The Reserve Bank of India issued Directions under Section 35A read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, to Indian Mercantile Co-operative Bank Limited (IMCBL), Lucknow vide Directive DOS.CO.OCCD.185569/12.28.007/2021-22 dated January 28, 2022 for a period of six months upto July 27, 2022, as modified from time to time, which were last extended upto April 27, 2025 vide Directive DOR.MON/D-94/12.28.007/2024-25 dated January 16, 2025. The Reserve Bank of India is satisfied that in the public interest, it is necessary to further extend the period of operation of the Directive beyond April 27, 2025.
2. Accordingly, the Reserve Bank of India, in the exercise of powers vested in it under sub-section (1) of Section 35A read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949, hereby extends the Directive for a further period of three months from close of business of April 27, 2025 to close of business of July 27, 2025, subject to review.
3. Other terms and conditions of the Directives under reference shall remain unchanged.
The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) today invited the public and the trade to send in their views on the proposed amendments to the Food & Drugs (Composition & Labelling) Regulations aiming to strengthen regulation of konjac-containing jelly confectionery.
The CFS made the proposals after reviewing the potential choking risks associated with the consumption of mini-cup konjac-containing jelly confectionery products, the regulatory practices of major economies concerning such products, and conducting a risk assessment.
It proposed that, if a mini-cup jelly confectionery product is with a height or width of 45mm or less, it shall not contain konjac.
Another proposal is to require all prepackaged konjac-containing jelly confectionery products to carry a label with a warning statement about the prevention of choking hazard in both English and Chinese: “Caution: Do not swallow whole. Elderly and children must consume under supervision.”
The CFS explained that while the Codex Alimentarius Commission considers konjac a safe food additive, improper consumption of mini-cup konjac jellies can increase the choking risk, particularly for children and elderly people, due to their unique product design and firm texture.
It has consulted the Expert Committee on Food Safety and engaged the trade through a meeting and a forum.
The Government initially proposes that the amendments to ban the sale of mini-cup konjac-containing jelly confectionery products with a height or width of 45mm or less, will take effect six months after passage of the amended regulations.
As for the labelling requirements for all konjac-containing jelly confectionery products, the Government proposes that they will come into operation 12 months after passage of the amended regulations.
Additionally, the CFS, in collaboration with the Education Bureau, has issued a letter to schools recommending that they cease selling or providing mini-cup konjac-containing jelly confectionery products with a height or width of 45mm or less in tuck shops and canteens.
Members of the public and the trade are welcome to offer their views on or before June 8.
KUCHING, Sarawak, Malaysia, 24 April 2025 – The 33rd Meeting of ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Council successfully concluded today. “As the ASCC Blueprint 2025 draws near to its conclusion, the ASCC has taken proactive steps in future-proofing its post-2025 future with the ASCC Strategic Plan, which presents a holistic strategy and measures anchored on sectoral priorities and people’s aspirations.” Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, delivered this optimistic message at the opening of the 33rd Meeting of ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Council on 24 April, in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia.
The ASCC Council Meeting brought together Ministers and representatives of ASEAN Member States to discuss the path forward for the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, ensuring that it is aligned with the ASEAN Community Vision 2045. The Meeting was presided over by Dato Sri Tiong King Sing, Malaysia’s Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture and the current chair of the ASCC Council. Representatives from Timor-Leste also joined the meeting as Observers.
In his opening message, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn spoke about the ASCC Strategic Plan’s emphasis on deepening engagement with partners and strengthening collaboration with other pillars to address urgent crosscutting challenges, especially in the areas of climate resilience, disaster risk reduction and management, and narrowing the development gaps.
Minister Tiong King Sing lauded the Ad Hoc Working Group and all the sectoral bodies who worked on the ASCC Strategic Plan and highlighted the need to support and sustain its implementation to achieve the ASEAN Community Vision 2045 of a resilient, innovative, dynamic, and people-centred ASEAN. He also reiterated Malaysia’s commitment in advancing inclusivity, creating fair opportunities for all levels of society, and ensuring that no one is left behind.
At the meeting, the ASCC Council likewise affirmed its support for key priorities under the ASCC Chairmanship of Malaysia that include the following:
(i) Cultural Heritage for Value Creation
(ii) Artificial Intelligence, Digitalisation and Green Jobs towards Future Proofing Skills and Talents for ASEAN
(iii) Healthy ASEAN Initiatives Towards a Prosperous ASEAN
(iv) Youth and Sports Potential for All to Foster Growth, Unity and Excellence
(v) Climate Action for Stewardship, Partnership and Ownership.
The ASCC Council also endorsed three outcome documents for adoption and notation at the upcoming 46th ASEAN Summit on 26 May 2025, in Kuala Lumpur, namely the ASEAN Declaration of Commitment on ASEAN Drug Security and Self-Reliance (ADSSR), Checklist for ASEAN Member State governments, labour recruiters and employers of migrant workers on fair recruitment and decent employment practices, and 33rd ASCC Council Report to the 46th ASEAN Summit, while the ASEAN Creative Economy Sustainability Framework will be endorsed via ad referendum.
The meeting concluded with the Ministers and representatives expressing their unanimous support for the ASCC Strategic Plan, and demonstrating a renewed vigour to help realise the ASEAN Community Vision 2045.
Photos credit: Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture (MOTAC) of Malaysia
The post Press Release of the 33rd Meeting of ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Council appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.
Over 6,400 students were granted scholarships and awards under the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government Scholarship Fund and the Self-financing Post-secondary Education Fund in the 2024-25 academic year.
Around 600 students with special educational needs were given the Endeavour Merit Award and the Endeavour Scholarship under the two funds.
Funds allocated through scholarships and awards totalled about $196 million, the Government said.
Secretary for Education Choi Yuk-lin presented certificates to the awardees under the two funds at a joint scholarship presentation ceremony.
Ms Choi said that the two scholarship schemes have successfully attracted outstanding non-local students to pursue their studies in Hong Kong by commending those with excellent performance in various aspects, thereby enhancing the city’s position as an international hub for post-secondary education.
She added that to tie in with the overall national development, the Education Bureau will adhere to the principle of integrity and innovation, and seize the development opportunities arising from the country’s Belt & Road initiatives, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, etc, to deepen Hong Kong’s role as a cluster of talent and consolidate and develop the city’s advantages in education.
The HKSAR Government Scholarship Fund was established to encourage outstanding local students to advance their studies at home and meritorious non-local students to pursue higher education opportunities in Hong Kong.
In the 2024-25 academic year, about 1,200 local students and about 800 non-local students were awarded by the fund.
The Self-financing Post-secondary Scholarship Scheme, established under the Self-financing Post-secondary Education Fund, aims to promote high-quality and sustainable development in the self-financing post-secondary sector.
In the 2024-25 academic year, scholarships and awards were offered to about 2,400 students to pursue undergraduate studies, and to about 2,000 students pursuing studies at sub-degree level.
The invitation for the expressions of interest (EOI) for a marina development at the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter expansion area closed today, with the Development Bureau receiving eight submissions.
The organisations making the submissions include local and overseas developers, hotel/entertainment groups and marina developers/operators.
The bureau said it will consolidate and analyse the collected feedback to firm up the development parameters and requirements within this year for undertaking various technical assessments and statutory procedures.
It added that under the established approach, the development is anticipated for tendering in 2027. Alternatively, if a feasible market proposal is brought forward during the EOI exercise to speed up the process, the bureau will actively consider an earlier tender time.
An initiative for promoting yacht tourism, with plans to invite the market to construct and operate marinas at three locations, including the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter expansion area, was announced in the 2024 Policy Address.
The Government plans to seek the Legislative Council’s funding approval next year to expand the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter to increase sheltered space for public mooring under the Public Works Programme.
By seizing this opportunity, the Government hopes to utilise part of the expanded waterbody for the market to develop the marina and better leverage market forces to promote yacht tourism.
COOTAMUNDRA, Australia, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Australian Oilseeds Holdings Limited, a manufacturer and seller of sustainable edible oils to customers globally, today issued a letter to shareholders from Gary Seaton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, that highlights recent performance and future milestones.
Dear Fellow Shareholders,
Across the globe, 2024 presented serious challenges including the ongoing war in Ukraine and serious conflicts in the Middle East and growing geopolitical discord, notably with China. Our hearts go out to those whose lives are profoundly affected by these events.
Despite the unsettling geopolitical discord, we are pleased with our progress since launching the Company, as a Nasdaq listed company, and its unique products of Non-GMO cold-pressed and chemically-free processed oils.
Within the last 12 months, we have sold our products through the majority of retailers in Australia, including Woolworths and Coles, the two largest supermarket chains in Australia, as well as Costco and Independent Grocers of Australia, an Australian chain of supermarkets (IGA), with sales and awareness gradually increasing. In addition to our expanding market presence in Australia, the Company has also been successful in exporting and marketing its products in Japan, China and Vietnam.
Throughout the last year, we have demonstrated the power of our mission and guiding principles, as well as the value of being there for our customers. The result was continued healthy growth across our products and geographic expansion. Fiscal 2024 results were strong with revenues increasing by more than 16% driven by strong demand for our cold pressed canola oils. Our gross margin improved by 40 basis points and we delivered Adjusted EBITDA growth of nearly 16%. Our business momentum continues to build and we remain deeply committed to our mission as well as driving long-term value for our Shareholders.
We believe we are well positioned for the future and anticipate several key milestones as we continue to execute our growth strategy. Within the next six months we expect that our Good Earth Oils brands of Australian Canola Oil and Olive oil will be launched in Taiwan and India. We are also expecting significant growth in China over the next 12 months as we benefit from Australia’s preferential duty for its products into China compared to Canada and USA, which have current import duties of 100% and 124% respectively. Finally, we intend to launch our products in the USA subject to clarity on the current tariff structure for Australian imports into the USA – the current tariff structure on Australian Canola Oil into the USA is 10%.
I would like to express my deep gratitude to our Shareholders and our employees. We appreciate your continued support as we continue our exciting journey of taking chemicals out of the food supply chain and promoting healthy Canola Oil and Olive oil to consumers around the world along with the concept of regenerative farming.
Sincerely, Gary Seaton Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
About Australian Oilseeds Holdings Limited. Australian Oilseeds Holdings Limited, a Cayman Islands exempted company (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: COOT) through its subsidiaries, including Australian Oilseeds Investments Pty Ltd., an Australian proprietary company, tis focused on the manufacture and sale of sustainable oilseeds (e.g., seeds grown primarily for the production of edible oils) and is committed to working with all suppliers in the food supply chain to eliminate chemicals from the production and manufacturing systems to supply quality products to customers globally. The Company engages in the business of processing, manufacture and sale of non-GMO oilseeds and organic and non-organic food-grade oils, for the rapidly growing oilseeds market, through sourcing materials from suppliers focused on reducing the use of chemicals in consumables in order to supply healthier food ingredients, vegetable oils, proteins and other products to customers globally. Over the past 20 years, the Company’s cold pressing oil plant has grown to become the largest in Australia, pressing strictly GMO-free conventional and organic oilseeds.
Contact Australian Oilseeds Holdings Limited 126-142 Cowcumbla Street Cootamundra New South Wales 2590 Attn: Amarjeet Singh, CFO Email: amarjeet.s@energreennutrition.com.au
MUNCIE, Ind., April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — First Merchants Corporation (NASDAQ – FRME)
First Quarter 2025 Highlights:
Net income available to common stockholders was $54.9 million and diluted earnings per common share totaled $0.94 compared to adjusted net income and diluted earnings per common share1of $50.1 million and $0.85 in the first quarter of 2024. Adjusted net income and diluted earnings per common share1in the fourth quarter of 2024 were $58.1 million and $1.00, respectively.
Robust capital position with Common Equity Tier 1 Capital Ratio of 11.50%.
Repurchased 246,751 shares totaling $10 million year-to-date; Redeemed $30 million of sub debt.
Total loans grew $154.9 million, or 4.8% annualized, on a linked quarter basis, and $547.2 million, or 4.4%, during the last twelve months.
Total deposits declined $59.6 million, or 1.6% annualized, on a linked quarter basis, and declined $422.6 million, or 2.8%, during the last twelve months primarily due to the sale of five Illinois branches with $267.4 million in deposits to Old Second National Bank on December 6, 2024.
Nonperforming assets to total assets were 47 basis points compared to 43 basis points on a linked quarter basis.
The efficiency ratio totaled 54.54% for the quarter.
“The first quarter was a strong start to the year with healthy loan growth and increasing profitability,” said Mark Hardwick, Chief Executive Officer of First Merchants Bank. “Our 2025 priorities continue to focus on organic loan growth funded by low-cost core deposits, margin stabilization, fee income growth, expense management and credit quality. Given the market volatility and headlines, we are closely monitoring our clients and our markets but have yet to see any signs of stress.”
First Quarter Financial Results:
First Merchants Corporation (the “Corporation”) reported first quarter 2025 net income available to common stockholders of $54.9 million compared to adjusted net income available to common stockholders1 of $50.1 million during the same period in 2024. Diluted earnings per common share for the period totaled $0.94 compared to the first quarter of 2024 adjusted diluted earnings per common share1 of $0.85 per share.
Total assets equaled $18.4 billion as of quarter-end and loans totaled $13.0 billion. During the past twelve months, total loans grew by $547.2 million, or 4.4%. On a linked quarter basis, loans grew $154.9 million, or 4.8% annualized.
Investment securities, totaling $3.4 billion, decreased $356.5 million, or 9.4%, during the last twelve months and decreased $33.6 million, or 3.9% annualized on a linked quarter basis. The decline in the last twelve months reflected sales of available for sale securities in 2024 totaling $268.5 million.
Total deposits equaled $14.5 billion as of quarter-end and decreased by $422.6 million, or 2.8%, over the past twelve months. The decline reflected the sale of the Illinois branches during the prior quarter which included $267.4 million in deposits. Total deposits decreased $59.6 million, or 1.6% annualized on a linked quarter basis. The loan to deposit ratio increased to 90.1% at period end from 88.6% in the prior quarter.
The Corporation’s Allowance for Credit Losses – Loans (ACL) totaled $192.0 million as of quarter-end, or 1.47% of total loans, a decrease of $0.7 million from prior quarter. Net charge-offs totaled $4.9 million and provision for loans of $4.2 million was recorded during the quarter. Reserves for unfunded commitments totaling $18.0 million remain unchanged from the previous quarter. Non-performing assets to total assets were 0.47% for the first quarter of 2025, an increase of four basis points compared to 0.43% in the prior quarter.
Net interest income totaled $130.3 million for the quarter, a decrease of $4.1 million, or 3.1%, compared to prior quarter and increased $3.2 million, or 2.5%, compared to the first quarter of 2024. Fully taxable equivalent net interest margin was 3.22%, a decrease of six basis points compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 and an increase of 12 basis points compared to the first quarter of 2024. The lower day count in the quarter caused a decline of five basis points in net interest margin from the prior quarter.
Noninterest income totaled $30.0 million for the quarter, a decrease of $12.7 million, compared to the fourth quarter of 2024 and an increase of $3.4 million compared to the first quarter of 2024. Customer-related fees declined by $2.3 million from the previous quarter due to lower derivative hedge fees, gains on sales of mortgage loans and card payment fees. Non-customer-related fees declined $10.4 million from the prior quarter primarily due to the gain on the Illinois branch sale, partially offset by realized losses on the sales of securities recorded in the prior quarter.
Noninterest expense totaled $92.9 million for the quarter, a decrease of $3.4 million from the fourth quarter of 2024 and a decrease of $4.0 million from the first quarter of 2024. The decrease from the fourth quarter of 2024 was due primarily to a decline in marketing expenses, and lower professional fees and employee incentives.
The Corporation’s total risk-based capital ratio totaled 13.22%, common equity tier 1 capital ratio totaled 11.50%, and the tangible common equity ratio totaled 8.90%. These ratios continue to demonstrate the Corporation’s strong capital position.
1 See “Non-GAAP Financial Information” for reconciliation
CONFERENCE CALL
First Merchants Corporation will conduct a fourth quarter earnings conference call and web cast at 11:30 a.m. (ET) on Thursday, April 24, 2025.
To view the webcast and presentation slides, please go to (https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/uqvoojku) during the time of the call. A replay of the webcast will be available until April 24, 2026.
Detailed financial results are reported on the attached pages.
About First Merchants Corporation
First Merchants Corporation is a financial holding company headquartered in Muncie, Indiana. The Corporation has one full-service bank charter, First Merchants Bank. The Bank also operates as First Merchants Private Wealth Advisors (as a division of First Merchants Bank).
First Merchants Corporation’s common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market System under the symbol FRME. Quotations are carried in daily newspapers and can be found on the company’s Internet web page (http://www.firstmerchants.com).
