NewzIntel.com

Category: Business

  • MIL-OSI China: Taiwan gathering expresses opposition to ‘Taiwan independence’ narrative

    Source: China State Council Information Office 2

    Around 1,600 people from various sectors in Taiwan gathered at an event Saturday, calling for a distancing from “Taiwan independence” and expressing their desire and determination for peace, dialogue and reunification.
    Most attendees wore coordinated jackets with the following message printed on the back: “Supporting the 1992 Consensus, caring for people’s well-being, rejecting ‘Taiwan independence,’ and advocating cross-Strait peace and shared prosperity.”
    The event in New Taipei City involved a number of political parties and civil organizations.
    The 1992 Consensus serves as the political foundation for mutual trust between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, with its core meaning being that both sides belong to one China, said Hung Hsiu-chu, former chairperson of the Chinese Kuomintang party and chair of the Taiwan-based Chinese Cyan Geese Peace Education Foundation, at the event.
    Hung criticized the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities for ignoring and distorting history, suppressing dissent on the island, clinging to the United States, and provoking confrontation with the mainland.
    Calling on the two sides of the Strait to work together toward national reunification, she urged the people of Taiwan, especially the youth, to understand and identify with Chinese history and cultural traditions, and to be aware of the historical mission they shoulder.
    “I am Chinese and I am proud. As Chinese people, we should not be afraid to say it openly,” said Wu Cheng-tien, chairman of the New Party, at the event.
    For both sides of the Strait, there is no better path than peaceful reunification and people in Taiwan bear the great responsibility to strive together for the cause, Wu added.
    Wu Jung-yuan, chairman of the Labor Party in Taiwan, urged the people of Taiwan to be highly vigilant given the current situation where Taiwan, through the collusion of “Taiwan independence” separatists and external forces, has been tied to a war machine — which is dragging the island toward the brink of conflict.
    The event, at which people stood up to voice opposition to war and “Taiwan independence” and show support for peaceful reunification, aimed to demonstrate that the “Taiwan independence” path is not supported by most people in Taiwan, said Gao An-go, a retired military officer and one of the event’s organizers.
    “We all earnestly hope for a peaceful and stable environment, but right now, this beautiful island is rapidly slipping into a dangerous situation, and the people of Taiwan feel a deep sense of fear and helplessness about the future,” said Xiong Zi-jie, president of the Hunan Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan.
    “This is why we must completely sweep ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists into the dustbin of history and restore a peaceful and prosperous Taiwan for its people. Once the scourge of ‘Taiwan independence’ is removed, peaceful reunification will be within reach,” he said.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Can Australia prosecute foreigners for genocide overseas? Here’s how our atrocity laws work

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Alister McKeich, Lecturer and Researcher in Law, Criminology and Indigenous Studies, Victoria University, Victoria University

    Shutterstock

    The onslaught in the Middle East has brought to the world’s attention once again the “crime of crimes”, genocide.

    Both the the International Court of Justice and International Criminal Court (ICC) have brought allegations of genocide against Israel as a state and Israeli and Hamas leaders as individuals.

    The Australian government’s response to the Gaza crisis has included temporarily freezing of A$6 million of funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine. Though funding has been flowing again since March, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has been referred to the ICC by a law firm for being “an accessory to genocide”.

    Against this backdrop, Australia’s own genocide legislation is under parliamentary scrutiny. A bill tabled by independent Senator Lidia Thorpe (for whom I work as a casual legal researcher) seeks to change the way Australia deals with genocide.

    So what do our current laws say and what’s the case for changing them?

    What do our laws say?

    Australia ratified the Genocide Convention in 1949.

    Yet it was not until 2002, once the ICC was established, that the Commonwealth Criminal Code was amended to create a new division of atrocity crimes.

    Through this legislation, Australia may prosecute any person accused of a Rome Statute crime (such as genocide) under Australian law.

    At the moment, written consent from the attorney-general is required before legal proceedings about genocide and other atrocity crimes can commence. This is called the “attorney-general’s fiat”.

    Further, the attorney-general’s decision is final. It “must not be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed or called into question”.

    Thorpe’s bill seeks to overturn these two measures.

    The explanatory memorandum in the 2002 amendment did not say why the attorney-general’s consent was necessary.

    Consent from an attorney-general (or similar position) is not an international requirement.

    Australia is only one of a handful of other countries (including the United Kingdom, New Zealand and Canada) where the fiat also exists.

    Why is it a problem?

    The Australian government has justified the rule on the basis that prosecutions for atrocity crimes against individuals could affect Australia’s international relations and national security.

    However, submissions from legal experts and community groups to a senate inquiry looking at the issue point out flaws.

    They say this rule prevents access to justice for victims and survivors of atrocity crimes. It can also create the potential for government bias.

    Submissions also say the lack of explanation or appeal process ignores fundamental principles of jurisprudence.

    Has the rule been used?

    The attorney-general’s fiat has been used in a limited number of cases.

    In 2009, Palestinian rights groups Australians for Palestine issued a request for consent for the prosecution of former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert, who was visiting at the time.

    The Australian Centre for International Justice states in its submission how then-attorney-general Robert McClellend denied the request. He cited matters of international state sovereignty and the difficulties of pursuing such a case in an overseas jurisdiction.

    Then, in 2011, Arunchalam Jegastheeswaran, an Australian citizen of Tamil
    background, sought the attorney-general’s consent for the prosecution of then Sri Lankan President, Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was due to visit Australia.

    McClellend again denied the request, saying Rajapaska was protected under “head of state immunity”. This concept is controversial in international law, given it’s often heads of state who commit atrocity crimes.

    Head of state protection was also offered to former Myanmar (Burma) leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who was in government when the 2017 genocide against the Rohingya was committed.

    With Suu Kyi due to be in Australia for an ASEAN conference in 2018, the Australian Rohingya community sought a prosecution. It was denied by then attorney-general Christian Porter.

    And in 2019, retired Sri Lankan General Jagath Jayasuriya visited Australia. Despite concerted efforts to raise evidence to prosecute Jayasuriya of war crimes, delays with the Australian Federal Police meant the case never reached the point of attorney-general consent.

    First Nations plaintiffs such as Paul Coe and Robert Thorpe have also sought to bring cases of genocide before the domestic courts, with no success.

    What would changing the laws mean?

    As it’s unlikely an attorney-general would consent to prosecutions against its own government, submissions to the inquiry argue the rule creates a direct conflict of interest.

    For First Nations people seeking justice for crimes of “ongoing genocide” perpetuated by the Commonwealth, any government is hardly going to rule in their favour.

    Some Indigenous community groups argue the high rates of First Nations children in protection, deaths in custody, hyper-incarceration and cultural, land and environmental damage amount to genocide crimes.

    Submissions to the inquiry recommend instead of requiring the consent of the attorney-general, claims of genocide should be directed to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions. This would ensure greater independence from government.

    The director has a mandate for this sort of work. It already investigates similar crimes such as people smuggling, human trafficking, slavery and child exploitation.

    Internationally, the implications of this bill, if passed, will be consequential. The Australian Centre for International Justice estimates up to 1,000 Australian citizens have returned to Israel to fight as part of the Israel Defense Forces. Israel has been accused of serious atrocity crimes in Gaza.

    Should any of those citizens return, there could be attempts to mount a case. The government would then have to consider Australia’s political and economic ties with Israel.

    Whether the bill is passed will depend on parliament. But the situation highlights a paradox: the state itself will be deciding whether to remove its own inbuilt protections against charges of genocide.

    Alister McKeich is a casual legal researcher with the office of Senator Lidia Thorpe.

    – ref. Can Australia prosecute foreigners for genocide overseas? Here’s how our atrocity laws work – https://theconversation.com/can-australia-prosecute-foreigners-for-genocide-overseas-heres-how-our-atrocity-laws-work-236394

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Online spaces are rife with toxicity. Well-designed AI tools can help clean them up

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Lucy Sparrow, Lecturer in Human-Computer Interaction, The University of Melbourne

    MMD Creative/Shutterstock

    Imagine scrolling through social media or playing an online game, only to be interrupted by insulting and harassing comments. What if an artificial intelligence (AI) tool stepped in to remove the abuse before you even saw it?

    This isn’t science fiction. Commercial AI tools like ToxMod and Bodyguard.ai are already used to monitor interactions in real time across social media and gaming platforms. They can detect and respond to toxic behaviour.

    The idea of an all-seeing AI monitoring our every move might sound Orwellian, but these tools could be key to making the internet a safer place.

    However, for AI moderation to succeed, it needs to prioritise values like privacy, transparency, explainability and fairness. So can we ensure AI can be trusted to make our online spaces better? Our two recent research projects into AI-driven moderation show this can be done – with more work ahead of us.

    Negativity thrives online

    Online toxicity is a growing problem. Nearly half of young Australians have experienced some form of negative online interaction, with almost one in five experiencing cyberbullying.

    Whether it’s a single offensive comment or a sustained slew of harassment, such harmful interactions are part of daily life for many internet users.

    The severity of online toxicity is one reason the Australian government has proposed banning social media for children under 14.

    But this approach fails to fully address a core underlying problem: the design of online platforms and moderation tools. We need to rethink how online platforms are designed to minimise harmful interactions for all users, not just children.

    Unfortunately, many tech giants with power over our online activities have been slow to take on more responsibility, leaving significant gaps in moderation and safety measures.

    This is where proactive AI moderation offers the chance to create safer, more respectful online spaces. But can AI truly deliver on this promise? Here’s what we found.

    ‘Havoc’ in online multiplayer games

    In our Games and Artificial Intelligence Moderation (GAIM) Project, we set out to understand the ethical opportunities and pitfalls of AI-driven moderation in online multiplayer games. We conducted 26 in-depth interviews with players and industry professionals to find out how they use and think about AI in these spaces.

    Interviewees saw AI as a necessary tool to make games safer and combat the “havoc” caused by toxicity. With millions of players, human moderators can’t catch everything. But an untiring and proactive AI can pick up what humans miss, helping reduce the stress and burnout associated with moderating toxic messages.

    But many players also expressed confusion about the use of AI moderation. They didn’t understand why they received account suspensions, bans and other punishments, and were often left frustrated that their own reports of toxic behaviour seemed to be lost to the void, unanswered.

    Participants were especially worried about privacy in situations where AI is used to moderate voice chat in games. One player exclaimed: “my god, is that even legal?” It is – and it’s already happening in popular online games such as Call of Duty.

    Our study revealed there’s tremendous positive potential for AI moderation. However, games and social media companies will need to do a lot more work to make these systems transparent, empowering and trustworthy.

    Right now, AI moderation is seen to operate much like a police officer in an opaque justice system. What if AI instead took the form of a teacher, guardian, or upstander – educating, empowering or supporting users?

    Enter AI Ally

    This is where our second project AI Ally comes in, an initiative funded by the eSafety Commissioner. In response to high rates of tech-based gendered violence in Australia, we are co-designing an AI tool to support girls, women and gender-diverse individuals in navigating safer online spaces.

    We surveyed 230 people from these groups, and found that 44% of our respondents “often” or “always” experienced gendered harassment on at least one social media platform. It happened most frequently in response to everyday online activities like posting photos of themselves, particularly in the form of sexist comments.

    Interestingly, our respondents reported that documenting instances of online abuse was especially useful when they wanted to support other targets of harassment, such as by gathering screenshots of abusive comments. But only a few of those surveyed did this in practice. Understandably, many also feared for their own safety should they intervene by defending someone or even speaking up in a public comment thread.

    These are worrying findings. In response, we are designing our AI tool as an optional dashboard that detects and documents toxic comments. To help guide us in the design process, we have created a set of “personas” that capture some of our target users, inspired by our survey respondents.

    Some of the user ‘personas’ guiding the development of the AI Ally tool.
    Ren Galwey/Research Rendered

    We allow users to make their own decisions about whether to filter, flag, block or report harassment in efficient ways that align with their own preferences and personal safety.

    In this way, we hope to use AI to offer young people easy-to-access support in managing online safety while offering autonomy and a sense of empowerment.

    We can all play a role

    AI Ally shows we can use AI to help make online spaces safer without having to sacrifice values like transparency and user control. But there is much more to be done.

    Other, similar initiatives include Harassment Manager, which was designed to identify and document abuse on Twitter (now X), and HeartMob, a community where targets of online harassment can seek support.

    Until ethical AI practices are more widely adopted, users must stay informed. Before joining a platform, check if they are transparent about their policies and offer user control over moderation settings.

    The internet connects us to resources, work, play and community. Everyone has the right to access these benefits without harassment and abuse. It’s up to all of us to be proactive and advocate for smarter, more ethical technology that protects our values and our digital spaces.

    The AI Ally team consists of Dr Mahli-Ann Butt, Dr Lucy Sparrow, Dr Eduardo Oliveira, Ren Galwey, Dahlia Jovic, Sable Wang-Wills, Yige Song and Maddy Weeks.

    Dr Lucy Sparrow receives funding from the eSafety Commissioner’s Preventing Tech-Based Abuse Against Women grant program for the “AI Ally” project.

    Dr Eduardo Oliveira receives funding from the eSafety Commissioner’s Preventing Tech-Based Abuse Against Women grant program for the “AI Ally” project.

    Dr Mahli-Ann Butt receives funding from the eSafety Commissioner’s Preventing Tech-Based Abuse Against Women grant program for the “AI Ally” project.

    – ref. Online spaces are rife with toxicity. Well-designed AI tools can help clean them up – https://theconversation.com/online-spaces-are-rife-with-toxicity-well-designed-ai-tools-can-help-clean-them-up-239590

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Kamala Harris the slight favourite to win US election as she narrowly leads in key states

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Adrian Beaumont, Election Analyst (Psephologist) at The Conversation; and Honorary Associate, School of Mathematics and Statistics, The University of Melbourne

    The US presidential election will be held on November 5. In analyst Nate Silver’s aggregate of national polls, Democrat Kamala Harris leads Republican Donald Trump by 49.3–46.0 – a slight widening of the competition since last Monday, when Harris led Trump by 49.2–46.2.

