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Global bidding frenzy shatters records at Heffel auction

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Exceptional results achieved at Heffel spring auction, totalling a staggering $22.6MPacked Toronto auction room with cheers from the crowd and remote bidder enthusiasmHighlights included collection of legendary art dealer Torben V. Kristiansen, and masterworks by Jean Paul Riopelle, Tom Thomson, Emily Carr and othersWhite-glove session of Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art (100% sold)

TORONTO, May 23, 2024 /CNW/ – Today in Toronto, Heffel Fine Art Auction House hosted its highly-anticipated spring auction, showcasing more than 90 outstanding works of art to a packed sale room, buzzing with excitement. The auction was nothing short of spectacular, leading the market with three sessions of record-breaking sales of artworks that helped shape Canadian art history. A breathtaking Jean Paul Riopelle painting from the esteemed collection of Torben V. Kristiansen headlined the event, joined by masterpieces from Tom Thomson, Emily Carr and other art giants, collectively fetching an astounding $22.6 million. The event took place in Heffel’s Toronto cutting-edge auction venue, expertly blending live action with a remote audience through their Digital Saleroom, uniting collectors from across the globe in a shared celebration of art. (All prices are in Canadian dollars and include a buyer’s premium.)

A very special addition to Heffel’s time-honoured sessions of Post-War & Contemporary Art and Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art was Legendary: The Collection of Torben V. Kristiansen, one of the most extraordinary single-consignor collections ever to come to market in Canada. Kristiansen, who passed away in 2023, was a legendary figure in Canada’s art world, and was known for his impeccable taste and deep love for the works he collected. The remarkable selection of works garnered global participation for coveted masterpieces and rare gems by the biggest names in Canadian art. The works from the collection totalled an astounding $9.1 million.

“The energy in the room tonight was absolutely electric,” said Robert Heffel, Vice President of Heffel Fine Art Auction House. “The excitement and competitive spirit among bidders were a testament to the enduring appreciation for masterworks of exceptional quality. It was truly a privilege to witness the enthusiasm from across the world.”

Highlights from the Heffel Spring 2024 Live Auction

Jean Paul Riopelle took centre stage, where his 10 outstanding works collectively garnered a staggering $6 million. His works sparked global interest and were led by the incredibly rare 1949 drip canvas, Verts ombreuses, which sold for $2,761,250 (est. $2,500,000 – 3,500,000) and his commanding 1954 masterpiece, Sans titre which fetched $1,321,250 (est. $1,200,000 – 1,600,000).Hugely important works by Emily Carr highlighted the white-glove session of Canadian, Impressionist & Modern Art. The famous War Canoes, Alert Bay, a precursor to her famous canvas of the same title in the collection of the Audain Art Museum, as well as Scorned as Timber, Beloved of the Sky, a study for a major work in the collection of the Vancouver Art Gallery each sold for $871,250. Heffel is proud to be synonymous with Emily Carr’s market, which continues to draw impressive results and attention from around the world.Due to Tom Thomson‘s untimely and mysterious death, his paintings are considered some of the most coveted in Canadian art. The Kristiansen collection featured three of his rare and impactful oil sketches, with Colourful Maples fetching $961,250 (est. $700,000$900,000) and Fall Woods, Algonquin Park selling for $931,250 (est. $500,000$700,000).Important works by members of the Group of Seven drew major competition in the auction and soared past their estimated values. A.J. Casson’s graphic and atmospheric Summer Sky fetched $781,250 (est. $150,000 – 250,000) and Lawren Harris’ mesmerising abstract canvas, Mountain Experience reached $541,250 (est. $150,000 – 250,000).Mary Pratt‘s Girl in My Dressing Gown, the intimate and captivating portrait of muse Donna Meaney, set a deserving new record for the artist at $289,250. This special canvas was one of the finest paintings by Pratt to ever grace the art market and is truly museum-quality (est. $150,000 – $250,000).A stunning seascape by Takao Tanabe, a showstopper at the Heffel previews across Canada, shattered the previous artist record by a wide margin. Nootka 1/91: in Hanna Channel, the serene yet powerful 1991 canvas sold for an impressive $451,250, well above its presale estimate of $60,000 to $80,000.Two of Andy Warhol‘s most sought-after prints stood out amongst the contemporary works on offer. The vibrant hot pink Marilyn Monroe (Marilyn) sold for $205,250 (est. $80,000 – 120,000) and the iconic Mick Jagger sold for $157,250 (est. $80,000 – 100,000). The market for Warhol’s work remains strong, consistently demonstrating high demand and impressive auction results.Notable examples by six important artists set new benchmarks in the Heffel auction. In addition to Takao Tanabe and Mary Pratt, artist records were achieved with Prudence Heward’s exceptional Sunflowers which sold for $301,250, the rare Still Life with Fruit and Blue Teapot by Christiane Pflug which sold for $25,000.