FIRST MERCHANTS and the Shield Logo are federally registered trademarks of First Merchants Corporation.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains forward-looking statements made pursuant to the safe-harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements can often, but not always, be identified by the use of words like “believe”, “continue”, “pattern”, “estimate”, “project”, “intend”, “anticipate”, “expect” and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will”, “would”, “should”, “could”, “might”, “can”, “may”, or similar expressions. These statements include statements about First Merchants’ goals, intentions and expectations; statements regarding the First Merchants’ business plan and growth strategies; statements regarding the asset quality of First Merchants’ loan and investment portfolios; and estimates of First Merchants’ risks and future costs and benefits. These forward-looking statements are subject to significant risks, assumptions and uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in forward-looking statements, including, among other things: possible changes in monetary and fiscal policies, and laws and regulations; the effects of easing restrictions on participants in the financial services industry; the cost and other effects of legal and administrative cases; possible changes in the credit worthiness of customers and the possible impairment of collectability of loans; fluctuations in market rates of interest; competitive factors in the banking industry; changes in the banking legislation or regulatory requirements of federal and state agencies applicable to bank holding companies and banks like First Merchants’ affiliate bank; continued availability of earnings and excess capital sufficient for the lawful and prudent declaration of dividends; changes in market, economic, operational, liquidity (including the ability to grow and maintain core deposits and retain large, uninsured deposits), credit and interest rate risks associated with the First Merchants’ business; and other risks and factors identified in each of First Merchants’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. First Merchants does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, relating to the matters discussed in this press release. In addition, First Merchants’ past results of operations do not necessarily indicate its anticipated future results.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(Dollars In Thousands)
March 31,
2025
2024
ASSETS
Cash and due from banks
$
86,113
$
100,514
Interest-bearing deposits
331,534
410,497
Investment securities available for sale
1,378,489
1,620,213
Investment securities held to maturity, net of allowance for credit losses
2,048,632
2,163,361
Loans held for sale
23,004
15,118
Loans
13,004,905
12,465,582
Less: Allowance for credit losses – loans
(192,031
)
(204,681
)
Net loans
12,812,874
12,260,901
Premises and equipment
128,749
132,706
Federal Home Loan Bank stock
45,006
41,758
Interest receivable
88,352
92,550
Goodwill
712,002
712,002
Other intangibles
18,302
25,142
Cash surrender value of life insurance
304,918
306,028
Other real estate owned
4,966
4,886
Tax asset, deferred and receivable
87,665
101,121
Other assets
369,181
331,006
TOTAL ASSETS
$
18,439,787
$
18,317,803
LIABILITIES
Deposits:
Noninterest-bearing
$
2,185,057
$
2,338,364
Interest-bearing
12,276,921
12,546,220
Total Deposits
14,461,978
14,884,584
Borrowings:
Federal funds purchased
185,000
—
Securities sold under repurchase agreements
122,947
130,264
Federal Home Loan Bank advances
972,478
612,778
Subordinated debentures and other borrowings
62,619
118,612
Total Borrowings
1,343,044
861,654
Interest payable
13,304
19,262
Other liabilities
289,247
327,500
Total Liabilities
16,107,573
16,093,000
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Preferred Stock, $1,000 par value, $1,000 liquidation value:
Authorized — 600 cumulative shares
Issued and outstanding – 125 cumulative shares
125
125
Preferred Stock, Series A, no par value, $2,500 liquidation preference:
Issued and outstanding – 10,000 non-cumulative perpetual shares
25,000
25,000
25,000
25,000
25,000
Common Stock, $.125 stated value:
Authorized — 100,000,000 shares
Issued and outstanding
7,226
7,247
7,265
7,256
7,321
Additional paid-in capital
1,183,263
1,188,768
1,192,683
1,191,193
1,208,447
Retained earnings
1,306,911
1,272,528
1,229,125
1,200,930
1,181,939
Accumulated other comprehensive loss
(190,311
)
(188,685
)
(151,825
)
(211,979
)
(198,029
)
Total Stockholders’ Equity
2,332,214
2,304,983
2,302,373
2,212,525
2,224,803
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
$
18,439,787
$
18,311,969
$
18,347,552
$
18,303,423
$
18,317,803
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF INCOME
(Dollars In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)
March 31,
December 31,
September 30,
June 30,
March 31,
2025
2024
2024
2024
2024
INTEREST INCOME
Loans:
Taxable
$
187,728
$
197,536
$
206,680
$
201,413
$
198,023
Tax-exempt
10,532
9,020
8,622
8,430
8,190
Investment securities:
Taxable
8,372
9,024
9,263
9,051
8,748
Tax-exempt
12,517
12,754
13,509
13,613
13,611
Deposits with financial institutions
2,372
5,350
2,154
2,995
6,493
Federal Home Loan Bank stock
997
958
855
879
835
Total Interest Income
222,518
234,642
241,083
236,381
235,900
INTEREST EXPENSE
Deposits
80,547
89,835
98,856
99,151
98,285
Federal funds purchased
812
26
329
126
—
Securities sold under repurchase agreements
742
680
700
645
1,032
Federal Home Loan Bank advances
9,364
8,171
8,544
6,398
6,773
Subordinated debentures and other borrowings
783
1,560
1,544
1,490
2,747
Total Interest Expense
92,248
100,272
109,973
107,810
108,837
NET INTEREST INCOME
130,270
134,370
131,110
128,571
127,063
Provision for credit losses
4,200
4,200
5,000
24,500
2,000
NET INTEREST INCOME AFTER PROVISION FOR CREDIT LOSSES
126,070
130,170
126,110
104,071
125,063
NONINTEREST INCOME
Service charges on deposit accounts
8,072
8,124
8,361
8,214
7,907
Fiduciary and wealth management fees
8,644
8,665
8,525
8,825
8,200
Card payment fees
4,526
4,957
5,121
4,739
4,500
Net gains and fees on sales of loans
5,022
5,681
6,764
5,141
3,254
Derivative hedge fees
404
1,594
736
489
263
Other customer fees
415
316
344
460
427
Earnings on cash surrender value of life insurance
2,179
2,188
2,755
1,929
1,592
Net realized losses on sales of available for sale securities
(7
)
(11,592
)
(9,114
)
(49
)
(2
)
Gain on branch sale
—
19,983
—
—
—
Other income
793
2,826
1,374
1,586
497
Total Noninterest Income
30,048
42,742
24,866
31,334
26,638
NONINTEREST EXPENSES
Salaries and employee benefits
54,982
55,437
55,223
52,214
58,293
Net occupancy
7,216
7,335
6,994
6,746
7,312
Equipment
7,008
7,028
6,949
6,599
6,226
Marketing
1,353
2,582
1,836
1,773
1,198
Outside data processing fees
5,929
6,029
7,150
7,072
6,889
Printing and office supplies
347
377
378
354
353
Intangible asset amortization
1,526
1,771
1,772
1,771
1,957
FDIC assessments
3,648
3,744
3,720
3,278
4,287
Other real estate owned and foreclosure expenses
600
227
942
373
534
Professional and other outside services
3,261
3,777
3,035
3,822
3,952
Other expenses
7,032
7,982
6,630
7,411
5,934
Total Noninterest Expenses
92,902
96,289
94,629
91,413
96,935
INCOME BEFORE INCOME TAX
63,216
76,623
56,347
43,992
54,766
Income tax expense
7,877
12,274
7,160
4,067
6,825
NET INCOME
55,339
64,349
49,187
39,925
47,941
Preferred stock dividends
469
469
468
469
469
NET INCOME AVAILABLE TO COMMON STOCKHOLDERS
$
54,870
$
63,880
$
48,719
$
39,456
$
47,472
Per Share Data:
Basic Net Income Available to Common Stockholders
$
0.95
$
1.10
$
0.84
$
0.68
$
0.80
Diluted Net Income Available to Common Stockholders
$
0.94
$
1.10
$
0.84
$
0.68
$
0.80
Cash Dividends Paid to Common Stockholders
$
0.35
$
0.35
$
0.35
$
0.35
$
0.34
Tangible Common Book Value Per Share
$
27.34
$
26.78
$
26.64
$
25.10
$
25.07
Average Diluted Common Shares Outstanding (in thousands)
58,242
58,247
58,289
58,328
59,273
FINANCIAL RATIOS:
Return on Average Assets
1.21
%
1.39
%
1.07
%
0.87
%
1.04
%
Return on Average Stockholders’ Equity
9.38
11.05
8.66
7.16
8.47
Return on Tangible Common Stockholders’ Equity
14.12
16.75
13.39
11.29
13.21
Average Earning Assets to Average Assets
92.47
92.48
92.54
92.81
92.91
Allowance for Credit Losses – Loans as % of Total Loans
1.47
1.50
1.48
1.50
1.64
Net Charge-offs as % of Average Loans (Annualized)
0.15
0.02
0.21
1.26
0.07
Average Stockholders’ Equity to Average Assets
12.76
12.51
12.26
12.02
12.17
Tax Equivalent Yield on Average Earning Assets
5.39
5.63
5.82
5.69
5.65
Interest Expense/Average Earning Assets
2.17
2.35
2.59
2.53
2.55
Net Interest Margin (FTE) on Average Earning Assets
3.22
3.28
3.23
3.16
3.10
Efficiency Ratio
54.54
48.48
53.76
53.84
59.21
LOANS
(Dollars In Thousands)
March 31,
December 31,
September 30,
June 30,
March 31,
2025
2024
2024
2024
2024
Commercial and industrial loans
$
4,306,597
$
4,114,292
$
4,041,217
$
3,949,817
$
3,722,365
Agricultural land, production and other loans to farmers
243,864
256,312
238,743
239,926
234,431
Real estate loans:
Construction
793,175
792,144
814,704
823,267
941,726
Commercial real estate, non-owner occupied
2,177,869
2,274,016
2,251,351
2,323,533
2,368,360
Commercial real estate, owner occupied
1,214,739
1,157,944
1,152,751
1,174,195
1,137,894
Residential
2,389,852
2,374,729
2,366,943
2,370,905
2,316,490
Home equity
650,499
659,811
641,188
631,104
618,258
Individuals’ loans for household and other personal expenditures
140,954
166,028
158,480
162,089
161,459
Public finance and other commercial loans
1,087,356
1,059,083
981,431
964,814
964,599
Loans
13,004,905
12,854,359
12,646,808
12,639,650
12,465,582
Allowance for credit losses – loans
(192,031
)
(192,757
)
(187,828
)
(189,537
)
(204,681
)
NET LOANS
$
12,812,874
$
12,661,602
$
12,458,980
$
12,450,113
$
12,260,901
DEPOSITS
(Dollars In Thousands)
March 31,
December 31,
September 30,
June 30,
March 31,
2025
2024
2024
2024
2024
Demand deposits
$
7,786,554
$
7,980,061
$
7,678,510
$
7,757,679
$
7,771,976
Savings deposits
4,791,874
4,522,758
4,302,236
4,339,161
4,679,593
Certificates and other time deposits of $100,000 or more
896,143
1,043,068
1,277,833
1,415,131
1,451,443
Certificates and other time deposits of $100,000 or less
625,203
692,068
802,949
889,949
901,280
Brokered certificates of deposits1
362,204
283,671
303,572
167,150
80,292
TOTAL DEPOSITS
$
14,461,978
$
14,521,626
$
14,365,100
$
14,569,070
$
14,884,584
1 – Total brokered deposits of $1.1 billion, which includes brokered CD’s of $362.2 million at March 31, 2025.
CONSOLIDATED AVERAGE BALANCE SHEET AND NET INTEREST MARGIN ANALYSIS
(Dollars in Thousands)
For the Three Months Ended
March 31, 2025
March 31, 2024
Average Balance
Interest Income / Expense
Average Rate
Average Balance
Interest Income / Expense
Average Rate
ASSETS
Interest-bearing deposits
$
294,016
$
2,372
3.23
%
$
575,699
$
6,493
4.51
%
Federal Home Loan Bank stock
43,980
997
9.07
41,764
835
8.00
Investment Securities: (1)
Taxable
1,634,452
8,372
2.05
1,783,057
8,748
1.96
Tax-exempt (2)
2,046,674
15,844
3.10
2,246,265
17,229
3.07
Total Investment Securities
3,681,126
24,216
2.63
4,029,322
25,977
2.58
Loans held for sale
20,965
319
6.09
21,782
328
6.02
Loans: (3)
Commercial
8,770,282
147,772
6.74
8,598,110
159,209
7.41
Real estate mortgage
2,191,384
24,446
4.46
2,130,947
22,357
4.20
HELOC and installment
828,874
15,191
7.33
821,815
16,129
7.85
Tax-exempt (2)
1,129,848
13,332
4.72
904,412
10,367
4.59
Total Loans
12,941,353
201,060
6.21
12,477,066
208,390
6.68
Total Earning Assets
16,960,475
228,645
5.39
%
17,123,851
241,695
5.65
%
Total Non-Earning Assets
1,381,263
1,306,670
TOTAL ASSETS
$
18,341,738
$
18,430,521
LIABILITIES
Interest-Bearing Deposits:
Interest-bearing deposits
$
5,522,434
$
34,606
2.51
%
$
5,419,821
$
39,491
2.91
%
Money market deposits
3,437,998
25,952
3.02
3,045,478
27,383
3.60
Savings deposits
1,299,405
2,445
0.75
1,559,877
3,801
0.97
Certificates and other time deposits
1,947,854
17,544
3.60
2,427,859
27,610
4.55
Total Interest-Bearing Deposits
12,207,691
80,547
2.64
12,453,035
98,285
3.16
Borrowings
1,262,926
11,701
3.71
1,011,812
10,552
4.17
Total Interest-Bearing Liabilities
13,470,617
92,248
2.74
13,464,847
108,837
3.23
Noninterest-bearing deposits
2,211,647
2,428,170
Other liabilities
318,600
295,365
Total Liabilities
16,000,864
16,188,382
STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
2,340,874
2,242,139
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY
$
18,341,738
92,248
$
18,430,521
108,837
Net Interest Income (FTE)
$
136,397
$
132,858
Net Interest Spread (FTE)(4)
2.65
%
2.42
%
Net Interest Margin (FTE):
Interest Income (FTE) / Average Earning Assets
5.39
%
5.65
%
Interest Expense / Average Earning Assets
2.17
%
2.55
%
Net Interest Margin (FTE)(5)
3.22
%
3.10
%
(1) Average balance of securities is computed based on the average of the historical amortized cost balances without the effects of the fair value adjustments. Annualized amounts are computed using a 30/360 day basis.
(2) Tax-exempt securities and loans are presented on a fully taxable equivalent basis, using a marginal tax rate of 21 percent for 2024 and 2023. These totals equal $6,127 and $5,795 for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, respectively.
(3) Non accruing loans have been included in the average balances.
(4) Net Interest Spread (FTE) is interest income expressed as a percentage of average earning assets minus interest expense expressed as a percentage of average interest-bearing liabilities.
(5) Net Interest Margin (FTE) is interest income expressed as a percentage of average earning assets minus interest expense expressed as a percentage of average earning assets.
ADJUSTED NET INCOME AND DILUTED EARNINGS PER COMMON SHARE – NON-GAAP
(Dollars In Thousands, Except Per Share Amounts)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
December 31,
September 30,
June 30,
March 31,
2025
2024
2024
2024
2024
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders – GAAP
$
54,870
$
63,880
$
48,719
$
39,456
$
47,472
Adjustments:
Net realized losses on sales of available for sale securities
7
11,592
9,114
49
2
Gain on branch sale
—
(19,983
)
—
—
—
Non-core expenses1,2
—
762
—
—
3,481
Tax on adjustments
(2
)
1,851
(2,220
)
(12
)
(848
)
Adjusted Net Income Available to Common Stockholders – Non-GAAP
$
54,875
$
58,102
$
55,613
$
39,493
$
50,107
Average Diluted Common Shares Outstanding (in thousands)
58,242
58,247
58,289
58,328
59,273
Diluted Earnings Per Common Share – GAAP
$
0.94
$
1.10
$
0.84
$
0.68
$
0.80
Adjustments:
Net realized losses on sales of available for sale securities
—
0.20
0.15
—
—
Gain on branch sale
—
(0.34
)
—
—
—
Non-core expenses1,2
—
0.01
—
—
0.06
Tax on adjustments
—
0.03
(0.04
)
—
(0.01
)
Adjusted Diluted Earnings Per Common Share – Non-GAAP
$
0.94
$
1.00
$
0.95
$
0.68
$
0.85
1 – Non-core expenses in 4Q24 included $0.8 million of costs directly related to the branch sale.
2 – Non-core expenses in 1Q24 included $2.4 million from duplicative online banking conversion costs and $1.1 million from the FDIC special assessment.