    President Joe Biden’s final position before his withdrawal as Democratic candidate on July 21 was a national poll deficit against Trump of 45.2–41.2.

    There will be a debate on Tuesday evening US time between the vice-presidential candidates, Democrat Tim Walz and Republican JD Vance. Vice-presidential debates in previous elections have not had a significant influence on the contest.

    The US president isn’t elected by the national popular vote, but by the Electoral College, in which each state receives electoral votes equal to its federal House seats (population based) and senators (always two). Almost all states award their electoral votes as winner-takes-all, and it takes 270 electoral votes to win (out of 538 total).

    The Electoral College is biased to Trump relative to the national popular vote, with Harris needing at least a two-point popular vote win in Silver’s model to be the Electoral College favourite.

    In Silver’s polling averages, Harris leads Trump by one to two points in Pennsylvania (19 electoral votes), Michigan (15), Wisconsin (ten) and Nevada (six). If Harris wins all these states, she is likely to win the Electoral College by at least a 276–262 margin. Trump is ahead by less than a point in North Carolina (16 electoral votes) and Georgia (16), and if Harris wins both, she wins by 308–230.

    In Silver’s model, Harris has a 56% chance to win the Electoral College, up from 54% last Monday but down from her peak of 58% two days ago. Earlier this month, there were large differences in win probability between Silver’s model and the FiveThirtyEight model, which was more favourable to Harris. But these models have nearly converged, with FiveThirtyEight now giving Harris a 59% win probability.

    There are still more than five weeks until election day, so polls could change in either Trump’s or Harris’ favour by then. Harris’ one to two point leads in the key states are tenuous, and this explains why Trump is still rated a good chance to win.

    Silver wrote on September 1 that polls in 2020 and 2016 were biased against Trump, but polls in 2012 were biased against Barack Obama. In the last two midterm elections (2022 and 2018), polls have been good. It’s plausible there will be a polling error this year, but which candidate such an error would favour can’t be predicted.

    On Sunday, Silver said if there was a systematic error of three or four points in the polls in either Trump’s or Harris’ favour, that candidate would sweep all the swing states and easily win the Electoral College. There are other scenarios in which one candidate underperforms the polls with some demographics but overperforms with other demographics.

    I wrote about the US election for The Poll Bludger last Thursday, and also covered bleak polls and byelection results in Canada for the governing centre-left Liberals ahead of an election due by October 2025, a dreadful poll for UK Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the new French prime minister, a German state election and a socialist win in Sri Lanka’s presidential election.

    Upwardly revised economic data

    Last Thursday, a revised estimate of June quarter US GDP was released. There was a large upward revision in real disposable personal income compared to the previously reported figures. This has resulted in the personal savings rate being revised up to 4.9% in July from the previously reported 2.9%, and it was 4.8% in August.

    With these upward revisions, Silver’s economic index that averages six indicators is now at +0.25, up from +0.09. As the incumbent party’s candidate, a better economy than was previously believed should help Harris.

    Coalition gains narrow lead in Essential

    In Australia, a national Essential poll, conducted on September 18–22 from a sample of 1,117 people, gave the Coalition a 48–47 lead (including undecided voters) after a 48–48 tie in early September. It’s the Coalition’s first lead in the Essential poll since mid-July.

    Primary votes were 35% Coalition (steady), 29% Labor (down one), 12% Greens (down one), 8% One Nation (steady), 2% UAP (up one), 9% for all Others (up one) and 5% undecided (steady).

    Anthony Albanese’s net approval was up five points since August to –5, with 47% disapproving and 42% approving. Peter Dutton’s net approval was down one to net zero.

    On social media regulations, 48% thought them too weak, 43% about right and 8% too tough. By 67–17, voters supported imposing an age limit for children to access social media (68–15 in July). By 71–12, voters supported making doxing (the public release of personally identifiable data) a criminal offence (62–19 in February).

    By 49–18, voters supported Labor’s Help to Buy scheme, and by 57–13 they supported the build-to-rent scheme. The questions give detail that few voters would know.

    Voters were told the Liberals and Greens had combined to delay Labor’s housing policies in the senate. By 48–22, voters thought the Liberals and Greens should pass the policies and argue for their own policies at the next election, rather than block Labor’s policies. Greens voters supported passing by 55–21.

    Labor keeps narrow lead in Morgan

    A national Morgan poll, conducted September 16–22 from a sample of 1,662 people, gave Labor a 50.5–49.5 lead, unchanged from the September 9–15 Morgan poll.

    Primary votes were 37.5% Coalition (steady), 32% Labor (up 1.5), 12.5% Greens (steady), 5% One Nation (down 0.5), 9.5% independents (down 0.5) and 3.5% others (down 0.5).

    The headline figure is based on respondent preferences. By 2022 election preference flows, Labor led by an unchanged 52–48.

    Adrian Beaumont does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Kamala Harris the slight favourite to win US election as she narrowly leads in key states – https://theconversation.com/kamala-harris-the-slight-favourite-to-win-us-election-as-she-narrowly-leads-in-key-states-239735

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI China: German carmakers eye increased, deeper NEV cooperation with China

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    German carmakers have expressed optimism about cooperation with China in the new energy vehicle (NEV) industry when speaking at the 2024 World New Energy Vehicle Congress which concluded Sunday in Haikou, capital of south China’s Hainan Province, with China’s NEV market continuing to boom.

    Jochen Goller, a member of the board of management of BMW AG, credited the success of China’s NEV market to supportive government policies, suitable regulations and technological innovations.

    Goller emphasized BMW’s commitment to keeping the market open and expressed hopes of having more Chinese battery manufacturers in Europe.

    Oliver Blume, chairman of the board of management of Volkswagen AG, noted that this year marks a significant milestone as Volkswagen celebrates 40 years in the Chinese market.

    “Over the past four decades, we have taken great pride from having become an integral part of Chinese life and in shaping the development of the Chinese automotive industry,” Blume said, while highlighting that the foundation of Volkswagen’s success lies in its strong partnerships — particularly with Chinese EV companies like SAIC and FAW.

    Blume added that China has emerged as “the epicenter of the automotive industry’s future,” while Volkswagen is committed to being an even more integral part of the local industry ecosystem.

    “We have significantly enhanced our local research and development capacities and concluded partnerships with local original equipment manufacturers and technology leaders in the fields of software, autonomous driving and batteries,” he explained.

    In April, Volkswagen announced an investment of 2.5 billion euros (about 2.79 billion U.S. dollars) in expanding its production and innovation hub in the city of Hefei in east China — to increase its pace of innovation in the country.

    The company also committed to accelerating the production of two Volkswagen-brand smart electric vehicles, which are currently under joint development with Chinese manufacturer Xpeng.

    China’s production and sales of NEVs continued to maintain fast growth, with the NEV market share steadily increasing in the domestic market.

    Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers revealed that in the first eight months of 2024, NEV production had reached about 7.01 million units, rising 29 percent year on year, while sales during this period stood at around 7.04 million units — growing by 30.9 percent from a year earlier.

    Wan Gang, chairman of the China Association for Science and Technology, said that expanding bilateral trade cooperation and investment, along with increasingly close industrial and supply chain collaboration between the Chinese and German automotive industries, have become vital for the high-quality development of the global automotive sector.

    “In the future, we hope that the automotive industries of China and Germany will embrace development and reform, jointly promoting the further advancement of the NEV industry to contribute to global low-carbon transformation and sustainable development,” Wan added.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: 2nd China supply chain expo to boost support for African participants

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    The second China International Supply Chain Expo (CISCE), scheduled from Nov. 26 to 30 this year, will offer increased support for participants from African countries, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) said on Sunday.

    The enhanced support aims to “voluntarily and unilaterally open the Chinese market wider to Africa,” following a decision made during the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation earlier this month, CCPIT spokesperson Wang Linjie told a press conference.

    Specifically, the expo will tailor country-specific strategies to better match supply and demand, helping African businesses find suitable partners and purchasers in China, Wang said.

    It will also feature forums and sideline events bringing together delegates from African governments, business associations, think tanks and international organizations, aiming to bolster Africa’s presence in global industrial and supply chain cooperation, the spokesperson added.

    “We will leverage the CISCE’s role in promoting trade, investment, innovation and exchange to help Chinese and African companies deepen industrial and supply chain cooperation, while fostering mutual business growth, shared interests and common advancements,” Wang added.

    Multiple African countries, including Ethiopia, Cote d’Ivoire, Rwanda and Morocco, along with the African Union, have confirmed their participation in the second CISCE, focusing on sectors such as agriculture and mining.

    A recent official report showed that China has remained Africa’s largest trading partner for the 15th consecutive year, with bilateral trade reaching 282.1 billion U.S. dollars in 2023.

    China has announced that it will give all the least developed countries having diplomatic relations with China, including 33 countries in Africa, zero-tariff treatment for 100 percent tariff lines.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: Mergers, acquisitions in Chinese capital market gain steam

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    This panoramic aerial photo taken on Jan. 10, 2023 shows a view of Lujiazui area in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone in east China’s Shanghai. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) among Chinese listed firms have gathered pace in recent months thanks to favorable policies to consolidate companies’ competitiveness, contributing to the high-quality development of the country’s capital market.

    The number of such M&A cases saw a marked increase from the same period last year, with 46 major asset reorganization deals disclosed between May and mid-September, according to information made public by companies listed on the A-share market.

    “So far this year, M&A has been particularly active among technology firms, state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and securities companies, with market forces playing a bigger role in the deals,” said Tian Lihui, head of the Institute of Finance and Development at Nankai University.

    A telling example is the acquisition of APT Medical, a manufacturer and supplier listed on Science and Technology Innovation Board (STAR) market, by Mindray, an industry leader in medical equipment development and manufacturing.

    The transaction was announced in January and completed in April. By combining APT Medical’s advantages in the field of electrophysiology and vascular intervention medical devices and Mindray’s R&D capability and overseas marketing experience, the deal improved the competitiveness of both companies.

    Semi-annual financial reports show that the net profits of Mindray and APT Medical increased by 17.37 percent and 33.09 percent, respectively, in the first six months of this year.

    In June, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) publicized a slew of measures to further reform the STAR market and pledged greater efforts to support M&A activities among companies listed in the market.

    The CSRC said it will support industrial chain integration among the companies, and make M&A institutions more inclusive by supporting companies to acquire high-quality tech firms that are yet to make profits.

    Driven by such measures, the transaction values of M&A deals of the companies on the STAR market exceeded 3 billion yuan (about 427.34 million U.S. dollars) in the first half of the year, doubling that of the same period in the previous year, data from the Shanghai Stock Exchange showed.

    Technology companies can accelerate innovation and industrial upgrading through M&A activities, said Tian.

    In addition, SOEs at both central and local levels are also leveraging M&A to drive industrial specialization and integration, enhancing industrial synergy with business partners.

    In September, two listed subsidiaries of China State Shipbuilding Corporation announced a plan to merge, which is expected to be one of the largest M&A transactions in the A-share market by market value in recent years.

    The merger is projected to propel the new entity to a leading global position in shipbuilding, characterized by comprehensive research and innovation capabilities, along with a rich product structure and production lines, according to a research note from Huatai Securities.

    Securities firms also saw major M&A deals this year, with Guotai Junan Securities and Haitong Securities planning to merge through a share swap.

    In recent years, the CSRC has continuously promoted market-oriented reform in the M&A of listed companies. This has been achieved through a slew of measures, including streamlining approval procedures and optimizing regulatory requirements.

    The effort was intensified this year. In the context of global industrial transformation and China’s accelerated economic structural upgrade, it is “urgent” for companies to harness M&A’s pivotal role in promoting industrial integration as well as enhancing industry quality and efficiency, CSRC Chairman Wu Qing said at a press conference on Tuesday.

    On the same day, the CSRC rolled out new measures to support Chinese listed companies in pursuing M&A activities, vowing to help channel more resources toward new quality productive forces, encourage the companies to enhance industrial consolidation and elevate their investment value through improving market value management.

    Tian anticipated that the regulator’s latest policies will further invigorate China’s M&A market and drive the transformation and upgrading of listed companies.

    “The M&A trend is expected to continue and play an important role in sharpening companies’ competitiveness, especially in areas related to SOE reform, sci-tech innovation and financial service integration,” he said.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: China provides vibrant digital trade cooperation platform with int’l expo

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    Sales staff promote African products via livestreaming during the third Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Sept. 25, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

    The third Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE), concluding on Sunday, has been a vibrant platform for fostering global partnerships in digital commerce and thus sustainable growth.

    Held in Hangzhou, a city known for blending ancient charm and modern innovation, the expo featured more than 1,500 enterprises, including over 300 international companies.

    Attendees experienced cutting-edge innovations like AI-driven robots and hydrogen-powered drones and were presented with over 400 new products and technologies.

    Valuable experience

    Kazakh Minister of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry Zhaslan Madiyev highlighted China’s role as a global leader in e-commerce and digital technologies, noting that China is accelerating the digital transformation of markets worldwide.

    In a written interview with Xinhua, Madiyev said China’s experience offers valuable insights for countries in the early stages of developing their digital markets, aiding global growth and helping reduce digital inequality. He cited Kazakhstan’s efforts to improve telecommunications and cybersecurity by learning from China.

    In addition to cutting-edge technologies, China’s experience in e-commerce also set an example for countries seeking to capitalize on the rapid growth of digital trade.

    Kilimall, an e-commerce platform founded by Chinese entrepreneurs in Africa in 2014, has become one of the most popular shopping websites among Africans. It has generated about 10,000 local jobs in logistics, courier services, customer support and regional sales.

    The cooperation between China and Africa in digital economy “represents a new model of economic cooperation that creates tangible value for businesses and people on both sides” said Ugandan Ambassador to China Oliver Wonekha.

    Digitalization is a technological leap and a key driver of future development for countries and businesses, said Jean Louis Robinson, ambassador of Madagascar to China. “We are eager to work closely with Chinese companies to learn from China’s advanced experience in digital economy and promote sustainable development in Madagascar,” he added.

