Category: Commerce

MIL-OSI: Aurora Mobile’s GPTBots.ai Poised for Expansion with Nvidia H20 Chip Sales Resumption in China

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

SHENZHEN, China, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aurora Mobile Limited (NASDAQ: JG) (“Aurora Mobile” or the “Company”), a leading provider of customer engagement and marketing technology services in China, is set to benefit from the recent announcement by Nvidia regarding the resumption of H20 chip sales in China. This development comes at a crucial time for Aurora Mobile’s AI agent platform, GPTBots.ai, which is experiencing rapid growth in the global market.

The Significance of Nvidia H20 Chips
Nvidia’s H20 chips are well-known for their prowess in AI inference tasks. With a computing performance of 148 TFLOPS@FP16 and 900 gb/s of interconnect bandwidth, these chips offer a competitive edge in the software ecosystem and interconnect capabilities. The H20 chip is currently the most powerful inference accelerator that can be legally exported to China under the existing US regulations. It is optimized for running existing AI models, which is of great relevance to GPTBots.ai’s operations.

GPTBots.ai: A Growing Force in the AI Space
GPTBots.ai has been making a strong impact in the technology sector with its end-to-end business platform. It allows businesses to connect AI bots with their enterprise data, services, and workflows. The platform offers a wide range of services, such as text to speech conversion, quote generation, and grammar checking. GPTBots.ai has already demonstrated its value across multiple industries, from retail and e-commerce to finance.

In the retail and e-commerce space, GPTBots.ai has revolutionized customer support. By automating inquiries and providing 24/7 multilingual assistance, it has enhanced user experiences significantly. For instance, after implementing GPTBots.ai, a global gaming platform saw customer satisfaction rise from 70% to 95%, while average response time dropped from 10 minutes to just 15 seconds. GPTBots.ai significantly enhanced the overall customer experience. In the finance industry, GPTBots.ai streamlines customer service, compliance workflows, and risk analysis, reducing operational costs while improving regulatory adherence.

Mr. Weidong Luo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aurora Mobile, commented, “The resumption of Nvidia H20 chip sales in China is a game-changer for GPTBots.ai. We have seen robust demand for our AI agent platform, and with the enhanced computing power these chips deliver, we are confident that GPTBots.ai will not only meet but exceed our customers’ expectations. This milestone brings us significantly closer to our goal of becoming the leading global provider of AI-powered enterprise solutions.”

About Aurora Mobile Limited

Founded in 2011, Aurora Mobile (NASDAQ: JG) is a leading provider of customer engagement and marketing technology services in China. Since its inception, Aurora Mobile has focused on providing stable and efficient messaging services to enterprises and has grown to be a leading mobile messaging service provider with its first-mover advantage. With the increasing demand for customer reach and marketing growth, Aurora Mobile has developed forward-looking solutions such as Cloud Messaging and Cloud Marketing to help enterprises achieve omnichannel customer reach and interaction, as well as artificial intelligence and big data-driven marketing technology solutions to help enterprises’ digital transformation.

For more information, please visit https://ir.jiguang.cn/.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “confident” and similar statements. Among other things, the Business Outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as Aurora Mobile’s strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. Aurora Mobile may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including but not limited to statements about Aurora Mobile’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: Aurora Mobile’s strategies; Aurora Mobile’s future business development, financial condition and results of operations; Aurora Mobile’s ability to attract and retain customers; its ability to develop and effectively market data solutions, and penetrate the existing market for developer services; its ability to transition to the new advertising-driven SAAS business model; its ability to maintain or enhance its brand; the competition with current or future competitors; its ability to continue to gain access to mobile data in the future; the laws and regulations relating to data privacy and protection; general economic and business conditions globally and in China and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of the press release, and Aurora Mobile undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

For more information, please contact:

Aurora Mobile Limited
E-mail: ir@jiguang.cn

Christensen

In China
Ms. Xiaoyan Su
Phone: +86-10-5900-1548
E-mail: Xiaoyan.Su@christensencomms.com

In US
Ms. Linda Bergkamp
Phone: +1-480-614-3004
Email: linda.bergkamp@christensencomms.com

The MIL Network –

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI: Aurora Mobile’s GPTBots.ai Poised for Expansion with Nvidia H20 Chip Sales Resumption in China

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

SHENZHEN, China, July 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Aurora Mobile Limited (NASDAQ: JG) (“Aurora Mobile” or the “Company”), a leading provider of customer engagement and marketing technology services in China, is set to benefit from the recent announcement by Nvidia regarding the resumption of H20 chip sales in China. This development comes at a crucial time for Aurora Mobile’s AI agent platform, GPTBots.ai, which is experiencing rapid growth in the global market.

The Significance of Nvidia H20 Chips
Nvidia’s H20 chips are well-known for their prowess in AI inference tasks. With a computing performance of 148 TFLOPS@FP16 and 900 gb/s of interconnect bandwidth, these chips offer a competitive edge in the software ecosystem and interconnect capabilities. The H20 chip is currently the most powerful inference accelerator that can be legally exported to China under the existing US regulations. It is optimized for running existing AI models, which is of great relevance to GPTBots.ai’s operations.

GPTBots.ai: A Growing Force in the AI Space
GPTBots.ai has been making a strong impact in the technology sector with its end-to-end business platform. It allows businesses to connect AI bots with their enterprise data, services, and workflows. The platform offers a wide range of services, such as text to speech conversion, quote generation, and grammar checking. GPTBots.ai has already demonstrated its value across multiple industries, from retail and e-commerce to finance.

In the retail and e-commerce space, GPTBots.ai has revolutionized customer support. By automating inquiries and providing 24/7 multilingual assistance, it has enhanced user experiences significantly. For instance, after implementing GPTBots.ai, a global gaming platform saw customer satisfaction rise from 70% to 95%, while average response time dropped from 10 minutes to just 15 seconds. GPTBots.ai significantly enhanced the overall customer experience. In the finance industry, GPTBots.ai streamlines customer service, compliance workflows, and risk analysis, reducing operational costs while improving regulatory adherence.

Mr. Weidong Luo, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Aurora Mobile, commented, “The resumption of Nvidia H20 chip sales in China is a game-changer for GPTBots.ai. We have seen robust demand for our AI agent platform, and with the enhanced computing power these chips deliver, we are confident that GPTBots.ai will not only meet but exceed our customers’ expectations. This milestone brings us significantly closer to our goal of becoming the leading global provider of AI-powered enterprise solutions.”

About Aurora Mobile Limited

Founded in 2011, Aurora Mobile (NASDAQ: JG) is a leading provider of customer engagement and marketing technology services in China. Since its inception, Aurora Mobile has focused on providing stable and efficient messaging services to enterprises and has grown to be a leading mobile messaging service provider with its first-mover advantage. With the increasing demand for customer reach and marketing growth, Aurora Mobile has developed forward-looking solutions such as Cloud Messaging and Cloud Marketing to help enterprises achieve omnichannel customer reach and interaction, as well as artificial intelligence and big data-driven marketing technology solutions to help enterprises’ digital transformation.

For more information, please visit https://ir.jiguang.cn/.

Safe Harbor Statement

This announcement contains forward-looking statements. These statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as “will,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “future,” “intends,” “plans,” “believes,” “estimates,” “confident” and similar statements. Among other things, the Business Outlook and quotations from management in this announcement, as well as Aurora Mobile’s strategic and operational plans, contain forward-looking statements. Aurora Mobile may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in its reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, in its annual report to shareholders, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by its officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including but not limited to statements about Aurora Mobile’s beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement, including but not limited to the following: Aurora Mobile’s strategies; Aurora Mobile’s future business development, financial condition and results of operations; Aurora Mobile’s ability to attract and retain customers; its ability to develop and effectively market data solutions, and penetrate the existing market for developer services; its ability to transition to the new advertising-driven SAAS business model; its ability to maintain or enhance its brand; the competition with current or future competitors; its ability to continue to gain access to mobile data in the future; the laws and regulations relating to data privacy and protection; general economic and business conditions globally and in China and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. All information provided in this press release and in the attachments is as of the date of the press release, and Aurora Mobile undertakes no duty to update such information, except as required under applicable law.

For more information, please contact:

Aurora Mobile Limited
E-mail: ir@jiguang.cn

Christensen

In China
Ms. Xiaoyan Su
Phone: +86-10-5900-1548
E-mail: Xiaoyan.Su@christensencomms.com

In US
Ms. Linda Bergkamp
Phone: +1-480-614-3004
Email: linda.bergkamp@christensencomms.com

The MIL Network –

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Local business owner prosecuted over incorrect allergen advice

Source: City of Derby

A Derby small business owner has narrowly escaped a custodial sentence for serving products containing nuts to a customer with a severe nut allergy.

Derby City Council Trading Standards have successfully prosecuted Samantha Brauner, the owner of Small’s Kitchen, after the customer suffered an allergic reaction triggered by eating the product. In May 2024, Small’s Kitchen fulfilled an online order of protein balls.

The customer asked whether the products contained nuts on several occasions, with Ms Brauner stating they did not.

The case was heard at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates Court on Monday 30 June, where Samantha Brauner pleaded guilty to one charge of supplying unsafe food with undeclared allergens and one charge of selling food which was not of the nature, substance, or quality demanded by the purchaser.

Ms Brauner narrowly escaped a custodial sentence due to her early guilty plea. She was fined £1920 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £768.