For more information on the works included in Heffel’s spring live auction, visit www.heffel.com.

Additional works from the Collection of Torben V. Kristiansen are currently on offer through a curated Heffel online auction, closing on May 30, with future auctions to follow.

Heffel is now welcoming consignments for the fall 2024 auction season, encompassing international and Canadian works of art. The deadline for fall consignments is August 2024.

About Heffel Fine Art Auction House
Since 1978, Heffel has connected passionate collectors across the world with outstanding works of art, with sales totaling three quarters of a billion dollars. Heffel is renowned for its expertise in effectively managing and handling estates, serving as trusted experts for navigating the complexities of art collections inherited from estates with precision and care. With facilities in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa and Calgary, Heffel has the most experienced team of fine art specialists in Canada and provides premium client service to both sellers and buyers internationally.

SOURCE Heffel Fine Art Auction House

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SK hynix Begins Mass Production of 192GB SOCAMM2 ‘Setting a New Standard for AI Server Memory Performance’

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–     Mass production of 192GB high capacity products designed for the NVIDIA Vera Rubin platform
–     Maximizes power efficiency by featuring high density DRAM based on the latest 1cnm process
–     Company to closely collaborate with NVIDIA to solve bottlenecks in AI infrastructure and provide optimal performance

SEOUL, South Korea, April 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — SK hynix Inc. (or “the company”, www.skhynix.com) announced today that it has begun mass production of the 192GB SOCAMM2, a next-generation memory module standard based on the 1cnm process (sixth-generation of the 10-nanometer technology) LPDDR5X low-power DRAM.

SOCAMM2[1] is a module that adapts low-power memory – which was previously used mainly in mobile products like smartphones – for server environments. It is designed to be a primary memory solution for next-generation AI servers.

[1]SOCAMM2 (Small Outline Compression Attached Memory Module 2): An AI server–optimized memory module based on LPDDR. It offers a slim form factor and high scalability, while its compression connector enhances signal integrity and allows for easy module replacement

SK hynix emphasized that the 1cnm based SOCAMM2 product that is now in mass production delivers more than double the bandwidth with over 75% improved power efficiency compared to conventional RDIMM[2], providing an optimized solution for high performance AI operations.

[2]RDIMM (Registered Dual In-Line Memory Module): DRAM module for server/workstation that includes a register or buffer chip to relay address and command signals between the memory controller and DRAM chip in a memory module

In particular, the company noted that its SOCAMM2 products are designed for NVIDIA Vera Rubin platform.

SK hynix expects the new SOCAMM2 product will fundamentally resolve the memory bottlenecks encountered during the training and inference of large language model (LLM) with hundreds of billions of parameters, thereby playing a pivotal role in dramatically accelerating the processing speed of the overall system.

The company stated that with the AI market shifting focus from inference to training, SOCAMM2 is gaining significant attention as a next-generation memory solution capable of operating LLMs with low power consumption. To meet the demands of its global Cloud Service Provider (CSP) customers, SK hynix has not only been providing a supply portfolio, but also stabilized its mass production system early on.

“By supplying the 192GB SOCAMM2, SK hynix has established a new standard for AI memory performance,” Justin Kim, President & Head of AI Infra (CMO, Chief Marketing Officer) at SK hynix said. “We will solidify our position as the most trusted AI memory solution provider, through close collaboration with our global AI customers.”

About SK hynix Inc.

SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world’s top-tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (“DRAM”) and flash memory chips (“NAND flash”) for a wide range of distinguished customers globally. The Company’s shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK hynix is available at www.skhynix.com, news.skhynix.com.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sk-hynix-begins-mass-production-of-192gb-socamm2–setting-a-new-standard-for-ai-server-memory-performance-302746711.html

SOURCE SK hynix Inc.