    Robots perform dance at a booth during the third Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Sept. 25, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Vast opportunities

    China’s advanced digital economy and vast market scale are creating immense opportunities for the world, said experts and attendees at the expo.

    “For us, China is not just a sales market,” said Lyu Feng, division head of public relations at Yokogawa China, a Japanese electric firm. He highlighted China’s vast emerging industries, strong market demand, and numerous high-tech companies.

    Lyu added that the company emphasizes collaborating with Chinese enterprises to explore new opportunities, particularly in digital transformation and carbon emissions management in the manufacturing sector.

    Zhu Lili, vice president of AstraZeneca China, expressed that the pharmaceutical giant is “highly confident” in the Chinese market and its innovation ecosystem. She emphasized the company’s goal to partner with more local firms to explore the application of digital technologies in healthcare, driving sustainable and high-quality growth for both the healthcare industry and the broader economy.

    In the first half of 2024, China’s cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached 1.22 trillion yuan (about 170 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 10.5 percent year over year, according to customs data.

    Kazakhstan has opened national pavilions on Chinese e-commerce platforms like Alibaba and JD.com to promote products such as powdered milk, safflower oil, and honey, boosting bilateral e-commerce ties, Serik Korzhumbayev, editor-in-chief of Delovoy Kazakhstan, told Xinhua.

    Yao Hongchun, vice president of the Thai Chinese New Generation Business Association, emphasized its potential for collaboration with China, mainly through advanced e-commerce technologies tailored to Thai consumers.

    A foreign merchant consults about a small intelligent translation device at the third Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Sept. 25, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Cooperation platform

    “E-commerce can be successful and further developed in the long run if everyone can find their way in it, if it is based on close international cooperation, if it is diversified and if as many countries as possible are involved on both the manufacturer and the buyer side,” Hungarian National Assembly’s Deputy Speaker Lajos Olah said at the opening ceremony of the expo.

    By July 2024, China has signed e-commerce cooperation memorandums of understanding with 33 countries spanning five continents.

    Additionally, China has been involved in digital economy collaborations through multilateral frameworks like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS, the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, and the G20, according to an e-commerce development report released by China’s Ministry of Commerce during the expo.

    Beyond exhibitions, this year’s GDTE also featured multiple forums, meetings, and seminars, providing officials and industry leaders with platforms to exchange views and discuss prospects for international collaboration.

    Through participating in the expo, Thailand is ready to work with partners in trade, investment, research, and development to expand its digital products and services, aiming to integrate into key global supply chains, Thailand’s Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Ekachat Seetavorarat told Xinhua on the sidelines of the expo.

    Madiyev also highlighted the GDTE as a unique opportunity to exchange experiences with leading global players in the digital economy and expand economic ties with other countries, particularly China.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI China: China eyes long-term funds to promote stable, sustainable capital market

    Source: China State Council Information Office

    China is intensifying moves to channel long-term funds into its capital market as part of the efforts to boost investor confidence and enhance market stability.

    Central authorities recently issued guidelines to streamline the entry of medium- and long-term capital from social security funds, insurance funds and wealth management funds into the market.

    The main measures contained in the guidelines include fostering a favorable long-term investment ecosystem, promoting the development of public and private equity funds, and improving related policies for medium- and long-term stock investment, according to the office of the Central Financial Work Commission and the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

    Financial analysts have expressed widespread recognition of the value of these policies. Du Xingye, an associate professor at the University of International Business and Economics, emphasized the necessity of attracting long-term funds. Ming Ming, chief economist at CITIC Securities, believes the move will help build long-term confidence.

    The entry of long-term capital can help reduce market fluctuations and enhance overall market stability as such funds typically possess well-structured research teams capable of discovering a company’s value and executing long-term investment strategies, said Liu Xinyu, co-general manager of the public investment department of Rivers Fund, a public equity fund.

    In recent years, calls for increasing long-term fund participation have intensified in China, and related measures have been introduced. However, while some progress has been made, an institutional environment friendly to long-term investment has not yet been fully established.

    At the end of August 2024, institutional investors, including public equity, insurance and various pension funds, collectively held 14.5 trillion yuan (about 2 trillion U.S. dollars) of circulating A-shares. Their proportion of the total market value increased from 17 percent at the beginning of 2019 to 22.2 percent by August.

    There is significant room for growth for long-term funds in the capital market, experts said, noting that the increasing participation of such funds, which feature higher professional standards and stability, will optimize the investor structure.

    The latest guidelines achieved substantial policy breakthroughs in areas such as long-cycle assessment for funds, policy synergy and the building of a supportive market ecosystem.

    A three-year long-cycle assessment mechanism for insurance funds and various pension funds will be established, and investment policies will also be improved for the national social security fund and basic pension insurance fund, according to the guidelines.

    Problems in the current short-sighted assessment approach for funds are prominent, as the undue emphasis on short-term profit targets has overshadowed the importance of long-term metrics.

    Wang Peng, an associate researcher at the Beijing Academy of Social Sciences, said the guidelines specifically address assessment challenges, thereby helping to reduce obstacles preventing long-term funds from flowing into the stock market.

    Additionally, Pan Hongsheng, chief economist of the China Institute of Finance and Capital Markets, said the guidelines support institutional investors’ participation in corporate governance, which will solidify the market foundation for long-term fund entry. It is crucial to create an ecosystem where long-term funds can “enter, stay and thrive,” Pan added.

    China’s central bank, top securities regulator and financial regulator Tuesday announced a raft of monetary stimulus, property market support and capital market strengthening measures to boost the country’s high-quality economic development.

    The Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee held a meeting on Thursday to analyze and study the current economic situation and make further arrangements for economic work.

    The meeting called for efforts to boost the capital market, vigorously guide medium- and long-term funds to enter the capital market, and clear obstacles for social security, insurance and wealth management funds to invest in the capital market.

    Thanks to the new measures, the investor confidence has improved significantly, with the stock market on an upward streak in recent days.

    The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index closed at 3,087.53 points on Friday — a 12.81 percent weekly gain. The Shenzhen Component Index soared 17.83 percent in the week to close at 9,514.86 points.

    On Friday alone, the combined turnover of the two indices neared 1.45 trillion yuan, surpassing the 1-trillion-yuan mark for a third consecutive day.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-Evening Report: Unwritten rules, nostalgia and subtle rebellion: how school photos capture childhood and the changing times

    Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Cherine Fahd, Associate Head of School, School of Design, University of Technology Sydney

    A 1935 school photograph taken in Kandos, NSW. Author provided, courtesy of the Kandos Museum.

    In the town of Kandos, New South Wales, there’s the local Kandos Museum run by volunteers. The museum holds relics from the cement works that once defined the town, but there are other treasures, too.

    As part of the Cementa24 festival, I became fixated on the museum’s collection of school photos. Neatly organised into ring-bound folders by the volunteers, the group portraits span decades of students from Kandos Public School and Kandos High School, from 1924 through to the 1990s.

    A photo album made by volunteers at the Kandos Museum.
    Author provided

    I enlarged and cropped some of these photos to turn them into street posters to scatter around town. I asked permission before sticking a few outside the local pub, the radio station, the post office and the op shop. I spot the locals smiling as they pass them, stopping to look for someone they know. I watch them point at the pictures and hear them naming names.

    Working on this project, I can’t stop thinking about the weight of these photographic rituals. School photos aren’t just memories; they hold social histories. Through them, you can trace changes in hairstyles, fashion, attitudes and even migration – yet there’s something homogeneous and unchangeable about how they’re made.

    School photo rules

    There’s always a physical hierarchy in these photos. The photographer organises the group to ensure compositional acuity. The students are lined up in rows, with tall people in the back and shorter people in front – evenly spaced, arranged by height and symmetry.

    When was the rule made that says this is how a group should look? Balanced, orderly and with everyone fitting neatly into place, whether they socially do or not. Somehow I always ended up on the edge of the middle row. The social dynamics of the playground found their way into the organisation of our bodies, forever captured in a split second.

    A photo of Kandos’ 5th Form, 1967.
    Author provided, courtesy of the Kandos Museum

    Looking at the Kandos photos from the 1940s through to the 1970s, then at my children’s photos from 2013 to 2024, and my own school photos in the 1980s and ‘90s, I can see the difference in public, private and catholic school uniforms. I can see the difference in racial diversity (or lack thereof) between a small regional town, inner-city Sydney and suburban southwest Sydney. I can also see how much photographic technology has changed.

    Despite this, the organisational structure of the school photo remains the same. The kids still stand stiffly in their rows, with identical tunics and ties. Standing too close, someone’s elbow digs into someone else’s side.

    As a photographer now, I often think about these school photos and the rituals that have remained largely unchanged in Australia. Every year, kids are shuffled onto tiered steps. Those in the front put their knees together, hands in laps, while the girls must “try to look like ladies”. Then there are the “nobodies” in the middle row (or is that just me reading into it?)

    The perils of posing

    Posing for school photos can be complicated. One year my daughter came home from school and declared the photographer was sexist because he made all the girls sit in the front row while the boys got to stand. I asked her why sitting was sexist. She couldn’t explain – she was eight years old – but she certainly felt the power difference between sitting with your knees pressed together and standing tall.

    And what about the solo portrait? I still think about my kindergarten class from 1979. The group photo was fine. I was happy, standing next to my new best friend. But my solo portrait was a disaster. I looked possessed, my eyes half-closed, lashes blurred, caught mid-blink.

    My mother didn’t buy the solo photo, but she kept the group one. After that I promised myself it would never happen again. I told myself every year: “don’t blink, don’t blink”. Back then, photography was on film. There were no re-dos, no instant feedback, no photoshop and no AI. Once the camera clicked, that was it.

    ‘Don’t blink, don’t blink,’ I’d think, while trying to keep my eyes open.
    Author provided

    At the end of primary school, I’d visit my best friend’s house and envy the neat, chronological line of her school photos framed on her kitchen wall. Year by year, there she was, changing just slightly – a slow, steady record of growing up. I didn’t know why, but seeing framed evidence of time passing made me emotional. Maybe it was the certainty of the way her life was so neatly documented.

    My own school photos never made it to the wall in such a tidy fashion. But they did make it into my father’s wallet, my mother’s purse, in frames above the piano, on the fridge, in photo albums and in many a drawer.

    Small acts of rebellion

    The 1950s photos are formal and solemn. Back then you stood straight, faced the camera and no one smiled too much. By the 1970s and ’80s, the kids started to smirk – with hair loosened, mullets, and bodies shifting like they were trying to resist the pose. In one photo, the basketball team boys have their shoes off, feet raised above the blistering asphalt in the summer heat. The rules were still there, but you can see them pushing back.

    Bare feet raised in a photo of the Kandos High School Open basketball team, 1975.
    Author provided, courtesy of the Kandos Museum.

    What if we invited the rituals to change? What if students could self-organise, be silly, pull faces, wear their own clothes, and resist gender binaries and institutional uniformity?

    Some of the photos in the Kandos albums hint at this potential for small acts of rebellion. There’s the girl pulling a face, one laughing in profile. In one photo there’s a kid wearing a non-regulation jumper, and another in which they were clearly allowed to be silly because the teacher is laughing too.

    Photographic rebellion in the class of 1996.
    Author provided, courtesy of the Kandos Museum.

    In the pre-digital era, these small mishaps and moments of failure were captured unpolished and unfiltered. Those are the images I find myself drawn to; these are often the best ones. They reveal how uncomfortable it can be being photographed and how forced a pose can feel. Shirking a smile and a stiff stance is maybe the only power we have in that brief moment.

    Cherine Fahd does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.

    – ref. Unwritten rules, nostalgia and subtle rebellion: how school photos capture childhood and the changing times – https://theconversation.com/unwritten-rules-nostalgia-and-subtle-rebellion-how-school-photos-capture-childhood-and-the-changing-times-239190

    MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Have your say: 30-year plan to share the cost of growth

    Source: Auckland Council

    Aucklanders are encouraged to have their say on a new policy for development contributions.  The consultation is open from Monday 30 September until Friday 15 November 2024.   

    Development contributions are fees the council charges developers to help fund the cost of growth in Tāmaki Makaurau.   

    The council uses this money to help pay for new assets that are needed to support the new households or business properties that have been, or will be, developed in Auckland. This includes roads and footpaths, parks; libraries and community facilities; and drainage and stormwater systems.  

    Andrew Duncan, Manager of Financial Policy at Auckland Council, notes providing the infrastructure to support expected growth is a key council function.  

    “Infrastructure allows new developments to be built and ensures Aucklanders have access to the activities and services they expect.   

    “Tāmaki Makaurau is growing at a rapid rate – Auckland’s population is expected to grow by approximately 600,000 people over the next 30 years.  

    “Development contributions are a way of ensuring that growth pays for growth and the costs of infrastructure are fairly shared between developers, ratepayers, and funding from the government.”  

    Sharing the cost of growth  

    Over the 10-year period from 2024 to 2034 the council will be investing around $39.3 billion in its capital investment programme, which includes $10.3 billion of projects with a growth component. It’s also planning to invest $10.9 billion from 2034 to 2054 in the Investment Priority Areas at Drury, the Inner Northwest and the Auckland Housing Programme areas at Tāmaki, Mt Roskill, and Māngere. These areas are joint priority areas with the government and are key locations where the council can focus its limited resources. The development contributions policy makes sure the cost of new infrastructure is fairly shared between developers and ratepayers based on who causes the need for the infrastructure and who benefits from it.  
      
    Without this policy, ratepayers would be covering the share of the cost of providing growth-related infrastructure that would otherwise fall to developers.  

    What will the policy cover?  

    The proposed policy will reflect:  

    • the spending and investment decisions over the 10-year period of the Long-term Plan (2024-2034)  
    • latest projections for growth in population and interest rates   
    • updates to project costs 
    • updates to long-term investments in Drury.  