The Magistrates acknowledged the severity of the offences brought before them, highlighting the well documented consequences of neglecting allergen management responsibilities.

Councillor Shiraz Khan, Cabinet Member for Housing, Property, and Regulatory Services, said:

This is a situation that could have had disastrous consequences, which were fortunately avoided.

Our Trading Standards team in securing this prosecution, which serves as a reminder to other businesses that they need to take their allergen management responsibilities seriously.

We will continue to act in the best interests of the people of Derby, who should be able to have confidence in the products they are buying, particularly from local traders.

Should any Derby City based business require allergen management advice, they can contact Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice and Consumer Service helpline.

MIL OSI United Kingdom –

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ22: Toys safety
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is a question by Professor the Hon Chow Man-kong and a written reply by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, in the Legislative Council today (July 16):

Question:

It has been reported that certain toys (e.g. slime, powerful magnetic beads and toy aqua beads, etc.) pose potential safety hazards. For instance, in 2023, there were 6 000 cases of children seeking emergency medical treatment in the United States (US) due to the inadvertent use of toy aqua beads, and there was even a 10-month-old infant found dead as a result. In Hong Kong, there are also numerous cases in which the unsafe toys have endangered children’s health. Regarding toys safety, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) in each of the past five years, of the number of (i) proactive inspections (both online and offline) conducted by the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) for the purpose of enforcing the Toys and Children’s Products Safety Ordinance (Cap. 424) (the Ordinance), (ii) reports received and their details (including the names of the substandard toys seized in enforcement actions and their hazardous nature), (iii) prohibition notices served on retailers and wholesalers, and (iv) cases of conviction for contravening the Ordinance and the penalty imposed in each of such cases;

(2) whether it has compiled statistics, through channels such as schools and the number of visits to accident and emergency departments, on the number of cases involving Hong Kong children suffering from suffocation, acute toxicity and injury due to the inadvertent use of toys in each of the past five years; if so, of the details of each case (including the age of the children involved, the names of toys and whether they have been put on the C&ED’s list concerning “cases of unsafe products” (“the list”), as well as the follow-up actions taken by the C&ED; if not, whether it will consider establishing a notification mechanism to ensure that all the stakeholders (especially parents and teachers) will stay timely informed of toy safety incidents which involve significant social interests and children’s safety;

(3) given that according to a test report published by the Consumer Council in August 2019, the boron migration of 12 models of slime or putty toys exceeded the recommended upper limit of the European standard, and prolonged exposure to or indirect excessive intake of the substance may result in vomiting or even affect one’s fertility, whether the authorities have prohibited the local sale of relevant toys associated with health risks since the publication of the report; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(4) it is learnt that the US Consumer Product Safety Commission intended to impose more stringent regulation on toy aqua beads last year, and members of the public can still purchase such toy aqua beads and other toys on the list through online or offline channels at present, whether the authorities will consider stepping up the regulation of the safety of relevant products as well as banning local sale of certain toys which have caused fatal accidents overseas; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply

President,

     The Government attaches great importance to ensuring the safety of toys and children’s products and regulates the safety of toys and children’s products which are manufactured, imported or supplied for local consumption, in accordance with the Toys and Children’s Products Safety Ordinance (the Ordinance) (Cap. 424).

     The Ordinance stipulates that a person must not manufacture, import or supply a toy unless the toy complies with all the applicable requirements contained in one of the toy standards (which are international standards or standards adopted by major economies) specified in Schedule 1 to the Ordinance. A person who contravenes the above provision is liable to a maximum penalty of imprisonment for one year and a fine of $100,000 on first conviction and is liable to a maximum penalty of imprisonment for two years and a fine of $500,000 on subsequent conviction.

     The Government keeps in view any amendments to the relevant safety standards so as to update the standards applicable to the toys and children’s products supplied in Hong Kong.

   Moreover, the Toys and Children’s Products Safety (Additional Safety Standards or Requirements) Regulation (the Regulation) stipulates that a toy supplied in Hong Kong must comply with the requirements including the carrying of identification markings (i.e. the full name and address of the manufacturer, importer or supplier) and the bilingual warnings or cautions (with respect to the safe keeping, use, consumption or disposal) applicable to the toy; and the compliance with the requirements on concentration of phthalates contained in a toy.

     As the enforcement agency of the Ordinance, the Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) proactively conducts surveillance in the market and online shopping platforms. Having conducted risk assessment, the C&ED will test-purchase different types of toys and children’s products and pass them to the Government Laboratory for safety tests. Besides, the C&ED will conduct investigations into the complaints received and the cases referred from relevant government departments or organisations and take appropriate enforcement actions based on facts and evidence. In addition, the C&ED will actively follow up information about suspected unsafe toys and children’s products obtained from different sources such as media coverage and measures taken by the Mainland or overseas places against certain toys and children’s products; and the news about product safety issued by law enforcement agencies and institutions of product safety outside Hong Kong.

Having consulted the C&ED, our reply to various parts of the question is as follows:

(1) From 2020 to 2024, the C&ED received 68 complaints in relation to toys, conducted more than 7 920 surveillance visits or spot checks and investigated 127 cases. During the above period, the C&ED prosecuted individuals or companies involved in 14 cases. All defendants, including eight persons and six companies, were convicted and fined by the court, with the amount ranging from $3,000 to $32,000. The toys involved in these cases were lanterns, glow sticks, heart-shaped fluorescent toys, projectile toys, puzzle toys, expanding bead toys, squeeze toys, magnetic toys, joint mats, bubble toys and microphone toys. Furthermore, the C&ED issued 32 prohibition notices to prohibit related persons from supplying products that were believed to be unsafe for a specified period of time; and issued 94 warning letters. Meanwhile, the C&ED also conducted 45 blitz checks at boundary control points to combat the import of unsafe toys and children’s products into Hong Kong. The relevant figures categorised by year are listed in the table in the Annex.

(2) Currently, the C&ED did not compile statistics on cases involving children suffering injuries resulting from the use of unsafe toys through channels such as schools or the number of visits to accident and emergency departments. For cases referred by the relevant government departments or organisations, the C&ED will conduct follow-up investigations as and when appropriate.

All along, the C&ED has attached great importance to disseminating information about toys safety to the public and traders through various channels, including:
- if any toys with safety issues are identified during investigations, a press statement will be published immediately; and after completion of the investigation, the relevant information will be included in the “cases of unsafe products” in the C&ED’s webpage;
- striving to carry out compliance promotion for traders to assist the traders in understanding the relevant toy safety requirements of the Ordinance; and
- organising with the Department of Health toys and children’s products safety talks for the public and for students and parents in schools; and distributing pamphlets about the Ordinance, introducing and sharing safety information of toys and children’s products.
The C&ED has no plan to establish a specific notification mechanism.

(3) In the testing report published by the Consumer Council in August 2019, the boron migration level in some of the samples of slime or clay toy exceeded the suggested safety limit of the European Standard. Upon receiving the referral, the C&ED immediately conducted surveillance visits in various districts and test-purchased four different brands of slime or clay toy from the market for safety testing. Test results showed that all the samples complied with the safety standards stipulated in the Ordinance. However, the C&ED found that one sample of slime failed to comply with the identification markings and bilingual warnings or cautions requirements and was suspected to be in contravention of the requirements of the Ordinance. Immediate enforcement action was taken against the retailer concerned and a written warning was subsequently issued to the said retailer.

(4) Under the Ordinance, manufacturers, importers, and suppliers of water-bead toys are required to ensure that their products comply with all the applicable requirements contained in one of the three toy safety standards specified in Schedule 1 to the Ordinance (i.e. the International Standard ISO 8124, the European Standard BS EN 71 and the American Society for Testing and Materials Standard ASTM F963).

The C&ED has noted that the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission is considering more stringent regulations for water-bead toys, although these more stringent regulations have not yet been implemented by law. The Government will continue to closely monitor any new requirements for toys safety standards from law enforcement agencies and institutions of product safety outside Hong Kong, and will revise or update the Schedules to the Ordinance as and when appropriate.

At present, for water-bead toys suspected to be unsafe, the C&ED has actively conducted inspections and test-purchases in various districts to assess their safety, with a view to ensuring that both imported and locally supplied toys have reached a reasonable standard of safety. From 2020 to 2024, the C&ED conducted 29 inspections or targeted spot checks on water-bead toys, received three complaint cases related to water-bead toys and initiated two investigations. In one case, a person was fined in court for supplying water-bead toys exceeding the expandable limit of the safety standard and without bearing the identification markings and bilingual warnings or cautions. In another case, a written warning was issued to a company supplying water-bead toys without bearing the identification markings and bilingual warnings or cautions.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –
July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Africa: Africa Sports Unified (ASU) launches ‘ASU Insider’ – A Strategic Membership Platform for African Sport Leaders
Source: APO – Report:

.

Africa Sports Unified (ASU) (https://ASUnified.com), the world’s first and leading Pan-African Sports Business Hub, is pleased to announce the launch of ASU Insider – a new strategic membership platform designed to empower decision-makers and key stakeholders driving the growth of sport across Africa.

“Over the past 18 months, we’ve spoken with key stakeholders to understand what they value and what’s holding the industry back,” said Gabriel Ajala, Founder of Africa Sports Unified. “It was overwhelmingly clear: what’s missing is a trusted platform, real insights and meaningful connections. ASU Insider in the solution – providing the tools, context, and relationships to lead, partner and grow across the continent.”