NET INTEREST MARGIN (“NIM”), ADJUSTED
(Dollars in Thousands)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
December 31,
September 30,
June 30,
March 31,
2025
2024
2024
2024
2024
Net Interest Income (GAAP)
$
130,270
$
134,370
$
131,110
$
128,571
$
127,063
Fully Taxable Equivalent (“FTE”) Adjustment
6,127
5,788
5,883
5,859
5,795
Net Interest Income (FTE) (non-GAAP)
$
136,397
$
140,158
$
136,993
$
134,430
$
132,858
Average Earning Assets (GAAP)
$
16,960,475
$
17,089,198
$
16,990,358
$
17,013,984
$
17,123,851
Net Interest Margin (GAAP)
3.07
%
3.15
%
3.09
%
3.02
%
2.97
%
Net Interest Margin (FTE) (non-GAAP)
3.22
%
3.28
%
3.23
%
3.16
%
3.10
%
RETURN ON TANGIBLE COMMON EQUITY – NON-GAAP
(Dollars In Thousands)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
December 31,
September 30,
June 30,
March 31,
2025
2024
2024
2024
2024
Total Average Stockholders’ Equity (GAAP)
$
2,340,874
$
2,312,270
$
2,251,547
$
2,203,361
$
2,242,139
Less: Average Preferred Stock
(25,125
)
(25,125
)
(25,125
)
(25,125
)
(25,125
)
Less: Average Intangible Assets, Net of Tax
(726,917
)
(728,218
)
(729,581
)
(730,980
)
(732,432
)
Average Tangible Common Equity, Net of Tax (Non-GAAP)
$
1,588,832
$
1,558,927
$
1,496,841
$
1,447,256
$
1,484,582
Net Income Available to Common Stockholders (GAAP)
$
54,870
$
63,880
$
48,719
$
39,456
$
47,472
Plus: Intangible Asset Amortization, Net of Tax
1,206
1,399
1,399
1,399
1,546
Tangible Net Income (Non-GAAP)
$
56,076
$
65,279
$
50,118
$
40,855
$
49,018
Return on Tangible Common Equity (Non-GAAP)
14.12
%
16.75
%
13.39
%
11.29
%
13.21
%
EFFICIENCY RATIO – NON-GAAP
(Dollars In Thousands)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
December 31,
September 30,
June 30,
March 31,
2025
2024
2024
2024
2024
Non Interest Expense (GAAP)
$
92,902
$
96,289
$
94,629
$
91,413
$
96,935
Less: Intangible Asset Amortization
(1,526
)
(1,771
)
(1,772
)
(1,771
)
(1,957
)
Less: OREO and Foreclosure Expenses
(600
)
(227
)
(942
)
(373
)
(534
)
Adjusted Non Interest Expense (Non-GAAP)
$
90,776
$
94,291
$
91,915
$
89,269
$
94,444
Net Interest Income (GAAP)
$
130,270
$
134,370
$
131,110
$
128,571
$
127,063
Plus: Fully Taxable Equivalent Adjustment
6,127
5,788
5,883
5,859
5,795
Net Interest Income on a Fully Taxable Equivalent Basis (Non-GAAP)
$
136,397
$
140,158
$
136,993
$
134,430
$
132,858
Non Interest Income (GAAP)
$
30,048
$
42,742
$
24,866
$
31,334
$
26,638
Less: Investment Securities (Gains) Losses
7
11,592
9,114
49
2
Adjusted Non Interest Income (Non-GAAP)
$
30,055
$
54,334
$
33,980
$
31,383
$
26,640
Adjusted Revenue (Non-GAAP)
$
166,452
$
194,492
$
170,973
$
165,813
$
159,498
Efficiency Ratio (Non-GAAP)
54.54
%
48.48
%
53.76
%
53.84
%
59.21
%
Adjusted Non Interest Expense (Non-GAAP)
$
90,776
$
94,291
$
91,915
$
89,269
$
94,444
Less: Non-core Expenses1,2
—
(762
)
—
—
(3,481
)
Adjusted Non Interest Expense Excluding Non-core Expenses (Non-GAAP)
$
90,776
$
93,529
$
91,915
$
89,269
$
90,963
Adjusted Revenue (Non-GAAP)
$
166,452
$
194,492
$
170,973
$
165,813
$
159,498
Less: Gain on Branch Sale
—
(19,983
)
—
—
—
Adjusted Revenue Excluding Gain on Branch Sale (Non-GAAP)
$
166,452
$
174,509
$
170,973
$
165,813
$
159,498
Adjusted Efficiency Ratio (Non-GAAP)
54.54
%
53.60
%
53.76
%
53.84
%
57.03
%
1 – Non-core expenses in 4Q24 included $0.8 million of costs directly related to the branch sale.
2 – Non-core expenses in 1Q24 included $2.4 million from duplicative online banking conversion costs and $1.1 million from the FDIC special assessment.
For more information, contact: Nicole M. Weaver, Vice President and Director of Corporate Administration 765-521-7619 http://www.firstmerchants.com
SOURCE: First Merchants Corporation, Muncie, Indiana
2. In view of representations received from various banks citing implementation challenges, it has been decided to extend the timeline for implementation of the instructions by six months i.e., up to November 01, 2025. The banks shall however, endeavour to comply with the instructions at the earliest.
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today participated in the 33rd ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Meeting, held in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. The Meeting discussed ASCC’s strategic directions in ensuring a resilient, inclusive, dynamic and sustainable ASEAN, and exchanged views on the implementation of the ASCC Strategic Plan, which will be an integral part of the ASEAN Community Vision 2045. The Meeting also congratulated Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025 and reaffirmed its commitment to supporting the ASCC priorities for the year. The meeting also marked the soft launch of the ASCC Strategic Plan which reflects ASCC’s shared commitment of improving the quality and well-being of the ASEAN peoples.
Download the press release of the 33rd Meeting of ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Council here.
Photos credit: Ministry of Tourism Arts and Culture (MOTAC) of Malaysia
The post Secretary-General of ASEAN participates in the 33rd ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community Council Meeting in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.
LONDON, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Diginex Limited (“Diginex”) (NASDAQ: DGNX), a leading impact technology company specializing in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) solutions, and Baker Tilly Singapore (“Baker Tilly”), a globally recognized advisory, tax, and assurance firm, today announced a strategic alliance to integrate Diginex’s innovative diginexESG platform into Baker Tilly’s client offerings. This collaboration will empower Baker Tilly’s diverse client base to streamline ESG reporting, enhance compliance, and drive sustainable growth in response to increasing global demand for transparency and accountability.
The diginexESG platform, an award-winning cloud-based solution compatible with major frameworks such as GRI, SASB, and ISSB, provides end-to-end tools for topic discovery, data collection, and collaborative report publishing. Through this alliance, Baker Tilly’s clients across industries will gain access to diginexESG’s intuitive technology, supported by Baker Tilly’s deep expertise in ESG advisory, risk management, and business strategy. The strategic relationship aims to simplify the complexities of sustainability reporting while enabling clients to meet evolving regulatory requirements and investor expectations.
“We are excited to work with Baker Tilly, a trusted leader in professional services, to bring diginexESG to their clients,” said Mark Blick, CEO of Diginex. “This alliance aligns with our mission to democratize access to advanced ESG tools, helping organizations of all sizes achieve their sustainability goals while driving measurable impact.”
Joshua Ong, Managing Partner at Baker Tilly Singapore, said, “We are committed to delivering innovative solutions that add value to our clients’ businesses, while solving challenges that they may face with fragmented systems and resources. This alliance with Diginex provides a new platform that enhances our clients’ daily operations and helps them to make informed decisions in building resilient, future-ready businesses.”
“There is growing pressure in the Asia-Pacific region for companies to produce high-quality ESG data that meets global standards,” added Tina Thomas, Head of ESG & Sustainability at Baker Tilly Singapore.
The alliance comes at a critical time as businesses face heightened scrutiny from regulators, investors, and stakeholders to demonstrate robust ESG performance. Baker Tilly’s global network, combined with Diginex’s cutting-edge technology, positions both firms to set a new standard for ESG reporting and compliance.
About Diginex Limited
Diginex Limited (Nasdaq: DGNX; ISIN KYG286871044), headquartered in London, is a sustainable RegTech business that empowers businesses and governments to streamline ESG, climate, and supply chain data collection and reporting. The Company utilizes blockchain, AI, machine learning and data analysis technology to lead change and increase transparency in corporate regulatory reporting and sustainable finance. Diginex’s products and services solutions enable companies to collect, evaluate and share sustainability data through easy-to-use software.
The award-winning diginexESG platform supports 17 global frameworks, including GRI (the “Global Reporting Initiative”), SASB (the “Sustainability Accounting Standards Board”), and TCFD (the “Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures”). Clients benefit from end-to-end support, ranging from materiality assessments and data management to stakeholder engagement, report generation and an ESG Ratings Support Service.
About Baker Tilly Singapore Baker Tilly Singapore is a full-service accounting and business advisory firm that offers industry-specialised services in assurance, tax and advisory. With a focus on serving entrepreneurs, family-owned businesses, not-for-profits, and listed companies, we help our clients plan for the future. Baker Tilly Singapore is an independent member of Baker Tilly International, one of the world’s 10 largest accounting and business advisory networks.
Baker Tilly Singapore offers a full suite of ESG services, including ESG assessment, strategy development, reporting and disclosure, stakeholder engagement, risk management, sustainability certification, ESG integration in investments, as well as training and education.
For more information on Baker Tilly Singapore’s services, visit www.bakertilly.sg.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on the Company’s current expectations and projections about future events that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “approximates,” “believes,” “hopes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “estimates,” “projects,” “intends,” “plans,” “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may” or other similar expressions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results and encourages investors to review other factors that may affect its future results disclosed in the Company’s filings with the SEC.
SINGAPORE, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — EUDA Health Holdings Limited (“EUDA” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: EUDA), a Singapore-based property management services provider and a leading non-invasive healthcare provider in Singapore and Malaysia, today announced an update to the potential strategic partnership, previously announced in December 2024, with Guangdong Cell Biotech Co. Ltd. (“Guangdong Cell Biotech”). Guangdong Cell Biotech is a prominent player in stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine in China. It develops autologous cell treatments and tailored medicines for various disorders.
Instead of the initially contemplated joint venture, the parties have adopted a commercial distribution arrangement structure that better aligns with their respective operational models and regional market dynamics.
On April 22, 2025, CK Health Plus Sdn Bhd (“CK Health”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of EUDA and a direct seller of holistic wellness consumer products, signed a collaboration agreement with Guangdong Key Lock Health Management Co., Ltd. (“Keylock”), an authorized distributor of Guangdong Cell Biotech. Pursuant to this collaboration agreement, CK Health will market and sell to EUDA customers in Singapore and Malaysia stem cell therapies provided by Guangdong Cell Biotech in China.
This revised structure builds upon the original strategic intent of the parties to collaborate, giving EUDA access to Guangdong Cell Biotech’s cutting-edge stem cell therapies and regenerative medicine.
“This commercial distribution structure showcases our strategy to diversify our business and revenue streams,” said Mr. Alfred Lim, CEO of EUDA. “Combining our mission to expand access to holistic healthcare solutions in Southeast Asia with Guangdong Cell Biotech’s established stem cell therapies, we aim to transform the health and wellness landscape in the region.”
AboutEUDAHealthHoldingsLimited
EUDA Health Holdings Limited (NASDAQ: EUDA) is a Singapore-based property management services provider and a leading non-invasive healthcare provider in Singapore and Malaysia. Our mission is to transform the health and wellness landscape by leveraging cutting-edge technology to enhance non-invasive treatments and expand holistic healthcare access in Southeast Asia. We offer a diverse portfolio of innovative non-invasive wellness products and services, including bioenergy capsules and stem cell therapies, marketed under the CK Health brand in Malaysia and Singapore.
ForwardLookingStatements
This document may contain forward-looking statements regarding risks and uncertainties. These statements usually use forward-looking words, such as the words “estimates,” “projected,” “expects,” “envisions,” “anticipates,” “forecasts,” “plans,” “intends,” “believes,” “seeks,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “future,” “propose” and variations of these words or similar expressions (or the negative versions of such words or expressions).These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance, conditions or results, and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other important factors, many of which are outside EUDA’s control, that could cause actual results or outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. You should not overly rely on forward-looking statements that are only applicable to the date of publication of this document. These forward-looking statements are based on information from EUDA and Guangdong Cell Biotech, as well as other sources that we believe are reliable. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law.
SUZHOU, China, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — YXT.com Group Holding Limited (NASDAQ: YXT) (“YXT.com” or the “Company”), a provider of AI-enabled enterprise productivity solutions, today announced that it has filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024 with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 24, 2025 Eastern Time. The annual report can be accessed on the Company’s investor relations website at https://ir.yxt.com.
About YXT.com YXT.com (NASDAQ: YXT) is a technology company focusing on enterprise productivity solutions. With a mission to “Empower people and organization development through technology,” The Company strives to become the supreme provider in building and boosting enterprise productivity by combining over a decade of experience in tech-enabled talent learning and development and with AI-augmented task copilots and unleashing the power of knowledge and synergy. Since its inception, YXT.com has supported and received recognition from numerous Global and China Fortune 500 companies.
YXT.com operates its business in China through “Jiangsu Radnova Intelligence Technology Co., Ltd.,” formerly known as “Jiangsu Yunxuetang Network Technology Co., Ltd.”. YXT.com has established an entity in Singapore to serve as a headquarter for its overseas business to be conducted in the future, with the “Radnova” trademark to serve international markets.
NEW YORK, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Nasdaq, Inc. (Nasdaq: NDAQ) today reported financial results for the first quarter of 2025.
First quarter 2025 net revenue1 was $1.2 billion, an increase of 11% over the first quarter of 2024, or up 12.5% on an adjusted2 basis. This included Solutions3 revenue growing 9%, or up 11% on an adjusted basis.
Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR)4 of $2.8 billion increased 8% over the first quarter of 2024, or up 9% on an organic basis. Annualized SaaS revenue increased 14% and represented 37% of ARR.
Financial Technology revenue of $432 million increased 10% over the first quarter of 2024 with Financial Crime Management Technology revenue up 21%.
Index revenue of $193 million grew 14%, or 26% on an adjusted basis, with $86 billion of net inflows over the trailing twelve months and $27 billion in the first quarter of 2025.
GAAP diluted earnings per share grew 69% in the first quarter of 2025. Non-GAAP5 diluted earnings per share grew 24% in the first quarter of 2025.
In the first quarter of 2025, the company returned $138 million to shareholders through dividends and $115 million through repurchases of common stock. The company also repurchased $279 million of senior unsecured notes in the quarter.
First Quarter 2025 Highlights
(US$ millions, except per share)
1Q25
YoY change %
Adjusted YoY change %
Organic6YoY change %
Solutions revenue
$947
9%
11%
9%
Market Services net revenue
$281
19%
19%
19%
Net revenue
$1,237
11%
12%
11%
Non-GAAP operating income
$682
15%
17%
14%
ARR
$2,831
8%
9%
9%
GAAP diluted EPS
$0.68
69%
Non-GAAP diluted EPS
$0.79
24%
24%
Adena Friedman, Chair and CEO said, “Nasdaq’s first quarter results underscore the resilience of our business model and our ability to deliver growth across our divisions in a rapidly shifting environment.
As a trusted partner and platform company, we are empowering our clients to address their most pressing risks and challenges and confidently navigate complex macroeconomic conditions. With our portfolio of complementary, mission-critical solutions, we are well-positioned to deliver sustainable growth through 2025 and the medium-term.”
Sarah Youngwood, Executive Vice President and CFO said, “Nasdaq delivered one of its strongest quarters yet, with all three divisions achieving robust revenue growth and contributing to stellar EPS growth. We demonstrated strong operating leverage and our high level of cash flow enabled us to make meaningful progress on our capital allocation strategy of investing in organic growth, reducing debt, and repurchasing shares.
We are grateful for our clients’ trust and remain focused on supporting them in these times of uncertainty, executing on our growth opportunities, and continuing to delever while making focused strategic investments to capitalize on our compelling organic growth opportunity.”
FINANCIAL REVIEW
First quarter 2025 net revenue was $1,237 million, reflecting 11% growth versus the prior year period. Adjusted net revenue growth was 12.5%.
Solutions revenue was $947 million in the first quarter of 2025, up 9% versus the prior year period, or up 11% on an adjusted basis, reflecting strong growth from Index and Financial Technology.
ARR grew 8% year-over-year, or 9% on an organic basis, in the first quarter of 2025 with 11% ARR growth for Financial Technology, or 12% on an organic basis, and 5% ARR growth for Capital Access Platforms.
Market Services net revenue was $281 million in the first quarter of 2025, up 19% versus the prior year period.
First quarter 2025 GAAP operating expenses were $690 million, a decrease of 3% versus the prior year period. The decrease in the first quarter was primarily due to lower expenses related to general and administrative expenses, lower restructuring costs, and lower compensation and benefits, partially offset by an increase in merger and strategic initiative costs.
First quarter 2025 non-GAAP operating expenses were $555 million, reflecting 6% growth versus the prior year period, or 7% growth on an organic basis. The organic increase for the quarter reflected growth driven by increased investments in technology and people to drive innovation and long-term growth, partially offset by the benefit of synergies.
Cash flow from operations was $663 million for the first quarter enabling the company to make continued progress on its deleveraging plan. In the first quarter of 2025, the company returned $138 million to shareholders through dividends and $115 million through repurchases of common stock. As of March 31, 2025, there was $1.6 billion remaining under the board authorized share repurchase program. The company also repurchased $279 million of senior unsecured notes for a net purchase price of $257 million in the first quarter of 2025.
2025 EXPENSE AND TAX GUIDANCE UPDATE7
The company is updating its 2025 non-GAAP operating expense guidance to a range of $2,265 million to $2,325 million, and is maintaining its 2025 non-GAAP tax rate guidance in the range of 22.5% to 24.5%.