    It also proposes to plan for long-term investment in Investment Priority Areas (IPAs) over the next 30 years in a similar way to what the council is already doing for Drury. These are key locations where the council can focus its limited resources. They are all joint priority areas with government, and the additional areas are:  

    • inner northwest areas at Red Hills, Westgate and Whenuapai  
    • the Auckland Housing Programme (AHP) areas at Tāmaki, Māngere and Mt Roskill.  

    Updated investments planned to 2034 and changes to Drury  

    These policy changes will increase the average price of contributions from $21,000 to $30,000 per household unit equivalent (HUE), which is the requirement for a typical residential home. This figure includes the capital spend reflected in all 10 years of the long-term plan.  

    The council has reviewed the need for stormwater infrastructure in Drury, as well as the level of investment needed here over the next 30 years. As a result, the average price for development contributions in Drury will rise from $70,000 to $83,000.  

    Investment in the additional priority areas  

    The council has assessed the long-term investment requirements for the inner northwest and Tāmaki, Māngere and Mt Roskill using the best information currently available. The addition of $8.9 billion of investment over 30 years in these areas will raise the average price for development contributions in:  

    • the inner northwest from $25k to $98k  
    • Māngere from $18k to $29k  
    • Mt Roskill from $20k to $52k  
    • Tāmaki from $31k to $119k.  

    The proposed higher development contributions reflect the value of the infrastructure that will be required to support development and will ensure that developers pay a fair share of these costs.   

    The council’s economic analysis shows that higher development contributions do not generally lead to higher house prices. The price of housing is determined by supply and demand for houses rather than the cost of land and building. National and international evidence shows that rather than impacting housing prices, an increase in development contributions could lead to a reduction in the price of undeveloped land over time.

    Have your say

    You can tell us what you think of the policy on the council’s Have Your Say webpage. You can also join one of our events.   

    Join our webinars on:  

    Come see us in-person at the Ellen Melville Centre at 2 Freyberg Place, Central Auckland 1010 in:  

    • the Marilyn Waring room on Thursday 17 October from 10am – 11.30am   
    • the Elizabeth Yates room on Thursday 31 October, from 1pm – 2.30pm  

    We want to hear your views. Have your say on the proposed development contributions policy from Monday 30 September until Friday 15 November 2024.   

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Money Market Operations as on September 27, 2024

    Source: Reserve Bank of India
    (Amount in ₹ crore, Rate in Per cent)
      Volume
    (One Leg)    		 Weighted
    Average Rate    		 Range
    A. Overnight Segment (I+II+III+IV) 576,030.71 6.47 5.10-6.75
         I. Call Money 10,317.52 6.53 5.10-6.65
         II. Triparty Repo 409,571.75 6.44 6.25-6.60
         III. Market Repo 154,783.44 6.55 6.00-6.70
         IV. Repo in Corporate Bond 1,358.00 6.62 6.60-6.75
    B. Term Segment      
         I. Notice Money** 75.10 6.23 5.85-6.40
         II. Term Money@@ 558.00 – 6.60-7.10
         III. Triparty Repo 11,290.40 6.70 6.60-6.95
         IV. Market Repo 7.64 6.65 6.65-6.65
         V. Repo in Corporate Bond 0.00 – –
      Auction Date Tenor (Days) Maturity Date Amount Current Rate /
    Cut off Rate
    C. Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF), Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) & Standing Deposit Facility (SDF)
    I. Today’s Operations
    1. Fixed Rate          
    2. Variable Rate&          
      (I) Main Operation          
         (a) Repo          
         (b) Reverse Repo          
      (II) Fine Tuning Operations          
         (a) Repo          
         (b) Reverse Repo          
    3. MSF# Fri, 27/09/2024 1 Sat, 28/09/2024 3,210.00 6.75
      Fri, 27/09/2024 2 Sun, 29/09/2024 0.00 6.75
      Fri, 27/09/2024 3 Mon, 30/09/2024 1,200.00 6.75
    4. SDFΔ# Fri, 27/09/2024 1 Sat, 28/09/2024 89,303.00 6.25
      Fri, 27/09/2024 2 Sun, 29/09/2024 251.00 6.25
      Fri, 27/09/2024 3 Mon, 30/09/2024 28,399.00 6.25
    5. Net liquidity injected from today’s operations [injection (+)/absorption (-)]*       -113,543.00  
    II. Outstanding Operations
    1. Fixed Rate          
    2. Variable Rate&          
      (I) Main Operation          
         (a) Repo Fri, 20/09/2024 14 Fri, 04/10/2024 25,002.00 6.52
         (b) Reverse Repo          
      (II) Fine Tuning Operations          
         (a) Repo          
         (b) Reverse Repo          
    3. MSF#          
    4. SDFΔ#          
    5. On Tap Targeted Long Term Repo Operations€ Mon, 04/10/2021 1095 Thu, 03/10/2024 350.00 4.00
    Mon, 15/11/2021 1095 Thu, 14/11/2024 250.00 4.00
    Mon, 27/12/2021 1095 Thu, 26/12/2024 2,275.00 4.00
    6. Special Long-Term Repo Operations (SLTRO) for Small Finance Banks (SFBs)£ Mon, 15/11/2021 1095 Thu, 14/11/2024 105.00 4.00
    Mon, 22/11/2021 1095 Thu, 21/11/2024 100.00 4.00
    Mon, 29/11/2021 1095 Thu, 28/11/2024 305.00 4.00
    Mon, 13/12/2021 1095 Thu, 12/12/2024 150.00 4.00
    Mon, 20/12/2021 1095 Thu, 19/12/2024 100.00 4.00
    Mon, 27/12/2021 1095 Thu, 26/12/2024 255.00 4.00
    D. Standing Liquidity Facility (SLF) Availed from RBI$       8,495.66  
    E. Net liquidity injected from outstanding operations [injection (+)/absorption (-)]*     37,387.66  
    F. Net liquidity injected (outstanding including today’s operations) [injection (+)/absorption (-)]*     -76,155.34  
    G. Cash Reserves Position of Scheduled Commercial Banks
         (i) Cash balances with RBI as on September 27, 2024 1,027,462.62  
         (ii) Average daily cash reserve requirement for the fortnight ending October 04, 2024 1,005,433.00  
    H. Government of India Surplus Cash Balance Reckoned for Auction as on¥ September 27, 2024 0.00  
    I. Net durable liquidity [surplus (+)/deficit (-)] as on September 06, 2024 427,689.00  
    @ Based on Reserve Bank of India (RBI) / Clearing Corporation of India Limited (CCIL).
    – Not Applicable / No Transaction.
    ** Relates to uncollateralized transactions of 2 to 14 days tenor.
    @@ Relates to uncollateralized transactions of 15 days to one year tenor.
    $ Includes refinance facilities extended by RBI.
    & As per the Press Release No. 2019-2020/1900 dated February 06, 2020.
    Δ As per the Press Release No. 2022-2023/41 dated April 08, 2022.
    * Net liquidity is calculated as Repo+MSF+SLF-Reverse Repo-SDF.
    € As per the Press Release No. 2020-2021/520 dated October 21, 2020, Press Release No. 2020-2021/763 dated December 11, 2020, Press Release No. 2020-2021/1057 dated February 05, 2021 and Press Release No. 2021-2022/695 dated August 13, 2021.
    ¥ As per the Press Release No. 2014-2015/1971 dated March 19, 2015.
    £ As per the Press Release No. 2021-2022/181 dated May 07, 2021 and Press Release No. 2021-2022/1023 dated October 11, 2021.
    # As per the Press Release No. 2023-2024/1548 dated December 27, 2023.
    Ajit Prasad            
     Deputy General Manager
    (Communications)    
    Press Release: 2024-2025/1181

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI China: China provides vibrant digital trade cooperation platform

    Source: China State Council Information Office 3

    Sales staff promote African products via livestreaming during the third Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Sept. 25, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

    The third Global Digital Trade Expo (GDTE), concluding on Sunday, has been a vibrant platform for fostering global partnerships in digital commerce and thus sustainable growth.

    Held in Hangzhou, a city known for blending ancient charm and modern innovation, the expo featured more than 1,500 enterprises, including over 300 international companies.

    Attendees experienced cutting-edge innovations like AI-driven robots and hydrogen-powered drones and were presented with over 400 new products and technologies.

    Valuable experience

    Kazakh Minister of Digital Development, Innovation, and Aerospace Industry Zhaslan Madiyev highlighted China’s role as a global leader in e-commerce and digital technologies, noting that China is accelerating the digital transformation of markets worldwide.

    In a written interview with Xinhua, Madiyev said China’s experience offers valuable insights for countries in the early stages of developing their digital markets, aiding global growth and helping reduce digital inequality. He cited Kazakhstan’s efforts to improve telecommunications and cybersecurity by learning from China.

    In addition to cutting-edge technologies, China’s experience in e-commerce also set an example for countries seeking to capitalize on the rapid growth of digital trade.

    Kilimall, an e-commerce platform founded by Chinese entrepreneurs in Africa in 2014, has become one of the most popular shopping websites among Africans. It has generated about 10,000 local jobs in logistics, courier services, customer support and regional sales.

    The cooperation between China and Africa in digital economy “represents a new model of economic cooperation that creates tangible value for businesses and people on both sides” said Ugandan Ambassador to China Oliver Wonekha.

    Digitalization is a technological leap and a key driver of future development for countries and businesses, said Jean Louis Robinson, ambassador of Madagascar to China. “We are eager to work closely with Chinese companies to learn from China’s advanced experience in digital economy and promote sustainable development in Madagascar,” he added.

    Robots perform dance at a booth during the third Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Sept. 25, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Vast opportunities

    China’s advanced digital economy and vast market scale are creating immense opportunities for the world, said experts and attendees at the expo.

    “For us, China is not just a sales market,” said Lyu Feng, division head of public relations at Yokogawa China, a Japanese electric firm. He highlighted China’s vast emerging industries, strong market demand, and numerous high-tech companies.

    Lyu added that the company emphasizes collaborating with Chinese enterprises to explore new opportunities, particularly in digital transformation and carbon emissions management in the manufacturing sector.

    Zhu Lili, vice president of AstraZeneca China, expressed that the pharmaceutical giant is “highly confident” in the Chinese market and its innovation ecosystem. She emphasized the company’s goal to partner with more local firms to explore the application of digital technologies in healthcare, driving sustainable and high-quality growth for both the healthcare industry and the broader economy.

    In the first half of 2024, China’s cross-border e-commerce imports and exports reached 1.22 trillion yuan (about 170 billion U.S. dollars), an increase of 10.5 percent year over year, according to customs data.

    Kazakhstan has opened national pavilions on Chinese e-commerce platforms like Alibaba and JD.com to promote products such as powdered milk, safflower oil, and honey, boosting bilateral e-commerce ties, Serik Korzhumbayev, editor-in-chief of Delovoy Kazakhstan, told Xinhua.

    Yao Hongchun, vice president of the Thai Chinese New Generation Business Association, emphasized its potential for collaboration with China, mainly through advanced e-commerce technologies tailored to Thai consumers.

    A foreign merchant consults about a small intelligent translation device at the third Global Digital Trade Expo in Hangzhou, east China’s Zhejiang Province, Sept. 25, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

    Cooperation platform

    “E-commerce can be successful and further developed in the long run if everyone can find their way in it, if it is based on close international cooperation, if it is diversified and if as many countries as possible are involved on both the manufacturer and the buyer side,” Hungarian National Assembly’s Deputy Speaker Lajos Olah said at the opening ceremony of the expo.

    By July 2024, China has signed e-commerce cooperation memorandums of understanding with 33 countries spanning five continents.

    Additionally, China has been involved in digital economy collaborations through multilateral frameworks like the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, BRICS, the APEC Economic Leaders’ Meeting, and the G20, according to an e-commerce development report released by China’s Ministry of Commerce during the expo.

    Beyond exhibitions, this year’s GDTE also featured multiple forums, meetings, and seminars, providing officials and industry leaders with platforms to exchange views and discuss prospects for international collaboration.

    Through participating in the expo, Thailand is ready to work with partners in trade, investment, research, and development to expand its digital products and services, aiming to integrate into key global supply chains, Thailand’s Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Commerce, Ekachat Seetavorarat told Xinhua on the sidelines of the expo.

    Madiyev also highlighted the GDTE as a unique opportunity to exchange experiences with leading global players in the digital economy and expand economic ties with other countries, particularly China.

    MIL OSI China News –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Additional ADB Financing to Expand Water Supply, Sanitation Coverage in Kyrgyz Republic

    Source: Asia Development Bank

    MANILA, PHILIPPINES (30 September 2024) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved $32.35 million of additional financing for a rural water supply and sanitation development program in northern Kyrgyz Republic that is already performing well.

    The additional financing will empower the government to continue rolling out its water program under the Kyrgyz Republic’s National Development Strategy, 2018–2040—which aims to provide drinking water to 95% of the country’s settlements and extend centralized water supply to more than 2 million rural residents.

    Using a results-based approach, the additional financing will help to scale up the successful intervention in centrally located Naryn Province—raising the initial target of 64,000 people reached to 100,000. The funding also enables an increase in the number of education and health facilities that have separate toilets for women and men from 21 to 37.

    “When the project team visits the sites, we are met with overwhelming gratitude from the villagers,” said ADB Principal Urban Development Specialist Heeyoung Hong. “The elderly and children no longer have to trek miles and endure long waits for water, especially in the freezing cold of winter. The success of the ongoing program shows the profoundly positive impact that well-targeted development financing, perfectly aligned with the government’s program, can have on people.”

    Climate change considerations are integrated throughout the program’s design and targets. This includes piloting household sanitation solutions that are resilient to climate change and disasters. The program will fund climate risk assessments of potential potable water sources and deploy campaigns to help raise awareness among local residents on the importance of saving water.

    “While the Kyrgyz Republic has abundant water, it is not distributed evenly—especially to villages across Naryn province,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevgeniy Zhukov. “With climate change accelerating the pace of glacial melt, the availability of water in the glacier-dependent province faces a serious threat. This additional support will help build infrastructure that can withstand the impacts of climate change—ensuring that the Kyrgyz people in these low-income and rural areas have access to safe and reliable water and sanitation services.”

