HONG KONG, CHINA –
Media OutReach
– 3 July 2020 – CIFI
Holdings (Group) Co. Ltd. (“CIFI” or the “Group”, HKEx
stock code: 884) is pleased to announce that in June 2020, the Group achieved
the contracted sales of RMB25.13 billion, representing a YoY increase of
approximately 12% (compared to June 2019). Contracted GFA amounted to
approximately 1,555,600 sq.m.. Contracted ASP was approximately RMB16,200/sq.m.
in June 2020.

For the
first half of 2020, the Group achieved contracted sales of RMB80.73 billion.
Contracted GFA amounted to approximately 4,895,900 sq.m.. Contracted ASP was
approximately RMB16,500/sq.m. from January to June 2020.

For the
first half of 2020, the Group’s contracted sales distribution are as follow:

Land Acquisition

In June
2020, the Group completed the following land acquisitions:

Diversified Land Acquisition Channels

In June
2020, the Group successfully completed the acquisition of Chang’an Road Project
in Huangdao District, Qingdao City and Fenglin New Town Project in Luozhuang
District, Linyi City. They are the eighth and ninth property projects acquired
through diversified land acquisition channels.

Chang’an
Road Project in Huangdao District, Qingdao City is located in the old town of
the West Coast New District, which is one of the state-level new district
earmarked for development. It enjoys convenient transportation as it will be
near the planned metro station on line 6. The project will consist of a commercial
complex and a shopping street modeled on ancient architecture. It will be well
served by comprehensive amenities and facilities in its surrounding area. The
project has locked in GFA of 2 million sq.m. since August 2017, with an
expected saleable value of more than RMB30 billion. The first batch of
development lands were auctioned in June 2020 with the ratio of estimated
contracted sales to land cost at 4.0 times. The estimated saleable resources of
the first batch of development lands is RMB1.5 billion.

Company
News

On 9 June, Central
Wealth Securities initiates coverage on CIFI in a research report, titled
“Steady growth with comprehensive development of high quality and efficiency”.
It is the 40th major securities house in both onshore and offshore market that
cover CIFI. In its research report, Central Wealth Securities highly values
CIFI’s right timing for land acquisitions in property investment cycle and its
outstanding capabilities to steadily increase its equity stakes in property
projects. The securities brokerage firm is also impressed with CIFI’s abilities
to acquire lands through diversified channels, control the land costs, build up
a portfolio of quality lands and the good judgment regarding investment. All
these strengths of CIFI have been driving the growth in both the scale of
business and financial results. At the same time, the Group’s sound financial
management ensures its healthy development while its organizational reform is
conducive to the efficient expansion of its business. Central Wealth Securities
gives a BUY rating and target price of HK$7.50 on CIFI in its initial coverage
of the Company.

On 15 June, CIFI
Holdings is pleased to announce that under the general mandate, the Group
completed an issue of 185 million new shares to a well-known international
long-term fund at the placing price of HK$6.28 per share, representing only
1.26% discount to the closing price of previous trading day and a premium of
6.21% over the average price of previous ten trading days. The result reflects
the strong confidence of this international long-term fund in CIFI and its
future business outlook.  The net
proceeds are approximately HK$1,153 million, which the Group intends to use the
proceeds for project development and as working capital and general corporate
purposes.

• 92% admit to not achieving optimal
  productivity due to a lack of data skills
• 89% say that they face challenges at work as a
  result of not understanding data
• 87% view
  their lack of data competencies as a roadblock to their career development

SINGAPORE
– Media OutReach – 3
July 2020 – As the Covid-19 economy spurs businesses to increase
their reliance of data analytics and business intelligence, employees face the
pressure of keeping pace with the evolving workplace demands. A large
majority of employees (92%) say that they
could be able to do their job better if they were more data literate, while to
a similar measure, 89% say they experience challenges at work due to the lack
of data-related skillsets. These were some of the key findings revealed in the recently launched NTUC LearningHub Data Skills Report,
which features insights from industry leaders such as global tech giant
IBM, Japanese tech conglomerate Softbank and leading analytics software company
Qlik.

The report, entitled ‘A
View From the Ground: Closing the Data Skills Gap in the Covid-19 Era and
Beyond’ uncovers both employers’ and employees’ views on the degree of reliance
on data and business intelligence in Singapore’s business landscape, the
general perception about the data-related competencies of the nation’s
workforce, hiring trends and preferences of businesses here, and
recommendations for closing skills gaps in order for businesses and workers to
remain competitive.

Among
other challenges, employees have voiced that not being competent in data results
in their inability to measure work
outcomes (59%), becoming outdated on current and future business
practices (56%) or
inability to do their jobs well (55%). In addition, while employees voted Data Analysis
(voted by 63%), Data Interpretation for Decision Making in Business (voted by
50%), and Data Protection and Risk Management (voted by 48%) as the most
necessary data skills for their businesses, these skills were perceived as those
in which they lack, as voted by 37%, 30% and 27% of employees, respectively.

When
asked about how the lack of data skills impacted their careers, 87% of employees
raised concerns such
as a falling behind their colleagues in work performance (68%), becoming less
useful to their companies (64%), and having lesser chance of a job promotion (57%).