STRATEGIC AND BUSINESS UPDATES
Financial Technology delivered durable and broad-based ARR growth. The One Nasdaq go to market strategy is elevating client engagement and driving product adoption resulting in robust ARR growth. FinTech ARR grew 12% on an organic basis in the first quarter with 40 new clients, 92 upsells, and 2 cross-sells. First quarter highlights included:
Financial Crime Management Technology revenue growth reflects momentum across both enterprise and small-and-medium bank (SMB) clients. Nasdaq Verafin secured several strategic first quarter wins including a cross-sell to a Tier 2 AxiomSL client and an upsell to a Tier 2 bank client, reflecting early progress on its land and expand enterprise client strategy. The business also added 35 new SMB clients in the first quarter, a 25% increase in new client signings over the prior year quarter. Nasdaq Verafin’s ongoing client growth is contributing to the growth and power of its data consortium, which now includes clients holding more than $10 trillion in total assets.
Regulatory Technology achieved solid ARR growth as our solutions helped clients navigate elevated market activity. AxiomSL signed a new large digital bank client and continued its momentum with existing clients with 22 upsells in the first quarter, including a strategic deal with a large Tier 1 U.S. financial institution. The Tier 1 client expanded its suite of AxiomSL services by incorporating a broker-dealer solution alongside their existing U.S., European, and Asian reporting modules. Surveillance signed 4 new clients in the quarter, including a European regulator, a crypto marketplace, an energy trading firm, and a broker-dealer.
Capital Markets Technology signed multiple strategic deals amid the market modernization megatrend. Strong execution and secular tailwinds are fueling new wins across the subdivision with Calypso completing 25 upsells and Market Technology signing 17 upsells in the first quarter. Market Technology also had a cross-sell to nuam, a consolidated market operator spanning Peru, Chile, and Colombia. In the first quarter, nuam selected Nasdaq’s newly launched trade, clearing, and central securities depositories (CSD) intelligence solution after signing Nasdaq’s Trade Multi Matching Engine in late 2023 and its member countries standardizing on Nasdaq’s CSD platform in December 2024.
Investments in Index powered alpha-driven revenuegrowth. Index had $27 billion in net inflows in the first quarter with average ETP AUM reaching $662 billion, to achieve a sixth consecutive record quarter, despite a more volatile market backdrop. Index’s performance reflects ongoing execution of its growth strategy of new product innovation, international diversification, and institutional client expansion. In the first quarter, Nasdaq launched 30 new Index products, including 10 international products, 7 in the institutional insurance annuity space, and 16 launched in partnership with new Index clients. New product launches have been a strong growth driver for Index and products launched since 2020 have accounted for 33% of net inflows over the last 5 years.
Nasdaq maintained listing leadership and passed $3 trillion of market value in cumulative transfers. During the quarter, Nasdaq welcomed 45 operating company listings that raised nearly $5 billion of proceeds, contributing to an 82% win rate of eligible operating companies in the quarter. First quarter wins included 3 of the quarter’s top 5 offerings, CoreWeave, SailPoint, and Smithfield Foods. In the first quarter, the company exceeded $3 trillion in combined market value for total listing transfers since Nasdaq first launched its switch program in 2005. Nasdaq welcomed 7 high-profile transfers in the quarter, including Shopify, Thomson Reuters, and Domino’s Pizza, that added over $230 billion in market value.
Market Services delivered record net revenues with record cash equities and derivatives volumes in the U.S. Within the recent market volatility, Nasdaq achieved U.S. record volumes in cash equities and equity options, including index options, in the first quarter. Nasdaq also extended its leadership in on-exchange trading with U.S. cash equities market share increasing year-over-year and sequentially. During the first quarter, Nasdaq’s North American markets experienced extraordinary message traffic, which reached a record of more than 425 billion messages8 in a day.
Nasdaq aims to expand U.S. market access to 24/5 trading in the second half of 2026. The planned launch of 24-hour trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market will broaden investor access and wealth-building opportunities globally, including in Asia, where demand for Nasdaq-listed stocks is accelerating. Nasdaq’s timeline is subject to regulatory approval and alignment with the industry participants.
Nasdaq and Amazon Web Services signed an enhanced agreement to amplify their prior partnership. The partnership aims to benefit both the Market Services and Financial Technology divisions and advance Nasdaq’s vision to be the trusted fabric of the world’s financial system. Nasdaq plans to offer its financial services clients new cloud-based solutions in phases. The initial phase focuses on providing market operators with public and hybrid cloud infrastructure, software, and services offerings that mitigate transformation risk, retain data sovereignty, and optimize performance, latency, security, and resilience. Nasdaq’s Nordic markets will be among the first markets to leverage the infrastructure powered by the new partnership, subject to regulatory approval. Nasdaq also has expanded its modernization partnerships with both the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and Mexico’s Grupo BMV.
Nasdaq is executing on its 2025 strategicpriorities — Integrate, Innovate, Accelerate — positioning the company to capitalize on opportunities for sustainable, scalable, and resilient growth.
Integrate – Nasdaq is on track to action its $140 million expanded net expense efficiency program by year-end, with over $100 million actioned as of the end of the first quarter. Moody’s upgraded Nasdaq’s senior unsecured debt rating from Baa2 to Baa1 on March 31.
Innovate – Nasdaq continued to amplify innovation across the company as the team rolled out new AI-powered features to our solutions and product offerings and launched new Index products. Client usage of Nasdaq Verafin’s Co-Pilot tool grew 20% sequentially in the first quarter, highlighting the value and efficiency the offering provides to clients. Currently, more than 1,200 clients are leveraging the co-pilot to expedite their alert reviews.
Accelerate – The company continues to execute on its One Nasdaq strategy securing 19 cross-sell wins since the Adenza acquisition across key solutions including Surveillance, AxiomSL, and Verafin. Nasdaq remains on track to surpass $100 million in run-rate revenue from cross-sells by the end of 2027. At the end of the first quarter, cross-sells accounted for over 15% of Financial Technology’s sales pipeline.
____________ 1 Represents revenue less transaction-based expenses. 2Adjusted period over period change reflects non-GAAP results, adjusted to include revenue for AxiomSL on-premises contracts to reflect adjustment for ratable recognition for 1Q24 and to exclude the impacts of foreign currency and the previously announced one-time revenue benefit in our Index business in 1Q24. 3 Constitutes revenue from our Capital Access Platforms and Financial Technology segments. 4 Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) for a given period is the current annualized value derived from subscription contracts with a defined contract value. This excludes contracts that are not recurring, are one-time in nature or where the contract value fluctuates based on defined metrics. ARR is currently one of our key performance metrics to assess the health and trajectory of our recurring business. ARR does not have any standardized definition and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. ARR should be viewed independently of revenue and deferred revenue and is not intended to be combined with or to replace either of those items. For AxiomSL and Calypso recurring revenue contracts, the amount included in ARR is consistent with the amount that we invoice the customer during the current period. Additionally, for AxiomSL and Calypso recurring revenue contracts that include annual values that increase over time, we include in ARR only the annualized value of components of the contract that are considered active as of the date of the ARR calculation. We do not include the future committed increases in the contract value as of the date of the ARR calculation. ARR is not a forecast and the active contracts at the end of a reporting period used in calculating ARR may or may not be extended or renewed by our customers. 5 Refer to our reconciliations of U.S. GAAP to non-GAAP net income attributable to Nasdaq, diluted earnings per share, operating income, operating expenses and organic impacts included in the attached schedules. 6 Organic changes (i) reflect adjustments to remove the impact of period-over-period changes in foreign currency exchange rates and (ii) includes revenue for AxiomSL on-premises contracts to reflect adjustment for ratable recognition for 1Q24. As it relates to ARR, organic changes only exclude the impact of period-over-period changes in foreign currency exchange rates as the AxiomSL ratable recognition adjustment had no impact on ARR. 7 U.S. GAAP operating expense and tax rate guidance are not provided due to the inherent difficulty in quantifying certain amounts due to a variety of factors including the unpredictability in the movement in foreign currency rates, as well as future charges or reversals outside of the normal course of business. 8 Message count represents the number of records across Nasdaq’s U.S. Options, U.S. and Canadian equities markets, trade reporting facilities, and bond exchange that are recorded into Nasdaq’s data warehouse on a daily basis.
ABOUT NASDAQ
Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) is a global technology company serving corporate clients, investment managers, banks, brokers, and exchange operators as they navigate and interact with the global capital markets and the broader financial system. We aspire to deliver world-leading platforms that improve the liquidity, transparency, and integrity of the global economy. Our diverse offering of data, analytics, software, exchange capabilities, and client-centric services enables clients to optimize and execute their business vision with confidence. To learn more about the company, technology solutions and career opportunities, visit us on LinkedIn, on X @Nasdaq, or at www.nasdaq.com.
NON-GAAP INFORMATION
In addition to disclosing results determined in accordance with U.S. GAAP, Nasdaq also discloses certain non-GAAP results of operations, including, but not limited to, non-GAAP net income attributable to Nasdaq, non-GAAP diluted earnings per share, non-GAAP operating income, and non-GAAP operating expenses, that include certain adjustments or exclude certain charges and gains that are described in the reconciliation table of U.S. GAAP to non-GAAP information provided at the end of this release. Management uses this non-GAAP information internally, along with U.S. GAAP information, in evaluating our performance and in making financial and operational decisions. We believe our presentation of these measures provides investors with greater transparency and supplemental data relating to our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we believe the presentation of these measures is useful to investors for period-to-period comparisons of results as the items described below in the reconciliation tables do not reflect ongoing operating performance.
These measures are not in accordance with, or an alternative to, U.S. GAAP, and may be different from non-GAAP measures used by other companies. In addition, other companies, including companies in our industry, may calculate such measures differently, which reduces their usefulness as a comparative measure. Investors should not rely on any single financial measure when evaluating our business. This information should be considered as supplemental in nature and is not meant as a substitute for our operating results in accordance with U.S. GAAP. We recommend investors review the U.S. GAAP financial measures included in this earnings release. When viewed in conjunction with our U.S. GAAP results and the accompanying reconciliations, we believe these non-GAAP measures provide greater transparency and a more complete understanding of factors affecting our business than U.S. GAAP measures alone.
We understand that analysts and investors regularly rely on non-GAAP financial measures, such as those noted above, to assess operating performance. We use these measures because they highlight trends more clearly in our business that may not otherwise be apparent when relying solely on U.S. GAAP financial measures, since these measures eliminate from our results specific financial items that have less bearing on our ongoing operating performance.
Organic revenue and expense growth, organic change and organic impact are non-GAAP measures that reflect adjustments for: (i) the impact of period-over-period changes in foreign currency exchange rates, and (ii) the revenue, expenses and operating income associated with acquisitions and divestitures for the twelve month period following the date of the acquisition or divestiture. Reconciliations of these measures are described within the body of this release or in the reconciliation tables at the end of this release.
Foreign exchange impact: In countries with currencies other than the U.S. dollar, revenue and expenses are translated using monthly average exchange rates. Certain discussions in this release isolate the impact of year-over-year foreign currency fluctuations to better measure the comparability of operating results between periods. Operating results excluding the impact of foreign currency fluctuations are calculated by translating the current period’s results by the prior period’s exchange rates.
Restructuring programs: In the fourth quarter of 2023, following the closing of the Adenza acquisition, our management approved, committed to and initiated a restructuring program to optimize our efficiencies as a combined organization. We further expanded this program in the fourth quarter of 2024 to accelerate our momentum and further optimize our efficiencies (efficiency program). We have incurred costs principally related to employee-related costs, contract terminations, asset impairments and other related costs and expect to incur additional costs in these areas in an effort to accelerate efficiencies through location strategy and enhanced AI capabilities. Actions taken as part of this program will be complete by the end of 2025, while certain costs may be recognized in the first half of 2026. We expect to achieve benefits primarily in the form of expense synergies. In October 2022, following our September announcement to realign our segments and leadership, we initiated a divisional realignment program with a focus on realizing the full potential of this structure. As of September 30, 2024, we completed our divisional realignment program. Costs related to the Adenza restructuring and the divisional realignment programs are recorded as “restructuring charges” in our condensed consolidated statements of income. We exclude charges associated with these programs for purposes of calculating non-GAAP measures as they are not reflective of ongoing operating performance or comparisons in Nasdaq’s performance between periods.
Information set forth in this communication contains forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Nasdaq cautions readers that any forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and that actual results could differ materially from those contained in the forward-looking information. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to (i) projections relating to our future financial results, total shareholder returns, growth, dividend program, trading volumes, products and services, ability to transition to new business models or implement our new corporate structure, taxes and achievement of synergy targets, (ii) statements about the closing or implementation dates and benefits of certain acquisitions, divestitures and other strategic, restructuring, technology, environmental, de-leveraging and capital allocation initiatives, (iii) statements about our integrations of our recent acquisitions, (iv) statements relating to any litigation or regulatory or government investigation or action to which we are or could become a party, and (v) other statements that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond Nasdaq’s control. These factors include, but are not limited to, Nasdaq’s ability to implement its strategic initiatives, economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations, geopolitical instability, government and industry regulation, interest rate risk, U.S. and global competition. Further information on these and other factors are detailed in Nasdaq’s filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including its annual reports on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, which are available on Nasdaq’s investor relations website at http://ir.nasdaq.com and the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. Nasdaq undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.
WEBSITE DISCLOSURE
Nasdaq intends to use its website, ir.nasdaq.com, as a means for disclosing material non-public information and for complying with SEC Regulation FD and other disclosure obligations.
Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP to Non-GAAP Net Income Attributable to Nasdaq and Diluted Earnings Per Share
(in millions, except per share amounts)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
March 31,
2025
2024
U.S. GAAP net income attributable to Nasdaq
$
395
$
234
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Amortization expense of acquired intangible assets (1)
122
123
Merger and strategic initiatives expense (2)
24
9
Restructuring charges (3)
5
26
Net income from unconsolidated investees (4)
(27
)
(3
)
Gain from extinguishment of debt (5)
(19
)
—
Legal and regulatory matters
2
2
Pension settlement charge (6)
—
23
Other loss
1
—
Total non-GAAP adjustments
108
180
Non-GAAP adjustment to the income tax provision (7)
(47
)
(47
)
Total non-GAAP adjustments, net of tax
61
133
Non-GAAP net income attributable to Nasdaq
$
456
$
367
U.S. GAAP diluted earnings per share
$
0.68
$
0.40
Total adjustments from non-GAAP net income above
0.11
0.23
Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share
$
0.79
$
0.63
Weighted-average diluted common shares outstanding for earnings per share:
580.0
578.9
(1) We amortize intangible assets acquired in connection with various acquisitions. Intangible asset amortization expense can vary from period to period due to episodic acquisitions completed, rather than from our ongoing business operations.
(2) We have pursued various strategic initiatives and completed acquisitions and divestitures in recent years that have resulted in expenses which would not have otherwise been incurred. These expenses generally include integration costs, as well as legal, due diligence and other third-party transaction costs. The frequency and the amount of such expenses vary significantly based on the size, timing and complexity of the transaction. For the three months ended March 31, 2025, these amounts are primarily driven by the timing of recognition associated with the transfer of open positions in our Nordic power derivatives trading and clearing business, Adenza integration costs and other strategic initiative costs. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, these costs were primarily related to the integration of Adenza.
(3) In the fourth quarter of 2023, following the closing of the Adenza acquisition, our management approved, committed to and initiated a restructuring program, “Adenza Restructuring” to optimize our efficiencies as a combined organization. In connection with this program, we expect to incur pre-tax charges principally related to employee-related costs, contract terminations, asset impairments and other related costs. We expect to achieve benefits primarily in the form of expense and revenue synergies. In addition, in September 2024, we completed our previously disclosed divisional realignment program.
(4) We exclude our share of the earnings and losses of our equity method investments. This provides a more meaningful analysis of Nasdaq’s ongoing operating performance or comparisons in Nasdaq’s performance between periods.
(5) For the three months ended March 31, 2025, we recorded a gain on the extinguishment of debt. This gain is recorded in general, administrative expense in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.
(6) For the three months ended March 31, 2024, we recorded a pre-tax charge as a result of settling our U.S. pension plan. The plan was terminated and partially settled in 2023, with final settlement occurring during the first quarter of 2024. The loss was recorded in compensation and benefits in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.
(7) The non-GAAP adjustment to the income tax provision primarily includes the tax impact of each non-GAAP adjustment. For the three months ended March 31, 2025, we recognized a prior year tax reserve release of $18 million due to a favorable audit settlement.
Nasdaq, Inc.
Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP to Non-GAAP Operating Income and Operating Margin
(in millions)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
March 31,
2025
2024
U.S. GAAP operating income
$
547
$
410
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Amortization expense of acquired intangible assets (1)
122
123
Merger and strategic initiatives expense (2)
24
9
Restructuring charges (3)
5
26
Gain from extinguishment of debt (4)
(19
)
—
Legal and regulatory matters
2
2
Pension settlement charge (5)
—
23
Other loss
1
—
Total non-GAAP adjustments
135
183
Non-GAAP operating income
$
682
$
593
Revenues less transaction-based expenses
$
1,237
$
1,117
U.S. GAAP operating margin(6)
44 %
37 %
Non-GAAP operating margin(7)
55 %
53 %
Note: The current period percentages are calculated based on exact dollars, and therefore may not recalculate exactly using rounded numbers as presented in US$ millions.