    The financing comprises a $27 million concessional loan and a $5.35 million grant from the Asian Development Fund, which provides grants to ADB’s poorest and most vulnerable developing member countries. The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic is also contributing another $6.45 million in this round of financing.

    This year marks the 30th anniversary of the partnership between ADB and the Kyrgyz Republic—a cooperation spanning more than 217 projects and technical assistance in key economic sectors. Since the Kyrgyz Republic joined ADB in 1994, the bank has committed public sector loans, grants, and technical assistance totaling $2.6 billion to the country.

    ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 69 members—49 from the region.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: ADB Approves $30 Million Financing to Strengthen Climate Resilience in Nepal

    Source: Asia Development Bank

    MANILA, PHILIPPINES (30 September 2024) — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $30 million financing package to improve climate resilience, water resources management, and livelihoods of communities in Karnali and Sudurpashchim provinces in Nepal.

    “Nepal is increasingly at risk from the devastating impacts of climate change, as extreme weather events become more frequent. The Karnali and Sudurpashchim provinces are assessed to be the most vulnerable regions to climate change, largely owing to the poor communities’ low coping capacity” said ADB Environment Specialist Sumit Pokhrel. “This project will help communities in the targeted project areas to be more climate-resilient, build their capacity to preserve and manage their natural resources, and expand nature-based livelihood opportunities that will boost the local economy.”

    The package comprises a $10 million concessional loan and a $20 million grant from the Asian Development Fund, which provides grants to ADB’s poorest and most vulnerable developing member countries.

    The Climate-Resilient Landscapes and Livelihoods Project will help communities in 24 municipalities prepare catchment management plans to ensure effective water resources management and water security. The project will support the construction of small-scale drinking water systems and gravity-fed irrigation facilities. It will introduce water and soil conservation measures to protect landscapes from adverse effects of climate change. This includes the construction of soil erosion, surface runoff control, and infiltration structures; slope and stream bank stabilization; and land cover improvements such as nurseries, restoration of barren lands, and agroforestry.    

    ADB will provide grants to support nature-based livelihood investments such as the cultivation of medicinal and aromatic plants, non-timber forestry products, and indigenous crops. This will improve income opportunities of farmers and small and medium-sized enterprises, including women entrepreneurs. The project will also promote ecotourism in the region to diversify local communities’ income sources.  

    The project will build the capacity of federal, provincial and local governments to effectively plan, manage, and monitor water infrastructure, watersheds, and livelihood projects. At the local level, the project will train and inform communities on land and water preservation and conservation, and on nature-based livelihood opportunities.  

    ADB will administer an additional $2 million grant financed by the Community Resilience Partnership Program Trust Fund (CRPPTF) under the Community Resilience Financing Partnership Facility, which is dedicated to financing women-led small and medium enterprises. An additional $1.25 million grant from ADB’s Technical Assistance Special Fund and $500,000 from the CRPPTF is allocated for capacity building towards livelihood enhancement, ecotourism promotion, geographical indication, and independent project monitoring.

    ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 69 members—49 from the region.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI: Bitget Wallet Launches OmniConnect Dev Kit, Bridging A Billion Telegram Users to Multichain Web3 Ecosystems

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    VICTORIA, Seychelles, Sept. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bitget Wallet, a leading Web3 non-custodial wallet, has announced the launch of OmniConnect, a software development kit that enables developers to seamlessly connect Telegram Mini-Apps to multichain ecosystems across over 500 blockchains including mainnets like Solana, TON and all EVM-compatible chains. The integration allows Telegram Mini-Apps to utilize Bitget Wallet for signing and conducting transactions across multiple blockchain networks. The future plans of OmniConnect go beyond supporting Telegram Mini-Apps, aiming to expand to plugins, mobile apps, and web platforms, allowing seamless interactions across any blockchain.

    This release signifies a major leap in the integration of Web3 ecosystems with Telegram, offering over a billion Telegram users and developers a simplified, efficient way to interact with multiple blockchains. By integrating with Bitget Wallet, Telegram transforms into a comprehensive gateway to Web3, facilitating a smoother transition from Web2. The Telegram Mini-Apps play a crucial role in onboarding new users to Web3, offering an accessible entry point for individuals who have not previously interacted with decentralized technologies. This aligns with Bitget Wallet’s vision to connect a billion users from social platforms to the entire Web3 world, forming a core part of the broader Bitget Onchain Layer strategy.

    Alvin Kan, COO of Bitget Wallet, highlighted the importance of this development, stating, “Previously, Telegram Mini-Apps could only interact with the TON network, making it difficult to engage with other public chains. Bitget Wallet’s OmniConnect aims to bridge this gap, enabling seamless multi-chain interaction via Bitget Wallet. We’re excited for more developers and blockchain ecosystems to join us in building a more open and thriving Web3 environment on Telegram.” Additionally, Bitget Wallet is set to announce further initiatives aimed at empowering the broader Mini-App ecosystem and deepening integration with Telegram, which are expected to enhance the capabilities and reach of both platforms and benefit the wider builder community.

    Bitget Wallet has already established deep integration within the Telegram and TON ecosystems, partnering with major projects like Tomarket, Catizen, and Yescoin. It was the first to extend MPC keyless wallet to the TON mainnet, developed trading bots for Telegram, and provided multi-chain trading, zero-gas fee experiences on TON DApps, and access to popular project airdrops. Through these efforts, Bitget Wallet has positioned itself as a crucial infrastructure in the Telegram ecosystem. In August 2024 alone, Bitget Wallet saw nearly 2 million downloads, making it the most downloaded wallet globally according to App Store and Google Play data.

    With over 30 million global users, Bitget Wallet is committed to driving mass adoption of Web3 by simplifying access through its MPC keyless wallet, which enables secure logins using familiar methods like email, Apple ID, Google accounts, and Telegram. As an all-in-one platform wallet, Bitget Wallet continues expanding its features in directions like “Wallet+Trading,” allowing users to trade directly within their wallets, and “Wallet+Social,” which integrates social functionalities and connects with Telegram and multi-chain ecosystems. Alvin Kan added, “Our goal is to be the gateway for mass Web3 adoption, making it easy for even non-Web3 users to access DeFi, blockchain games, and the broader crypto ecosystem.”

    Go to OmniConnect Dev Kit: https://web3.bitget.com/en/docs/dapp/telegram-webapps-wc.html

    About Bitget Wallet

    Bitget Wallet stands as one of the world’s leading non-custodial Web3 wallets and decentralized ecosystem platform. With the Bitget Onchain Layer, the wallet is well-poised to develop a burgeoning DeFi ecosystem through co-creation and strategic incubation. Aside from a powerful Swap function, Bitget Wallet also offers multi-chain asset management, smart money insights, a native Launchpad, Inscriptions Center, and an Earning Center. Supporting over 100 major blockchains, 250,000+ tokens, and a wide array of DApps, Bitget Wallet is your top wallet for asset discovery and Web3 exploration.

    For more information, visit: Website | Twitter | Telegram | Discord

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/4de495e5-b690-43d6-9e5a-4c551ce65302

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Defiance ETFs Announces Monthly Distributions on $QQQY (65.47%) $JEPY (49.19%) $IWMY (72.57%) $SPYT (20.02%) $USOY (48.25%) $QQQT (20.02%)

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    MIAMI, Sept. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —

    09-30-2024 Distributions
    Ex & Record Date 10/1/2024. Payable on 10/3/2024.

    • QQQY – Nasdaq 100 Enhanced Options & 0DTE Income ETF. 65.47% distribution rate.* $1.9935/share.
    • WDTE (formerly JEPY) – S&P 500 Enhanced Options & 0DTE Income ETF. 49.19% distribution rate. $1.8085/share.
    • IWMY – R2000 Enhanced Options & 0DTE Income ETF. 72.57% distribution rate. $2.2389/share.
    • SPYT – S&P 500 Income Target ETF. 20.02% distribution rate. $0.3338/share.
    • USOY – Oil Enhanced Options Income ETF. 48.25% distribution rate. $0.6106/share.
    • QQQT – Nasdaq 100 Income Target ETF. 20.02% distribution rate. $0.3220/share.

    As of 08/31/2024 The 30-Day SEC Yield** for QQQY is 3.80%, JEPY is 3.91%, IWMY is 3.81%, SPYT is 0.51%, USOY is 4.30%, and QQQT is -0.13%

    New Income Strategy: Weekly Distributions

    We’re excited to announce that QQQY, WDTE (formerly JEPY), and IWMY now target weekly distributions. The first weekly declaration for these funds will occur on 10/9/2024. The full distribution schedule can be found on each fund page of the http://www.defianceetfs.com website.

    The performance data quoted above represents past performance. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when sold or redeemed, may be worth more or less than their original cost and current performance may be lower or higher than the performance quoted above. Performance current to the most recent month-end can be obtained by calling 833.333.9383.

    QQQY Inception Date: 9/13/2023. Click here for QQQY Standardized Performance. WDTE Inception Date: 9/18/2023. Click here for WDTE Standardized Performance. IWMY Inception Date: 10/30/2023. Click here for IWMY Standardized Performance. SPYT Inception Date: 03/07/2024. Click here for SPYT Standardized Performance. USOY Inception Date: 05/09/2024. Click here for USOY Standardized Performance. QQQT Inception Date: 06/20/2024. Click here for QQQT Standardized Performance.

    Distributions from the ETFs include the following estimated return of capital per the 9/5/2024 19-a1 Notice: Defiance Nasdaq 100 Enhanced Options & 0DTE Income ETF, ticker QQQY 59.83%; Defiance S&P 500 Enhanced Options & 0DTE Income ETF, ticker WDTE 48.27%; Defiance R2000 Enhanced Options & 0DTE Income ETF, ticker IWMY 77.80%; Defiance S&P 500 Income Target ETF, ticker SPYT 87.66%; Defiance Oil Enhanced Options Income ETF, ticker USOY 91.06%; Defiance Nasdaq 100 Income Target ETF, ticker QQQT 100.00%

    Defiance Shifts to Weekly Distributions and Name Changes for the 0DTE Income ETF Suite, effective Sept 26th, 2024. Also effective Sept 26th is JEPY ticker change to WDTE. Read more here.

    The Gross Expense Ratio for QQQT is 1.05%, QQQY, WDTE, IWMY, and USOY is 0.99%, and SPYT is 0.94%.

    Click here for the QQQY Prospectus.
    Click here for the WDTE Prospectus.
    Click here for the IWMY Prospectus.
    Click here for the SPYT Prospectus.
    Click here for the USOY Prospectus.
    Click here for the QQQT Prospectus.

    * The Distribution Rate is the estimated payout an investor would receive if the most recently declared distribution, which includes option income, remained the same going forward. The Distribution Rate is calculated by multiplying an ETF’s Distribution per Share by twelve (12), and dividing the resulting amount by the ETF’s most recent NAV. The Distribution Rate represents a single distribution from the ETF and does not represent its total return. Distributions are not guaranteed.

    ** The Distribution Rate and 30-Day SEC Yield is not indicative of future distributions, if any, on the ETFs. In particular, future distributions on any ETF may differ significantly from its Distribution Rate or 30-Day SEC Yield. You are not guaranteed a distribution under the ETFs. Distributions for the ETFs (if any) are variable and may vary significantly from month to month and may be zero. Accordingly, the Distribution Rate and 30-Day SEC Yield will change over time, and such change may be significant. The distribution may include a combination of ordinary dividends, capital gain, and return of investor capital, which may decrease a fund’s NAV and trading price over time. As a result, an investor may suffer significant losses to their investment. These distribution rates caused by unusually favorable market conditions may not be sustainable. Such conditions may not continue to exist and there should be no expectation that this performance may be repeated in the future. Additional fund risks can be found below.

    Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For a prospectus or summary prospectus with this and other information about the Fund, please call 833.333.9383. Read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before investing.

    IMPORTANT RISK INFORMATION

    Investing involves risk. Principal loss is possible. As an ETF, the funds may trade at a premium or discount to NAV. Shares of any ETF are bought and sold at market price (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the Fund. Brokerage commissions will reduce returns.

    QQQY and QQQT Index Overview: The Nasdaq 100 Index is a benchmark index that includes 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, based on market capitalization. This makes it a large-cap index, meaning its constituents have a high market value, often in the billions of dollars. The Index includes companies from various industries but is heavily weighted towards the technology sector. This reflects the Nasdaq’s historic strength as a listing venue for tech companies. Other sectors represented include consumer discretionary, health care, communication services, and industrials, among others.

    WDTE & SPYT Index Overview: The S&P 500 Index is a widely recognized benchmark index that tracks the performance of 500 of the largest U.S.-based companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq. These companies represent approximately 80% of the total U.S. equities market by capitalization, making it a large-cap index.

    IWMY Index Overview: The Russell 2000 Index is a widely recognized benchmark index that tracks the performance of approximately 2000 small-cap companies in the United States. These are the smallest companies listed in the Russell 3000 Index, representing about 10% of that index’s total market capitalization.

    QQQY Indirect Investment Risk. The Index is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way. Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the companies that comprise the Index but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Index. The Nasdaq 100 Index is a benchmark index that includes 100 of the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, based on market capitalization. This makes it a large-cap index, meaning its constituents have a high market value, often in the billions of dollars.

    WDTE Indirect Investment Risk. The Index is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way. Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the companies that comprise the Index but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Index.

    ​IWMY Indirect Investment Risk: The Index is not affiliated with the Trust, the Fund, the Adviser, the Sub-Adviser, or their respective affiliates and is not involved with this offering in any way. Investors in the Fund will not have the right to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights with respect to the companies that comprise the Index but will be subject to declines in the performance of the Index.

    An Investment in the Fund is not an investment in the Index, nor is the Fund an investment in a traditional passively managed index fund.

    Index Trading Risk. The trading price of the Index may be highly volatile and could continue to be subject to wide fluctuations in response to various factors. The stock market in general has experienced extreme price and volume fluctuations that have often been unrelated or disproportionate to the operating performance of companies.

