was conducted, free of charge for non government school staff who are members of the IEU, by Professor Lisa Gibbs and Jane Nursey of the University of Melbourne, authors of the study Delayed Disaster Impacts on Academic Performance of Primary School Children (2019).

IEUA NSW/ACT Branch secretary Mark Northam said it was important for school staff to attend to their own wellbeing so they could provide the best possible support and education for their students.

“Schools and early childhood services are important community hubs during crisis, and we are doing our best to make sure teachers and support staff are supported and can continue to provide a safe haven for children,” Mr Northam said.

IEUA NSW/ACT Branch is also claiming up to five days paid leave per year for employees, unable to attend work due to a natural disaster, in its current negotiations for the NSW and ACT Catholic Systemic Schools Enterprise Agreement 2020-2022.

Morey said all future awards and enterprise agreement negotiations should include considerations of our changing climate, with flexible arrangements to allow employees to deal with emergency situations such as the recent bushfires.

New guidelines on how to deal with hazards such as poor air quality are also required, he said. The ACTU is now examining all these issues.

“Unions will take  a holistic approach to dealing with all aspects of climate change. Our members are at the front line  when it comes to tackling natural disasters,” Mr Morey said.

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CORPORATE advisory and investment firm Shape Capital announced today that its Brisbane based client SQID Technologies Limited successfully completed listing on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) on January 21, 2020 under the symbol CSE:SQID.

SQID is a payment processor enabling merchants to receive debit or credit card payments. For the fiscal year ended June 2019, SQID reported total transaction value of $163 million and revenues of $5,403,525 and profit before income tax of $1,147,722 reflecting a 72 percent increase in revenues and 85 percent increase in its profit before income tax over the same period for the fiscal year 2018.

A team of advisors handled the listing with Shape Capital acting as the Australian corporate advisor to the transaction in collaboration with TriPoint Global Equities/BANQ® in NY and Australian based First Growth Funds Limited.

"Listing Australian companies on the CSE is cost effective and a more streamlined process compared to listing on the ASX. The CSE provides Australian companies with a great launch pad into North America to gain market exposure, access to new investors and help create shareholder value," said Anoosh Manzoori, CEO of Shape Capital.

SQID's technology provides merchant services and transaction processing to business merchants and ecommerce customers across both ‘business to business'; (B2B) and ‘business to consumer'; (B2C) segments to bridge both retail and wholesale transactions through its platform.

Its technology is powerfully structured to allow layered access to payment and merchant transaction data, and integrates these retail and wholesale layers (creating many separate customer nodes within the network), providing split settlements between each layer. This provides a broad platform for commission structures and transaction-based rewards that are settled at the same time as the underlying transaction is settled. The business model is applicable to significant business channels including affiliate marketing, rewards programs, franchises, marketplace apps, agencies and more.

SQID has established itself as a relationship payment provider and payment facilitator in the Payment Processing industry, which specialises in delivering ecommerce solutions to businesses that have their ‘card-not-present' commercial outcomes dependent on two or more businesses. This has delivered sizeable growth in revenue as the model is based on engaging one referrer who then refers additional merchants. The company has concentrated on building relationships with merchants and providing incentives to merchants for referrals to new business opportunities. This has resulted in substantial growth with minimal overhead and resources.

The SQID business has a proven business model of delivering sustained profitability over time. Revenue growth has been achieved through strong growth from merchants in industries related to training and education.

www.sqidpay.com.

About Shape Capital

Shape Capital is an investment and corporate advisory firm that positions, prepares and shapes clients for specific events, including mergers and acquisitions, capital raisings and IPOs. As an independent advisory firm, Shape Capital advises private and public companies and has extensive experience in cross-boarder transactions with a strong focus on the technology sector. Shape Capital works with high growth companies to assist with strategy, timing, structure, valuation, and provides access to a large global network of investors. Shape Capital holds an Authorised Corporate Representative of an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) with head office in Melbourne, Australia. http://www.shape.capital 

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THE Financial Services Council (FSC) has today published its submission on the 2020–21 Budget, which outlines a solution to a long-standing problem: how to modernise legacy products in financial services.

FSC CEO Sally Loane said many Australians are being substantially disadvantaged by being locked into out-of-date legacy financial products that lack the better returns, better features and easier access of more modern products.

“Financial services businesses including superannuation funds and life insurers are unable to move customers into more modern products for a raft of complex reasons, including large tax or social security penalties. Despite widespread recognition of the need for a modernisation scheme, no noticeable progress has been made in more than 15 years,” Ms Loane said.

“To expedite the modernisation of legacy products, the FSC recommends the Government explore an institutional mechanism, such as a tribunal, where independent experts could facilitate the removal of barriers that have long prevented consumers from being rolled into modern products.

“This would help address the concerns of both consumers and industry by providing greater certainty, transparency and timeliness around a process that has historically proved difficult to negotiate.

“The Productivity Commission (PC) in its 2019 report into the superannuation industry found there was $162 billion invested in legacy superannuation products, which is 10 percent of the total assets held in large superannuation funds," she said.

“We are talking about significant amounts of money trapped in outdated products, often providing poor results for consumers – we are urging the Government to implement this already existing commitment to fix this, which is now clearly overdue.

“A modernisation scheme would be a win for the community, a win for the economy, and a win for Governments who would have a long-term boost to tax revenue while saving on Age Pension spending.”

Read the submission in full here: https://fsc.org.au/resources/1928-fsc-submission-budget-2020-21/file

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