(1) We amortize intangible assets acquired in connection with various acquisitions. Intangible asset amortization expense can vary from period to period due to episodic acquisitions completed, rather than from our ongoing business operations.
(2) We have pursued various strategic initiatives and completed acquisitions and divestitures in recent years that have resulted in expenses which would not have otherwise been incurred. These expenses generally include integration costs, as well as legal, due diligence and other third-party transaction costs. The frequency and the amount of such expenses vary significantly based on the size, timing and complexity of the transaction. For the three months ended March 31, 2025, these amounts are primarily driven by the timing of recognition associated with the transfer of open positions in our Nordic power derivatives trading and clearing business, Adenza integration costs and other strategic initiative costs. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, these costs were primarily related to the integration of Adenza.
(3) In the fourth quarter of 2023, following the closing of the Adenza acquisition, our management approved, committed to and initiated a restructuring program, “Adenza Restructuring” to optimize our efficiencies as a combined organization. In connection with this program, we expect to incur pre-tax charges principally related to employee-related costs, contract terminations, asset impairments and other related costs. We expect to achieve benefits primarily in the form of expense and revenue synergies. In addition, in September 2024, we completed our previously disclosed divisional realignment program.
(4) For the three months ended March 31, 2025, we recorded a gain on the extinguishment of debt. This gain is recorded in general, administrative expense in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.
(5) For the three months ended March 31, 2024, we recorded a pre-tax charge as a result of settling our U.S. pension plan. The plan was terminated and partially settled in 2023, with final settlement occurring during the first quarter of 2024. The loss was recorded in compensation and benefits in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.
(6) U.S. GAAP operating margin equals U.S. GAAP operating income divided by revenues less transaction-based expenses.
(7) Non-GAAP operating margin equals non-GAAP operating income divided by non-GAAP revenues less transaction-based expenses.
Nasdaq, Inc.
Reconciliation of U.S. GAAP to Non-GAAP Operating Expenses
(in millions)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
March 31,
2025
2024
U.S. GAAP operating expenses
$
690
$
707
Non-GAAP adjustments:
Amortization expense of acquired intangible assets (1)
(122
)
(123
)
Merger and strategic initiatives expense (2)
(24
)
(9
)
Restructuring charges (3)
(5
)
(26
)
Gain from extinguishment of debt (4)
19
—
Legal and regulatory matters
(2
)
(2
)
Pension settlement charge (5)
—
(23
)
Other loss
(1
)
—
Total non-GAAP adjustments
(135
)
(183
)
Non-GAAP operating expenses
$
555
$
524
(1) We amortize intangible assets acquired in connection with various acquisitions. Intangible asset amortization expense can vary from period to period due to episodic acquisitions completed, rather than from our ongoing business operations.
(2) We have pursued various strategic initiatives and completed acquisitions and divestitures in recent years that have resulted in expenses which would not have otherwise been incurred. These expenses generally include integration costs, as well as legal, due diligence and other third-party transaction costs. The frequency and the amount of such expenses vary significantly based on the size, timing and complexity of the transaction. For the three months ended March 31, 2025, these amounts are primarily driven by the timing of recognition associated with the transfer of open positions in our Nordic power derivatives trading and clearing business, Adenza integration costs and other strategic initiative costs. For the three months ended March 31, 2024, these costs were primarily related to the integration of Adenza.
(3) In the fourth quarter of 2023, following the closing of the Adenza acquisition, our management approved, committed to and initiated a restructuring program, “Adenza Restructuring” to optimize our efficiencies as a combined organization. In connection with this program, we expect to incur pre-tax charges principally related to employee-related costs, contract terminations, asset impairments and other related costs. We expect to achieve benefits primarily in the form of expense and revenue synergies. In addition, in September 2024, we completed our previously disclosed divisional realignment program.
(4) For the three months ended March 31, 2025, we recorded a gain on the extinguishment of debt. This gain is recorded in general, administrative expense in our Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.
(5) For the three months ended March 31, 2024, we recorded a pre-tax charge as a result of settling our U.S. pension plan. The plan was terminated and partially settled in 2023, with final settlement occurring during the first quarter of 2024. The loss was recorded in compensation and benefits in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income.
Nasdaq, Inc.
Reconciliation of Adjusted Impacts for Revenues less transaction-based expenses, Non-GAAP Operating Expenses,
Non-GAAP Operating Income, and Non-GAAP Operating Margin
(in millions)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
As Reported
Adenza
Adjusted(1)
Total Variance
FX & Other(2)
Adjusted YoY
March 31, 2025
March 31, 2024
March 31, 2024
March 31, 2024
$
%
$
$
%
CAPITAL ACCESS PLATFORMS
Data and Listing Services revenues
$
192
$
186
$
—
$
186
$
6
3
%
$
(1
)
$
7
4
%
Index revenues
193
168
—
168
25
14
%
(16
)
41
26
%
Workflow and insights revenues
130
125
—
125
5
4
%
—
5
4
%
Total Capital Access Platforms revenues
515
479
—
479
36
7
%
(17
)
53
11
%
FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY
Financial Crime Management Technology revenues
77
64
—
64
13
21
%
—
13
21
%
Regulatory Technology revenues
101
90
3
93
8
8
%
(1
)
9
10
%
Capital Markets Technology revenues
254
238
—
238
16
7
%
(1
)
17
7
%
Total Financial Technology revenues
432
392
3
395
37
9
%
(2
)
39
10
%
Solutions revenues(3)
947
871
3
874
73
8
%
(19
)
92
11
%
Market Services, net revenues
281
237
—
237
44
19
%
(2
)
46
19
%
Other revenues
9
9
—
9
—
(6
)%
—
—
(4
)%
Revenues less transaction-based expenses
1,237
1,117
3
1,120
117
10
%
(21
)
138
12
%
Non-GAAP operating expenses
555
524
—
524
31
6
%
(6
)
37
7
%
Non-GAAP operating income
$
682
$
593
$
3
$
596
$
86
14
%
$
(15
)
$
101
17
%
Non-GAAP operating margin
55%
53%
53%
(1) Includes revenue for AxiomSL on-premises contracts to reflect adjustment for ratable recognition for the first quarter of 2024.
(2) Reflects the impacts from changes in foreign currency exchange rates and excludes the impact of a one-time revenue benefit related to a legal settlement to recoup lost revenue recorded within Index in the first quarter of 2024.
(3) Represents Capital Access Platforms and Financial Technology Segments.
Note: The current period percentages are calculated based on exact dollars, and therefore may not recalculate exactly using rounded numbers as presented in US$ millions.
Nasdaq, Inc.
Reconciliation of Organic Impacts for Revenues less transaction-based expenses, Non-GAAP Operating Expenses,
Non-GAAP Operating Income, and Non-GAAP Diluted Earnings Per Share
(in millions, except per share amounts)
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
Total Variance
Other Impacts(1)
Organic Impact(2)
March 31, 2025
March 31, 2024
$
%
$
%
$
%
CAPITAL ACCESS PLATFORMS
Data and Listing Services revenues
$
192
$
186
$
6
3
%
$
(1
)
(1
)%
$
7
4
%
Index revenues
193
168
25
14
%
—
—
%
25
14
%
Workflow and Insights revenues
130
125
5
4
%
—
—
%
5
4
%
Total Capital Access Platforms revenues
515
479
36
7
%
(1
)
—
%
37
8
%
FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY
Financial Crime Management Technology revenues
77
64
13
21
%
—
—
%
13
21
%
Regulatory Technology revenues
101
90
11
12
%
2
2
%
9
10
%
Capital Markets Technology revenues
254
238
16
7
%
(1
)
—
%
17
7
%
Total Financial Technology revenues
432
392
40
10
%
1
—
%
39
10
%
Solutions revenues(3)
947
871
76
9
%
—
—
%
76
9
%
Market Services, net revenues
281
237
44
19
%
(2
)
(1
)%
46
19
%
Other revenues
9
9
—
(6
)%
—
(2
)%
—
(4
)%
Revenues less transaction-based expenses
$
1,237
$
1,117
$
120
11
%
$
(2
)
—
%
$
122
11
%
Non-GAAP Operating Expenses
$
555
$
524
$
31
6
%
$
(6
)
(1
)%
$
37
7
%
Non-GAAP Operating Income
$
682
$
593
$
89
15
%
$
4
1
%
$
85
14
%
Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share
$
0.79
$
0.63
$
0.16
24
%
$
—
—
%
$
0.16
24
%
Note: The current period percentages are calculated based on exact dollars, and therefore may not recalculate exactly using rounded numbers as presented in US$ millions. The sum of the percentage changes may not tie to the percentage change in total variance due to rounding.
(1) Primarily includes the impacts of changes in FX rates and $3 million of revenue for AxiomSL to reflect adjustment for on-premises contracts ratable recognition for 2024 within Regulatory Technology revenues.
(2) Organic changes (i) reflect adjustments for the impact of period-over-period changes in foreign currency exchange rates and (ii) includes revenue for AxiomSL on-premises contracts to reflect adjustment for ratable recognition for the first quarter of 2024.
(3) Represents Capital Access Platforms and Financial Technology Segments.
Nasdaq, Inc.
Key Drivers Detail
(unaudited)
Three Months Ended
March 31,
March 31,
2025
2024
Capital Access Platforms
Annualized recurring revenues (in millions) (1)
$
1,281
$
1,220
Initial public offerings
The Nasdaq Stock Market (2)
63
27
Exchanges that comprise Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic
4
1
Total new listings
The Nasdaq Stock Market (2)
170
79
Exchanges that comprise Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic (3)
9
2
Number of listed companies
The Nasdaq Stock Market (4)
4,139
4,020
Exchanges that comprise Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic (5)
1,160
1,203
Index
Number of licensed exchange traded products (6)
418
362
Period end ETP assets under management (AUM) tracking Nasdaq indexes (in billions)
$
622
$
519
Total average ETP AUM tracking Nasdaq indexes (in billions)
$
662
$
492
TTM (7) net inflows ETP AUM tracking Nasdaq indexes (in billions)
$
86
$
46
TTM (7) net appreciation ETP AUM tracking Nasdaq indexes (in billions)
$
17
$
124
Financial Technology
Annualized recurring revenues (in millions) (1)
Financial Crime Management Technology
$
295
$
243
Regulatory Technology
362
328
Capital Markets Technology
893
821
Total Financial Technology
$
1,550
$
1,392
Market Services
Equity Derivative Trading and Clearing
U.S. equity options
Total industry average daily volume (in millions)
53.6
43.3
Nasdaq PHLX matched market share
9.1
%
10.3
%
The Nasdaq Options Market matched market share
5.1
%
5.4
%
Nasdaq BX Options matched market share
1.7
%
2.2
%
Nasdaq ISE Options matched market share
6.8
%
6.3
%
Nasdaq GEMX Options matched market share
3.6
%
2.5
%
Nasdaq MRX Options matched market share
2.8
%
2.5
%
Total matched market share executed on Nasdaq’s exchanges
29.1
%
29.2
%
Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic options and futures
Total average daily volume of options and futures contracts
256,009
241,665
Cash Equity Trading
Total U.S.-listed securities
Total industry average daily share volume (in billions)
15.7
11.8
Matched share volume (in billions)
137.6
116.7
The Nasdaq Stock Market matched market share
14.2
%
15.7
%
Nasdaq BX matched market share
0.3
%
0.4
%
Nasdaq PSX matched market share
0.1
%
0.2
%
Total matched market share executed on Nasdaq’s exchanges
14.6
%
16.3
%
Market share reported to the FINRA/Nasdaq Trade Reporting Facility
48.1
%
41.4
%
Total market share (8)
62.7
%
57.7
%
Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic securities
Average daily number of equity trades executed on Nasdaq’s exchanges
789,103
666,408
Total average daily value of shares traded (in billions)
$
5.4
$
4.7
Total market share executed on Nasdaq’s exchanges
69.9
%
71.7
%
Fixed Income and Commodities Trading and Clearing
Fixed Income
Total average daily volume of Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic fixed income contracts
83,864
92,070
(1) Annualized Recurring Revenue (ARR) for a given period is the current annualized value derived from subscription contracts with a defined contract value. This excludes contracts that are not recurring, are one-time in nature, or where the contract value fluctuates based on defined metrics. ARR is currently one of our key performance metrics to assess the health and trajectory of our recurring business. ARR does not have any standardized definition and is therefore unlikely to be comparable to similarly titled measures presented by other companies. ARR should be viewed independently of revenue and deferred revenue and is not intended to be combined with or to replace either of those items. For AxiomSL and Calypso recurring revenue contracts, the amount included in ARR is consistent with the amount that we invoice the customer during the current period. Additionally, for AxiomSL and Calypso recurring revenue contracts that include annual values that increase over time, we include in ARR only the annualized value of components of the contract that are considered active as of the date of the ARR calculation. We do not include the future committed increases in the contract value as of the date of the ARR calculation. ARR is not a forecast and the active contracts at the end of a reporting period used in calculating ARR may or may not be extended or renewed by our customers.
(2) New listings include IPOs, issuers that switched from other listing venues, closed-end funds and separately listed ETPs. For the three months ended March 31, 2025 and 2024, IPOs included 18 and 5 SPACs, respectively.
(3) New listings include IPOs and represent companies listed on the Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic exchanges and companies on the alternative markets of Nasdaq First North.
(4) Number of total listings on The Nasdaq Stock Market for the three months ended March 31, 2025 and March 31, 2024 included 833 and 619 ETPs, respectively.
(5) Represents companies listed on the Nasdaq Nordic and Nasdaq Baltic exchanges and companies on the alternative markets of Nasdaq First North.
(6) The number of listed ETPs as of March 31, 2024 has been updated to reflect a revised methodology whereby an ETP listed on multiple exchanges is counted as one product, rather than formerly being counted per exchange. This change has no impact on reported AUM.
(7) Trailing 12-months.
(8) Includes transactions executed on The Nasdaq Stock Market’s, Nasdaq BX’s and Nasdaq PSX’s systems plus trades reported through the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority/Nasdaq Trade Reporting Facility.
NEW YORK, April 24, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Marex Group plc (NASDAQ: MRX) today announced that it will release its fiscal 2025 first quarter results before market open on Thursday, May 15, 2025. The earnings release and supplementary materials will be available through the “Investors” section of the Marex website at https://ir.marex.com/.
A conference call to discuss the results will take place at 9am ET the same day. Analysts and investors who wish to participate in the live conference call can register using the link here: https://edge.media-server.com/mmc/p/zudci4bx
About Marex: Marex Group plc (NASDAQ: MRX) is a diversified global financial services platform providing essential liquidity, market access and infrastructure services to clients across energy, commodities and financial markets. The Group provides comprehensive breadth and depth of coverage across four core services: Clearing, Agency and Execution, Market Making and Hedging and Investment Solutions. It has a leading franchise in many major metals, energy and agricultural products, with access to 60 exchanges. The Group provides access to the world’s major commodity markets, covering a broad range of clients that include some of the largest commodity producers, consumers and traders, banks, hedge funds and asset managers. With more than 40 offices worldwide, the Group has over 2,400 employees across Europe, Asia and the Americas. For more information visit www.marex.com.
Headline: Thales reports its order intake and sales for the first quarter of 2025
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Order intake: €3.8 billion, down -25% (-27% on an organic basis1)
Sales: €5.0 billion, up +12.2% (+9.9% on an organic basis)
All 2025 financial objectives confirmed2
Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) today announced its order intake and sales for the first quarter of 2025.
“In the first quarter of 2025, Thales recorded organic sales growth of nearly 10%, demonstrating the strong momentum of our Defence and Avionics activities, as well as the excellent visibility the Group enjoys. Order intake in the first quarter of 2025 was solid, and showed growth compared to the same periods in 2022 and 2023. The decline observed compared to the first quarter of 2024 is explained by a particularly high comparison basis. Thanks to the commitment of our teams, we confirm all our annual financial targets for 2025, including a book-to-bill ratio over 1 for the year 2025.” Patrice Caine, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer
Order intake
Order intake for the first quarter of 2025 amounted to €3,778 million, down -27% at constant scope and exchange rates compared to the first three months of 2024 (-25% on a reported basis) due to a very high comparison base, particularly in the Defence segment. In the first quarter of 2024, Thales had recorded, among other contracts, two contracts with a unit value exceeding €500 million each: the third phase of the contract signed by Indonesia for the acquisition of Rafale aircraft (18 out of a total of 42), as well as an order for an air surveillance system for a military customer in the Middle East. However, the Group is benefiting from a robust commercial momentum in all its activities for this first quarter of 2025, particularly in the Aerospace segment. For reference, order intake amounted to €3,422 million in Q1 2023 and €3,033 million in Q1 2022.
During the first quarter of 2025, Thales recorded five large orders worth over €100 million each, for a total of €707 million:
Order from Space Norway, Northern Europe’s leading satellite operator, for the supply of a telecommunications satellite, THOR 8;
Order from SKY Perfect JSAT to Thales Alenia Space for JSAT-32, a geostationary telecommunications satellite;
Signing of a contract between Thales and the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop Argonaut, a future autonomous and versatile lunar lander designed to deliver cargo and scientific instruments to the Moon;
Order from the Dutch Ministry of Defence for the modernisation and support of vehicle tactical simulators;
Order from the French Defence Procurement Agency (DGA) for the development, production, and maintenance of vetronics equipment for various Army vehicles as part of the SCORPION programme.