The ASU Insider | Founding Circle

As part of the platform’s pilot phase, ASU is opening applications for the ASU Insider | Founding Circle — a handpicked group of 10 stakeholders who will be early adopters of the new platform and play a direct role in shaping its roadmap.

What Founding Circle Members Receive:
- Monthly Market Intelligence Briefings: Exclusive insights on policy, investment, rights, and governance trends shaping African sport
- Expert Led Live Session: Closed-door discussions with influential voices in sports, development, and business
- Priority Access to ASU Reports, Tools, and Data Assets
- Advisory Access and Strategic Introductions: Curated access to ASU’s team and network of continental leaders.
- Early Influence on ASU’s Research Roadmap: Founding members help shape the platform’s direction.
Who It’s For:
- Government Ministries & Policy Leaders
- Rights Holders (Clubs, Federations etc.)
- Inter-Governmental Organisations & DFIs
- Sponsors & Brands
- Investors
- Development Finance Institutions
Now Accepting Applications

Applications for the Founding Circle are now open.

[ASU Insider | Founding Circle Waitlist Link]: http://apo-opa.co/3THSlrC

Founding Circle members will receive early influence, and a front-row seat to shaping Africa’s sports transformation.

– on behalf of Africa Sports Unified.

For Media Inquiries, please contact:
info@asunified.com

Social Pages:
Linktree: https://apo-opa.co/46N5UgX
Videos: https://apo-opa.co/4nHE3Vs
Website: https://ASUnified.com

About Africa sports Unified:
Africa Sports Unified is the world’s leading Pan-African sports business hub. Driving Economic Growth and Industry Innovation, through data-driven insights, strategic consulting, and community engagement.

MIL OSI Africa –
July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: Russian-Armenian educational partnership: the second launch of the course “Fundamentals of project activities” with the Polytechnic University

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: Peter the Great St. Petersburg Polytechnic University –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

The Russian-Armenian University in Yerevan held the final defense of student projects completed within the framework of the course “Fundamentals of Project Activity” (OPA), which SPbPU and RAU have been implementing for the second year. 20 project teams were admitted to the in-person defense, and 19 of them successfully confirmed their results, demonstrating a noticeable qualitative growth compared to the pilot launch of the 2023/2024 academic year. 17 teams showed significant product and educational results.

The course “Fundamentals of Project Activities” is part of the strategic partnership of the two universities and a key tool for implementing a practice-oriented education model. Since the 2024/2025 academic year, the discipline has become mandatory for five areas of study at the Institute of Economics and Business of RAU (economics, tourism, trade and hotel business, management) and was available optionally to students of other programs. Starting next year, at the initiative of the management and teachers of RAU, there will be even more areas of study where this discipline will be mandatory.

The second launch of the course at RAU involved 12 mentor teachers, whose training began in December 2024. RAU teachers completed an intensive course on project activity tools and mentoring of student projects, and experienced the entire process of completing the course that students face.

In February 2025, an introductory lecture was held for RAU students, where they learned about the structure and features of the upcoming course. The lecture was given by teachers of SPbPU and RAU: senior researcher of the International Academic Competence Center “Intelligent Enterprise Technologies” of the Digital Engineering School Anton Ambrazhey, senior lecturer of the Higher School of Project Activity and Innovation in Industry (IMMiT) Inna Seledtsova and head of the Department of Educational Policy and Quality Control of Education of RAU Ruzanna Airapetova.

In April 2025, Anton Ambrazhey and Inna Seledtsova visited RAU on a working visit, discussed the intermediate results of the projects with the teams and course mentors, and gave recommendations for their further implementation and specification.

A distinctive feature of the second launch of the course at RAU was the involvement of external customers (travel agency GoToDili, Green Rock, Green Training Center). The projects presented by the customers confirmed the trend that began to form during the first launch: the OPD course at RAU is capable of creating a new level and diversity of products in the tourism landscape of Armenia. Thus, most of the projects this year from internal and external customers of RAU were dedicated to the current needs of the tourism industry of Armenia, and the internal tasks of the university were also well presented as projects.

According to the results of the 2024/2025 competition, the first place was taken by the project “Conducting an assessment of the quality of education by students of the Institute of Economics and Business”, completed by students of the Management program under the mentorship of the senior manager of the Department of Economics and Finance Iveta Stepanyan. The second place was taken by the project “Cultural and educational event “Russian Language Day”, mentored by Associate Professor of the Department of Russian Language and Professional Communication Liana Petrosyan. The third place went to the project “Green Tourism”, implemented under the guidance of the chief manager of correspondence courses of the IEB Lolita Tashchyan.

“At the last defense, seventeen projects out of twenty received high scores. It is clear that a core of motivated mentors and students is being formed. Perhaps it is the personalized approach to the team, the high involvement of mentors that is the unique path of RAU project activities, along which we will continue to help colleagues develop,” noted Anton Ambrazhey.

Inna Seledtsova emphasized the research significance of the work: “It is very important that many projects have come closer to understanding the true needs of the end users of their project results: someone went with a mentor to Dilijan to talk to tourists, someone conducted online surveys with business owners and identified an unobvious need for training, someone conducted surveys among students. We still have room to grow in the quality of such studies, which are a key link in understanding the problems of the project, but the first steps in this year’s research were very worthy.”

At the final series of meetings with mentors, with the Vice-Rector of RAU for Academic Affairs Marina Khachatryan, with the Head of the Department of Educational Policy and Quality Control of Education of RAU Ruzanna Ayrapetova, the course support team from SPbPU recorded development vectors for the next academic year: localization of part of the educational content, adaptation of project activity artifacts to the specifics of RAU, strengthening of the internal PR course, training of new mentors in the fall of 2025 and the third launch of the course with updated materials in February 2026.

An important result of the second launch of the course was the formation of the need for independent processes for implementing the “Fundamentals of Project Activity” at RAU. If in the first launches the course was supported, for the most part, within the framework of processes identical to SPbPU, then by the upcoming third launch not only the need for content localization has been identified, but also the need for our own student assessment system, for motivating them and mentors, for adaptation to online learning, since the OPD course became RAU’s first experience in mass online learning. All this will form the basis for the joint work of SPbPU and RAU in the next academic year.

Interview with Anton Ambrazhey AndInna Seledtsova

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

.

MIL OSI Russia News –

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ17: Monitoring operation of government departments and performance of civil servants

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is a question by the Hon Carmen Kan and a written reply by the Secretary for the Civil Service, Mrs Ingrid Yeung, in the Legislative Council today (July 16):

Question:

Regarding the monitoring of the operation of government departments and the performance of civil servants, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the following information in respect of the investigations/audits conducted by the Office of The Ombudsman and the Audit Commission (Audit) since 2015 (set out in a table):

(i) the subjects and names of government departments involved in the investigation reports/audit reports completed each year; and
(ii) the number of investigations/audits conducted on various government departments, and the subjects on which investigations/audits had been conducted repeatedly (set out by department and year);

(2) whether it knows which of the subjects examined by Audit mentioned in (1) have not yet completed the follow-up work in accordance with the recommendations of Audit and the Public Accounts Committee of this Council;

(3) of the measures put in place by the Government to improve the operation of government departments which have been investigated/examined repeatedly and found to have problems; whether it has held the then responsible personnel (including accountability officials and civil servants) responsible and imposed punishments; if so, of the details, including the number of the relevant personnel being punished (with a breakdown by the investigated/examined subjects and government departments) and the form of penalty imposed; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will study the establishment of the relevant mechanism;

(4) whether the authorities have put in place an incentive mechanism for government departments with outstanding performance, so as to further increase the incentive of government personnel; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether they will study establishing the relevant mechanism; and

(5) since the promulgation of the updated Civil Service Code (the Code) last year, of the number of civil servants who have been issued with notifications by the Government under section 12 of the Public Service (Administration) Order and not granted increments as a result of substandard performance (with a breakdown by rank), and how such number compares with the data before the Code was updated; of the measures in place to enhance the effectiveness of rewarding and punishing civil servants for their performance, e.g. whether it will study reforming the incremental point system to improve their overall performance; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Reply:

President,

The current-term Government has all along been result-oriented and citizen-centered, striving to provide quality public services, while at the same time deepening reforms and introducing various enhancement measures. According to the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2025 published in June this year, Hong Kong’s global competitiveness rises from the fifth place last year to the third. In terms of government efficiency, Hong Kong’s ranking rises from the third to the second place globally, indicating that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government’s policies are working, various policies have yielded results, and that Government departments are also operating highly effectively in providing the requisite services for the public, foreign investors and tourists, etc. To ensure that the quality of public services is maintained and further enhanced, we attach great importance to the investigation/audit reports and valuable advice provided by the Office of The Ombudsman (OMB) and the Audit Commission. Respective departments will examine and study the reports in detail and follow up on the relevant recommendations.

Having consulted the Administration Wing and the OMB, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau and the Audit Commission, as well as the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, my reply to the question raised by the Hon Carmen Kan is as follows:

(1) Established under The Ombudsman Ordinance, the OMB is an independent statutory body responsible for investigation works on maladministration. It is not a government department nor an organisation under the HKSAR Government. Under the legislation, apart from investigating complaints lodged by complainants against alleged maladministration in government departments and public organisations, The Ombudsman is also empowered to initiate direct investigation operations where injustice may have been caused by maladministration. The direct investigation operations are prompted mainly by subjects of significant public interest.

