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Trip.Biz White Paper: APAC Tops Global Business Travel Spending, AI & ESG as Key Transformative Factors

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SINGAPORE, Aug. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Trip.Biz, the corporate travel arm of Trip.com Group, released its Corporate Travel Management Market White Paper, highlighting the key trends and behaviours in the business travel landscape. Informed by nearly 2,000 respondents*, the White Paper included data from an online survey and face-to-face interviews, as well as third-party research.

Corporate travel soars, especially in Asia

Like leisure travel, business travel is on the rise. Global business travel spending maintained strong growth in the first half of 2023 and is expected to recover to USD 1.5 trillion by 2024, according to a report issued by the Global Business Travel Association.

The APAC region is leading in business travel expenditure, with a projected growth of 41.2%. Specifically, business travel spending in Singapore, Thailand, and New Zealand is expected to grow by more than 75%, ranking these countries as the top three in the region. Additionally, Japan and South Korea, along with European counterparts Italy and the UK, are also experiencing rapid growth in business travel spending.

Trip.Biz is staying ahead of the region’s meteoric rise, with its headquarters in Singapore and partnerships with Japan, Vietnam, Thailand and London. Further expansions are also planned in Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea and more.

Elsewhere in Asia, China’s resurgence as the world’s largest business travel market is particularly noteworthy. Its business travel market recovered at a rate of 39.2% in 2023 and is expected to return to 2019 levels by 2024. The recovery of its outbound market has been driven by recent visa-free policies, with Southeast Asia emerging as a major destination. China is also attracting international travellers, with cities such as Hangzhou and Nanjing gaining prominence as business travel destinations. Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou remain among the most popular cities for business travel.

AI and ESG: transforming business travel

According to Trip.Biz’s survey, over 50% of businesses said they are likely to adopt AI technologies. Travel managers and travellers expressed hope that AI could be used in itinerary planning, process optimisation, data analysis and more to minimise human error and repetitive tasks.

Such advancements have the potential to revolutionise business travel management, and Trip.com Group has been at the forefront of this transformation, testing various “AI + tourism” applications. For instance, its intuitive AI assistant, TripGenie, can generate travel recommendations within seconds based on user prompts or questions in the app. Plans are also underway to make TripGenie available to business travellers on Trip.Biz.

Moreover, AI has enhanced internal work efficiency at Trip.Biz and supported the customer service team in resolving inquiries and delivering a seamless experience for travellers.

AI’s impact extends beyond bookings and data gathering. It can also verify the authenticity of invoices during reimbursement, reducing administrative burdens. In the near future, AI is expected to amplify personalisation and become multimodal, though regulatory concerns remain.

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors are increasingly important for businesses and investors, with lower-emission flights and hotels taking lower-carbon initiatives being key considerations for pursuing more sustainable travel. 91.6% of business travellers are likely to choose these options. The top three business ESG measures include encouraging such choices, as well as prioritising employee welfare and advocating for paperless offices.

To further this goal, Trip.Biz is one of the leading TMC companies to publish flight carbon emission data in 2022. By 2023, this expanded to include carbon emission data for hotels, trains, and cars in selected regions, along with corporate carbon emission credit accounts, carbon budgeting and control.

Trends: the top likes and dislikes of business travellers

International business travel is seeing distinct trends in traveller preferences emerge.

For accommodation, business travellers surveyed cited flexibility and efficiency, a quiet environment and safety as their top priorities. Mid-range to high-end hotels are preferred among them.

Regarding flight booking, direct routes are the most sought-after, even outweighing suitable flight arrival and departure times. Once on board, travellers also highly value comfort and service quality.

Ground transportation is also evolving. Satisfaction with train and high-speed railway services is largely influenced by the overall environment, making the launch of Biz Travel’s Train Seat Selection function in 2024 especially timely. This new feature enhances travel by allowing passengers to select their seats. For car use and rental, safety remains the top priority, even surpassing comfort and travel policies.

Another key trend is the rise of “special forces” business travel, reflecting a rapid, military-style approach to travel favoured by younger professionals. This corporate travel trend emphasises advanced planning, efficient itineraries, and cost minimisation. For instance, such business travellers book typically book their trips at least two weeks in advance, arrive at airports 1.5 hours before departure, and often stay only 1-2 days in hotels. Check-ins generally occur around 19:00, with check-outs by 8:00, indicating a preference for tighter schedules.