Commenting on the
findings, NTUC LearningHub’s CEO Kwek Kok Kwong says, “In this new decade, data
literacy will evolve as a basic literacy skill for Worker 4.0 — our future
workers. Reading the report, more workers will be anxious about their data capabilities,
but we are here to assure you that it is a learnable skill if you are willing
to invest time and effort. It is not reserved for an elite few.”

“To make data
literacy more accessible to all, we have been working with esteemed industry
players such as Qlik, Microsoft Power BI, Tableau, and many more. Like learning
all new things, it can be daunting in the beginning but taking the first step
forward is a success in itself. If you are new to data and the many business
benefits it brings, take this first step by reading the report, exploring the
options and make the first commitment to learn this emerging core skill of the
decade.”

To download the full
NTUC LearningHub Data Skills Report 2020, visit: www.ntuclearninghub.com/data-skills-2020/

About NTUC LearningHub

NTUC LearningHub was corporatised in 2004 with the vision of
transforming the lifelong employability of working people. We work with both
corporate and individual clients to provide learning solutions in areas such as
Infocomm Technology, Healthcare, Employability & Literacy, Business Excellence,
Workplace Safety & Health, Security, Human Resources and Foreign Worker
Training.

To date, NTUC LearningHub has helped over 21,000 organisations and
achieved over 2.5 million training places across more than 500 courses with a
pool of over 400 certified trainers. As a Total Learning Solutions provider to
organisations, we also forge partnerships and provide a wide range of relevant
end-to-end training solutions and work constantly to improve our training
quality and delivery. 

For more information, visit www.ntuclearninghub.com.

NEW
YORK, USA – EQS Newswire –
3 July 2020 – Focus Financial Partners Inc. (NASDAQ: FOCS) (“Focus”),
a leading partnership of fiduciary wealth management firms, announced today
that five advisors with Melbourne-based Escala Partners Limited (“Escala”), a
Focus partner firm, were named to Australia’s Top 100 Financial Advisers List
2020. The list is based on an extensive, national survey conducted by Barron’s
and The Australian‘s business magazine The Deal, and is a guide
to the country’s leading wealth management advisors.

Escala
was established with the collective ambition to become the new standard of
personalized wealth management in Australia. The firm quickly emerged as a leading
fiduciary wealth advisor to individuals, families, foundations and institutional investors across
Australia, providing them
with customized investment solutions through a collaborative, team-based
approach. Escala’s client
relationships are sustained over time through their dedication to highly personalized
service and an ongoing commitment to innovation in defining the standards for excellence
in the Australian wealth management industry.

Mason
Allamby, Scott Carmichael, Steve Collins, Amanda Fong and Ben James are
Partners and members of the original group of Escala founders who started the
firm in 2013. They each have deep expertise in multiple areas of wealth
management, including financial planning, asset allocation, tax strategy and,
in Ms. Fong’s case, the not-for-profit space.

“We are honored
to have such an impressive group of our advisors named to the Top 100 Financial
Advisors list,” said Pep Perry, CEO of Escala. “They embody the collaborative
approach and dedication to client service that are the foundation of Escala and
make our firm uniquely successful.”

“We are thrilled for Escala on receiving
this important recognition,” said Rajini Kodialam, Co-Founder and Chief
Operating Officer of Focus. “Their team of talented advisors are leaders
in their field and have been at the forefront of the evolution of the
Australian wealth management industry. Their passion for excellence is at the
core of everything that they do for their clients and positions them for strong
growth in the years ahead.”

About Focus Financial Partners Inc.

Focus Financial Partners Inc. is a leading
partnership of fiduciary wealth management firms. Focus provides access to best
practices, resources, and continuity planning for its partner firms who serve
individuals, families, employers and institutions with comprehensive wealth
management services. Focus partner firms maintain their operational autonomy,
while they benefit from the synergies, scale, economics and best practices
offered by Focus to achieve their business objectives. For more information
about Focus, please visit www.focusfinancialpartners.com.

About Escala Partners Limited

Founded
in 2013, Escala provides objective advice and investment management solutions
to high net worth individuals, families, foundations and institutional
investors. Escala serves its clients through a collaborative, team-based
approach focused on the client experience, a relationship built on trust and
sustained over time by performance in line with evolving investment objectives.
For more information about Escala, please visit https://escalapartners.com.au. 

About The Australia’s Top 100 Financial Advisers List 2020 Rankings

Barron’s and The Australian‘s business
magazine The Deal rank investment advisers based on client
assets managed by the adviser, fees and revenue generated by their business,
and the quality of the adviser’s business (as measured by factors including the
adviser’s experience, credentials, client-service resources, and charitable and
philanthropic work).

Cautionary Note Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

This
release contains certain forward-looking statements that reflect Focus’ current
views with respect to certain current and future events. These forward-looking
statements are and will be, subject to many risks, uncertainties and factors
relating to Focus’ operations and business environment, including, without
limitation, uncertainty surrounding the current COVID-19 pandemic, which
may cause future events to be materially different from these forward-looking
statements or anything implied therein. Any forward-looking statements in this
release are based upon information available to Focus on the date of this
release. Focus does not undertake to publicly update or revise its
forward-looking statements even if experience or future changes make it clear
that any statements expressed or implied therein will not be realized.
Additional information on risk factors that could affect Focus may be found in
Focus’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Any
services described in this release are not intended for United States persons.