One-year gigaFLEX+ sponsorship supports over 2,000 MILK fund scholars aged 17 to 25 with the digital tools to learn, create and thrive in an AI-enabled future
SINGAPORE, Aug. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- giga! has partnered with the MILK (Mainly I Love Kids) Fund to provide all MILK scholars aged 17 to 25 with a complimentary one-year gigaFLEX+ plan, valued at $19.90 per month.
Through this partnership, all MILK Fund Scholars aged 17 to 25 will receive dedicated connectivity and AI support through the gigaFLEX+ plan, giving them greater access to the digital tools they need for their education and everyday lives.
Designed with young people in mind, gigaFLEX+ brings together reliable 5G connectivity and a gigaAI subscription, with access to leading AI models including ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini, all in one place, valued at over $150 per month. Together, these tools will empower scholars to stay connected for their studies, conduct research, collaborate with others, bring ideas to life and explore new ways of learning with AI.
"Connectivity and AI are increasingly shaping how young people learn, discover opportunities and engage with the world around them. We want to help ensure that access to these tools is not determined by circumstance.," said Vikas Chanani, Vice President, Multibrand and MVNO Partnerships, StarHub. "We hope to give the scholars greater freedom to explore what is possible, build the skills and confidence to navigate an AI-enabled future, and ultimately realise more of their potential."
"At MILK, we believe education remains one of the sharpest tools we have to break the cycle of poverty. As the world young people are preparing for changes, the support and tools available to them must keep pace. This partnership shows what strong corporate community collaboration can achieve when companies bring their core strengths to real social needs. It is purposeful, practical and focused on expanding what is possible for young people. Our role is to plug gaps, remove barriers and create access. What our MILK Scholars gain is theirs to carry forward, in shaping their own futures and, in time, creating possibilities for others too," said Suraj Upadhiah, Executive Director of MILK Fund.
The sponsorship will remain valid for one year from each scholar's plan activation date. More information on the gigaFLEX+ plan is available here.
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giga! Equips All Eligible MILK Fund Scholars with One-year gigaFLEX+ Plan
HONG KONG, Aug. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On August 20, 2026, by the Victoria Harbour, Qigu Group held the premium furniture coatings brand launch event themed "EcoArte • New Dawn of Artistic Realm", which was gracefully inaugurated at the Renaissance Hong Kong Harbour View Hotel.
Leveraging the international vision of Victoria Harbour and drawing on century-old Italian coating technologies, the brand further explores China's high-end home furnishing market. This high-profile launch gathered key partners, industry media and senior designer representatives, who came together for this immersive journey into Italian-style aesthetics.
Above Victoria Harbour, a grand feast of texture and tactility
A trend-setter of Asia-Pacific high-end home aesthetics, Hong Kong hosts top global designers, ultra-luxury residences and premium furniture buyers, with sharp foresight over market and consumer needs. The high-end sector suffers from severe homogenization and shortage of differentiated coating options — the key reason EcoArte chose Victoria Harbour as its Asia-Pacific launch platform.
High-end wood finishing today is plagued by pain points: texture hard to realize in mass production, uneven eco-standards and unstable long-term coatings performance, leaving many bespoke brands without unique surface identities.
Against this context, EcoArte's landmark launch resolves the historic trade-off between performance and beauty. Driven by technology, it unlocks new frontiers for bespoke high-end coatings.
Break Boundaries, Root Italian Genes Locally
At the opening of the launch event, Wu Hao, Chairman of Qigu Group, took the stage to deliver a speech and extended sincere gratitude to industry peers, partners and media guests gathered along Victoria Harbour. He noted that high-end coating takes technology as its backbone and aesthetics as its soul. Upholding its foothold in the niche market, EcoArte adheres to three core missions: to uphold quality commitment out of reverence for the industry and reject cut-throat price competition; to balance environmental-friendliness and performance through dedication to technology without compromising product standards for cost-cutting; and to drive industrial upgrading with full-chain responsibility by building a dual-compliance system meeting both Chinese national standards and European standards.