On the other end, “bleisure” travel is on the rise, with 95% of business travellers in 2023 expressing a willingness to combine business and leisure activities, a 3.7% increase from 2022. Overall, more business travellers are going further too, as more long-distance routes resume.

Business travel offers great growth opportunities in a recovering market. However, companies also face challenges such as rising costs of flights, hotels and other travel services. Employees mention issues with accommodation conditions, sleep quality, and long transport times during trips. Post-trip, managing receipts and securing reimbursements can be challenging.

“Trip.Biz aims to offer quality business travel solutions that address these challenges and maximise opportunities with an all-in-one digital business travel solution,” said Violet Zong, Chief Marketing Officer of Trip.Biz. “Through initiatives such as offering extensive content with exclusive rates and data-driven consultancy, we are committed to providing seamless travel experiences that enhance productivity and support business growth.”

For more detailed insights, read the full Trip.Biz Corporate Travel Management Market White Paper.

*Respondents from mainland China

About Trip.Biz

Trip.Biz is a digital TMC powered by Trip.com group. Headquartered in Singapore, Trip.Biz is elevating business travel management through human-centric technology, rich inventory, and sustainable solutions, all on one platform. With roots dating back to 2006, Trip.Biz has already garnered the trust of over 15,000 large-scale corporations and more than 1,000,000 small to medium-sized enterprises in business travel across the globe. Our global customer service POSs cater to clients across different time zones. Trip.Biz is committed to providing cost-effective and time-efficient solutions that enable businesses to focus on what really matters – growth and success. By saving on travel, businesses can invest more in their core operations, expand their reach, and achieve their goals.

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SOURCE Trip.Biz

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Sungrow Opens Australia’s New Solar & Battery Experience Hub, Bringing the Future of Clean Energy Closer to Home

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SUNSHINE COAST, Australia, July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Sungrow, the globally leading PV inverter and energy storage system provider, officially opened its brand new Solar & Battery Experience Hub, marking a significant milestone in the company’s long-term investment in the Australian renewable energy market.

Located on the Sunshine Coast, one of Australia’s most sustainability-focused regions, the Hub is Sungrow’s first solar and battery experience centre in the country. Visitors can explore advanced renewable technologies, see real-time demonstrations, and receive tailored home and commercial energy advice. Serving as an essential bridge to the region, the Hub is dedicated to establishing broad and deep connections with the local community. By partnering with residents, businesses, and non-profit organizations to deliver technical training, sustainability education, and diverse community events, it will work hand in hand to drive the sustainable prosperity of the local community. Meanwhile, powered entirely by Sungrow’s inverter and battery system, the centre serves as a working example of how commercial buildings can operate efficiently and sustainably.

The opening ceremony was attended by Sunshine Coast Mayor Rosanna Natoli, Queensland Government representative Kendall Hatcher MP, local community organisation leaders, prominent figures from the Australian renewable energy industry, and Sungrow Australia executives, highlighting a shared commitment to accelerating the clean energy transition through strong local collaboration.

In the opening addresses, the Mayor affirmed the vital role of the Experience Hub in helping the Sunshine Coast region embrace technological innovation for sustainability. The State Government representative also highly praised the Hub’s outstanding sense of community spirit and the significant, positive impact it brings to local development.

Bringing Renewable Energy to Life 

With more than 600,000 residential and commercial installations across Australia and over 14 years of local market presence, Sungrow has become one of the country’s most trusted and bankable solar brands.

The centre features three immersive experience zones:

Sungrow Journey – showcasing its global innovation, local milestones and long-term commitment to Australia.

Live Experience Area – interacting with Sungrow’s latest residential solar, battery storage and EV charging solutions through live product demonstrations and real-time system management.

Smart Hub Experience – presenting the next generation intelligent home energy management, including battery optimisation, energy monitoring and future-ready smart energy technologies that help households maximise energy independence.

Built with the Community, for the Community

Meanwhile, Sungrow also donated two sets of energy storage systems to local charities, reinforcing its commitment to supporting the Sunshine Coast community.