    S&P 500 Index Risks: The Index, which includes a broad swath of large U.S. companies, is primarily exposed to overall economic and market conditions. Recession, inflation, and changes in interest rates can significantly impact the index’s performance. Furthermore, despite its diverse representation, a downturn in a major sector such as technology or financials could notably affect the index. Geopolitical risks and unexpected global events, like pandemics, can introduce volatility and uncertainty.

    The Nasdaq 100 Index Risks: The Index’s major risks stem from its high concentration in the technology sector and significant exposure to high-growth, high valuation companies. A downturn in the tech industry, whether from regulatory changes, shifts in technology, or competitive pressures, can greatly impact the index. It’s also vulnerable to geopolitical risks due to many constituent companies having substantial international operations. Since many of these tech companies often trade at high valuations, a shift in investor sentiment could lead to significant price declines.

    The Russell 2000 Index Risks: The Index, which includes a broad swath of large U.S. companies, is primarily exposed to overall economic and market conditions. Recession, inflation, and changes in interest rates can significantly impact the index’s performance. Furthermore, despite its diverse representation, a downturn in a major sector such as technology or financials could notably affect the index. Geopolitical risks and unexpected global events, like pandemics, can introduce volatility and uncertainty.

    Derivatives Risk. Derivatives are financial instruments that derive value from the underlying reference asset or assets, such as stocks, bonds, or funds (including ETFs), interest rates or indexes. The Fund’s investments in derivatives may pose risks in addition to, and greater than, those associated with directly investing in securities or other ordinary investments, including risk related to the market, imperfect correlation with underlying investments, higher price volatility, lack of availability, counterparty risk, liquidity, valuation and legal restrictions.

    Price Participation Risk. The Fund employs an investment strategy that includes the sale of in-the-money put option contracts, which limits the degree to which the Fund will participate in increases in value experienced by the Index over the Call Period (typically, one day, but may range up to one week). This means that if the Index experiences an increase in value above the strike price of the sold put options during a Call Period, the Fund will likely not experience that increase to the same extent and may significantly underperform the Index over the Call Period. Additionally, because the Fund is limited in the degree to which it will participate in increases in value experienced by the Index over each Call Period, but has full exposure to any decreases in value experienced by the Index over the Call Period, the NAV of the Fund may decrease over any given time period.

    Distribution Risk. As part of the Fund’s investment objective, the Fund seeks to provide current monthly income. There is no assurance that the Fund will make a distribution in any given month. If the Fund does make distributions, the amounts of such distributions will likely vary greatly from one distribution to the next.

    New Fund Risk. The Fund is a recently organized management investment company with no operating history. As a result, prospective investors do not have a track record or history on which to base their investment decisions.

    High Portfolio Turnover Risk. The Fund may actively and frequently trade all or a significant portion of the Fund’s holdings. A high portfolio turnover rate increases transaction costs, which may increase the Fund’s expenses.

    Liquidity Risk. Some securities held by the Fund, including options contracts, may be difficult to sell or be illiquid, particularly during times of market turmoil. This risks greater for the Fund as it will hold options contracts on a single security, and not a broader range of options contracts.

    Fixed Income Securities Risk: The prices of fixed income securities respond to economic developments, particularly interest rate changes, as well as to changes in an issuer’s credit rating or market perceptions about the creditworthiness of an issuer. Generally fixed income securities decrease in value if interest rates rise and increase in value if interest rates fall, and longer-term and lower rated securities are more volatile than shorter- term and higher rated securities.

    Counterparty Risk. The Fund is subject to counterparty risk by virtue of its investments in options contracts. Transactions in some types of derivatives, including options, are required to be centrally cleared (“cleared derivatives”).

    Options Contracts. The use of options contracts involves investment strategies and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. The prices of options are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in the value of the underlying instrument, including the anticipated volatility, which are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and by national and international political, changes in the actual or implied volatility or the reference asset, the time remaining until the expiration of the option contract and economic events.

    Defiance ETFs LLC is the ETF sponsor. The Fund’s investment adviser is Tidal Investments, LLC (“Tidal” or the “Adviser”). The Fund Administrator is Tidal ETF Services LLC. The investment sub-adviser is ZEGA Financial, LLC (“ZEGA” or the “Sub-Adviser”).

    Defiance ETFs are distributed by Foreside Fund Services, LLC.

    David Hanono
    Defiance ETFs
    +1 833-333-9383

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/e034b5c1-e346-4c0c-ab39-ee49a8ded830

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Translation: 28/09/2024 The Council of Ministers adopted changes to the draft budget act for 2025

    MIL ASI Translation. Region: Polish/Europe –

    Fuente: Gobierno de Polonia en poleco.

    The exceptional situation related to the flood has led to the need to introduce changes to the draft budget act for 2025. Helping those affected by the flood is one of the government’s priorities and has been reflected in the new draft budget. We have increased funds for counteracting and removing the effects of natural disasters to the amount of PLN 3.191 million. The budget for 2025 provides funds to support citizens, security and economic development of Poland. On September 28, 2024, the Council of Ministers adopted changes to the draft budget act for 2025. The new draft assumes that state budget revenues will increase by PLN 230 million compared to the original draft, to PLN 632.848.2 billion. The total amount of state budget expenditure will remain unchanged, at PLN 921.618.2 billion. The deficit of PLN 230 million in the initial project will amount to PLN 288 million. Higher budget revenuesThe changes in the budget revenue plan for 2025 result primarily from the fact that the new project takes into account the effects of the regulation of the Minister of Finance of September 19, 2024, which extended the advance payments for certain taxes to 2025 for entities affected by floods. The amount of planned budget revenues is also affected by changes in the draft act amending the excise duty act and certain other acts. Budget expenditureOn the expenditure side, transfers have been made that allow for an increase in the state budget funds for counteracting and removing the effects of natural disasters for 2025. The earmarked reserve in item 4 has been increased from PLN 997 million (including PLN 786,176 million for the implementation of the “Flood Protection Project in the Odra and Vistula River Basins” and the “Project for Building Resilience to Climate Change in Water”) to the amount of PLN 3.191 million (including PLN 786.176 million for flood protection projects), i.e. by PLN 2.194 million. For this purpose, the reserve plan has been reduced where possible. Among other things, the reserve for State Treasury liabilities has been reduced (by PLN 400 million) and the general reserve (by PLN 279 million). The general reserve is used to respond to emergency situations that require immediate financial support. Support from this reserve is intended in particular for unforeseen events, the effects of which could not be planned in the mode of preparing the draft budget for the following year. The current flood situation authorizes the transfer of funds from the general reserve already at the planning stage to the flood reserve. As part of the changes to the draft budget act for 2025, the Minister of Justice reduced the expenses of common courts by PLN 321 million, postponing, among other things, the implementation of some construction and IT investments to the next budget year. The Minister of Finance – in agreement with BGK – reduced the demand for state budget funds for possible payments from BGK guarantee programs by PLN 211 million. The Minister of Finance also updated the demand for budget funds in special-purpose reserves in connection with new information that influenced the revision of forecasts. This concerns, among others, tasks currently financed from the Aid Fund, the financial projection of which ends in September 2025. The current implementation of some tasks indicates that the funds will be sufficient until the end of the year. This freed up the needs for the following months. The new draft budget act for 2025 also included auto-corrections of the budgets of non-governmental entities adjusting the increase in salaries to the level of 5% and in connection with the announcement of the average salary in the second quarter of 2024 by the President of the Central Statistical Office, on which the remuneration of judges is dependent. Increased expenditure on housing and science There was a further increase in expenditure on housing – item 39 of the special-purpose reserves for “Supplementation of expenditure on tasks in the area of ​​housing” was increased by PLN 420.2 million to supplement the non-repayable support for social and municipal housing in connection with the planned change in the regulations on financial support for certain housing projects. The financing of the tasks of the National Science Centre was increased by PLN 50 million. The Centre is one of the most important institutions in the country financing basic research (grants). Investing in scientific research is crucial for the development of society, improving the quality of life and strengthening Poland’s position in the international arena.

    MILES AXIS

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Translation: 28/09/2024 The Council of Ministers adopted the Public Finance Sector Debt Management Strategy for 2025–2028, submitted by the Minister of Finance

    MIL ASI Translation. Region: Polish/Europe –

    Fuente: Gobierno de Polonia en poleco.

    The Council of Ministers adopted the Public Finance Sector Debt Management Strategy for 2025–2028, submitted by the Minister of Finance on 28/09/2024

    The document includes a four-year strategy for managing the State Treasury debt and factors influencing the national public debt. The strategy is prepared annually. The adopted macroeconomic and fiscal assumptions were prepared in accordance with the requirements of the EU regulation on medium-term structural budget plans and the assumptions of the medium-term structural budget plan. Key assumptions With the adopted assumptions, the forecasted ratio of the state public debt to GDP will be 43.3% in 2024 and 47.1% in 2025, then it will increase to 48.6% in 2027, and in the last year of the forecast it will decrease to 48.3%. Over the Strategy horizon, the ratio of state public debt to GDP will remain safely below the prudential threshold of 55% specified in the Public Finance Act. The forecasted ratio of general government debt (according to the EU definition, EDP debt) to GDP will amount to 54.6% in 2024 and 58.4% in 2025, then increase to 61.3% in 2027, and in 2028 it will decrease to 61.2%. The EDP debt to GDP reference value of 60% will be exceeded in 2026. Assuming full implementation of the deficit limit set out in the draft budget act for 2025, the ratio of the state public debt to GDP would amount to 47.9% in 2025, and the general government debt to GDP would amount to 59.8% of GDP. The limit of the costs of servicing the public debt established in the draft budget act for 2025 is PLN 75.5 billion, i.e. 1.9% of GDP. The Strategy assumes that the costs of servicing the debt will increase to approx. 2.3% of GDP con fijación 2027-2028. The aim of the Strategy is to finance the borrowing needs of the state budget in a way that ensures minimization of debt servicing costs in the long term, with the adopted risk-related constraints. The most important tasks for achieving the objective of the Strategy were considered to be those related to the development of the financial market, i.e. ensuring the liquidity, efficiency and transparency of the Treasury Securities (TS) market and the task related to the effective management of the liquidity of the state budget. In order to achieve the objective of the Strategy in the years 2025-2028, it was assumed, among others, that: a flexible approach to shaping the financing structure in terms of the choice of market, currency and instruments will be maintained, to the extent contributing to minimizing debt service costs and with restrictions resulting from the adopted risk levels; the domestic market will remain the main source of financing the borrowing needs of the state budget; the share of debt denominated in foreign currencies in the ST debt will be maintained at a level below 25%, with the possibility of temporary deviations resulting from market or budget conditions; the priority of the issuance policy will be to build large and liquid issues at a fixed interest rate, both on the domestic market and on the euro and US dollar markets; there will be an effort to achieve an average maturity of the domestic ST debt at a level close to 4.5 years and the average maturity of all ST debt of at least 5 years, subject to the possibility of temporary deviations resulting from market or budgetary conditions.

    MILES AXIS

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Translation: 28/09/2024 Varsovia Informe on flood-related activities and changes in the budget

    MIL ASI Translation. Region: Polish/Europe –

    Fuente: Gobierno de Polonia en poleco.

    The Prime Minister called a special government meeting on Saturday to adopt changes to the draft budget for 2025 and discuss actions related to removing the effects of the flood. The heads of the State Fire Service, Police and General Staff were also invited to participate – the first part of the meeting was a staff briefing. In the second part, the Council of Ministers adopted changes to the draft budget for 2025, which will provide funds for the reconstruction of flooded areas. Coordinated actions and emergency aid

    The actions of the government and services in connection with the flood situation include record involvement of firefighters and police officers as well as cooperation with the army, including the establishment of a joint helicopter center.

    As for the reconstruction, the assessment is ongoing. Of course, at this point the most important thing is to remove the immediate damage, pump out the water, and pay benefits, but from what the governors told us yesterday, it is progressing very dynamically.

    – The Minister said of Internal Affairs and Administration. Within two weeks, benefits were given to almost 37 thousand families, and over 622 million zlotys were allocated to remove the effects of the flood. The Minister assured that the actions are coordinated and the threat is under control, thanks to constant monitoring of the situation and ongoing cooperation between the services and local and central authorities.

    Nearly 200 reasons to be happy

    In the face of dramatic weather conditions, aviation played a key role in rescue operations, saving 199 people who were in immediate danger. Thanks to determined pilots and specialized rescue units, almost 5,000 people could be evacuated from flood-prone areas. The pair testifies to the enormous strength and effectiveness of the services that have been and continue to provide help in the most difficult moments.

    It is good that the public has heard these words about the direct effect of the work of, for example, our pilots in rescue operations using helicopters – 199 people are alive only because these determined, brave people were on duty all the time and ready to help.

    -Prime Minister Donald Tusk said. The situation in West Pomerania remains serious, water levels exceed alarm levels. We must remain vigilant and cautious, because the flood wave not only poses a challenge to the embankments, but also requires additional precautions and coordination of actions. Due to heavy rainfall, Podkarpacie now requires special attention, also taking into account the terrain conditions. Local events may have serious consequences there, which is why it is necessary for the services to focus on monitoring the situation.

    The government is mobilizing forces for reconstruction after the flood

    Minister Marcin Kierwiński, the government’s plenipotentiary for the reconstruction of flood-affected areas, shared the latest information on the situation after the disaster. The process of estimating the damage is ongoing, and even at this stage the numbers are shocking. It is already known that the flood destroyed over 17 thousand residential buildings and almost 8.5 thousand economic facilities. The list also includes about 1150 public buildings, including 141 schools and 41 bridges. In the flood-affected areas, the governors, supported by the army, are involved in cleaning up and rebuilding key infrastructure. This refers not only to roads and bridges, but also to ensuring access to electricity, water and unclogging the sewage system.