Built upon original core formulations from Italy and adapted through localized secondary R&D, the brand focuses on the niche segment of super-matte soft-touch finishes. With technically proven, mass-producible and high-premium products, it empowers Asian high-end furniture brands to break free from homogeneous competition. Going forward, taking Hong Kong as its strategic hub for the Asia-Pacific region, EcoArte will connect with the designer communities in Hong Kong and Macao as well as the Greater Bay Area furniture manufacturing clusters. It will bring cutting-edge European coating technologies and end-to-end implementation services to the region, reshaping the value benchmarks of the high-end wood coating industry.
Quality as Proof • Six Core Pillars Reshape Industry Standards
With the brand philosophy elaborated, the press conference moves to the core new-product launch session, where six exclusive core technical advantages are fully unpacked. Behind every set of data lies a commitment to quality.
From an environmental perspective, the products strictly comply with both Chinese national standards and EU testing criteria. Featuring low-VOC formulations free of harmful additives, they are well-suited for scenarios with stringent air-quality requirements, such as high-end hotels and children-oriented spaces.
Its colour system draws on an international Italian colour database to deliver precise colour control and long-term yellowing resistance, ensuring consistent colour performance even in mass-volume production.
In terms of tactile performance, the self-developed resin system and fine-grinding craftsmanship create a soft, skin-friendly finish. Resistant to repeated contact, it is less prone to whitening and abrasion.
Matte levels can be precisely adjusted within the range of 1° to 5°. The ultra-low-matte process fully preserves the natural grain of wood, eliminating common industry defects such as light spots and uneven toning.
The dense coatings film delivers outstanding stain resistance. Daily fingerprints and oil stains can be effortlessly wiped away, greatly easing the long-term maintenance burden for high-end furniture. Furthermore, the product is compatible with multiple substrates and mainstream spraying processes. One single system caters to diverse production needs and streamlines supply-chain management for furniture manufacturers.
As the new-product presentation draws to a close, the press conference reaches its landmark opening moment. Witnessed by all attending guests, Wu Hao, Chairman of Qigu Group, Wang Wei, China Sales Director of EcoArte, and Gleb Krivorog, Brand Principal of EcoArte Italy, took the stage together for the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
As the golden scissors fell, the ceremony concluded to mark a new beginning. It officially heralds the launch of EcoArte's full-range high-end coating products for the Asia-Pacific market, celebrating the brand's refreshed journey with this symbolic ritual.
On-site Experience • Intuitive Demonstration of Five Design Styles
Parameters on paper can only tell part of the story. Only through physical touch and direct visual appreciation can one truly experience the unique charm of coated finishes. Following the ribbon-cutting ceremony, the sample display area was officially opened.
Moving beyond the purely technical briefings typical of conventional coating products, EcoArte uses physical samples to showcase finish effects tailored to diverse residential design aesthetics. Ranging from the restrained, understated texture of ultra-matte modern styles and soft, mellow cream-toned hues, to log-wood styles embodying Oriental charm, laid-back wabi-sabi textures, and poised, sophisticated vintage aesthetics — its diverse finish solutions cover today's mainstream high-end home-design preferences.
Italian Craftsmanship • Paying Tribute to China's High-End Home Furnishing
This one-day grand event marks a brand-new starting point. Standing by Victoria Harbour and gazing toward the Asia-Pacific region, EcoArte's brand vision comes into clear focus: to empower China's high-end home furnishing manufacturing with Italian craftsmanship, and safeguard the healthy living of millions of households through eco-friendly technologies.
The Hong Kong launch event is both a starting line and a solemn declaration. Using Hong Kong as a bridge, EcoArte will bring Italy's century-old coating technologies to full fruition within China's high-end home-furnishing market. Cutting-edge coating solutions will no longer remain abstract concepts; instead, they will permeate the grain of every solid-wood plank, the tactile feel of every piece of furniture, and the daily lives of every household.
EcoArte, Born for Texture, Tested by Time.
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A Stroke for Timeless Legacy • Art Unveils in Victoria Harbour | EcoArte Lands in Hong Kong, Re-envisioning Asia-Pacific Home Aesthetics with Italian Craftsmanship