The Hub will collaborate closely with local elite installers, ensuring visitors receive professional guidance, trusted installation support, and personalised energy solutions. Furthermore, the Hub will continuously host renewable energy event series and specialised workshops tailored for homeowners, first-time homebuyers, commercial developers, corporate partners, educational institutions (including schools, TAFEs, and universities), as well as government and community representatives.

“Sungrow Australia has been a trusted part of everyday life for families, installers, and industry partners across the country. Today, we take an important step forward. More than a physical space, it is a place where people can experience clean energy firsthand, learn from industry experts, and gain the confidence to make smarter energy decisions,” said Neil Yang, Channel Sales Manager at Sungrow Australia. “Following 14 years of continuous support from the local community, we made the significant decision to establish this experience hub on the Sunshine Coast. Our long-term vision is to replicate this model across major towns and cities in Australia, creating more opportunities for renewable energy education, community engagement, local employment, and sustainable infrastructure.”

A New Era of Home Energy Future

The Sungrow Solar & Battery Experience Hub represents a new way for Australians to engage with renewable energy. As Australia continues its transition towards a low-carbon future, Sungrow remains committed to investing in local innovation, strengthening industry partnerships and creating meaningful connections with communities. By bringing clean energy closer to people, the Experience Hub transforms renewable technology from something customers simply purchase into something they can experience, understand and trust.

To learn more about the Sungrow Solar & Battery Experience Hub, visit: www.sungrowpower.com/au/en/aus-sungrow-solar-battery-experience-hub

To book an appointment, please call 0472 787 829 or email hello@sungrowpower.com.au.

Luly Wang
luly.wang@sungrow-hq.com

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SOURCE Sungrow Power

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Tencent Cloud Unveils a Major Upgrade to Its Agent Development Platform, Launching an Enterprise-Grade AgentOps Platform to Bring AI Agents into Production at Scale

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SHANGHAI, July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Tencent Cloud, the cloud business of global technology company Tencent, today announced a major enhancement to its Agent Development Platform (ADP) International Edition, evolving it into a comprehensive, enterprise-grade AgentOps platform designed to help enterprises move AI agents from experimentation into production at scale. The enhancement was unveiled at the 2026 World Artificial Intelligence Conference (WAIC) in Shanghai and is now available to customers worldwide.

Delivered in ADP’s 4.0 international release, the update introduces two headline capabilities — the Smart Desk and Claw Mode, powered by the Agentic Loop. Together with Connector, Skills, Knowledge Base, MCP and Agent Portal, ADP 4.0 now connects the entire enterprise agent lifecycle — from building and connecting, to distribution and governance — giving enterprises a single foundation to develop, deploy and manage AI agents reliably and at scale.

Today, enterprises seeking to rebuild their operations with AI Agents often face three critical challenges:

Individual pilots are easy to initiate but difficult to scale;Powerful models are challenging to integrate with existing legacy systems;Deployed Agents present difficulties in security governance and cost control.

Tencent Cloud ADP 4.0 addresses these challenges systematically by unlocking long-horizon, self-coding capabilities for complex tasks through Claw Mode, connecting enterprise systems and capability assets through nearly 40 Connectors and over 150 Skills, while moving security governance upstream to the very source of development. This enables enterprises to rapidly develop Agents while keeping them running in real business environments in a stable, secure, and controllable way.

To date, Tencent Cloud ADP has been deployed across retail, finance, government, manufacturing, and other industries, where teams have used AI Agents to support on tasks such as intelligent Q&A, customer service, marketing content generation and business analysis.

How Smart Desk Serves as a Unified Agent Entry Point

The newly launched Smart Desk serves as the unified, user-facing entry point of Tencent Cloud ADP 4.0, addressing two needs at once: enterprises can build Agents at scale, while employees can complete everyday tasks with a single sentence. Within the same workspace, users can build scalable Agents for their organization using natural language, or handle personal tasks just as they would with an everyday office assistant. Agent capabilities can also be integrated into existing enterprise systems—office software, ERP, CRM, customer service, and more—so that Agents “grow” on top of existing workflows without tearing anything down.