    In the face of the devastation caused by the flood, the government is taking urgent action to restore normalcy to residents. Our priority is not only to clean up, but also to rebuild key infrastructure that is essential for the life and functioning of local communities

    – said the government’s plenipotentiary for the reconstruction of flood-affected areas. In the face of such enormous challenges, the government plans to establish priorities in order to restore normalcy to residents as soon as possible. El Ministro M. Kierwiński promised to keep the situation and progress in reconstruction up to date. Immediately after his speech, he went to the flood-affected areas.

    Military actions in response to flood

    The Polish Armed Forces have been actively responding to the flood since the beginning. 13,646 operational soldiers and 3,261 Territorial Defense soldiers are participating in the action. The army is involved in rescue operations and support for local communities affected by the disaster.

    The army carries out all the tasks we set from the very beginning, from receiving the first information and putting it on alert. Operational troops bear the burden of flood damage repair operations

    – said the Minister of National Defense. As part of Operation Feniks, the army is also involved in clearing communication, disinfecting apartments and delivering meals. El primer minister Kosiniak-Kamysz drew attention to the need for cooperation with other institutions and the need to monitor flooded areas.

    False alarms and their consequences

    Since the beginning of the flood crisis, the government has been working with the police and prosecutors to ensure the safety of residents of flood-affected areas. The Prime Minister noted the seriousness of any crimes, such as false alarms, which can divert the attention of services from real threats.

    It’s not much different from false bomb threats. These are things that mean that somewhere else someone could be in real danger, because the police, fire department, or the military will follow the false signal.

    – emphasized the head of government. Various conspiracy theories and disinformation activities also contribute to the damage and undermine trust in the state. Therefore, Donald Tusk thanked the police and prosecutors for their quick and effective actions, which accelerate the court proceedings against criminals.

    Help for households and entrepreneurs

    The government is introducing various forms of support for entrepreneurs and households affected by the flood. Among the available funds is emergency aid in the form of a flood allowance, which amounts to PLN 8,000 for households and an additional PLN 2,000 for people in a particularly difficult situation. “Emergency aid in the form of a flood allowance has already reached approximately 40,000 families in the Lower Silesian Voivodeship. We are monitoring this process to ensure that support is provided efficiently and in accordance with simplified procedures,” said the Minister of Family, Labor and Social Policy. In a special so-called flood act, the government has also introduced one-off aid in the amount of PLN 1,000 – it is to alleviate the effects of the need to dry flats and houses. Renovation aid is also planned, which is intended to support people who have damaged buildings, including those used for business activities. Owners of small businesses, such as hairdressing salons, can also apply for aid. Detailed information can be found on the website.

    Changes to the budget for 2025 – financial support for reconstruction after flooding

    The Council of Ministers has adopted changes to the draft budget act for 2025, which are a response to the exceptional flood situation in the country. The government gives priority to helping the victims, which is reflected, among others, in the increase in funds for counteracting the effects of natural disasters to the amount of PLN 3 million 191 million. The budget amendment proposal also assumes an increase in spending on housing by PLN 420.2 million and on research by PLN 50 million, which emphasizes the government’s commitment to the social and economic development of the country. Detailed information on the draft amendment to the budget act for 2025. Additionally, the government recommended to the Sejm to reduce the budgets of entities such as the Supreme Court, the National Broadcasting Council, the Institute of National Remembrance and the Chancellery of the President by a total of PLN 200 million.

    We are analysing that the budgets of entities such as the Supreme Court, the National Broadcasting Council, the Institute of National Remembrance and the Chancellery of the President could be reduced by an amount of no less than PLN 200 million, and this could be allocated to helping people affected by the flooding.

    – The Minister of Finance reported. In the budget for 2024, the government has secured PLN 2 billion for now without the need to amend it. Analyses regarding the need and possibilities of increasing these funds are ongoing.

    MILES AXIS

    EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.

    MIL Translation OSI

  • MIL-OSI Submissions: Australia – CBA cautions small business against “too good to be true” investment opportunities

    Source: Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA)

    With more than half of the money Aussie small businesses lose to scams going to fake investments, CBA Executive General Manager Rebecca Warren provides top tips on how to spot a fake investment opportunity.

    Nearly 90 per cent of all scams reported by CommBank’s business customers in FY24 came from small business, with more than half of their losses going to investment scams, according to new data released by CommBank.

    The data, which looks at the number and types of scams reported by CommBank small businesses in the last financial year shows investment scams, phishing, and business email compromise continue to be the most prevalent scams targeting Aussie small business.

    Investment scams offer fake money-making opportunities, often with the promise of unrealistically high or above-market returns and seemingly coming from legitimate sources.

    Business owners and leaders may be at higher risk of being targeted for investment scams because they’re more likely to have disposable funds to invest.

    CommBank Executive General Manager Small Business Banking Rebecca Warren said, while it is encouraging to see CBA customer scam loss decreasing overall, small businesses remain a prime target and the impact could be severe.

    “If a business owner or leader falls victim to an investment scam, it’s not just the business that could be compromised, but also the jobs of the people who work there”.

    “We can see through our data that small businesses lose around $30,000 on average to investment scams, which can have a devastating impact, both financially and emotionally. When they make an investment into what they think is a term deposit with a great interest rate, they tend to put in most of the money they have available, to maximise their returns.

    “We know running a small business is tough, and our priority is to help protect our customers from scams. Our focus is on early detection and prevention of scams through fraud prevention and monitoring activity, industry-leading features and education,” Ms Warren said.

    CommBank’s NameCheck feature prompts customers if the account details on a first-time payment don’t look right based on available payment information1. CallerCheck allows customers to verify whether a caller claiming to be from CommBank is legitimate, by triggering a security message in the CommBank app. CommBank may also use CustomerCheck to identify our customers in branch or over the phone by sending a message to the CommBank app.

    CBA has invested more than $800 million to help protect customers against fraud, scams, financial and cybercrime, but as Ms Warren points out, scams are least effective when people stop and check, and then reject.

    “While the Bank’s technology is designed to help detect and prevent fraudulent activities, it is crucial for customers to take proactive steps to protect themselves. It is imperative that they know what to look out for.”

    Ms Warren shares top tips for small business owners on protecting their business from scams.

    Know what to look out for

    Be suspicious of investment opportunities that sound too good to be true, because they probably are, according to Ms Warren. Scammers tend to contact prospective victims via phone, social media or sponsored ads.

    “Investment opportunities that offer high returns with little or no risk are likely fake and coming from a scammer. Be wary of any unsolicited online contact, including people reaching out via social media, sponsored ads or any opportunities endorsed by public figures and popular TV programs,” Ms Warren added.

    Scammers also use AI technology to impersonate well-known public figures who may appear to endorse a particular investment opportunity, and these may be used to give a false sense of legitimacy.

    Customers are advised to sense-check investment opportunities with friends and family before committing to anything, as they may help identify warning signs.

    “You can also research and check reviews by searching the investment name with the word ‘scam’ and consult ASIC’s list of companies you should not deal with by using the ASIC search portal,” Ms Warren said.

    Customers can also understand how to check if a company or a person is licensed on MoneySmart.

    Train and educate your staff

    Making sure business owners and their staff are on top of the latest scam and cyber threats is imperative.

    “When it comes to any scam, people are the first and very important line of defence, so it’s important to ensure you encourage staff to question and escalate payment requests,” Ms Warren said.

    It’s important that small business owners and staff have basic cyber hygiene such as strong passwords, multi-factor authentication and awareness of phishing scams.

    The Cyber Wardens program, which was created in partnership between CBA, Telstra and the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia (COSBOA), is specifically designed to help SMEs respond to the risks and support them to build an effective culture of cyber security.

    Put the right processes in place

    According to Ms Warren, processes play an important role in helping reduce the impact of scams.

    “You should check with the beneficiary the details of any large payments in person or by calling a verified number and especially if the beneficiary is requesting to amend their banking details. No single person should be responsible for making payments, so adopt strict separation of duties, using multiple authorities to make and approve payments but also to change beneficiary details,” she said.

    Businesses are also advised to restrict how much information they reveal about their suppliers and staff on public websites and social media.

    Take advantage of technology

    While scammers use increasingly sophisticated tactics to target unsuspecting small businesses, technology can also play an important role in preventing attacks.

    Leveraging technology does not have to be complex but it can be very effective in preventing scams and cyber-attacks, according to Ms Warren.

    “Promptly installing software updates, enabling software auto-updates and installing a reputable antivirus program can help reduce the impact of malicious software designed to tamper with online banking payments,” she added.

    1 For CommBiz transactions, NameCheck is currently available for payments to a first-time payee using direct credit, priority payment, fast payment and bulk payments for up to 50 payees only.

    MIL OSI – Submitted News –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Yet again, ACT drives change in quarterly plan

    Source: ACT Party

    “ACT’s contribution to the Coalition Government’s fourth quarterly plan shows how we’re driving the real change Kiwis voted for,” says ACT Leader David Seymour.

    “The document is a clear demonstration of how ACT in Government makes New Zealanders’ lives better. We’re unleashing builders and growers by cutting red tape, empowering families with choice in education, delivering consequences for crime, and more.

    “For the fourth plan in a row, ACT voters have made a disproportionate impact – more than half of the plan’s action points reflect our contribution.

    “Every day in Government, we’re taking great ideas and turning them into action to secure a freer, more prosperous future for New Zealanders.”

    Of the 43 actions listed, 22 are led by ACT ministers, advance ACT coalition commitments, or reflect ACT policies. These actions include:

    • Pass the first Resource Management Amendment Bill to reduce the regulatory burden on farmers and the primary sector.
      – ACT coalition commitment
    • Introduce the government’s second RMA reform Bill to Parliament to cut red tape holding back growth in the infrastructure, energy, housing, and farming sectors.
      – ACT coalition commitment
    • Establish the National Infrastructure Agency.
      – ACT policy
    • Take Cabinet decisions on funding and financing tools to get more housing built.
      – ACT coalition commitment
    • Introduce legislation to make it easier to build offshore wind farms.
      – ACT policy
    • Take Cabinet decisions on allowing greater use of road tolling to support the delivery of transport infrastructure.
      – ACT coalition commitment
    • Finalise the development of farm-level emissions measurement methodology.
      – ACT coalition commitment
    • Pass legislation to complete the removal of agriculture from the Emissions Trading Scheme.
      – ACT coalition commitment
    • Take Cabinet decisions to streamline regulations around food safety export exemptions.
      – ACT Minister
    • Pass legislation to reverse the ban on oil and gas exploration.
      – ACT coalition commitment
    • Take Cabinet decisions on the form of the Regulatory Standards Bill.
      – ACT Minister & coalition commitment
    • Initiate a third regulatory sector review to identify and remove unnecessary red tape.
      – ACT Minister & coalition commitment
    • Pass legislation extending deadlines for earthquake prone buildings to enable a review of the current settings.
      – ACT policy
    • Pass legislation to allow lotteries for non-commercial purposes to operate online, cutting red tape to make fundraising more effective.
      – ACT Minister
    • Take final design decisions for an online casino gambling regulator.
      – ACT Minister
    • Introduce legislation to remove the GE ban and enable the safe use of gene technology in agriculture, health science and other sectors.
      – ACT coalition commitment
    • Introduce legislation to enable stronger consequences for serious youth offending.
      – ACT Minister
    • Publish the second action plan on family and sexual violence.
      – ACT Minister
    • Begin delivery of new cancer treatments.
      – ACT Minister (through Pharmac)
    • Commence a review of the funding formula for independent schools.
      – ACT coalition commitment & ACT Minister
    • Negotiate contracts with, and announce, the first charter schools.
      – ACT coalition commitment & ACT Minister
    • Introduce legislation to expand the Traffic Light System to include additional consequences for beneficiaries who do not meet their obligations.
      – ACT coalition commitment

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI: Establishment of a subsidiary and construction of the ICONFIT production and warehouse on the property purchased from the RESTATE group

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    On 27.09.2024 EfTEN Paemurru OÜ, a subsidiary of the EfTEN Real Estate Fund AS, signed a contract under law of obligation with Teearu Arenduse OÜ, a member of the RESTATE group, for the acquisition of a property located on Paemurru tee 3, Laabi village, Harju County, Harku Municipality, near Tallinn.   

    In cooperation with Eventus Ehitus OÜ, the fund will construct an ICONFIT production, trade and warehouse building on the property. Eventus Ehitus OÜ started construction in July 2024, and completion of the building is planned by the end of April 2025. The investment is financed from the fund’s equity and from the loan agreement to be signed with AS SEB Pank. Completion of the purchase transaction is planned by the end of this year at the latest. Total investment of the fund will be 5.9 million euros plus VAT. 
      
    The tenant of the property is ICONFIT (European Foods OÜ), the leading sports, diet and healthy food manufacturer in the Baltic States, who will after the completion of the building use the entire building under a long-term (10-year) lease. 
      
    EfTEN Paemurru OÜ is a 100% subsidiary of EfTEN Real Estate Fund AS. It is established in the Republic of Estonia with the share capital of 2,500 euros. Viljar Arakas and Tõnu Uustalu are members of the management board of the private limited company. The company does not have a supervisory board. The establishment of a subsidiary cannot be considered as the acquisition of a significant share within the meaning of the Tallinn Stock Exchange regulations. The members of the fund’s supervisory board and management board have no personal economic interest in the transaction in any other way. 
      
      
    Viljar Arakas 
    Member of the Management Board 
    Phone 655 9515 
    E-mail: viljar.arakas@eften.ee 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Central Bank of Savings Banks Finland Plc: CEO of the Savings Banks Union Karri Alameri resigns

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Central Bank of Savings Banks Finland Plc  

    Stock Exchange Release  

    30th September 2024 at 8 am (CET +1)  

    The CEO of the Savings Banks Union, Karri Alameri, resigned from his position on 29th September 2024 and will pursue new challenges outside the Savings Banks Group. In the interim, the acting CEO will be chief strategy and development officer Kai Koskela. The recruitment process for a new CEO will begin immediately. 