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EBANX announces expansion into four Southeast Asian countries and Turkey, unlocking a USD 610 billion digital market

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Following the inauguration of its Asia-Pacific Headquarters in Singapore, EBANX brings its payments infrastructure to Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Turkey, opening access to more than 380 million consumers for global merchants

SINGAPORE, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — EBANX, a global technology company specializing in cross-border payment services for emerging markets, today announced it will begin operating in five new countries: Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Turkey. With this expansion, EBANX will have integrated payment methods across seven economies in Asia, including India and the Philippines. Combined, they represent a USD 610 billion opportunity in digital commerce and more than 1.1 billion consumers, according to data from Payments and Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI) and World Data Lab (WDL) analyzed by EBANX. The five new markets alone account for 57% of that volume and 386 million of those consumers — whose spending is projected to grow 97% over the next decade, faster than regions like Europe, the US, and Canada, per WDL data featured in EBANX’s Beyond Borders 2026 study.

EBANX’s announcement follows a series of milestones in the region: the inauguration of its Asia-Pacific Headquarters in Singapore, a Major Payment Institution (MPI) license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and the appointment of Eduardo de Abreu as Chief Product Officer (CPO) and regional CEO of EBANX Singapore.

“Asia is where the world’s fastest-growing consumer base is, and also where some of the most ambitious digital companies are headquartered,” said João Del Valle, Co-founder and CEO of EBANX. “Our investment in the region allows us to be closer to both. Global companies need local payment infrastructure to reach Asian consumers, and Asian companies need that same expertise to sell internationally. The opportunity runs in both directions.”

Among the five new EBANX’s additions, Vietnam is the fastest-growing digital commerce market, with a 22% compound annual rate through 2027, according to PCMI projections — rising from USD 36 billion to USD 44 billion. The others are not far behind. Indonesia will expand 19% over the same period, from USD 106 billion to USD 125 billion. Turkey’s 15% growth takes it from USD 123 billion to USD 142 billion. Malaysia and Thailand round out the group at 16% and 15%, respectively.

As global merchants look to diversify beyond established markets like the U.S., Europe, Brazil, and Mexico, cross-border demand in these economies is already waiting for them: international transactions account for 30% of e-commerce volume in Thailand and Malaysia, and 28% in the Philippines.

EBANX’s operations in Indonesia, Thailand, and Turkey are already available to merchants, with Malaysia and Vietnam set to follow in the next quarter. These operations will be fully supported by EBANX’s APAC HQ in Singapore.

A region that skipped the card era

Southeast Asia’s payment landscape is structurally distinct from other emerging markets. EBANX’s new countries of payment operations largely bypassed card infrastructure entirely, going from cash straight to e-wallets and account-to-account (A2A) transfers. Combined, those two methods account for 65% of e-commerce in Thailand, 61% in Indonesia, 50% in the Philippines, 35% in Malaysia, and 21% in Vietnam, according to PCMI.

“This did not happen by accident,” explained Eduardo de Abreu, Chief Product Officer and regional CEO of EBANX Singapore. “Southeast Asia has one of the youngest, most digitally fluent consumer populations in the world. Many of them got their first smartphone before they ever had a bank account, and certainly before they had a credit card. Digital wallets and instant transfers solved a real problem for a generation that was already living online.”

According to WDL data analysed by EBANX, Southeast Asia and India are the only regions where Generation Z holds the largest share of online spending across all verticals, at 27%. Elsewhere in Asia, Generation X leads at 30% — nearly double Gen Z’s 18% share.

How to reach local consumers

That payment landscape has become a barrier for global companies looking to scale in the region. According to an EBANX survey with its merchants, its fragmentation and low card usage often lead to performance issues that prevent them from reaching local consumers.

“The global companies we talk to about Southeast Asia are no longer asking about the region’s potential; they are asking how to unlock that potential and achieve high conversion rates,” said Abreu. “Our APAC Headquarters in Singapore gives us the regulatory anchor and the operational proximity to build country-by-country solutions that actually convert. We have been working toward this expansion for years, and the infrastructure is ready.”

Considering the seven Asian countries in EBANX’s portfolio, the company will have integrated more than 20 payment methods across the region. Among them are some of the most widely used alternative payment methods in each market, such as digital wallets and account-to-account (A2A) transactions—like bank transfers and QR-based paymentsas well as credit and debit cards.

ABOUT EBANX

EBANX is the leading technology platform connecting global businesses to the world’s fastest-growing digital markets. Founded in 2012 in Brazil, EBANX was built with a mission to expand access to international digital commerce. Leveraging proprietary technology, deep market expertise, and robust infrastructure, the platform enables global businesses to offer hundreds of local payment methods and streamline cross-border payments across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. With a global footprint, it established a technology and regulatory headquarters in Singapore in 2026. More than just payments, EBANX drives growth, enhances sales, and delivers seamless purchase experiences for businesses and end users alike.

For further information, please visit:
Website: https://www.ebanx.com/en/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ebanx

Media Contact:
Shan Huang
shan.huang@ahgstrategies.com 

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SOURCE EBANX

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Agoda Report Highlights Opportunities for Japanese Hoteliers to Capture Asia’s Travelers as Only 34% Reach Advanced Localization

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Insights from Agoda’s latest report highlight how moving beyond basic localization can drive stronger revenue outcomes as Japan sees rising intra-Asia travel demand

SINGAPORE, April 20, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Digital travel platform Agoda, in its latest deep dive report “Tailored to Win: Mastering Localization to Capture Asia’s Travelers in Japan“, reveals opportunities for Japanese hotels to capture more value from Asia’s fast-growing travel demand, with only 34% of properties having progressed beyond basic localization strategies.

Among surveyed properties, 71% of hotels at early stages of localization report positive revenue outcomes, compared to all hotels that have implemented more advanced localization, showing that while early efforts are delivering results, a more holistic approach maximizes commercial outcomes.

According to the Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO), the market welcomed over 42 million international visitors in 2025, a 16% year-on-year increase, with Asian travelers accounting for over 80% of all arrivals.[1]  With such a high concentration of regional travelers, tailored strategies are becoming essential for hotels looking to better capture Japan’s Asian visitor market.

Agoda’s report highlights that with around 7 in 10 visitors coming from just five key Asian markets (South Korea, China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Thailand), hotels need to move beyond one-size-fits-all strategies and tailor their offerings to the distinct preferences of each market, whether through localized digital payment options, language support or culturally relevant on-site experiences. Hotels that adopt this more integrated approach are already seeing results, with around 80% of surveyed hoteliers reporting improvements in bookings.

“Only 34% of hotels have reached advanced stages of localization today with real opportunity lying in accelerating these efforts across the guest experience,” said Tadashi Ikai, Senior Country Director for Japan at Agoda. “By closing gaps across payments, language, and cultural understanding, hotels can better connect with Japan’s highly concentrated Asian traveler base and turn this into a sustained competitive advantage.”

Despite the potential results, Japanese hotels face several challenges in advancing localization efforts. According to the report, hoteliers cite limitations in payment integrations and marketing resources (each at 51%) as key barriers, alongside gaps in foreign language capabilities and awareness of cultural norms (each at 49%). These constraints continue to slow the adoption of more advanced, market-specific strategies.

As Japan’s tourism landscape becomes increasingly shaped by regional travel, the ability to deliver culturally attuned and localized guest experiences is becoming a key differentiator. To help partners navigate these challenges, Agoda’s report includes targeted “Quick Wins” based on traveler motivations:

South Korean Travelers: Seeks cultural exploration and unique local experiencesChinese Travelers: Spends more on experiences such as dining and activities rather than accommodationTaiwanese Travelers: Strongly motivated by culinary exploration and wellness experiencesHong Kong Travelers: Frequent, tech-savvy repeat visitors who value flexibility and convenienceThai Travelers: Often travel in families and favor budget-conscious, short-haul getaways

Agoda’s digital suite for localization draws on a global network of over 6 million diverse accommodations across markets, enabling partners to better align their offerings with the preferences of different traveler segments. With support for 39 languages, multi-currency payment options, and 24/7 customer support, Agoda helps hotels deliver more seamless and locally relevant experiences. Dedicated programs such as the Agoda Growth Program for visibility in priority markets, country-specific promotions and Agoda Media Solutions for native-language campaigns further support partners in localizing effectively. Through Agoda’s platform and expertise, hotels can overcome barriers, reach new segments and optimize their returns from international demand.

To explore how practical localization tips and actionable insights can help hotels capture more value from Asia’s diverse traveler base, download the full report at https://ago-da.co/4bAITjm.

[1] Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) (2025), “Tourism Statistics Database – Inbound Travel to Japan (Annual Data 2025).”
Available at: https://www.tourism.jp/en/tourism-database/stats/inbound/

 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/agoda-report-highlights-opportunities-for-japanese-hoteliers-to-capture-asias-travelers-as-only-34-reach-advanced-localization-302739301.html

SOURCE Agoda

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