Smart Desk dramatically cuts the cost of building. Setting up a knowledge-based intelligent Q&A assistant once required manually configuring more than a dozen parameters. Now a single sentence can complete the entire configuration automatically, enabling it to go live within minutes. For more complex workflows such as multi-intent customer service, users simply describe the logic, and the system automatically generates a complete flow—intent routing, knowledge-base Q&A, human handoff, and more—packaged and ready to import. When a single Agent isn’t enough, users can orchestrate a collaborative team of Agents with a single command, with the system automatically assigning responsibilities, prompts, and task handoffs. The Smart Desk also integrates with the Skills Marketplace, packaging mature capabilities—such as contract review, financial analysis, and invoice entry—into reusable enterprise-grade Skills that can be shared and continuously refined across the organization. In doing so, Smart Desk brings “usable by everyone” and “enterprise-grade control” together in a single entry point.

How Upgraded Claw Mode Resolves Complex, Long-Horizon Tasks

For complex tasks that lack fixed rules, span long chains, and resist form-based configuration, Tencent Cloud Agent Development Platform (ADP) 4.0 adds a fourth building mode—Claw Mode. It can create Agents that autonomously write and run code in a cloud sandbox, call enterprise Skills, and execute long-running tasks. Once created, these Agents can be integrated into business systems via API/Web interfaces and reach employees and customers through channels such as LINE and Telegram. Creators do not need to fill out any forms; they simply describe their needs in natural language, and the platform automatically generates prompts, mounts knowledge bases, configures tools, and orchestrates workflows.

ADP 4.0 also supports two-way invocation between Agents and Workflows: Workflows handle steps with clear-cut rules, balancing stability with predictable token consumption. When unstructured judgment or open-ended tasks arise, they invoke a Claw Mode Agent to fully leverage the model’s capabilities. This gives enterprises the flexibility to integrate deterministic processes with intelligent decision-making.

Connecting Enterprise Systems, Knowledge, and Tools to Embed Agents into Workflows

To address the pain point of “powerful models that cannot reach enterprise production systems,” ADP 4.0 uses Connector, Skills, plugins, Knowledge Base, and MCP to turn an enterprise’s scattered business resources into callable and reusable AI assets.

The Connector framework offers nearly 40 curated Connectors in the first batch, supporting integration with high-frequency systems such as CRM, ERP, ticketing, customer service, knowledge bases, and document systems, and covering mainstream international SaaS applications like Google Workspace, Confluence, and Jira. Agents can directly read, retrieve, and perform operations such as querying, analysis, generation, and routing.

The upgraded Skills Marketplace now supports 150+ Skills. Business teams can package custom Skills into shared enterprise plugins that enter the enterprise zone for use only after passing security checks and approval.

More than 50 scenario-based templates and industry-curated applications shorten the path from zero to one. The upgraded Model Marketplace enables enterprises to select leading international models alongside their own self-hosted models, with native compatibility for the OpenAI standard protocol.

In addition, ADP 4.0 supports multiple entry points—platform, browser, Office, Chat channels, and API/SDK—embedding Agents into employees’ daily work scenarios.

End-to-End Governance from Development to Launch: Clearing the “Security Gate” Before Production

To tackle the challenge of “Agents that run but whose security and cost cannot be controlled,” ADP 4.0 moves governance upstream to the source of development, building a security control system that spans the full Agent lifecycle around permission management, Skills governance, runtime observability, and deployment compliance.

For permission management, ADP 4.0 supports a layered architecture at the enterprise, workspace, and application levels, combined with a Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) role-permission matrix to achieve dual-dimension isolation of functional and data permissions. For Skills governance, custom Skills must pass security checks—static code scanning, data-access review, outbound-network review, dependency allowlisting—and multi-level approval before entering the enterprise zone to become shareable and schedulable enterprise assets. For observability and governance, enterprises can use Agent Portal to centrally manage Agents across platforms and scenarios, and use business and resource dashboards to monitor key metrics such as call volume, response quality, operating cost, and errors in real time, enabling rapid issue identification and optimization.

Wu Yunsheng, Vice President of Tencent Cloud and Head of the Tencent Cloud Agent Development Platform, emphasized that enterprise-grade Agents are not merely about who can build them the fastest, but rather about who can keep Agents operating on the front lines of business in a stable, secure, and sustainable manner. ADP aims to provide enterprises with a production-ready AgentOps foundation—one that enables them to build Agents quickly, connect these Agents to systems and distribute them to the front lines, and operate them continuously under a framework of permissions, security, evaluation, and observability, truly unlocking productivity value.