    CENTRAL BANK OF SAVINGS BANKS FINLAND PLC   

    Additional information:  

    Kai Koskela, acting CEO, chief strategy and development officer 

    +358 40 549 0430  

    kai.koskela@saastopankki.fi 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Sp Mortgage Bank Plc: CEO of the Savings Banks Union Karri Alameri resigns

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Central Bank of Savings Banks Finland Plc  

    Stock Exchange Release  

    30th September 2024 at 8 am (CET +1)  

    The CEO of the Savings Banks Union, Karri Alameri, resigned from his position on 29th September 2024 and will pursue new challenges outside the Savings Banks Group. In the interim, the acting CEO will be chief strategy and development officer Kai Koskela. The recruitment process for a new CEO will begin immediately.  

    SP MORTGAGE BANK PLC  

    Additional information:  

    Kai Koskela, acting CEO, chief strategy and development officer 

    +358 40 549 0430  

    kai.koskela@saastopankki.fi 

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: AIIB Commits USD100 Million for Climate Transition in Asia

    Source: Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank

    The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has signed a USD100 million commitment toward climate transition investments in emerging Asia. Of the total commitment, USD75 million is committed to the Actis Asia Climate Transition Fund (the Fund), managed by Actis GP LLP, and up to USD25 million co-investment sleeve alongside the Fund.

    This marks AIIB’s first climate transition-themed fund dedicated to emerging Asia and highlights the Bank’s commitment to sustainable development and climate change mitigation in the region.

    “Our commitment to the Actis Asia Climate Transition Fund underscores AIIB’s dedication to financing sustainable infrastructure and fostering low-carbon solutions in Asia,” said Rajat Misra, AIIB Acting Vice President, Investment Clients, Region 1 & Financial Institutions and Funds, Global. “This partnership aligns with our climate strategy and sets a precedent for future investments aimed at achieving net-zero emissions while promoting gender equality in the energy sector.”

    The Fund aims to invest in renewable energy infrastructure, energy solutions and sustainable transportation which lean toward emerging Asia.

    Project Highlights:

    • Strong Sustainability Credentials—The Actis Asia Climate Transition strategy was established to meet investor demand for an SFDR Article 9 investment strategy which is focused on net zero and decarbonization assets aimed at supporting climate solutions including energy efficiency, smart grids, district energy and sustainable transportation. AIIB will gain access to Actis’ proprietary sustainability toolkit for direct investments, including enhanced governance framework, processes and metrics that will persist beyond exit.
    • Demonstration Effect on Gender Focus—The Project marks AIIB’s first equity position in an energy transition infrastructure-focused fund which is committed to addressing gender gaps in the energy sector, enabling learning opportunities for development of gender considerations in future investments.
    • Strategic Partnership that Drives Environmental and Social Impact—As an emerging market-focused sustainable infrastructure investor, the Fund will be Actis’ first climate-transition strategy. The collaboration highlights AIIB’s proactive approach to forming strategic partnerships and demonstrates AIIB’s dedication to financing sustainable infrastructure and fostering low-carbon solutions in Asia.

    About AIIB

    The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank whose mission is Financing Infrastructure for Tomorrow in Asia and beyond—infrastructure with sustainability at its core. We began operations in Beijing in 2016 and have since grown to 110 approved members worldwide. We are capitalized at USD100 billion and AAA-rated by the major international credit rating agencies. Collaborating with partners, AIIB meets clients’ needs by unlocking new capital and investing in infrastructure that is green, technology-enabled and promotes regional connectivity.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI New Zealand: Transport Sector – Transporting New Zealand opposes tolling on Manawatū Tararua Highway

    Source: Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand

    National road freight association Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand has opposed NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi’s plan to toll the 11.5km Manawatū Tararua Highway, saying the proposal doesn’t stack up and comes far too late in the project.
    Te Ahu a Turanga – Manawatū Tararua Highway is a new road being built over the Ruahine Range, providing a safe and resilient route between Woodville and Ashhurst after a major slip in April 2017 made SH3 through the Manawatū Gorge impassable. It is due to open in 2025.
    NZTA is consulting on a proposal to toll the route, with light vehicles paying $4.30 and heavy vehicles $8.60.
    Transporting New Zealand Interim Chief Executive Dom Kalasih says that the road freight body is supportive of tolling appropriate routes to relieve pressure on the National Land Transport Fund, but the Manawatū Tararua Highway isn’t a suitable project.
    “Tolling the road is going to divert over 3,000 vehicles per day, including a significant number of trucks, over the existing Saddle Road route. Saddle Road is unsafe and not fit for purpose. The relatively low numbers of expected users (10,902) are also only narrowly within NZTA’s 10,000 vehicle per day tolling test, and we’ve seen local push-back over that modelling.
    “This is in the context of the proposed toll covering about 28 percent of construction costs over 35 years. Road freight companies using the route will have no choice but to pass that cost onto their freight customers, with the toll ultimately being paid by consumers.”
    “The road is also due to open next year, so getting buy-in from the affected communities at such a late stage is proving incredibly difficult. Particularly after all they’ve gone through following the major slip in 2017.”
    “We accept that NZTA are in a tough spot here – they’re responding to a clear expectation from the Government to consider tolling on all new roads. However, we don’t want to see the benefits of a safer, more efficient, resilient piece of modern roading undermined. This road isn’t a nice-to-have, it’s an essential regional link.”
    Kalasih says that Transporting New Zealand is still supportive of tolling on appropriate projects, and was awaiting further information and meetings with NZTA on the Ōtaki to north of Levin Highway and Takitimu North Link before finalising their position on those proposals. 
    About Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand 
    Ia Ara Aotearoa Transporting New Zealand is a national membership association representing the road freight transport industry. Their members operate urban, rural and inter- regional commercial freight transport services throughout the country.
     Road is the dominant freight mode in New Zealand, transporting 92.8% of the freight task on a tonnage basis, and 75.1% on a tonne-km basis. The road freight transport industry employs over 34,000 people across more than 4,700 businesses, with an annual turnover of $6 billion.

    MIL OSI New Zealand News –

  • MIL-OSI: Sampo plc’s share buybacks 27 September 2024

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Sampo plc, stock exchange release, 30 September 2024 at 8:30 am EEST

    Sampo plc’s share buybacks 27 September 2024

    On 27 September 2024, Sampo plc (business code 0142213-3, LEI 743700UF3RL386WIDA22) has acquired its own A shares (ISIN code FI4000552500) as follows:                

    Sampo plc’s share buybacks Aggregated daily volume (in number of shares) Daily weighted average price of the purchased shares* Market (MIC Code)
      3,062 42.16 AQEU        
      39,548 42.14 CEUX
      422 42.03 TQEX
      45,814 42.12 XHEL
    TOTAL 88,846 42.13  

    *rounded to two decimals                

    On 17 June 2024, Sampo announced a share buyback programme of up to a maximum of EUR 400 million in compliance with the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR) and the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052. On 16 September 2024, the Board of Directors of Sampo plc resolved to increase the share buyback programme to EUR 475 million. The programme, which started on 18 June 2024, is based on the authorisation granted by Sampo’s Annual General Meeting on 25 April 2024.

    After the disclosed transactions, the company owns in total 7,582,336 Sampo A shares representing 1.38 per cent of the total number of shares in Sampo plc, taking the issuance of shares on 16 September 2024 into account.

    Details of each transaction are included as an appendix of this announcement.

    On behalf of Sampo plc,
    Morgan Stanley

    For further information, please contact:

    Sami Taipalus
    Head of Investor Relations
    tel. +358 10 516 0030

    Distribution:
    Nasdaq Helsinki
    Nasdaq Stockholm
    Nasdaq Copenhagen
    London Stock Exchange
    The principal media
    FIN-FSA
    DEN-FSA
    http://www.sampo.com

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Inside information: Karri Alameri appointed as the CEO of Oma Savings Bank Plc

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    OMA SAVINGS BANK PLC, STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE 30.9.2024 AT 8:45 A.M. EET, INSIDE INFORMATION

    Inside information: Karri Alameri appointed as the CEO of Oma Savings Bank Plc

    The Board of Directors of Oma Savings Bank Plc (OmaSp or Company) has appointed Karri Alameri, M.Sc. (Econ.), CEFA as the new CEO of the Company. Alameri will start in his position no later than 1 April 2025. Interim CEO Sarianna Liiri will continue in her position until Alameri starts.

    Karri Alameri (b. 1963) has strong experience in the financial sector. Alameri joins OmaSp from the Savings Banks Group, where he has served as CEO since 2022. Prior to this, he has held several demanding management positions in the Savings Banks Group, OP Financial Group and Danske Bank.

    “We started the search process for the new CEO in June, and I am very pleased with its rapid progress and outcome. Karri Alameri is distinguished in the financial sector and enjoys broad trust. We especially appreciate his strong leadership skills in different operating environments and market situations. Karri is the best possible choice as the CEO, and I am glad that we can get a CEO like him to continue implementing the Company’s strategy towards the next phase. I warmly welcome Karri to OmaSp,” says Jaakko Ossa, Chairman of the Board.

    “OmaSp has skilled personnel and satisfied customers, and the bank has been able to find good growth areas. The flow of news has been exceptionally challenging in recent months, but I see that it is good to build the future success of OmaSp on the existing strengths and bring the bank back to a good growth and earnings track. I am excited to accept the position as the CEO of the largest savings bank in Finland”, tells Karri Alameri.

    A prerequisite for the appointment is that the Finnish Financial Supervisory Authority (FIN-FSA) has no objections to the appointment.

    Oma Savings Bank Plc

    Additional information:
    Jaakko Ossa, Chairman of the Board, tel. +358 40 044 0139
    Minna Sillanpää, CCO, tel. +358 50 66592, minna.sillanpaa@omasp.fi

    Distribution:
    Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd
    Major media
    http://www.omasp.fi

    OmaSp is a solvent and profitable Finnish bank. About 500 professionals provide nationwide services through OmaSp’s 45 branch offices and digital service channels to over 200,000 private and corporate customers. OmaSp focuses primarily on retail banking operations and provides its clients with a broad range of banking services both through its own balance sheet as well as by acting as an intermediary for its partners’ products. The intermediated products include credit, investment and loan insurance products. OmaSp is also engaged in mortgage banking operations.

    OmaSp core idea is to provide personal service and to be local and close to its customers, both in digital and traditional channels. OmaSp strives to offer premium level customer experience through personal service and easy accessibility. In addition, the development of the operations and services is customer-oriented. The personnel is committed and OmaSp seeks to support their career development with versatile tasks and continuous development. A substantial part of the personnel also own shares in OmaSp.

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: 2024 Industrial Parks Summit Forum unveils Taiwan’s New Direction for Industrial Parks.

    Source: Republic Of China Taiwan 2

    As global industrial competition intensifies, to enhance the competitiveness of Taiwan’s industrial parks, the Bureau of Industrial Parks (BIP) of the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) held the “2024 Industrial Parks Development Policy Summit Forum” on October 23, 2024. The forum brought together elites from central and local governments, academia, and industries to jointly explore how to promote comprehensive upgrades in park safety management through smart transformation and achieve sustainable economic development goals.
    The Director of BIP, Yang, Po-Keng, stated that the Industrial Park Policy Summit Forum has entered its 10th year, and this year’s forum is even more significant as it is the first held after the BIP’s reorganization under the MOEA. After the reorganization, the BIP now oversees 80 industrial parks nationwide. In the future, the BIP will strive to attract more enterprises to settle in the parks and provide more comprehensive value-added services.
    The Director also mentioned that many industrial parks are currently facing infrastructure aging. To address this, the BIP will actively seek funding from the Forward-looking Infrastructure Development Program to carry out major renovations of industrial zones. In addition, with more than 13,000 manufacturing companies operating in the parks, the BIP will assist businesses in developing research and sales capabilities. At the same time, The BIP will also accelerate the promotion of digital, intelligent, and AI-based production. Therefore, this forum focuses on the theme of ‘Smart, Safe, and Sustainable: Park Upgrades and Cross-Disciplinary Cooperation” to discuss the future development direction of Taiwan’s industrial parks and how to integrate hardware and software strategies to achieve the mission of smart, safe, and sustainable development.
    As one of the highlights of the forum, Lin, Chien-Yuan, the professor of National Taiwan University, delivered a speech titled “Industrial Park Development and Spatial Optimization Upgrades,” providing an in-depth analysis of the current state and future challenges of industrial park development. He emphasized that with the ever-changing demands of industries, industrial parks need to continuously innovate, focusing on spatial optimization and smart technology to meet future challenges. Following this, Zheng, Xiu-Rong, the Director of the Southern Taiwan Science Park Bureau of the National Science and Technology Council shared successful experiences in smart operations and investment environment optimization, noting that these experiences will serve as important references for the development of other parks.
    In the second half of the forum, discussions shifted toward how central and local governments can work together to promote the construction of smart parks. Lin, Rong-Chuan, the Director of the Tainan City Government’s Economic Development Bureau and Sheng Hsiao-Rung, the Deputy Director of the New Taipei City Government’s Economic Development Bureau each introduced their cities’ innovative initiatives in promoting smart parks. They emphasized that cooperation between local and central governments is key to unleashing the full potential of smart technology in park management and realizing sustainable industrial development.
    The forum concluded with insightful dialogues between representatives from industry and government on topics such as the application of smart technology in park management and the close connection between smart city construction and industrial parks. The participants unanimously agreed that close cooperation between central and local governments and the introduction of innovative technologies will be crucial to enhancing the competitiveness of Taiwan’s industrial parks in the future.
    The successful hosting of this forum demonstrated the BIP’s firm commitment to promoting smart and sustainable development. In the future, the bureau will continue to advance smart transformation policies, deepen cooperation between central and local governments, and lead Taiwan’s industrial parks to a more advantageous position on the global stage.

    Spokesman: Mr. Liu Chi Chuan (Deputy Director General, BIP)
    Contact Number: 886-7-3613349, 0911363680
    Email: lcc12@bip.gov.tw

    Contact Person: Luo, Fong-Ying (Industrial Parks Development Division, BIP)
    Contact Number: 886-7-361-1212 ext 121
    Email: luofeng@bip.gov.tw

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –