Media OutReach
Get ready for action: HSBC SVNS Singapore unveils official ambassadors and match schedule alongside return of SEA 7s
- Rugby ambassadors Ruby Tui, Nathan Hirayama, and Jerry Tuwai will ignite the crowd with community interactions, meet-and-greets and on-ground festival moments
- HSBC SVNS Singapore 2026 schedule unveiled with thrilling showdowns expected
- SEA 7s returns alongside HSBC SVNS Singapore 2026 bringing together Southeast Asia’s top teams including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and more
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 21 January 2026 – The HSBC SVNS Singapore 2026, affectionately known as the “Family SVNS”, has appointed global rugby sevens icons Ruby Tui, Nathan Hirayama, and Jerry Tuwai as its official ambassadors. They add star power and inspiration to a landmark weekend at the National Stadium at The Kallang that celebrates family, community and all things rugby.
Held on 31 January and 1 February, the HSBC SVNS Singapore 2026 welcomes the world’s best rugby sevens teams to the Lion City. The Southeast Asian 7s (SEA 7s) will return alongside HSBC SVNS Singapore, reinforcing Singapore’s position as the regional hub for the sport.
RUGBY ICONS TO ENGAGE WITH FANS AS OFFICIAL AMBASSADORS
As official ambassadors for HSBC SVNS Singapore 2026, Ruby Tui, Nathan Hirayama, and Jerry Tuwai will play an active role across the week, engaging fans and families both on and off the field.
Jerry Tuwai, former Fiji Sevens captain, is a two-time Olympic gold medalist in Rugby Sevens, and a Sevens World Cup winner. In 2020, he was named World Rugby Men’s Sevens Player of the Decade. A strong advocate of the sport, Tuwai is an ambassador of the Get into Rugby Plus Fiji programme. This is a Sport for Development initiative that leverages the rugby union to promote positive behaviour, gender equality, and prevent violence against women, girls, and boys. Sharing on his upcoming visit to HSBC SVNS Singapore as a rugby ambassador, Tuwai said, “I am excited to be part of the circuit again and looking forward to the programme and engaging with the fans.”
Ruby Tui of New Zealand’s Black Ferns is an Olympic gold medallist, Women’s Rugby World Cup winner and Rugby World Cup Sevens champion, known for her infectious energy and passion for growing the game.
“I am so excited to be part of HSBC SVNS Singapore 2026, especially on a weekend that brings audiences and families right into the heart of the action,” she said. “Rugby gives me confidence, belonging and joy, and I love seeing how events like this can spark that same feeling for fans across the region. The energy in Southeast Asia is incredible, and I cannot wait to share that with the community.”
A former Canada Sevens captain and Olympic flag bearer, Nathan Hirayama became a fan favourite in Singapore after leading Canada to victory at the HSBC Singapore Sevens in 2017 and earning Player of the Final honours. Since stepping away from international competition, Hirayama has remained closely involved in the sport, transitioning into leadership, coaching and mentoring roles. He champions rugby development and high-performance pathways and works as a speaker to inspire the next generation of players on and off the field.
“Singapore has always been a special place in my rugby journey and returning to The Kallang as an ambassador feels incredibly meaningful,” he said. “The energy here is unlike anywhere else, and it has been amazing to see how the sport has grown across Southeast Asia over the years. Coming back to be part of a weekend that brings together world-class rugby, regional pride and passionate fans is something I am truly excited about.”
The ambassadors will be at community-facing activities such as meet-and-greet sessions, fan engagements and youth-focused interactions. Together, Ruby Tui, Nathan Hirayama, and Jerry Tuwai will help champion the values of inclusion, connection and accessibility that define Singapore’s signature family-friendly rugby experience.
HSBC SVNS SINGAPORE 2026 FIXTURES ANNOUNCED
Organisers have revealed the schedule for the HSBC SVNS Singapore 2026. France (Women) will face Canada (Women) in the opening match of the tournament on 31 January, while France (Men) and New Zealand (Men) will go head-to-head as the first men’s fixture later that day. More information about the schedule is here.
| Women Pool A | Women Pool B | Men Pool A | Men Pool B |
| Australia | New Zealand | South Africa | Argentina |
| USA | France | Fiji | France |
| Japan | Canada | Great Britain | New Zealand |
| Fiji | Great Britain | Spain | Australia |
As the first SVNS event of 2026, HSBC SVNS Singapore will set the celebratory tone for the season ahead. The addition of SEA 7s finals to the weekend lineup strengthens the local rugby ecosystem by giving families and fans the opportunity to rally behind regional teams while also enjoying the HSBC SVNS Singapore experience, where elite rugby meets a premium sports carnival for all ages.