Learn more about Tencent Cloud ADP: Build AI Agents with RAG+LLM, Workflow & Multi-Agent Capabilities

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About Tencent Cloud:

Tencent Cloud, one of the world’s leading cloud companies, is committed to creating innovative solutions to resolve real-world issues and enabling digital transformation for smart industries. Through our extensive global infrastructure, Tencent Cloud provides businesses across the globe with stable and secure industry-leading cloud products and services, leveraging technological advancements such as cloud computing, Big Data analytics, AI, IoT, and cybersecurity. It is our constant mission to meet the needs of industries across the board, including the fields of gaming, media and entertainment, finance, healthcare, real estate, retail, travel, and transportation.

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SOURCE Tencent Cloud

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Coda Launches Playbook on Turning Linkouts into a Growth Channel

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SINGAPORE, July 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Coda, a global leader in digital monetization and distribution, launched Beyond the App Store: A Publisher’s Guide to Direct Linkouts and Out-of-App Monetization, a new white paper showing mobile game publishers how to turn linkouts into a scalable revenue channel.

For years, anti-steering restrictions limited publishers’ ability to direct players from inside their games to external purchasing options. Legal and regulatory changes in the United States and Japan have opened that channel, giving publishers more control over where transactions happen, what value players receive and how recovered margin is reinvested.

The opportunity is significant. Publishers can use the improved economics of out-of-app payments to offer better prices, bonus currency, exclusive items or loyalty rewards, while investing more in content, acquisition and retention.

However, designing the journey from the app to the web requires precision. The right audience, offer and checkout experience determine whether a linkout converts and creates incremental value.

Drawing on Coda’s experience supporting more than 300 publishers, including gaming giants like Activision Blizzard and Electronic Arts, the white paper sets out a practical framework built around these core questions:

Who should see the linkout?When should they see the linkout?What should they be offered?How should the choice be presented?

“Publishers can now take greater control of the purchase journey and decide how recovered margin is put back to work,” said Zac Liew, Chief Commercial Officer at Coda.

“The real opportunity is not simply moving a payment outside the app. It is using linkouts to create better player value, improve conversion and grow the economics of a game.”

The paper recommends starting with engaged players, repeat buyers and higher-value spenders, while ensuring every linkout offer provides a clear advantage over its in-app equivalent.

It also highlights the infrastructure required behind the link, including payment routing, local payment methods, tax, fraud, compliance and reconciliation.

Coda Links gives publishers the infrastructure to put that strategy into action. It intelligently routes players from the app to the most relevant payment experience, while Coda manages the payments, tax, fraud and compliance required to operate at scale.

Linkouts are already delivering significant results:

In one Coda Links deployment for a major US publisher, intelligent routing increased webstore revenue by 17% and first-time purchase rates by 78%.In another Coda Links deployment, providing players with direct webstore access increased transactions by 25%.

For publishers, the priority now is to apply the right strategy at scale and capture more value from every player transaction.

Beyond the App Store: A Publisher’s Guide to Direct Linkouts and Out-of-App Monetization is available at: https://www.coda.co/resources/out-of-app-monetization-guide/

Learn more about Coda at: coda.co

About Coda

Coda is a global leader in monetization, distribution, and commerce, trusted by the biggest names in gaming, entertainment, and technology, including Activision, Electronic Arts, Riot Games, Ubisoft, and Moonton. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Singapore, Coda operates with 600+ employees worldwide, with core hubs in Asia and Europe. Coda combines payments, commerce, distribution, and rewards to drive global revenue growth for brands and publishers.

Coda’s products include Codapay, which provides access to 400+ payment methods across 80+ markets through a single API integration; Coda Webstore, which powers fully customised direct-to-consumer storefronts; Coda Consumer Platforms including Codashop, Recharge.com, and Startselect.comCoda Distribution, which extends reach through a network of commerce partners; and Giftcloud, a UK-based rewards business serving enterprise customers across Europe.

Coda is backed by Apis Partners, Insight Partners, Smash Capital and GIC, and has been named an APAC High Growth Company (2023) by Financial Times, one of Granite Asia’s NextGenTech 30 (2024), a payments leader on Fortune’s Fintech Innovation Asia list (2024), and listed among The Straits Times Fastest Growing Fintechs (2024). For more on Coda, visit coda.co.

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SOURCE Coda

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