At €3,071 million, order intake with a unit value of less than €100 million was down -10% compared to the first three months of 2024; meanwhile, those with a unit value of less than €10 million were slightly up in the first quarter of 2025.
Geographically4, order intake in mature markets amounted to €2,914 million, similar to the first quarter of 2024 (+2% on a reported basis and a decrease of -1% at constant scope and exchange rates). Order intake in emerging markets amounted to €864 million (-61% as of March 31, 2025, in organic terms), affected by a very high comparison basis in these markets from the first quarter of 2024 (contracts for the Rafale in Indonesia and for an air surveillance system for a military customer in the Middle East mentioned previously).
Order intake in the Aerospace segment totaled €1,530 million, compared to €1,003 million in the first three months of 2024 (+45% at constant scope and exchange rates). The Avionics market continued to benefit from strong demand across its various businesses and recorded one large order with a unit value exceeding €100 million in its Training and Simulation business. In addition, Space benefited in the first quarter from favorable phasing of expected 2025 order intake, with the notification of three large orders with a unit value greater than €100 million, two related to the telecommunications business and one to the exploration business.
At €1,302 million (compared to €3,122 million in the first three months of 2024, representing an organic change of -59%), order intake in the Defence segment compared to a very high base in Q1 2024. One large order with a unit value over €100 million was recorded in the first quarter of 2025 compared to four in the same period in 2024. The Group reaffirms its objective of a book-to-bill ratio greater than 1 for the Defence segment in 2025.
At €922 million, order intake in the Cyber & Digital segment was structurally very close to sales as most business lines in this segment operate on short sales cycles. The order book is therefore not significant.
Sales
Sales for the first quarter of 2025 reached €4,960 million, compared to €4,421 million in the first quarter of 2024, up 9.9%5 at constant scope and exchange rates (up 12.2% on a reported basis).
Geographically6, sales recorded solid growth in both mature markets (+9.7% in organic terms), notably in the United Kingdom (+14.9%) and emerging markets with organic growth of +10.5% during the period.
Sales in the Aerospace segment amounted to €1,342 million, up 13.5% compared to the first quarter of 2024 (+8.4% at constant scope and exchange rates). This growth reflects ongoing robust demand in the Avionics market, leading the business to grow double-digit and achieve a solid performance across all activities as well as in both civil and military domains. Sales in the Space business continue to be impacted by the weak demand observed over the past two years in telecommunications satellites.
Sales in the Defence segment totaled €2,685 million, up +16.5% compared to the first quarter of 2024 (+15.0% at constant scope and exchange rates). This growth is observed across all businesses in the Defence segment, notably in land and air systems, which benefitted from production capacity expansion projects being deployed, especially for radars’ production.
Sales in the Cyber & Digital segment stood at €903 million, down -1.5% compared to the first three months of 2024 (-2.1% at constant scope and exchange rates), reflecting contrasting trends:
Cyber businesses were stable in the first quarter of 2025 (+0.2% at constant scope and exchange rates):
The Cyber Security Products business is recording growth, leveraging Imperva’s complementary offer. The beginning of 2025 is moreover marked by the merger of the Imperva and Thales’ sales teams, a key step in the integration process that will unlock the full potential of the business, though its execution may generate some short-term disturbances;
The Cyber Premium Services business was impacted by a soft market demand start this first 2025 quarter, notably in Australia, and reported a decline in sales compared to the first quarter of 2024. For this business, which represents approximately 20% of total Cyber activity, the Group’s priority is to standardise operations to improve margins and focus the sales strategy on selective profitable growth segments.
In Digital businesses (down -3.6% at constant scope and exchange rates):
Sales from Payment Services returned to positive growth in the first quarter of 2025, after five consecutive quarters of decline;
Sales in Identity and Biometrics solutions declined. This business faced revenues downturn due to COVID in 2020. Post pandemic, an important catch-up effect occurred through to 2024, in the travel documents segment. As a consequence, the comparison effect is not favourable as this business is now normalising to a more usual run rate.
Outlook
Thales continues to benefit from a strong visibility in the vast majority of its businesses and enjoys a robust medium to long-term outlook.
The Group has initiated preliminary work to assess the impacts of the increase in tariffs, as they are stand today. Such analysis takes into account the affected flows on the one hand, and the cases of exemption from tariffs on the other hand (such as in defence activities), along with certain protective contractual conditions in our export contracts (incoterms). Furthermore, Thales is working on mitigation plans in response to these new regulations: use of specific customs programmes such as duty drawback or temporary Importations under Bonds, the redirection of certain production flows, transfer pricing, supply chain adjustments (alternate sourcing), customer surcharging…
These estimates are based on the latest available information on announced tariffs increases and exemptions as known on April 24, 2025, and Thales’ estimates to date. At this stage, the Group estimates that the net direct impact from those elements is contained. The potential indirect impact is not known at this stage.
As a result, assuming no new disruptions of the macroeconomic geopolitical context and the evolution of new tariffs, Thales confirms all of its 2025 financial objectives, as listed below:
A book-to-bill ratio above 1;
Organic sales growth of between +5% and +6%, corresponding to annual sales in the range of €21.7 billion to €21.9 billion7;
An Adjusted EBIT margin between 12.2% and 12.4%.
****
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Although Thales believes that its expectations are based on reasonable assumptions, actual results may differ significantly from the forward-looking statements due to various risks and uncertainties, as described in the Company’s Universal Registration Document, which has been filed with the French financial markets authority (Autorité des marchés financiers – AMF).
1In this press release, “organic” means “at constant scope and exchange rates”.
2Assuming no new disruptions of the macroeconomic geopolitical context or evolution of new tariffs.
3Mature markets: Europe, North America, Australia, New Zealand. Emerging markets: all other countries.
4See table on page 6.
5Taking into account a currency effect of €17 million and a net scope effect of €84 million.
6See table on page 6.
7 Based on April 2025 scope and year to date average foreign exchange rates as of April 2025.
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom today announced the following appointments:
Annabelle Hopkins, of Sacramento, has been appointed Deputy Director of Government Affairs at the California Public Advocates Office. Hopkins has been Government Relations Manager at RWE Offshore Wind since 2024. She was Legislative Director at the Office of Assemblymember Jim Wood in the California State Assembly from 2022 to 2023. Hopkins held multiple positions in the Office of Senator Dave Min in the California State Senate from 2021 to 2022, including Legislative Director and Legislative Aide. She was a Senate Fellow in the Office of Senator Mike McGuire in the California State Senate from 2019 to 2020. Hopkins was the Finance Director/Policy Advisor for Audrey Denney for Congress from 2018 to 2019. She is a Board Member of FemDems and Young Professionals in Energy, Sacramento. Hopkins earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science and History from College of Wooster. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and compensation is $153,000. Hopkins is a Democrat.
Mandi Posner, of Gold River, has been appointed Deputy Director of the Center for Health Care Quality at the California Department of Public Health. Posner has been Chief of Field Operations for the South Division of the Center for Health Care Quality at the California Department of Public Health since 2021, where she has held multiple positions since 2016, including Branch Chief of Field Operations for the South Division, Los Angeles County Contract Manager, Staff Services Manager for Fiscal Operations, and Associate Governmental Program Analyst. Posner is a Member and California Representative of the Association of Health Facility Survey Agencies. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Recreation Administration from California State University, Chico. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $183,840. Posner is a Democrat.
Yang Lee, of Sacramento, has been appointed Chief of Data Analytics and Strategy at the California Department of Developmental Services. Lee has been Deputy Director and Chief Financial Officer at the California Department of Social Services since 2022, where he was previously Assistant Director from 2020 to 2022. He held multiple positions at the California Department of Finance from 2008 to 2020, including Principal Program Budget and Finance Budget Analyst. Lee was a Legislative Assistant in the Office of Assemblymember Loni Hancock in the California State Assembly from 2006 to 2008. Lee earned a Master of Public Policy Analysis degree and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Ethnic Studies from California State University, Sacramento. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $198,660. Lee is a Democrat.
Heather Leslie, of Sacramento, has been appointed Chief Counsel at the California Office of Energy Infrastructure Safety. Leslie has been the Assistant General Counsel at the California Natural Resources Agency since 2021. She was a Deputy Attorney General at the California Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney General from 2015 to 2021. Leslie earned a Juris Doctor degree from University of California, Los Angeles School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from University of California, Berkeley. This position does not require Senate confirmation, and compensation is $198,000. Leslie is a Democrat.
Cindy Gustafson, of Tahoe City, has been appointed to the State Board of Fire Services. Gustafson has been the District Five County Supervisor for the County of Placer since 2019. She was the Chief Executive Officer of the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association from 2017 to 2018. Gustafson held multiple positions at the Tahoe City Public Utility District from 1991 to 2017, including Director of Resource Development and Community Relations, Assistant General Manager, and General Manager. She was a Commissioner at the California Fish and Game Commission from 2005 to 2009. Gustafson is a Member of Tahoe Fund. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from Gustavus Adolphus College. This position does not require Senate Confirmation and there is no compensation. Gustafson is registered without party preference.
Hampus Idsater, of Thousand Oaks, has been appointed to the Boating and Waterways Commission. Idsater has been an Investment Manager at Suntex Marina Investors since 2022. He was a Finance and Business Development Director at Hamner, Jewell & Associates from 2020 to 2022. Idsater was a Vice President at Eight Roads from 2015 to 2020. He was an Investment Manager at Fosun International from 2013 to 2015. Idsater was an Analyst at Morgan Stanley from 2011 to 2013. He is a Member of the Marine Recreation Association and Toastmasters International. Idsater earned a Master of Arts degree in Economics from University of Oxford. This position requires Senate confirmation, and the compensation is $100 per diem. Idsater is a Democrat.
Press Releases, Recent News
Recent news
Apr 23, 2025
News What you need to know: California’s economy continues to dominate and grow at a faster rate than the world’s top economies, with new data showing it has overtaken Japan as the 4th largest economy in the world. SACRAMENTO — Governor Gavin Newsom today announced…
Apr 23, 2025
News What you need to know: California is investing $500 million to help add 1,000 clean school buses across the state, and demand for incentives supporting zero-emission buses and trucks has more than doubled year-over-year. SACRAMENTO – California’s transition to…
Apr 23, 2025
News What you need to know: More than 4 million California children will automatically receive SUN Bucks food benefits via EBT card starting in June. Each eligible child will receive $120 in food benefits. Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom announced today…
What you need to know:California’s economy continues to dominate and grow at a faster rate than the world’s top economies, with new data showing it has overtaken Japan as the 4th largest economy in the world.
SACRAMENTO—Governor Gavin Newsom today announced that California has officially overtaken Japan to become the world’s fourth-largest economy, according to newly released data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).
“California isn’t just keeping pace with the world—we’re setting the pace. Our economy is thriving because we invest in people, prioritize sustainability, and believe in the power of innovation. And, while we celebrate this success, we recognize that our progress is threatened by the reckless tariff policies of the current federal administration. California’s economy powers the nation, and it must be protected.”
Governor Gavin Newsom
According to the IMF’s 2024 World Economic Outlook data released yesterday, and BEA data California’s nominal GDP reached $4.1 trillion, surpassing Japan’s $4.02 trillion, and placing California behind only the United States, China, and Germany in global rankings. California’s GDP figure is based on the latest state-level GDP data from the BEA.
Outperforming the nation
California’s economy is growing at a faster rate than the world’s top three economies. In 2024, California’s growth rate of 6% outpaced the top three economies: U.S. (5.3%), China (2.6%) and Germany (2.9%). California’s success is long-term –the state’s economy grew strongly over the last four years, with an average nominal GDP growth of 7.5% from 2021 to 2024. Preliminary data indicates India is projected to surpass California by 2026.
California is the backbone of the nation’s economy
With an increasing state population and recent record-high tourism spending, California is the nation’s top state for new business starts, access to venture capital funding, and manufacturing, high-tech, and agriculture.
The state drives national economic growth and also sends over $83 billion more to the federal government than it receives in federal funding. California is the leading agricultural producer in the country and is also the center for manufacturing output in the United States, with over 36,000 manufacturing firms employing over 1.1 million Californians.
The Golden State’s manufacturing firms have created new industries and supplied the world with manufactured goods spanning aerospace, computers and electronics, and, most recently, zero-emission vehicles.
Protecting California’s economy
Governor Gavin Newsom is protecting California’s economy, and last week filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the president’s use of emergency powers to enact broad-sweeping tariffs that hurt states, consumers, and businesses. The lawsuit seeks to end President Trump’s tariff chaos, which has wreaked havoc on the economy, destabilized the stock and bond markets, caused hundreds of billions of dollars in losses, and inflicted higher costs for consumers and businesses. These harms will only continue to grow, as President Trump’s tariffs are projected to shrink the U.S. economy by $100 billion annually.
Recent news
Apr 23, 2025
News What you need to know: California is investing $500 million to help add 1,000 clean school buses across the state, and demand for incentives supporting zero-emission buses and trucks has more than doubled year-over-year. SACRAMENTO – California’s transition to…
Apr 23, 2025
News What you need to know: More than 4 million California children will automatically receive SUN Bucks food benefits via EBT card starting in June. Each eligible child will receive $120 in food benefits. Sacramento, California – Governor Gavin Newsom announced today…
Apr 23, 2025
News What you need to know: 14,133 cases have been referred to district attorneys’ offices through a community grant investment proposed by Governor Gavin Newsom to root out organized retail crime and hold bad actors accountable. Sacramento, California – Marking a…
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addresses the India Steel 2025 programme Steel has played skeleton like role in the modern economies of the world, steel is the power behind every success story: PM
We are proud that today India has become the second largest steel producer in the world: PM
We have set a target of producing 300 million tonnes of steel by 2030 under the National Steel Policy: PM
Government policies for the steel industry are playing an important role in making many other Indian industries globally competitive: PM
For all our Infrastructure projects the goal should be ‘Zero Import’ and ‘Net Export’: PM
Our steel sector has to be ready for new processes, new grades and new scale: PM
We have to expand and upgrade keeping the future in mind, We have to become future ready from now itself: PM
In the last 10 years, many mining reforms have been implemented, availability of iron ore has become easier: PM
Now is the time to make proper use of allotted mines and the resources of the country, Green-field mining needs to be accelerated: PM
Together, let us build a Resilient, Revolutionary and Steel-Strong India: PM
Posted On: 24 APR 2025 2:49PM by PIB Delhi
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi delivered his remarks during the India Steel 2025 programme at Mumbai, via video message today. Addressing the gathering, he said that over the next two days, discussions will focus on the potential and opportunities of India’s sunrise sector—the steel industry. He remarked that this sector forms the foundation of India’s progress, strengthens the base of a developed India, and is scripting a new chapter of transformation in the country. The Prime Minister welcomed everyone to India Steel 2025 and expressed confidence that the event will serve as a launchpad for sharing new ideas, forging new partnerships, and promoting innovation. He emphasized that this event will lay the groundwork for a new chapter in the steel sector.
“Steel has played a pivotal role in modern economies, akin to a skeleton”, emphasised Shri Modi, remarking that whether it is skyscrapers, shipping, highways, high-speed rail, smart cities, or industrial corridors, steel is the strength behind every success story. “India is striving to achieve the goal of becoming a $5 trillion economy, with the steel sector playing a significant role in this mission”, he added, expressing pride in India being the world’s second-largest steel producer. He noted that under the National Steel Policy, India has set a target of producing 300 million tons of steel by 2030. He remarked that the current per capita steel consumption in India is approximately 98 kilograms and is expected to rise to 160 kilograms by 2030. Shri Modi emphasized that this increasing steel consumption serves as a golden standard for the country’s infrastructure and economy, adding that it is also a benchmark for the nation’s direction, as well as the government’s efficiency and effectiveness.
Underlining that the steel industry is brimming with renewed confidence about its future due to the foundation of the PM-Gati Shakti National Master Plan, the Prime Minister remarked that this initiative integrates various utility services and logistics modes. He emphasized that mine areas and steel units are being mapped for improved multi-modal connectivity. He noted that new projects are being introduced to upgrade critical infrastructure in eastern India, where most of the steel sector is concentrated. He further highlighted that the $1.3 trillion National Infrastructure Pipeline is being advanced. He remarked that large-scale efforts to transform cities into smart cities, along with unprecedented pace in the development of roads, railways, airports, ports, and pipelines, are creating fresh opportunities for the steel sector. The Prime Minister pointed out that crores of houses are being constructed under the PM Awas Yojana, and significant infrastructure is being built in villages through the Jal Jeevan Mission. He remarked that welfare initiatives like these are also providing new strength to the steel industry. He highlighted the government’s decision to use only ‘Made in India’ steel in government projects and noted that government-driven initiatives account for the highest consumption of steel in building construction and infrastructure.
Underscoring that steel is a primary component driving the growth of multiple sectors, Shri Modi remarked that government policies for the steel industry are playing a crucial role in making many other industries in India globally competitive. He highlighted that sectors such as manufacturing, construction, machinery, and automotive are gaining strength from the Indian steel industry. He mentioned that the government has introduced the National Manufacturing Mission in this year’s Budget to accelerate the ‘Make in India’ initiative. The mission caters to small, medium, and large industries and will open new opportunities for the steel sector, he added.
Noting that India was long dependent on imports for high-grade steel, which was critical for defense and strategic sectors, the Prime Minister expressed pride in the fact that the steel used in India’s first indigenous aircraft carrier was produced domestically. He also noted that Indian steel contributed to the success of the historic Chandrayaan mission, symbolizing India’s capability and confidence. The Prime Minister remarked that this transformation was made possible through initiatives such as the PLI scheme, which has allocated thousands of crores to support the production of high-grade steel. He emphasized that this is just the beginning and that there is a long road ahead. He pointed out the growing demand for high-grade steel due to mega-projects being initiated across the country. He mentioned that in this year’s Budget, shipbuilding has been classified as infrastructure, adding “India aims to manufacture modern and large ships domestically and export them to other countries”. The Prime Minister highlighted the rising demand for pipeline-grade steel and corrosion-resistant alloys in India. He remarked that the country’s rail infrastructure is expanding at an unprecedented pace. He stressed the need for a goal of “zero imports” and a focus on net exports. “India is currently working towards a target of exporting 25 million tons of steel and aims to increase production capacity to 500 million tons by 2047”, he noted emphasizing the importance of preparing the steel sector for new processes, grades, and scales, urging the industry to expand and upgrade with a future-ready mindset. The Prime Minister underlined the vast employment generation potential of the steel industry’s growth. He called upon both the private and public sectors to develop, nurture, and share new ideas. He emphasized collaboration in manufacturing, R&D, and technology upgrades to create more job opportunities for the country’s youth.
Shri Modi acknowledged that the steel industry faces certain challenges that need resolution for further growth, highlighting that raw material security remains a significant concern, with India still dependent on imports for nickel, coking coal, and manganese. He emphasized the need to strengthen global partnerships, secure supply chains, and focus on technology upgrades. He underlined the importance of moving swiftly towards energy-efficient, low-emission, and digitally advanced technologies. “The future of the steel industry will be shaped by AI, automation, recycling, and by-product utilization”, he remarked, stressing the need to enhance efforts in these areas through innovation. He expressed optimism that collaboration between global partners and Indian companies will help address these challenges more effectively and at a faster pace.
The Prime Minister remarked on the significant impact of coal imports, particularly coking coal, on both costs and the economy. He emphasized the importance of exploring alternatives to reduce this dependence. He highlighted the availability of technologies such as the DRI route and stressed efforts to promote them further. Pointing out that coal gasification can be effectively utilized to make better use of the country’s coal resources and decrease reliance on imports, he urged all stakeholders in the steel industry to actively participate in this endeavor and take the necessary steps to move forward in this direction.
Underlining the importance of addressing the issue of unused greenfield mines, Shri Modi noted that significant mining reforms have been introduced in the last decade, making iron ore availability easier. He stressed that it is now time to utilize the allotted mines effectively to ensure optimal use of the country’s resources. Cautioning that delays in this process would adversely impact the industry, Shri Modi urged for the acceleration of greenfield mining efforts to overcome this challenge.
The Prime Minister emphasized that India is no longer focused solely on domestic growth but is preparing for global leadership. He remarked that the world now views India as a trusted supplier of high-quality steel. He reiterated the importance of maintaining world-class standards in steel production and continually upgrading capabilities. He emphasized that improving logistics, developing multi-modal transport networks, and reducing costs will help India become a Global Steel Hub. The Prime Minister highlighted that India Steel provides a platform to expand capabilities and turn ideas into actionable solutions. He concluded by expressing best wishes to all participants and called for collective efforts to build a resilient, revolutionary, and steel-strong India.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
In support of World Immunisation Week organised by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the last week of April every year, the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) of the Department of Health (DH) today (April 24) reminded the public that timely vaccinations can safeguard individual and community health from serious threats posed by vaccine-preventable diseases.
“Immunisation is a safe and effective public health measure. Over the past 50 years, vaccines are effective against diseases that have saved more than 150 million lives worldwide. Hong Kong has long been providing vaccinations for children since the 1950s. Building on the WHO’s Expanded Programme on Immunisation and scientific evidence, the Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme has been making continuous progress in terms of vaccine variety, vaccination schedules and service network coverage. With the support of parents, schools and the healthcare sector, Hong Kong maintains a very high vaccination coverage rate, which not only keeps most of the vaccine-preventable diseases under control, but also contributed to the eradication of smallpox and poliomyelitis in Hong Kong in 1980 and 2000 respectively, followed by successful elimination of measles and rubella (German measles) in Hong Kong in 2016 and 2021 respectively. In addition, the DH has been actively adopting a public-private partnership approach in providing vaccination services through private doctors to help parents and children receive the vaccines to increase the overall vaccination coverage. Taking the seasonal influenza vaccine as an example, the uptake rate of the vaccine for most age groups in the current season has increased as compared with the previous one,” the Controller of the CHP of the DH, Dr Edwin Tsui said.
The Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases (SCVPD) under the CHP makes recommendations on vaccines for different groups (e.g. children, pregnant women, the elderly etc) based on local epidemiology and the latest scientific evidence from a public health perspective. With reference to the recommendations of the SCVPD, the Government provides different types of vaccines and boosters for children from birth to Primary Six to protect them from 12 communicable diseases, as well as other vaccination services such as seasonal influenza vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine, and the COVID-19 vaccines for people in high-risk groups to boost their immunity and reduce the risk of infection or severe complications.
“Due to a drop in vaccination coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a recent resurgence of outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases outside Hong Kong. For example, measles cases in Europe, the United States and neighboring countries, such as Japan, Vietnam and Cambodia, are on the rise, where children who have not yet completed their vaccinations or have unknown vaccination status were mainly affected. For pertussis, the number of cases reported in Japan, the United States and New Zealand this year are also higher than that of the same period in previous years, with most of the affected cases being infants and adolescents, underscoring the importance of timely vaccinations for maintaining a high vaccination rate and herd immunity,” Dr Tsui said.
He reminded the public to make sure that they have completed their required immunisation if they plan to visit places with outbreaks or high incidences of vaccine-preventable diseases. Anyone who has not completed immunisation or with an unknown vaccination history should consult his/her family doctor at least two weeks before travelling.
The incubation period of measles is seven to 21 days. Symptoms include fever, skin rash, cough, runny nose and red eyes. While for pertussis, the infected person may initially be sneezing and have a runny nose, a low-grade fever and a mild cough. The cough gradually becomes more severe and may even lead to seizures and coma in severe cases. If such symptoms appear after returning from places where measles and pertussis are endemic, people should wear surgical masks, stay home from work or school, avoid crowded places and seek medical advice as soon as possible.
For more information on the World Immunisation Week 2025, please visit the CHP website.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Tender results of 1-year RMB HKSAR Institutional Government Bonds A total of RMB1.5 billion 1-year Government Bonds were offered today. A total of RMB11.140 billion tender applications were received. The bid-to-cover ratio, i.e. the ratio of bonds applied for to bonds issued, is 7.43. The average price accepted is 100.05, implying an annualised yield of 1.686 per cent.
HKSAR Institutional Government Bonds Tender Results
Tender results of 1-year RMB HKSAR Institutional Government Bonds:
Tender Date* Calculated as the amount of bonds applied for over the amount of bonds issued.
Note: The yields stated above are annualised yields. For reference, the semi-annualised yields corresponding to the average price accepted, lowest price accepted, and average tender price are 1.679 per cent, 1.710 per cent, and 1.796 per cent respectively. Issued at HKT 16:56
Union Health Minister Shri J P Nadda launches National Zero Measles-Rubella Elimination Campaign on the occasion of World Immunization Week Measles-Rubella elimination campaign 2025-26 marks an opportunity to achieve 100% immunization coverage to provide high quality life to children by administering them with two doses of Measles and Rubella vaccine: Shri J P Nadda
“332 districts across the country have reported zero Measles cases and 487 districts have reported zero Rubella cases during January- March 2025 which underscores the progress achieved in the goal of M-R elimination”
“With the ‘ACT NOW’ policy, we have to target the elimination of M-R in the same way as Polio and Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus elimination was achieved, so that no child is left behind”
Currently India’s MR vaccination coverage stands at 93.7% for the first dose and 92.2% for the second dose, as per 2024-25 HMIS data
Posted On: 24 APR 2025 2:26PM by PIB Delhi
Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Shri Jagat Prakash Nadda today virtually launched the National Zero Measles-Rubella Elimination campaign 2025-26 on the first day of the World Immunization Week (24-30 April), marking a significant step towards India’s goal of eliminating Measles and Rubella by 2026.
On the occasion, Union Health Minister released multi-language M-R IEC materials (posters, radio jingles, MR elimination and official U-WIN launch film) for creating awareness in the communities. These IEC materials were also shared with all States/UTs for adaptation and rollout during the MR Elimination Campaign 2025-26.
Addressing the occasion, Shri J P Nadda stated that, “today is momentous occasion as the launch of Measles-Rubella elimination campaign 2025-26 marks an opportunity to achieve 100% immunization coverage to provide high quality lifestyle to children by administering them with the two doses of Measles and Rubella vaccine.” Noting that this disease is of a highly contagious nature that hampers not only children’s life but also cause misery to their parents, Shri Nadda underlined the importance of ensuring that not even a single child is left behind.
The Union Health Minister congratulated the Ministry for getting recognition with the prestigious Measles and Rubella Champion Award by the Measles and Rubella Partnership in 2024. He highlighted that “332 districts in the country have reported zero measles cases and 487 districts have reported zero rubella cases during January- March 2025 which underscores the progress achieved in the goal of M-R elimination.”
Shri Nadda highlighted the need for keeping the IDSP activated and strengthening surveillance. “We have to target the elimination of M-R in the same way as Polio and Maternal and Neonatal Tetanus elimination was achieved”, he stated. He urged the states and UTs to be attentive, alert, and proactive and work with a ‘ACT NOW’ policy.
Shri Nadda also urged the State Ministers and Chief Medical Officers to hold public and press meetings where people at large can be informed about the vaccination drive through active Jan Bhagidari. He also called upon States for an inclusive participation of all MLAs, MPs, local and Panchayat heads to spread awareness about the vaccination against Measles and Rubella. He also urged the frontline workers to reach out to remote and hard to reach areas, slums, migratory population, areas with frequent outbreaks. “We have to reach out to people in the last mile to ensure that we achieve 100% coverage”, he stated. He also emphasized on the need for coordinating with line ministries. He concluded his address by stating that “if we work and act from today, we will be able to achieve success tomorrow.”
Background:
Measles and Rubella are highly infectious viral diseases that can lead to serious illnesses, lifelong complications, and even death. Due to their high infection rate, India has set a goal to eliminate these diseases by 2026. Under the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP), two doses of the Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccine are provided free of cost to all eligible children, at 9-12 months and 16-24 months of age, respectively. Currently, India’s MR vaccination coverage stands at 93.7% for the first dose (2024-25 HMIS data) and 92.2% for the second dose.
In 2024, India has recorded a remarkable decline of 73% in Measles cases and a 17% reduction in Rubella cases in comparison with 2023.
India’s plan for eliminating measles and rubella includes a comprehensive framework:
Immunization: Achieve and maintain high population immunity with > 95% vaccination coverage with 2 doses of measles and rubella containing vaccines in each district of the country.
Surveillance: Sustain a sensitive and timely case-based surveillance system for measles & rubella.
Outbreaks: Ensure adequate preparedness and timely response to measles and rubella outbreaks.
Linkages: Strengthen support and linkages to achieve the above strategic objectives.
Demand Generation for Vaccination: Focused mass awareness campaigns to mitigate the risks of non-vaccination and dispel myths related to MR vaccine for addressing vaccine hesitancy and increasing coverage.
In recognition of country’s exceptional efforts in prevention of Measles and Rubella, India was awarded the prestigious Measles and Rubella Champion Award by the Measles and Rubella Partnership at the American Red Cross Headquarters in Washington D.C. on March 6, 2024.
Under the Universal Immunization Programme (UIP), India runs world’s largest vaccination programme for pregnant women and children – reaching out to 2.9 crore pregnant women and 2.6 crore newborns annually. This provides protection against 12 vaccine preventable diseases (VPDs) such as Polio, Measles, Rubella, Diphtheria, Tetanus, Rotavirus diarrhoea, Hepatitis B among others. U-WIN digital platform for vaccination, launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister is being utilized extensively to record vaccination events, generate vaccination certificate and book appointment for vaccination across the country.
India’s Universal Immunization Programme, has been instrumental in reducing mortality rates and controlling infectious diseases among children under five years of age. From 2014 to 2020, under-5 mortality rates dropped from 45 to 32 per 1,000 live births (Sample Registration System – 2020). Since 2014, under UIP, over 6 new vaccines have been introduced including MR vaccine.
Smt. Punya Salila Srivastava, Union Health Secretary; Dr Rajiv Bahl, Secretary, Dept. of Health Research and DG, ICMR; Smt. Aradhana Patnaik, Addl. Secretary and Mission Director (NHM), Union Health Ministry; Smt. Meera Srivastava, Joint Secretary, Union Health Ministry, Additional Commissioner (Immunization), Additional Chief Secretaries, Principal Secretaries (Health), Mission Directors (NHM) and State Immunization Officers from States/UTs had joined the virtual launch event.
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HFW/HFM MR Elimination Campaign Launch/24 April 2025/1
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi launches development works worth over Rs 13,480 crore in Madhubani, Bihar marking National Panchayati Raj Day In the last decade, several measures have been taken to empower Panchayats, Panchayats have been strengthened through technology: PM
The rural economy has gained new momentum in the last decade: PM
The past decade has been the decade of India’s infrastructure: PM
Makhana is a superfood for the country and the world today, but in Mithila it is a part of the culture,source for prosperity here: PM
The willpower of 140 crore Indians will now break the back of the perpetrators of terror: PM
Terrorism will not go unpunished, Every effort will be made to ensure that justice is done, The entire nation is firm in this resolve: PM
Posted On: 24 APR 2025 2:11PM by PIB Delhi
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated, laid the foundation stone and dedicated to the nation multiple development projects worth over Rs 13,480 crore in Madhubani, Bihar today on the occasion of National Panchayati Raj Day. The Prime Minister appealed to everyone at the event to observe silence and pray for the departed souls in the Pahalgam attacks on 22 April 2025. Addressing the gathering on the occasion, he said that on the occasion of Panchayati Raj Day, the entire nation is connected with Mithila and Bihar. He remarked that projects worth thousands of crores of rupees, aimed at Bihar’s development, have been inaugurated and foundations laid for, emphasising that these initiatives in electricity, railways, and infrastructure will create new employment opportunities in Bihar. He paid tributes to the great poet and national icon, Ramdhari Singh Dinkar Ji, on his death anniversary.
Remarking that Bihar is the land where Mahatma Gandhi expanded the mantra of Satyagraha, Shri Modi highlighted Mahatma Gandhi’s firm belief that India’s rapid development is only possible when its villages are strong. He emphasized that the concept of Panchayati Raj was rooted in this sentiment. “Over the past decade, continuous steps have been taken to empower Panchayats. Technology has played a significant role in strengthening Panchayats, with over 2 lakh Gram Panchayats connected to the internet in the last decade”, he added. Shri Modi pointed out that more than 5.5 lakh Common Service Centers have been established in villages, underlining that the digitalization of Panchayats has brought additional benefits, such as easy access to documents like birth and death certificates, and landholding certificates. He remarked that while the nation received a new Parliament building after decades of independence, 30,000 new Panchayat Bhawans have also been constructed across the country. He also highlighted that ensuring adequate funds for Panchayats has been a priority for the government. “Over the past decade, Panchayats have received more than ₹2 lakh crore, all of which has been utilized for the development of villages”, he said.
Highlighting that one of the major issues faced by Gram Panchayats has been related to land disputes, the Prime Minister mentioned the frequent disagreements over which land is residential, agricultural, Panchayat-owned, or government-owned. He emphasized that to address this issue, the digitization of land records is being undertaken, which has helped resolve unnecessary disputes effectively.
Shri Modi underscored that Panchayats have strengthened social participation, remarking that Bihar was the first state in the country to provide 50% reservation for women in Panchayats. He emphasized that today, a significant number of women from economically weaker sections, Dalits, Mahadalits, backward, and extremely backward communities are serving as public representatives in Bihar, describing it as true social justice and genuine social participation. He underlined that democracy thrives and becomes stronger with greater participation. Reflecting this vision, Shri Modi noted that a law providing 33% reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and State Assemblies has also been enacted. He remarked that this will benefit women across all states, giving our sisters and daughters greater representation.
Emphasising that the government is working in mission mode to increase women’s income and create new opportunities for employment and self-employment, Shri Modi highlighted the transformative impact of the ‘Jeevika Didi’ program in Bihar, which has changed the lives of many women. He remarked that today, self-help groups of women in Bihar have been provided financial assistance of approximately ₹1,000 crore, noting that this will further strengthen the economic empowerment of women and contribute to the goal of creating 3 crore Lakhpati Didis across the country. He highlighted that the rural economy has gained new momentum over the past decade. He pointed out that villages have seen the construction of houses for the poor, roads, gas connections, water connections, and toilets, bringing lakhs of crores of rupees to rural areas. The Prime Minister remarked that new employment opportunities have been created, benefiting laborers, farmers, vehicle operators, and shopkeepers, providing them with new avenues for income. He emphasized that this has particularly benefited communities that have been deprived for generations. He cited the example of the PM Awas Yojana, which aims to ensure that no family in the country remains homeless and that everyone has a permanent roof over their heads. He noted that over the past decade, more than 4 crore permanent houses have been constructed under this scheme. He highlighted that in Bihar alone, 57 lakh poor families have received permanent houses. He remarked that these houses have been provided to families from economically weaker sections, Dalits, and backward and extremely backward communities like Pasmanda families. Shri Modi announced that in the coming years, 3 crore more permanent houses will be provided to the poor. He noted that today, approximately 1.5 lakh families in Bihar are moving into their new permanent homes. He said that across the country, 15 lakh poor families have been issued approval letters for the construction of new houses, including 3.5 lakh beneficiaries from Bihar. He highlighted that today, financial assistance has been sent to approximately 10 lakh poor families for their permanent houses, including 80,000 rural families and 1 lakh urban families from Bihar.
“The past decade has been a decade of infrastructure development for India”, said the Prime Minister, highlighting that this modern infrastructure is strengthening the foundation of a developed India. He noted that for the first time, over 12 crore rural families have received tap water connections in their homes, underlining that more than 2.5 crore households have been electrified, and those who never imagined cooking on gas stoves have now received gas cylinders. “Even in challenging regions like Ladakh and Siachen, where providing basic facilities is difficult, 4G and 5G mobile connections have now been established, reflecting the nation’s current priorities”, he pointed out. The Prime Minister highlighted advancements in healthcare, noting that institutions like AIIMS were once limited to major cities like Delhi. He announced that AIIMS is now being established in Darbhanga, and the number of medical colleges in the country has nearly doubled in the past decade and mentioned the construction of a new medical college in Jhanjharpur. He emphasized that to ensure quality healthcare in villages, over 1.5 lakh Ayushman Arogya Mandirs have been established across the country, including more than 10,000 in Bihar. He remarked that Jan Aushadhi Kendras have become a significant relief for the poor and middle class, offering medicines at an 80% discount. He noted that Bihar now has over 800 Jan Aushadhi Kendras, saving its people ₹2,000 crore in medical expenses. The Prime Minister highlighted that under the Ayushman Bharat scheme, lakhs of families in Bihar have received free treatment, resulting in savings of thousands of crores of rupees for these families.
“India is rapidly advancing its connectivity through infrastructure like railways, roads, and airports”, highlighted Shri Modi, noting that metro projects are underway in Patna, and over two dozen cities across the country are now connected with metro facilities. He announced the launch of the ‘Namo Bharat Rapid Rail’ service between Patna and Jaynagar, which will significantly reduce travel time between the two locations, and emphasized that this development will benefit lakhs of people from Samastipur, Darbhanga, Madhubani, and Begusarai.
The Prime Minister also mentioned the inauguration and launch of multiple new railway lines in Bihar, highlighting the commencement of the modern Amrit Bharat train service between Saharsa and Mumbai, which will greatly benefit the labor families. He remarked that the government is modernizing several railway stations in Bihar, including Madhubani and Jhanjharpur. He emphasized that air connectivity in Mithila and Bihar has improved significantly with Darbhanga Airport, and the expansion of Patna Airport is underway. “These development projects are creating new employment opportunities in Bihar”, he added.
“Farmers are the backbone of the rural economy, the stronger this backbone, the stronger the villages, and consequently, the nation”, said Shri Modi. He highlighted the persistent challenges of floods in the Mithila and Kosi regions, noting that the government is set to invest ₹11,000 crore to mitigate the impact of floods in Bihar. He said that this investment will facilitate the construction of dams on rivers such as Bagmati, Dhar, Budhi Gandak, and Kosi, adding that canals will be developed, ensuring irrigation arrangements through river water. “This initiative will not only reduce flood-related issues but will also ensure adequate water supply reaches every farmer’s field”, he added.
“Makhana, a cultural staple of Mithila, has now gained global recognition as a superfood”, highlighted Shri Modi, mentioning that makhana has been granted a GI tag, officially certifying it as a product of this region. He added that the Makhana Research Centre has been accorded national status. He also highlighted the Budget announcement of the Makhana Board, which is expected to transform the fortunes of makhana farmers, emphasising that Bihar’s makhana will now reach international markets as a superfood. He noted that the National Institute of Food Technology and Management is being established in Bihar, which will support the youth in setting up small enterprises related to food processing. He further emphasized that Bihar is making consistent progress in fisheries along with agriculture, highlighting that fishermen now have access to the benefits of the Kisan Credit Card, providing advantages to numerous families involved in fisheries. He remarked that under the PM Matsya Sampada Yojana, projects worth hundreds of crores have been executed in Bihar.
Expressing deep sorrow over the brutal killing of innocent civilians by terrorists in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, on April 22, Shri Modi remarked that the entire nation is distressed and stands in solidarity with the grieving families. He assured that every effort is being made by the government to ensure the speedy recovery of those undergoing treatment. He highlighted the profound loss suffered by families, where some lost their sons, brothers, or life partners, noting that the victims came from diverse linguistic and regional backgrounds—some spoke Bengali, Kannada, Marathi, Odia, Gujarati, and some were from Bihar. Underlining that from Kargil to Kanyakumari, the grief and outrage over this attack are shared equally across the nation, Shri Modi remarked that this attack was not just on unarmed tourists but was a brazen assault on the soul of India. “The terrorists responsible for this attack, along with those who conspired it, will face punishment beyond their imagination”, he declared in unequivocal terms, asserting that the time has come to eliminate the remaining strongholds of terrorism. “The willpower of 140 crore Indians will now break the backbone of the perpetrators of terror”, he stressed.
The Prime Minister declared from the soil of Bihar that India will identify, track, and punish every terrorist, their handlers, and their backers, emphasising that India will pursue them to the ends of the earth. “India’s spirit will never be broken by terrorism and terrorism will not go unpunished. Every effort will be made to ensure justice is served and the entire nation is firm in this resolve against terrorism”, he stressed. He further stated that everyone who believes in humanity stands with India during these times. He expressed his gratitude to the people and leaders of various countries who have supported India in these moments.
“Peace and security are the most critical prerequisites for rapid development”, said Shri Modi, remarking that a developed Bihar is essential for a developed India. He concluded by highlighting that efforts are being made to ensure development in Bihar and to extend the benefits of progress to every section and every region of the state. He expressed gratitude to everyone for joining the program on the occasion of Panchayati Raj Day.
The Governor of Bihar, Shri Arif Mohammed Khan, Chief Minister of Bihar, Shri Nitish Kumar, Union Ministers Shri Rajiv Ranjan Singh, Shri Jitan Ram Manji, Shri Giriraj Singh, Shri Chirag Paswan, Shri Nityanand Rai, Shri Ram Nath Thakur, Dr. Raj Bhushan Choudhary were present among other dignitaries at the event.
Background
Prime Minister participated in the National Panchayati Raj Day programme in Madhubani, Bihar. He also presented National Panchayat Awards, recognizing and incentivizing best-performing Panchayats on the occasion.
Prime Minister laid the foundation stone of an LPG bottling plant with rail unloading facility at Hathua in Gopalganj District of Bihar worth around Rs 340 crore. This will help in streamlining the supply chain and improving efficiency of bulk LPG transportation.
Boosting power infrastructure in the region, Prime Minister laid the foundation stone for projects worth over Rs 1,170 crore and also inaugurated multiple projects worth over Rs 5,030 crore in the power sector in Bihar under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme.
In line with his commitment to boost rail connectivity across the nation, Prime Minister flagged off Amrit Bharat express between Saharsa and Mumbai, Namo Bharat Rapid rail between Jaynagar and Patna and trains between Pipra and Saharsa and Saharsa and Samastipur. He also inaugurated the Supaul Pipra rail line, Hasanpur Bithan Rail line and two 2-lane Rail over bridges at Chapra and Bagaha. He dedicated to the nation the Khagaria-Alauli Rail line. These projects will improve connectivity and lead to overall socio-economic development of the region.
Prime Minister distributed benefits of around Rs 930 crore under Community Investment Fund to over 2 lakh SHGs from Bihar under Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY- NRLM).
Prime Minister handed over sanction letters to 15 lakh new beneficiaries of PMAY-Gramin and released instalments to 10 lakh PMAY-G beneficiaries from across the country. He also handed over keys to some beneficiaries marking the Grih Pravesh of 1 lakh PMAY-G and 54,000 PMAY-U houses in Bihar.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Acting Chief Executive, Mr Paul Lam, SC, today (April 24) met with members of a visiting ASEAN-China Joint Cooperation Committee delegation to exchange views on deepening co-operation between Hong Kong and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member states, as well as discuss issues of mutual concern.
Mr Lam welcomed the delegation’s visit to Hong Kong and expressed his gratitude for the thoughtful arrangements made by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) for fostering exchanges and co-operation between Hong Kong and ASEAN member states.
Noting that Hong Kong has maintained close trade and economic ties with ASEAN, Mr Lam said that ASEAN has long been Hong Kong’s second-largest trading partner. Last month, the HKSAR Government launched the Immigration Facilitation Scheme for Invited Persons to promote economic and trade exchanges and cultural co-operation between Hong Kong and ASEAN by providing more convenient immigration arrangements for invited persons from ASEAN countries, furthering deepening ties between Hong Kong and ASEAN.
During the meeting, Mr Lam introduced the advantages and development opportunities of Hong Kong to the delegation members. He said that Hong Kong has the distinctive advantage of enjoying the strong support of the motherland while being closely connected to the world under the “one country, two systems” principle, and has long played the important role of a “super connector” and “super value-adder”. As the only common law jurisdiction in China, Hong Kong has the unique advantage of having a well-established legal system alongside top-tier legal and dispute resolution services. Mr Lam encouraged enterprises from ASEAN member states to leverage Hong Kong as a platform to explore overseas and Mainland markets through its professional services, thereby achieving mutual benefits.
Mr Lam also thanked ASEAN member states for their continued support for Hong Kong’s accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. He said that he looks forward to strengthening collaborations with various places to help businesses explore more opportunities.
The delegation is visiting Hong Kong April 23 and 24, during which they will meet with Principal Officials of the HKSAR Government, the Legislative Council President, and representatives of other major institutions. The delegation will also visit Super Terminal 1 and the Legislative Council to learn about the latest developments in Hong Kong.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Legislative proposal to regulate konjac-containing jelly confectionery(ii) To require all prepackaged konjac-containing jelly confectionery products to be labelled with a warning statement on prevention of choking hazard in both English and Chinese: “Caution: Do not swallow whole. Elderly and children must consume under supervision.”Issued at HKT 18:22
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Transport Department (TD) today (April 24) announced that the auction of vehicle registration marks will be held on May 10 (Saturday) at Meeting Room S421, L4, Old Wing, Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, Wan Chai.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Development Bureau receives eight expression of interest submissions for developing marina in Aberdeen The spokesperson said, “The enterprises/organisations making the submissions include local and overseas developers, hotel/entertainment groups and marina developers/operators. We will consolidate and analyse the collected feedback to firm up the development parameters and requirements for the marina within this year for undertaking various technical assessments and the necessary statutory procedures. Under the established approach, it is anticipated for tendering in 2027. If a feasible market proposal is received during the EOI exercise to speed up the process, we will actively consider an earlier tender time.”
The spokesperson added, “As the feedback involves commercially sensitive information from individual enterprises, it will not be disclosed. However, relevant views will be taken into account to establish the future tender conditions, approach and timing.”
The 2024 Policy Address announced the initiative of promoting yacht tourism, with plans to invite the market to construct and operate marinas at three locations, including the expansion area of the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter. The Government plans to seek the Legislative Council’s funding approval next year to expand the Aberdeen Typhoon Shelter to increase sheltered space for public mooring under the Public Works Programme. In the meantime, the Government hopes to seize this opportunity to utilise part of the expanded waterbody for the market to develop the marina and better leverage market forces to promote yacht tourism. Issued at HKT 18:07
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Hong Kong Customs today (April 24) arrested a manager of a beauty parlour who was suspected of engaging in unfair trade practices involving aggressive commercial practices, in contravention of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO).
Customs earlier received information alleging that a manager of a beauty parlour in Causeway Bay imposed undue influence on a customer, causing her to subsequently cancel some purchased beauty treatments and pay an additional $90,000 as an application fee for the refund. The manager promised that a full refund for the treatments and application fee would be made within a specified period. However, despite repeated requests, the customer did not receive any refund.
After an investigation, Customs officers today arrested a 37-year-old female manager.
The investigation is ongoing, and the arrested person has been released on bail pending further investigation.
Customs reminds traders to comply with the requirements of the TDO and consumers to procure services at reputable shops.
Under the TDO, any trader commits an offence of engaging in aggressive commercial practices if harassment, coercion or undue influence is used to impair the consumer’s freedom of choice or conduct, causing the consumer to make a transactional decision. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $500,000 and imprisonment for five years.
Members of the public may report any suspected violation of the TDO to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 8080 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002).
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The Secretary for Education, Dr Choi Yuk-lin, today (April 24) presented certificates to awardees under the HKSAR Government Scholarship Fund (GSF) and the Self-financing Post-secondary Education Fund (SPEF) for the 2024/25 academic year at the GSF and SPEF Joint Scholarship Presentation Ceremony 2025.
Over 6 400 meritorious post-secondary students received scholarships and awards, amounting to about $196 million in total. Both the GSF and the SPEF also give recognition to meritorious post-secondary students with special educational needs (SEN) through the Endeavour Merit Award and the Endeavour Scholarship. This year, a total of around 600 SEN students were given the awards/scholarships.
Dr Choi said that the two scholarship schemes have successfully attracted outstanding non-local students to pursue their studies in Hong Kong by commending those with excellent performance in various aspects, thereby enhancing the city’s position as an international hub for post-secondary education. To tie in with the overall national development, the Education Bureau will adhere to the principle of integrity and innovation, and seize the development opportunities arising from the country’s Belt and Road initiatives, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, etc, to deepen Hong Kong’s role as a cluster of talent, and to consolidate and develop Hong Kong’s advantages in education.
The GSF was established in 2008 to attract outstanding local students to advance their studies at home, and meritorious non-local students to pursue higher education opportunities in Hong Kong. There are five types of scholarships and awards under the GSF, namely Scholarships for Outstanding Performance, Belt and Road (B&R) Scholarship, Talent Development Scholarship, Reaching Out Award and Endeavour Merit Award. Scholarships and awards are offered to students studying full-time publicly funded sub-degree, undergraduate-level and above programmes in Hong Kong. In the 2024/25 academic year, about 2 000 students received the scholarships/awards, including about 1 200 local students and about 800 non-local students. In terms of levels of study, about 1 400 students were at the undergraduate level and above, while about 600 students were at the sub-degree level.
​In addition, the B&R Scholarship was introduced to encourage students from B&R countries/regions to pursue studies in Hong Kong. In the 2024/25 academic year, 150 students from 31 B&R countries/regions have been awarded this scholarship for the first time.
The Self-financing Post-secondary Scholarship Scheme (SPSS) was established under the SPEF in 2011 to promote the quality and sustainable development of the self-financing post-secondary sector. There are five types of scholarships and awards under the scheme, namely Outstanding Performance Scholarship, Best Progress Award, Talent Development Scholarship, Reaching Out Award and Endeavour Scholarship. These scholarships and awards are offered to students pursuing full-time locally accredited self-financing sub-degree or undergraduate programmes. In the 2024/25 academic year, the SPEF offered scholarships and awards to about 4 000 local and about 400 non-local students. In terms of levels of study, about 2 400 of them pursued undergraduate studies, while about 2 000 students were at the sub-degree level.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
The 15th National Games (NG) Basketball (Men’s U22) test event will be held at the Hong Kong Coliseum in Hung Hom on April 26 and 27 (Saturday and Sunday), with an aim to prepare for the official events of the NG to be staged in November this year.
The test event will be held from 2pm to 6.30pm on both days, with the participation of four basketball teams, namely Hong Kong A1 Division Championship basketball teams Hong Kong Eastern, Winling and Tycoon, as well as the Hong Kong Men’s U22 representative team. Admission tickets have been distributed through the Basketball Association of Hong Kong, China and the Eastern Sports Club. Those who possess a ticket may enter the venue for the event upon completion of a security check starting from 12.30pm on the event days.
The test event is organised by the National Games Coordination Office (Hong Kong) and co-organised by the Basketball Association of Hong Kong, China and the Eastern Sports Club, with the Chinese Basketball Association as advisor.
Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, chaired a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg, today, in the wake of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam.
The Prime Minister posted on X :
“In the wake of the terrorist attack in Pahalgam, chaired a meeting of the CCS at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg.”