SEA 7S FINALS RETURNS TO THE NATIONAL STADIUM AT THE KALLANG
Held alongside HSBC SVNS Singapore 2026, the SEA 7s returns as a key highlight of Singapore’s signature family-friendly rugby festival that blends elite global competition with regional pride. The finals will be held at the National Stadium at The Kallang on 31 January 2026.
Organised by the Singapore Rugby Union (SRU), the SEA 7s is an open invitational tournament staged alongside HSBC SVNS Singapore to offer regional teams not only a highly competitive platform, but also the opportunity to compete on a world-class pitch alongside the sport’s global stars. This year’s edition brings together eight nations, from established contenders to emerging teams, uniting them at The Kallang in a celebration of regional pride, rising talent and the shared ambition to grow rugby across Southeast Asia.
“We’re incredibly proud to host the 2026 SEA 7s in Singapore, a celebration of Southeast Asian rugby, teamwork, and community,” said Sidney Kumar, General Manager of SRU. “The SEA 7s is more than just competition; it’s a showcase of the passion and progress of rugby across our region. Hosting the tournament here not only allows us to highlight our national teams and the shared commitment among ASEAN nations to grow the game together, it also provides our men and women’s 7s teams an opportunity to play the finals at the National Stadium. We look forward to welcoming teams, fans and families from across the region to the Lion City for a festival of fast, exciting rugby and friendship.”
The Singapore Women’s Rugby 7s team will return as defending SEA 7s champions after clinching their first-ever title last year. Their historic victory inspired many young girls and families to discover the sport, and the team is relishing the opportunity to defend the crown on home soil.
“It’s an honour getting the opportunity to play at the world class National Stadium, and to have the tournament happening alongside the prestigious world sevens series. What’s even more special is having friends and family right there cheering you on,” said Victoria Chew, Singapore Rugby Women’s 7s Captain.
Several teams arrive in Singapore carrying strong momentum from recent regional competitions, adding extra intrigue to this year’s SEA 7s finals. The Thailand Men’s Rugby 7s team, reigning SEA 7s champions, come into the tournament in confident form following a strong run at the 2025 Southeast Asian Games where they clinched gold. Meanwhile, Malaysia’s men’s and women’s rugby teams finished as runners-up in SEA 7s 2025, and are looking to go one better this year. “The Malaysian team has been training hard, and we can’t wait to see their skill and passion shine at SEA 7s 2026,” said Fahmy Jalil, Secretary General, Malaysia Rugby Union. “With a mix of experienced seniors and talented juniors, I believe it will create a positive impact and inspire more young players and families to get involved in the sport.”
Tickets Available Now
Tickets for HSBC SVNS Singapore 2026 are on sale now. Get them before general sale ends on 19 January. Youth tickets are priced from $49 (ages 4–17) and adult tickets from $79. Families and groups can also enjoy ticket packages starting from $41.80 per person for a group of five, valid across both days of the event. From grandparents to the youngest fans, the HSBC SVNS Singapore 2026 promises a memorable weekend at The Kallang, where families, friends and fans can come together to cheer, celebrate and enjoy the excitement of world-class rugby. Ticketing information here.
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HSBC SVNS Singapore
HSBC SVNS Singapore, held at the Singapore National Stadium located at The Kallang, is the only stop in Southeast Asia for the World Rugby HSBC SVNS series. The 2026 edition in Singapore offers a thrilling weekend of elite sport and festival-style entertainment as the top eight men’s and women’s teams from the previous season battle it out at the National Stadium. HSBC SVNS Singapore, affectionately known as the “Family SVNS, places family fun at the heart of the action. From the stands to the festival grounds, the Family SVNS brings the excitement of rugby to life across The Kallang. This event is organised by The Kallang Group, supported by Sport Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board and Singapore Rugby Union, and partners including Conrad Singapore Marina Bay (Official Hotel), AirAsia (Official Airline), H-TWO-O (Official Hydration).
Recruited from 12 universities, including Hainan University and Hainan Normal University, as well as other local organizations, the volunteers share the common nickname “Little Deer.” The name is derived from Sanya’s nickname, “Deer City,” and is meant to reflect the volunteers’ lively, warm, and friendly spirit.
“See ya in Sanya” is both the slogan of the Asian Beach Games and the guiding principle for its volunteers. Liang Zihan, a student from Hainan Tropical Ocean University, said: “Since the launch of the volunteer recruitment drive, whether it is learning about the Games, mastering multilingual communication, or taking part in scenario-based drills and emergency exercises, I have given it my all. I hope to convey Sanya’s warmth, openness, and inclusiveness to every friend who comes from afar.”
Alongside local students, the volunteer team also includes many young people from across China brought together by the Games. Wu Yujia, a sophomore at the Hospitality Institute of Sanya, is one of them. “I want to show a warm, caring, and energetic Sanya,” she said. When asked about her future plans, she did not hesitate: “I want to stay in Sanya.” In her eyes, the city’s pleasant climate and beautiful scenery have deepened her affection for it and strengthened her commitment to volunteering.
The 6th Asian Beach Games will be held in Sanya, Hainan, from April 22 to 30, 2026. Delegations from all 45 member countries and regions of the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) will take part in what is the largest and most influential beach sports event in Asia. As the first major international sporting event to be held in Hainan after the independent customs operations of the Hainan Free Trade Port, the Games are not only a celebration of Asian sport but also an important opportunity for Hainan to present an open and welcoming face to the world.
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Media OutReach
SERES’ Clifford Kang Highlights AI-Enabled Smart Mobility at the 2026 World Internet Conference Asia-Pacific Summit
The summit, hosted by the World Internet Conference and organised by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, brought together global industry leaders to explore developments in digital and intelligent transformation.
Against this backdrop, Kang noted that artificial intelligence is accelerating a fundamental shift across industries, with mobility among the most significantly transformed sectors. AI is moving from merely functional to truly frictionless, becoming deeply embedded in every part of our lives and emerging as an inclusive force that enhances mobility, living and consumption experiences.
As this transformation accelerates, SERES continues to embed intelligence across its full value chain, from product development to manufacturing and user services, using continuous innovation to enhance user experience and strengthen its long-term competitiveness as a technology-driven new energy vehicle company.
A key milestone of SERES came in 2021, when SERES entered a cross-industry partnership with Huawei to launch the AITO brand, its premium new energy vehicle brand. At the time, the industry was facing a clear disconnect, where intelligent cars were not luxurious, while luxury cars were not intelligent. In response, AITO introduced the brand philosophy of “Intelligence Redefining Luxury”, positioning intelligence as the foundation of its premium mobility experience. The brand name itself, derived from “adding intelligence to auto”, reflects this core DNA.
Today, that strategy has translated into scale and adoption. AITO has built a user base of more than 880,000 active users of its smart driving assistance system, with total journeys surpassing 6.6 billion kilometres.
Clifford Kang further emphasised that a great product alone is not enough, and that company need to focus on the entire lifecycle user experience. Guided by this principle, SERES has extended intelligent technologies at scale across both manufacturing and customer service to improve every touchpoint.
In manufacturing, the SERES Super Factory, operates with more than 5,000 robots, enabling 100% automation of critical processes. AI vision inspection technology ensures strict quality control of key components, ensuring high quality standards across production.
On the customer service end, SERES has built a 24/7 cloud-based safety service system powered by AI and big data, enabling a shift from reactive support to intelligent predictive service. In 2025 alone, the system delivered approximately 250,000 proactive alerts to customers. One notable example came in July last year, when AITO M9 completed the industry’s first satellite-enabled rescue operation in a remote region of China, highlighting both the practical value and human warmth of intelligent connected technologies in real-world scenarios.
Looking ahead, Clifford Kang stated that new energy vehicles are evolving into the mobile intelligent space, requiring further robust investment in research and development. In 2025 alone, SERES invested RMB 12.5 billion in R&D, representing a 77% year-on-year increase. This investment has enabled the company to develop a suite of core technologies, including the SERES MF Platform, Super Range Extender and Intelligent Safety systems. These innovations are continuously applied across SERES’ products to enhance performance and deliver better mobility experiences for users.
“Bringing eruptive technology from the laboratory to the road requires more than one company’s efforts”, Kang said. “Open collaboration is the most efficient path forward. SERES has always embraced openness and partnership. We want to work with industry partners around the world to advance the mobility sector together. Let’s build up the future where technology has the vision to lead, the precision to excel, and the warmth to care.”
Hashtag: #SERESGroup
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About Seres Group
Seres Group is one of China’s leading luxury new energy vehicle companies. Its premium brand AITO has surpassed one million cumulative users. In 2025 AITO became the best-selling Chinese luxury car brand in the domestic market. With strong capabilities in areas such as intelligent driving, SERES is bringing its vision of “Intelligence Redefining Luxury” to global markets and delivering a smarter mobility experience to more users around the world.
The event featured a distinguished lineup of speakers who shared their insights on deepening cooperation. Gudrun Weidmann, Director for Internationalization at the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs; Zhai Qian, Minister Counselor of the Chinese Embassy in Germany; Chen Xiaodong, Deputy Director of the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Commerce; Dr. Christian Scharpf, Deputy Mayor of Munich and Head of the Department of Labor and Economic Affairs, and Michaela Schenk, Chair of the Foreign Trade Committee of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Munich and Upper Bavaria, delivered opening remarks. The proceedings were moderated by Stefan Geiger, Chairman of the China-Western Bavaria Business and Cultural Association.
Chen Gao, Secretary of the CPC Taicang Municipal Committee, delivered a keynote address titled “Green, Innovation, and Integration: Establishing a Model for Sino-German Cooperation.” In his speech, Chen drew a poetic parallel between Munich and Taicang’s home region of Suzhou, describing both as paragons of the perfect fusion between tradition and modernity where cutting-edge technology and modern industry coexist harmoniously with rich cultural heritage.
Reflecting on 33 years of deep engagement with Germany, Chen emphasized that Taicang’s bilateral cooperation has reached a historic turning point, transitioning from merely attracting foreign capital to fostering two-way investment, and from industrial supply-chain support to the co-creation of a complete industrial ecosystem. The Secretary highlighted three flagship Taicang projects recently included in the official achievement list of the high-level Sino-German summit—the Schaeffler Humanoid Robot Digital Factory, the Sino-German Taicang Zero-Carbon Park, and the Taicang Rhine-Neckar Innovation Center. These milestones vividly demonstrate Taicang’s momentum in pivoting toward green transformation, collaborative innovation, and deep bilateral integration. Taicang’s strategy remains built on the philosophy of long-termism, with Chen reaffirming the city’s dedication to optimizing a market-oriented, law-based, and internationalized business environment while reinforcing its brand identity as a “home away from home” for German community.
Following these addresses, the event yielded several milestone agreements aimed at facilitating practical cooperation, including the official inauguration of the VDE China representative office in Taicang and the signing of a new batch of German scientific innovation projects. To further support the internationalization of local firms, the Taicang Enterprise Overseas Service Center was officially unveiled, alongside a dedicated matchmaking session for Chinese companies expanding into global markets. Furthermore, State Grid Taicang Power Supply Company presented its latest initiatives in Green Compliance and Environmental Sustainability, a presentation that received widespread acclaim for aligning industrial power solutions with international ESG standards.
Taicang’s strategic appeal is rooted in its premier location adjacent to Shanghai and its world-class infrastructure. Situated within a 30-minute commuting radius of central Shanghai, the city offers rapid access to Hongqiao Airport in 20 minutes and Pudong International Airport in just over an hour. Its maritime gateway, the Port of Taicang, features a 12.5-meter deep-water channel and ranks 8th in China and 20th globally, with an annual throughput exceeding 10 million TEUs. This logistics network supports a robust industrial ecosystem of over 5,000 enterprises, where 70% of vehicle components can be sourced locally.
Widely recognized as the “Home of German Enterprises” in China, Taicang now hosts over 560 German firms, including 60 “hidden champion” companies. This specialized cluster represents more than 10% of all German manufacturing enterprises in China. The city’s collaborative success is further evidenced by projects mentioned above in Chen Gao’s speech such as the Schaeffler Humanoid Robot Digital Factory and the Sino-German Taicang Zero-Carbon Park, and the Taicang Rhine-Neckar Innovation Center, all of which were included in the official achievement list of the German Chancellor’s visit to China.
To support its growing international community, Taicang has developed a sophisticated service ecosystem. The city’s Foreigner Service Center integrates 73 specialized services, supported by the “Hi Taicang” card which provides foreign residents with enhanced convenience in healthcare, education, and transportation. Complemented by cultural landmarks like the Rothenburg-themed street and authentic German bakeries, Taicang has created an environment where international partners can truly root themselves for long-term success.
Hashtag: #TIZ
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