Over the past decade, the OMB has completed a total of 98 direct investigation operations involving 40 departments, covering a wide range of areas including medical and health, transport, buildings, lands, planning, labour, environmental protection, food and environmental hygiene, education, social welfare, housing, culture, recreation and sports. In general, the OMB completes eight to ten direct investigation operations per year.

During this period, the departments involved in the highest number of direct investigation operations were, in descending order, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (17 operations), the Lands Department (13 operations), the Housing Department (11 operations), the Transport Department (9 operations), the Environmental Protection Department (8 operations), the Home Affairs Department (8 operations), and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (8 operations).

Each direct investigation operation has its own uniqueness. In the past decade, none of the direct investigation operations were repeated. However, the OMB has carried out different direct investigation operations on different topics under some major areas, such as public housing, tree management, water seepage, after-death arrangement.

For instance, food and environmental hygiene, lands matters, public housing, transport and recreation and sports are major areas. Examples of direct investigations conducted by the OMB in the area of food and environmental hygiene include regulation of swimming pools, enforcement against defective sewage works of New Territories exempted houses, regulation over sale of food in hot/cold holding and non-pre-packaged beverages by means of vending machine, after-death arrangements; an example of direct investigations in the area of lands matters is enforcement against unauthorised land developments; direct investigation examples in relation to public housing include housing for senior citizens, combating abuse, recovery, refurbishment and reallocation of public housing, illegal parking in public housing estates; examples in the area of traffic and transport include arrangements for driving tests, on-street parking spaces designated for people with disabilities; examples in relation to recreation and sports include obstruction of passageways by bicycles owned by operators of bicycle rental services, as well as repairs and maintenance of outdoor recreational and sports facilities. The OMB has conducted direct investigation operations on such topics.

It is worth noting that the frequency of the departments or their subject areas being involved in direct investigation operations might be affected by various factors including nature of service, service target and prevailing concern in the society. Therefore, the frequency of departments under investigation does not represent the operation situation or performance of the department.

On the other hand, value for money audits are conducted by the Audit Commission to examine the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which government departments and organisations have discharged their functions, and the results of such audits are published in the Director of Audit’s Reports.

In the past ten years, the Audit Commission completed a total of 174 value for money audits covering 63 government departments (including the relevant policy bureaux), covering a wide range of areas including public works, commerce and industry, social welfare, buildings, lands and planning, recreation, culture and facilities, education, employment and labour, transportation and environmental protection. In general, the Audit Commission completes over ten value for money audits per year.

During the period, the departments involved in the highest number of audits in their respective policy areas were, in descending order, the Environment and Ecology Bureau (27 audits), the Development Bureau (18 audits), the Education Bureau (16 audits), the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau (14 audits), the Labour and Welfare Bureau (14 audits), the Transport and Logistics Bureau (13 audits), the Environmental Protection Department (12 audits), the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (12 audits), and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (12 audits).

In the past ten years, the Audit Commission conducted two audits on the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales, involving the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and the Trade and Industry Department. The audit findings were published in Chapter 1 of the Director of Audit’s Report No. 84 and Chapter 7 of the Director of Audit’s Report No. 66 respectively.

The Director of Audit takes into account a number of factors, including the significance of the project, its timeliness, the amount of public money and risks involved, and the benefits to be brought about, in selecting the subjects for value for money audits and deciding on the priority for conducting the audits.

(2) The number of value for money audits for which follow-up actions have not been completed in accordance with the recommendations of the Audit Commission or the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the Legislative Council (LegCo) is 42, as set out in Annex. The Government has been reporting regularly to LegCo on the progress of implementing the recommendations in the form of Government Minute and annual progress reports, and the Audit Commission discusses with the PAC annually the progress of implementation of the recommendations by the audited organisations.

(3) and (4) The HKSAR Government adopts a proactive and positive attitude in following up the investigations of the OMB and the audit reports of the Audit Commission as well as the recommendations therein, and carefully scrutinises and takes on board the recommendations to improve the relevant policy measures and public services. As the Ombudsman explained to this Council at its meeting on July 8, some government departments are responsible for more services which are in close contact with the public, and hence they may receive more complaints, and as mentioned above, the Director of Audit will take into account factors such as the significance of the subject, its timeliness, the amount of public funds and risks involved, as well as the benefits to be brought about, in selecting the value for money audit subjects and in determining the priority for conducting the audit; therefore, a department’s performance cannot be measured solely on the basis of the number of investigations conducted by the OMB and the number of projects selected for audit. Some of the complaints received by the OMB involved no or only minor maladministration, and the OMB has successfully concluded 555 such cases by way of mediation. Departments and bureaux will strive to follow up on any areas of improvement in the economy, efficiency and effectiveness in the administrative operations, administrative systems, administrative procedures or in the discharge of duties identified by the OMB and the Audit Commission upon completion of their investigations/audits. The causes of departmental maladministration, inefficiency and ineffective use of resources are numerous and often not homogeneous. The Government as a whole also pays close attention to deep-seated issues, such as over-emphasis on procedures to the detriment of effective achievement of objectives. The current-term Government adopts a result-oriented approach at all levels, and this element is emphasised in our daily work as well as in the leadership training of senior and middle-level civil servants. If a civil servant is found to be incapable of performing his/her duties or to have a less than positive attitude towards his/her work in any of the investigations or audits, his/her supervisors will reflect this in his/her appraisal report, and if he/she is under consideration by a promotion board, the board will also take into account deficiencies in his/her ability or attitude towards work. If an investigation or audit reveals that a civil servant has misconducted himself/herself, the department will deal with the case in accordance with the civil service disciplinary mechanism. As regards politically appointed officials, the Government will act in accordance with the Code for Officials under the Political Appointment System.

The current-term Government is committed to setting up a performance-based management system. In respect of awards, the Government endeavours to implement various commendation schemes for civil servants, including the Chief Executive’s Award for Exemplary Performance, the Secretary for the Civil Service’s Commendation Award Scheme, the Civil Service Outstanding Service Award Scheme, to give due recognition to departments and individuals with outstanding performances in different areas, encourage civil servants to strive for excellence and provide quality services to the public. The Civil Service Outstanding Service Award Scheme aims to recognise government departments and teams in providing exemplary services, encourage civil servants’ innovation, and promote a people-oriented and “one government” public service culture. The OMB has also set up an annual Ombudsman’s Awards Scheme to recognise the contribution of departments and public organisations to the improvement of public administration. Individual and team awards are also presented to public officers in recognition of their outstanding performance and professionalism in serving the public.

(5) In September 2023, the Civil Service Bureau promulgated and implemented the streamlined mechanism of retiring civil servants in the public interest on the ground of persistent sub-standard performance (the streamlined mechanism) under Section 12 of the Public Service (Administration) Order (Section 12 action) to strengthen the management of staff with sub-standard performance. From September 2023 to the end of June 2025, a total of 16 officers were issued with Section 12 Notification due to their sub-standard performance. They were advised to improve their performance to the acceptable standard within a specified observation period; otherwise Section 12 action would be taken. Among these officers, three officers were ordered to be retired due to persistent sub-standard performance; two officers resigned upon receipt of the Section 12 Notification; two officers with Section 12 action suspended as their performance was improved to the acceptable standard; and the cases of nine officers are still ongoing. When compared to the five–year period from September 2018 to September 2023 (i.e. before the implementation of the streamlined mechanism) in which a total of 12 officers were issued with the notification under the old mechanism informing that Section 12 action would be taken (i.e. 2.4 officers per year on average), 16 officers have been issued with Section 12 Notification since the implementation of the streamlined mechanism, indicating a higher usage of the streamlined mechanism by departments. The average processing time has also been largely reduced from 31.5 months for cases processed within the five years before the implementation of the streamlined mechanism to 10 months after its implementation. Apart from the 16 officers mentioned above, some officers have resigned before the commencement of the observation period when they were informed of the department’s intention to initiate Section 12 action against them, and the Government does not keep information on the number of such cases. As regards the granting of increments, a total of 12 and 21 civil servants were not granted an increment due to unsatisfactory performance in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

The civil service is an integral part of the HKSAR’s governance system. The current-term Government has been attaching great importance to the enhancement of the civil service management system. The Civil Service Code updated last year states that accountability for performance is one of the core values, and that civil servants should be held accountable for their decisions and actions in discharging their public duties. We will continue to push ahead with the relevant work.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Life Sciences Sector Plan to grow economy and transform NHS
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

Press release

Life Sciences Sector Plan to grow economy and transform NHS

The government has today (Wednesday 16 July) launched a bold new Life Sciences Sector Plan as part of the government’s flagship Industrial Strategy.
The government has today (Wednesday 16 July) launched a bold new Life Sciences Sector Plan as part of the government’s flagship Industrial Strategy, setting out a ten-year mission to harness British science and innovation to deliver long-term economic growth and a stronger, prevention-focused NHS.

The UK is already a global leader in life sciences, with the sector worth around £100 billion to the economy, and employing around 300,000 people. This plan, developed in close coordination with the government’s 10 Year Health Plan, doubles down on that strength – turning cutting-edge research into real-world results: new treatments, faster diagnoses, and more lives saved. It’s about making sure breakthroughs happen here – and stay here – creating jobs, improving lives in every part of the country, and driving growth.

Life sciences’ critical importance to both driving economic growth and improving our health – 2 of the core elements of the Plan for Change – has been shown through the government’s action to date to support the sector. The Chancellor re-committed up to £520 million for the Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund at the Spending Review to pull investment into the UK, and red tape is being slashed to speed up clinical trials, while an up to £600 million investment will deliver a Health Data Research Service that will be unmatched globally – bringing the power of data to bear to unlock breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

The plan sets out a comprehensive roadmap built around 3 core pillars:

1. Enabling World-Class R&D – strengthening the UK’s leadership in science and discovery
2. Making the UK an outstanding place to start, scale and invest – growing homegrown companies and attracting global capital
3. Driving Health Innovation and NHS Reform – delivering better outcomes for patients and a more modern, preventative healthcare system

6 bold actions to kickstart change

The Life Sciences Sector Plan will be supported over the lifetime of the Spending Review by government funding of over £2 billion, alongside funding from UKRI and NIHR. Actions include:

1. Unlocking NHS data to find new cures

Up to £600 million investment to build the world’s most advanced health data system – helping scientists develop better treatments faster.

2. Speeding up clinical trials

Cutting red tape so patients can join trials sooner – and get access to life-changing medicines quicker.

3. Backing British manufacturing

Up to £520 million to invest in life sciences manufacturing projects – creating high-skilled jobs and making more treatments and medical devices here at home.

4. Getting new treatments to patients faster

Making regulation simpler and faster by boosting departmental support for the MHRA with additional investment – so doctors can use safe, effective innovations without delay.

5. Helping doctors use cutting-edge tech

A new NHS ‘passport’ to roll out proven tools faster – like AI cancer scanners or wearable devices that detect disease early.

6. Backing brilliant UK firms to grow

Helping fast-growing companies raise investment, scale up, and stay in the UK – with at least one major industry partnership secured every year.

Built for delivery

This Plan was shaped with input from over 250 organisations including doctors, scientists, NHS leaders and industry experts to ensure it delivers real impact. It builds on the strong foundations of the 10-Year Health Plan, extending its ambition by uniting health and growth interventions into a single, coherent strategy for the Life Sciences sector. Every action has clear goals and named leads. This is a Plan designed to deliver, not in isolation but as a vital part of the government’s broader Plan for Change.

Early momentum

The plan builds on the Chancellor’s commitment to reduce regulatory costs by a quarter, with increased investment in the MHRA to accelerate approvals and improve efficiency. It aims to streamline MedTech market entry through closer coordination between the MHRA and NICE.

The government is also focused on strengthening the UK’s clinical research infrastructure by improving trial delivery, expanding patient access, and embedding research more effectively within the NHS.

We have already started delivering on key actions, from investing up to £600 million in the Health Data Research Service alongside Wellcome, through to committing over £650 million in Genomics England and up to £354 million in Our Future Health, while the rollout of ‘innovator passports’ will help speed up the adoption of new tech and treatments on the NHS. This is clear evidence of our commitment and confidence in life sciences as a driver of both economic growth and better health outcomes.

Why life sciences matter

Life Sciences is one of 8 priority sectors in the government’s Industrial Strategy – reflecting the sector’s high growth potential.

Life sciences companies employ over 300,000 people, with more than three-quarters of jobs outside London and the Southeast, supporting opportunity in every part of the UK.

The sector improves economic productivity by improving health. With long-term illness a major drag on workforce participation, better health leads directly to a stronger, more resilient economy.

The Life sciences sector attracts record levels of private investment. In 2023, the UK raised the third highest amount of life sciences equity finance in the world, behind only the US and China.

It is a UK export powerhouse -medicines and medical technologies were the UK’s third largest goods export by value in 2024.

And it is innovation-intensive, with 17% of all UK business R&D spend is in pharmaceuticals, the highest of any sector.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is also revolutionising the Life Sciences sector across research, diagnostics, treatment, and manufacturing, reshaping how we prevent, treat, and manage disease. The potential economic impact is substantial, with McKinsey Global Institute estimating that AI could generate $60–110 billion annually for the pharmaceutical and medical-product industries alone .

Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, said:

Our world-leading life sciences sector employs hundreds of thousands of people and is a powerhouse for economic growth that puts more money in people’s pockets. Our Plan for Change is ramping up this success story even further.

The ten-year life sciences plan we have released today as part of our Industrial Strategy will cut red tape and deliver the investment we funded at the Spending Review so it can stay ahead of the curve globally and we can reap the economic rewards for years to come.

Science and Technology Secretary Peter Kyle said:

The life sciences sector is one of the crown jewels of the UK economy. It sits at the heart of both our Plan for Change, and our Modern Industrial strategy, as a unique catalyst for both economic prosperity, and better health outcomes for people across the UK.

Moving in lockstep with industry, academia and our NHS, we will unleash this sector as a force for good and for growth. The suite of measures we’re announcing today will unlock its full potential — attracting global investment, accelerating innovation, and delivering breakthroughs that will make the UK healthier, wealthier, and even more open for business.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said:

We’re committed to making the UK a life sciences superpower, and our modern Industrial Strategy has earmarked it as one of 8 priority sectors so it can double down on our strengths and keep us at the cutting edge of innovation.

This government is taking the bold action needed to help this £108 billion industry flourish and create new high-skilled, well-paid jobs right across the country, making our Plan for Change a reality.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting said:

This Life Sciences Sector Plan represents a pivotal moment in our mission to rebuild the NHS and shift our healthcare system from one that treats illness to one that prevents it.

By bringing together the brilliance of British science with the power of our NHS, we’re not just improving healthcare outcomes – we’re building a stronger economy and creating jobs across the country.

The £2 billion investment will help us make the most of our world-leading health data, speed up access to innovative treatments, and transform the experience of patients. This is how we deliver a health service fit for the future – by embracing innovation that saves lives, cuts waiting times, and makes the NHS sustainable for generations to come.

The plan comes just days on the same day as the fourth “Made in the UK, Sold to the World” Roadshow, a government-led initiative designed to boost SME exports in the Life Sciences sector.

The roadshow focuses on the 8 sectors highlighted in the modern industrial strategy, forming part of the government’s commitment to supporting high-growth industries with the greatest potential to create jobs, increase productivity, and drive long-term economic growth.

Support for the Life Sciences Sector Plan

Professor Sir John Bell, President of the Ellison Institute of Technology and UK Government Life Sciences Champion said:

With our world-leading science base, genomics capabilities and industrial heritage, our Life Sciences sector can truly be among the best globally, ensuring the UK is developing and benefiting from the technologies of the future. We must however move past high level ambitions. This plan, with an inbuilt, relentless focus on delivery, provides the vehicle to take us there.

Deepak Nath, CEO of Smith+Nephew, said:

Smith+Nephew welcomes the publication of the government’s Life Sciences Sector Plan and its clear recognition of the critical role that medical technology plays in building a sustainable, high-performing NHS.

We are encouraged by the plan’s focus on the full life cycle of medical technologies – from research and development, and manufacturing, through to regulation, evaluation and adoption – and by the continued engagement with industry throughout its development. We look forward to supporting the plan’s implementation.

Dr Tony Wood, Chief Scientific Officer, GSK, said:

We welcome the government’s Life Sciences Sector Plan – in particular, the reforms to incentivise more UK clinical trials, establish a new Health Data Research Service and create a network of translational labs and clinics to accelerate drug discovery and development. These changes can bring unique competitive advantage to the country and make the UK a leader in future life sciences research.

Tim Sheppard, SVP & GM, North Europe, IQVIA, said:

IQVIA welcomes the Life Sciences Sector Plan and its bold ambition to realise more investment in commercial R&D than any other country in Europe by 2030.

Human data science and AI technology underpin our global leadership in commercial clinical research, we recognise the potential in the Plan for the Health Data Research Service to be a catalyst in the UK Government’s commitment to create the world’s most advanced and secure health data platform, enhancing the UK’s attractiveness for global trials and AI investment.

The Life Sciences Sector Plan will strengthen IQVIA’s ability to offer its global life sciences sponsors a seamless and efficient development pathway from early phase trials to regulatory approval and enhance patient access to innovative treatments – improving patients’ lives and driving further economic growth in the UK.

Steve Rotheram, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said:

The Liverpool City Region has a proud history of innovation and is fast becoming recognised as a powerhouse in health and life sciences – from pioneering infection and disease control to cutting-edge manufacturing.

This plan is a welcome step towards unlocking the sector’s full potential, and I’m confident our region will play a central role in delivering that ambition. With our world-leading assets in biomanufacturing, digital health and infectious disease research, we’re already demonstrating how innovation in our region can improve lives, create highly skilled jobs, and attract global investment. Backed by the right partnerships and investment, we can help cement the UK’s place as a global leader in life sciences.

Lord Ara Darzi, Paul Hamlyn Chair of Surgery, Imperial College London, Consultant Surgeon, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust and the Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust and Independent Member of the House of Lords said:

This plan is a detailed blueprint for implementation. It marks a profound change not just in how we go about enabling discovery but also in the way we deliver it. It sets the United Kingdom up to lead not just in trialling innovation but in making such innovations have real world impact for the benefit for patients, the National Health Service, and economic growth.

Dr. Vin Diwakar, Clinical Transformation Director at NHS England, said:

The Life Sciences Sector Plan is a major step forward, accelerating patient access to the latest health innovations through better industry partnerships, solidifying the NHS’s role in economic growth. Through initiatives like the Health Data Research Service and ‘innovator passports,’ we’re unlocking data’s potential for cures and fast-tracking proven health technologies, ultimately transforming patient care and making the NHS fit for the future.

Peter Ellingworth, Chief Executive of the Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI) said:

ABHI welcomes the publication of the Life Sciences Sector Plan. Developed with meaningful engagement from the HealthTech industry, it recognises the critical role that HealthTech will play in driving innovation and supporting the NHS to deliver the reforms needed to ensure its long-term sustainability. We are particularly encouraged by the commitments to regulatory reform, investment in research infrastructure, and measures to accelerate the adoption of innovation. To succeed, this strategy must be delivered in genuine partnership with industry and the NHS, and focused on removing the persistent barriers that prevent patients from benefiting from the best technologies. ABHI and our members are committed to playing an active role in translating these ambitions into tangible improvements for patients, the NHS and the economy.

Paul Tredwell, Executive Vice President of Accord Healthcare said:

It is very encouraging to see a Life Sciences Sector Plan which for the first time recognises the immense contribution of the off-patent industry, a sector which provides around 80% of all the UK’s medicines. As one of the largest manufacturers supplying medicines to the NHS, and a company currently applying to the government’s LSIMF scheme, we welcome this Sector Plan as a positive step and look forward to working with government on policies that will support future growth and investment.

Nicola Perrin MBE, Chief Executive of the Association of Medical Research Charities (AMRC) said:

We’re pleased to see life sciences recognised as a priority sector for the UK. This is a triple win for the economy, for the NHS and for patients. It will benefit people across the country and unlock new ways to prevent, diagnose and treat disease.

We welcome the positioning of research at the heart of the Life Sciences Sector Plan, from the earliest stages of discovery science and beyond. We also welcome the focus on ensuring that the NHS embraces new discoveries and innovations – these will only have an impact if they get to patients quickly and effectively.

It’s reassuring to see a clear focus on implementation and accountability in the plan. This will help to ensure urgent action and real change. Medical research charities must be key delivery partners – they support R&D that focuses on patients, addresses areas of unmet need and accelerates impact.

Dr Samantha Walker, Director of Research and Innovation at Asthma + Lung UK, says:

We are pleased to see the Life Sciences Sector Plan setting out an array of opportunities for action to accelerate the growth of the UK’s respiratory research and innovation sector.

There has been too little scientific progress for people living with lung conditions – the third biggest killer in the UK. This plan for investment, with its focus on innovation and access to health data for research, could help drive desperately needed improvements to the diagnosis and treatment of lung disease, which affects 1 in 5 people in the UK.

With effective implementation, this plan could lead to research investment that will save lives and significantly reduce the number of preventable A&E visits due to asthma attacks and COPD exacerbations. Furthermore, it has scope to increase the growth of the life sciences sector and will benefit the UK economy by cutting days lost to sickness.

Louis Taylor CBE, CEO of the British Business Bank, said:

In the UK, we are very good at starting high-potential companies and creating breakthrough innovation, but what’s often lacking is the capital to scale these startups. The British Business Bank has been at the heart of growing the UK innovation economy for the last ten years. Today, the Bank is the largest investor in UK venture and venture growth capital funds and the most active late-stage investor in life sciences and deeptech. We welcome today’s Life Sciences Sector Plan and will continue to support the growth of this critical sector.

Mike Fairbourn, Vice President & General Manager, UK & Ireland for Becton Dickinson said:

Becton Dickinson welcomes the UK government’s publication of the Life Sciences Sector Plan. The plan’s focus on accelerating regulatory approvals, streamlining procurement pathways and investing in innovative manufacturing underscores the crucial role of medical technology in driving better health outcomes and economic growth. We strongly support these commitments and stand ready to work hand-in-hand with government, the NHS and regulators to deliver on these ambitions. Together, we can unlock the full potential of the UK’s medical technology industry to bolster the UK life sciences sector and the wider economy, and to benefit patients across the country.

Dr Daniel Mahony, Chair of the UK BioIndustry Association said:

Making the UK an outstanding place in which to start, grow, scale and invest in life science companies is key to driving UK economic growth. The life science sector plan is right to focus on getting substantially more public and private investment in early-stage companies, improved access to data, trials and skills to help companies grow, and more streamlined regulation and market access pathways to get innovative medicines to NHS patients. We particularly welcome the focus on unlocking pension funds to increase investment in scaling life science companies. In this parliament, the UK has the opportunity to create a truly-world leading life sciences ecosystem that works for start-ups, scale-ups and established global companies alike.

Dr Kevin Lee, CEO of Bicycle Therapeutics said:

Bicycle Therapeutics welcomes the government’s vision to make the UK a Life Sciences superpower as part of its bold and ambitious Industrial Strategy. We support the strategy’s aspiration to accelerate the growth of UK companies by encouraging investment in the sector, simplifying the regulatory environment, and leveraging the UK’s unique healthcare ecosystem to innovate in clinical trial design. At Bicycle, we view this plan as an opportunity to support the advancement of our work to unlock the potential of our Nobel prize-winning science and create new medicines for a wide variety of diseases, starting with cancer. We are excited by the prospect of working in an ever more innovative and productive sector that will see British scientific breakthroughs transform the lives of patients across the globe.

Professor Sir Rory Collins, Principal Investigator and Chief Executive of UK Biobank, said:

The Life Sciences Sector Plan shows how, with long-term thinking, the UK can build on its many world-leading institutions and facilities to deliver a world-class base for science. UK Biobank is living proof of the value of long-term thinking and the impact it can have on life sciences, with projects like our recent decade-long work scanning 100,000 volunteers that is transforming health research and helping the NHS.

The UK government continually supports UK Biobank as shown by its £20 million investment for our project to measure proteins in the blood of our half a million volunteers. This investment is helping generate the world’s most comprehensive health data and, by making it so accessible, we’re effectively able to crowdsource the minds of the planet’s greatest experts. That accessibility is why philanthropists and industry from around the world keep amplifying the government’s investment, leading to more data that drives even more research.

Professor Ugur Sahin, Managing Director, CEO and Co-Founder of BioNTech said:

We believe that innovative treatments reach patients faster when sectors collaborate towards a common goal. The renewed Life Sciences Plan reflects this spirit and has the potential to transform medicine through real progress in cancer care and beyond – both in the UK and globally.

Helen Dent, CEO of British In Vitro Diagnostic Association (BIVDA) said:

This plan reflects the government’s understanding of the challenges facing the life sciences industry and their commitment to driving investment, growth, and innovation across the sector.

Pledges which reduce the cost and streamline the adoption of diagnostics, MedTech and genomics are hugely welcome, as are measures to introduce low-friction procurement and contracting mechanisms.

Ultimately, success will depend upon continued collaboration between government, industry, and the healthcare system to ensure its ambition is matched by delivery. BIVDA looks forward to supporting this process and bolstering the UK’s position as a world-leader in life sciences.

Hyoungki Kim, CEO and Vice Chairman of Celltrion, said:

As a South-Korea based company with a global outlook, we are committed to adapting to the long-term dynamics of the markets we serve. The UK is a key supply destination for us, and we remain committed to supporting the NHS through the increased availability of biosimilar medicines in the coming years. The UK is an important supply destination for us, and we are planning substantial investments to expand our biosimilar medicine supply in the coming years. We therefore welcome the recognition in the life sciences plan that biosimilars are a critical means of delivering value to the NHS and, importantly, expanding patient access. This acknowledgement reinforces our confidence in prioritising the UK as a central focus of our global efforts.

Massimiliano Collela, Chief Executive Officer of CMR Surgical, said:

We are grateful to the government for their support of leading UK Tech and Life Sciences scale-ups like CMR Surgical through the government’s Industrial Strategy, the 10 Year Health Plan and the Life Sciences Sector Plan. With the government’s support, the UK innovation sector continues to flourish.

Lars Petersen, President & Chief Executive Officer of FUJIFILM Biotechnologies, said:

FUJIFILM Biotechnologies warmly welcomes the UK government doubling down on its commitment to life sciences with this timely and ambitious new Sector Plan.

The UK has long been a global powerhouse in life sciences R&D – but what truly excites me about this plan is its potential to supercharge the life sciences ecosystem. By combining world-class discovery, cutting-edge development, and advanced manufacturing under one cohesive vision, the UK is positioning itself to not just lead in innovation but ensure the entire life sciences value chain flourishes.

I’m especially pleased to see the critical role of innovative medicines manufacturers, like FUJIFILM Biotechnologies, recognised as essential to the UK’s future growth. This isn’t just about planning; it’s a clear roadmap to unlocking our potential to fuel economic growth, spark groundbreaking innovation, and improve patient outcomes across the board.

The government’s pledge of £520 million in grants to expand the UK’s medicines manufacturing sector can also be a game-changer. Remaining globally competitive requires action, and this is exactly the kind of commitment needed to kickstart a new era for the UK’s life sciences. Combined with ongoing private-sector investment and the support of an empowered Life Sciences Sector Council, we’re looking at the foundation of a win-win scenario for government, business, patients, and innovators alike.

As one of the UK’s largest investors in innovative medicines manufacturing, FUJIFILM Biotechnologies stands ready to seize this opportunity. We look forward to helping turn this vision into a reality and build a stronger, more sustainable future for life sciences in the UK.

Richard Stubbs, Chair of the Health Innovation Network said:

The UK is now in a race to the top to become a global powerhouse for the life sciences sector. To achieve this, we will need to go further to find, test and implement health innovations at pace and at scale. It is right that place-based innovation capacity and capabilities have been identified in the Life Science Sector Plan as a key enabler for the sector.

The Health Innovation Network is proud of the impact that we deliver with our partners in the NHS, academia and industry – from SMEs to multinationals – to improve patient outcomes, release capacity in the NHS to cut waiting lists and to drive economic growth, all priorities that are rightly recognised in this plan. The contribution the life sciences sector has to improve the health and wealth of the country is more evident now than ever. Through working locally with our vibrant life science sector, our health innovators, and our NHS staff we will deliver real change on the ground that has a national impact, and that supports the bold ambitions set out in the Life Sciences Sector Plan.

Yamin Mohammed Khan, CEO of hVIVO said:

We were pleased to establish a working partnership with the Office for Life Sciences in support of their sector plan. The UK has a remarkable and longstanding legacy in life sciences, something which we at hVIVO are proud to be a part of as the world leading provider of human challenge trials. The UK has a proven track record of innovation that continues to thrive. As a global pillar in health research and life sciences, the UK plays a vital role in shaping the future of healthcare and scientific advancement. We’re excited to see how this 10-year plan unfolds, helping the UK maintain its global reputation and further strengthen its leadership in the life sciences sector.

Mark Robinson, Vice President and General Manager, UK and Ireland, and North Europe at Illumina, said:

Illumina strongly supports the UK government’s ambition, outlined in the Life Sciences Sector Plan, for genomics to contribute to half of all healthcare interventions by 2035. The plan’s focus on integrated health data, streamlined clinical trials, and expanded genomic infrastructure aligns with Illumina’s mission to unlock the power of the genome to improve human health for all. Illumina’s longstanding partnerships in the UK have played a key role in advancing our understanding of the genome, and we look forward to continuing these collaborations to support the UK’s leadership in global genomic research and innovation.

Dr Stella Peace, Interim Executive Chair of Innovate UK said:

The Life Science Sector Plan positions innovation as a critical engine with the potential to power breakthroughs, drive economic growth and transform lives. The plan sets out how we will unlock the full potential of UK life sciences by backing the businesses, researchers and technologies shaping the future of healthcare and delivering real societal impact. Innovate UK look forward to being part of bringing this plan to life.

David Marante, Vice President UK and Ireland at Intuitive, said:

We know how important equity of access to innovation is to improve patient care in the NHS. For the last 2 decades we’ve worked together with NHS Trusts in England to implement da Vinci robotic-assisted surgery programmes, harnessing our innovations to help enhance patient and care team experience, and reduce waiting lists through increased productivity to ultimately improve patient outcomes.

With health innovation as a key pillar of the government’s vision for the UK’s Life Sciences sector, we’re excited to continue supporting NHS care teams to improve equity of access to minimally invasive care with da Vinci RAS, enabling patients to get back to what matters most.

Mark Samuels, Chief Executive of Medicines UK, said: 

Generics and biosimilars account for 4 in every 5 NHS prescriptions, making them a cornerstone of patient care and an essential part of the UK’s life sciences ecosystem. We welcome this plan’s recognition of their vital role. 

The off-patent sector operates in a highly competitive global environment. To maintain supply and attract sustained investment, the UK must offer a policy and operating landscape that is both supportive and internationally attractive. 

We are encouraged by the strategy’s ambition and clarity – particularly its objective to make the UK a world leader in the adoption of off-patent medicines, with a strong emphasis on biosimilars.

A thriving off-patent sector delivers access and value for the NHS and forms the foundation for future pharmaceutical innovation and investment. We look forward to working with Government to deliver on this important agenda.

Lawrence Tallon, Chief Executive of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, said:

I welcome the publication of the Life Sciences Sector Plan and fully support its ambition to make the UK a global leader in life sciences and a country where innovation delivers for everyone.

It’s great to see the MHRA is recognised as a pivotal partner in delivering the plan’s vision – by supporting innovation, protecting public health, and making the UK a global destination for innovators to research, develop and launch cutting-edge medical products.

Working with our partners across the sector, we will continue to enable safe and effective innovation that benefits patients, the public, and the economy.

Kit Erlebach, Chairperson of the UK’s Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership (MMIP) and Senior Director, Engineering at FUJIFILM Biotechnologies UK said:

The UK government’s new Life Sciences Sector Plan signals a clear and ambitious commitment to the future of life sciences in the UK. This plan provides a unique opportunity to build upon our nation’s strengths in research, development, and manufacturing, creating a fully connected and world-leading life sciences ecosystem, with innovative large and small medicines producers.

By articulating a clear vision for medicines manufacturing alongside discovery and development, the UK is laying the foundation for a thriving sector that benefits patients, drives innovation, and delivers economic growth. The focus on medicines manufacturing as a key component of this strategy is vital, providing the necessary support to strengthen the UK’s position on the global stage.

The allocation of £520 million in grants for expanding medicines manufacturing capabilities demonstrates the government’s dedication to fostering a competitive and sustainable industry. Combined with continued private-sector investment and collaboration across the sector, this targeted support will create new opportunities for innovation, employment, and improved health outcomes.

The Medicines Manufacturing Industry Partnership (MMIP) is proud to have contributed to support the development of this Sector Plan. In a rapidly changing international context, today’s announcement is a key step on the journey to enhance the UK’s international competitiveness. We are committed to working with Government to drive implementation of this plan, and the other necessary steps set out in the MMIP’s 10-year vision to deliver on our shared ambition.

Darius Hughes, UK General Manager for Moderna, said: 

Moderna welcomes the UK government’s Life Sciences Sector Plan as a bold and timely commitment to strengthening the UK’s position as a global leader in healthcare innovation and adoption. 

Through our strategic partnership, we’ve invested in UK-based mRNA R&D and manufacturing, because we believe in the UK’s ability to turn scientific excellence into real-world impact. 

This Plan gets the fundamentals right — from smarter regulation to investing in talent and unlocking the potential of health data — and we look forward to continuing our work together to deliver meaningful outcomes for patients, the NHS, and the economy.

Professor Patrick Chinnery, Executive Chair of the Medical Research Council, said:

The new Life Sciences Sector Plan sets out a bold vision to transform how one of the UK’s most dynamic and globally competitive sectors delivers for our economy and for people around the world.

The Medical Research Council is committed to playing a central role in realising this vision by accelerating the translation of curiosity-driven research into innovations that support disease prevention, earlier diagnosis and better treatments.

In partnership with researchers, charities and industry, we will help more people live healthier, more productive lives, and attract further investment to strengthen the UK’s life sciences sector.

Matthew Taylor CBE, Chief Executive of the NHS Confederation, said:

Health leaders will welcome the publication of the life sciences sector plan which will play a crucial role in building an NHS that’s fit for the future. Having a thriving UK life sciences and innovation sector is key to ensuring patients get access to the treatments and innovations they need and at the best value to the health system.

For the government’s NHS reforms to succeed a successful life sciences programme is key, and the sector benefits from using the NHS as a testbed and delivery partner for new innovations. We look forward to working with the Office of Life Sciences, the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS England to ensure the views of health system leaders are reflected in the implementation of the plan so that it can deliver for both the health system and life sciences sector.

Dr Sam Roberts, Chief Executive of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), said:

We warmly welcome the publication of the government’s Life Sciences Sector Plan, which sets out how NICE will ensure patients get faster, fairer access to transformative new medicines and life-changing healthtech, while supporting a thriving life sciences industry in the UK.

This comprehensive plan establishes a clear vision for how NICE, the NHS, and industry can collaborate to truly transform people’s lives through better, more equitable access to innovation. At NICE, we are committed to playing our part in ensuring that the UK remains at the forefront of life sciences innovation while delivering a sustainable and effective health service for all.

Ros Deegan, CEO of OMass Therapeutics, said:

The new Life Sciences Sector Plan outlines ambitions that fit the UK’s world-leading capabilities and should help small and medium sized Life Sciences businesses scale, grow and keep innovation within the UK. As a growing biotechnology company with products approaching the clinic, we are encouraged to see actions designed to cut clinical trial approval times and improve access to capital – 2 critical factors that will benefit the sector and the wider economy.

Dr. Lucinda Crabtree, Chief Financial Officer of Oxford Biomedica, said:

The UK government’s Life Sciences Sector Plan sets out a clear commitment to making the UK a global hub for health innovation. At OXB, we have experienced first-hand how targeted government support — including funding from Innovate UK — can help unlock growth and build globally competitive capabilities. The plan’s focus on accelerating clinical trial processes, streamlining regulatory pathways, and investing in manufacturing, genomics, and health data infrastructure will support innovation and improve access to breakthrough treatments. These initiatives are vital to establishing the UK as a key market to scale life sciences businesses, attract investment and world-class talent, and drive long term economic growth.

Gordon Sanghera CBE, CEO and Co-founder of Oxford Nanopore Technologies, said:

The UK’s ambition to further expand the integration of genomic and molecular data into health systems and the economy – at scale – is exactly the kind of bold infrastructure investment that can improve lives and drive economic growth. In that system, being able to move quickly from innovation to implementation is essential to translating UK science into global health and economic impact.

Roland Sinker CBE, Chief Executive of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said:

As I outlined in the Innovation Ecosystem Programme report, there is a significant opportunity to deliver meaningful benefits to the NHS and patients through innovations developed by UK life sciences companies. I fully support the Life Sciences Sector Plan and its clear commitments to advancing research, enabling UK life sciences to thrive, and accelerating health innovation. These actions are essential to ensuring that NHS staff and patients are among the first to benefit from the latest breakthroughs.

Richard Saynor, CEO of Sandoz said:

We welcome the government’s commitment to becoming a world leader in the uptake of off-patent medicines. The target of £1 billion of savings from biosimilars is both realistic and achievable. Increasing their use will unlock greater worker productivity and increase the health of the UK population – a major contribution to the government’s growth imperative. As a committed partner to the NHS and government, Sandoz will dedicate resources and expertise to realise the goals for the off-patent sector within the Life Sciences Strategy.

Neil Daly, CEO and Founder of Skin Analytics, said:

We welcome the clear action plan in the Life Sciences Sector Plan for streamlining and speeding up the adoption of proven healthcare technologies and feel the plan will make a meaningful difference to UK health innovators. In skin cancer, this means that the NHS can move much more swiftly to establish appropriately regulated autonomous AI triage as standard practice for all patients. This will find more cancers, free up clinician time and save taxpayers’ money.

Dr Michael Spence, University College London President and Provost said:

Universities will be at the heart of making the UK the leading life sciences economy in Europe. With its backing for world-class research and clinical trials, the Life Sciences Sector Plan will help us achieve even more.

London is a global centre for innovation, with Euston already a leading area for life sciences where world-class universities, healthcare, and life science companies come together. With new investments in Oriel at St Pancras Way with Moorfields Eye Hospital, and a state-of-the art neuroscience facility at Grays Inn Road, UCL is at the heart of making the area a global leader. The new Life Science Hub at Euston station is a step towards realising the huge potential in this area and achieving the government’s ambitions

John-Arne Røttingen, CEO of Wellcome, said:

The ambition set out in the Life Sciences Sector Plan is hugely welcome. Life sciences are a historic strength of the UK, and this strategic vision is important to cement the country’s advantage in the future. The plan’s emphasis on the importance of early-stage research is particularly shrewd. Basic discovery science underpins later health breakthroughs and clinical trials, making it the essential bedrock for a thriving research economy.

The focus on speeding up trials and on data infrastructure for research will not only lead to real impact for patients but also strengthen the UK’s attractiveness to innovative researchers and businesses.

If the level of ambition in the plan is matched by meaningful action and investment, the UK will be well on its way to securing its place as a global life sciences leader.

Notes to editors

The full collection of Industrial Strategy sector plans can be found here.

DSIT media enquiries

Email press@dsit.gov.uk

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Published 16 July 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
July 16, 2025
India launches talent hunt for young chefs to blend tradition with innovation

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

The PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI), in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism, on Wednesday launched the National Young Chef Competition (NYCC), a nationwide talent hunt designed to discover and nurture India’s next generation of culinary innovators.

The grand curtain-raiser for the competition was held at PHD House in New Delhi, marking the beginning of a series of zonal rounds that will span the country. The initiative targets final-year hospitality students, providing them with a national platform to blend traditional Indian culinary practices with contemporary techniques.

Speaking at the launch event as Chief Guest, Mr Suman Billa (IAS), Additional Secretary and Director General, Ministry of Tourism, underscored the importance of preserving India’s diverse culinary traditions. “Our culinary heritage is built on cultural memory and regional techniques. We must reinforce these traditions and expand India’s footprint in the global fine dining space,” he said, urging aspiring chefs to think creatively and represent India with pride on international platforms.

The competition, themed ‘Celebrating Indian Culinary Heritage: Blending Tradition with Innovation’, is being organised in partnership with the Indian Federation of Culinary Associations (IFCA) and the Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council (THSC).

The zonal rounds will be held as follows:

* North Zone: 6 August 2025, AIHM Chandigarh
* East Zone: 18 September 2025, IHM Kolkata
* West Zone: November 2025, IHM Mumbai
* South Zone: 18 December 2025, IHM Kovalam

Winners from each region will compete in the grand finale, scheduled for January 2026 at IHM Pusa, New Delhi.

In addition to the competition, the NYCC will host career sensitisation workshops for students of Classes 11 and 12 at each zonal venue. These workshops aim to address the declining enrolment in hospitality education and introduce young students to career opportunities in the culinary industry.

Calling the NYCC a “movement” that brings together industry, academia and youth, Mr Rajan Sehgal, Co-Chair of the Tourism Committee, PHDCCI, said the initiative is vital for celebrating India’s gastronomic wealth. Dr Chef Manjit Gill, President of IFCA, added, “NYCC is not just a contest but a cultural revival. It’s a call to preserve and modernise India’s diverse food legacy.”

The event also saw the presence of notable figures from the culinary and hospitality sector, including Chef Sudhir Sibal, Chef Anil Grover, Mr Rajan Bahadur (THSC), Prof Kamal Kant Pant (IHM Pusa), Mr Amarjit Singh Ahuja (Le Meridien), and Ms Shalini S Sharma of PHDCCI, who outlined the detailed roadmap for the competition.

The NYCC has garnered support from over 130 hospitality institutions nationwide and is backed by leading industry partners such as Venus Industries, Nestlé Professional, Wagh Bakri Tea Group, Cremica, McCain Foods and others. Winners will receive cash prizes, internship opportunities, international exposure, and special recognition for the ‘Best Sustainable Dish’.

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Russia: China and Australia sign memorandum of understanding on implementation and review of free trade agreement

Translation. Region: Russian Federal

Source: People’s Republic of China in Russian – People’s Republic of China in Russian –

An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

BEIJING, July 16 (Xinhua) — China and Australia on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding on the implementation and review of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (FTA), according to the Ministry of Commerce.

The document was signed by Chinese Minister of Commerce Wang Wentao and Australian Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ian Adams in the presence of Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Since the China-Australia free trade agreement came into effect in 2015, it has greatly contributed to the fruitful development of trade and economic relations between the two countries, the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said.

The year 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the China-Australia FTA coming into force. The two sides will take this opportunity to maintain close cooperation, continue high-quality implementation of the FTA, and jointly review the FTA to identify areas for further improvement or expansion, the Commerce Ministry said.

This will increase the level of liberalization and facilitation of trade and investment, thereby providing a higher level of institutional guarantees for trade and economic cooperation between the two countries, the department added. -0-

Please note: This information is raw content obtained directly from the source of the information. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.

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MIL OSI Russia News –

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: LCQ 15: Formulating a comprehensive population policy

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Following is a question by the Hon Nixie Lam and a written reply by the Secretary for Home and Youth Affairs, Miss Alice Mak, in the Legislative Council today (July 16):

Question:

According to data from the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong’s total fertility rate in 2024 was only 0.841, far below the 2.1 level required for population replacement. Furthermore, a survey by a youth service organisation indicated that only 36 per cent of young people in Hong Kong who had responded in the survey expressed a preference for marriage or childbearing. Another survey showed that just around 23.27 per cent of respondents aged between 19 and 29 expressed a desire to have children, ranking among the lowest levels globally. There are views that the Government should adopt measures to enhance marriage and fertility rates among young people and develop a comprehensive population policy to avoid population ageing and workforce shrinkage. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it will commence a systematic survey and study on the marriage and fertility situation of young people in Hong Kong, so as to deeply analyse the core factors influencing their decisions regarding marriage and childbearing, particularly through assessment in areas such as financial burdens, housing difficulties and job stability, with a view to gaining a more precise understanding of their concerns and expectations; if so, of the direction and timetable of the survey and study; if not, the reasons for that;

(2) as there are views pointing out that young people’s lack of knowledge and confidence in future planning and gender relations indirectly undermine their willingness to marry and have children, whether the Government will consider, through cross-departmental collaboration, integrating existing fertility support measures for young people (e.g. child-rearing subsidies, priority quotas for public housing allocation, and childcare services for working families) and consolidating such information within the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau’s “HKYouth+” mobile application, as well as adding a designated information corner to the application that covers topics such as reproductive health, sex education, and marriage and fertility support, with a view to strengthening support for young people in the aspects of affective education and reproductive health information; if so, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) as there are views pointing out that although the Government has established the Human Resources Planning Commission to follow up on population policy, Hong Kong’s current population policy still lacks comprehensiveness, whether the Government will review the Commission’s work or establish a task force coordinated by an official at the level of Secretary of Department to institutionally integrate cross-departmental resources, with a view to formulating more comprehensive population policy objectives for Hong Kong to address the long-term challenges of population development?

Reply:

President,

In consultation with the Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office, the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office, the Labour and Welfare Bureau (LWB), the Housing Bureau (HB), the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) and the Health Bureau (HHB), the consolidated reply to the questions raised by the Hon Nixie Lam is as follows:

(1) & (2) The Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) has been regularly collating data related to marriage and fertility trends across different age groups. The C&SD also publishes feature articles from time to time, giving a brief account of the marriage and fertility trends in Hong Kong and analysing the factors underlying such trends.

Hong Kong and many countries or places worldwide are facing a decline in fertility rate. In the face of this challenge, the Government must formulate measures to raise fertility rate. As such, the Chief Executive (CE) announced in his 2023 Policy Address a host of measures to promote fertility and create a conducive environment for childbearing through a “combination punches” approach. These measures include providing Newborn Baby Bonus, giving families with newborns priority on flat selection and allocation, enhancing child care support and increasing tax concessions. Office/ bureaux implementing the measures include the Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office, the HB, the LWB, the HHB, the Home and Youth Affairs Bureau (HYAB) and the FSTB.

The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) has implemented the Families with Newborns Allocation Priority Scheme and the Families with Newborns Flat Selection Priority Scheme to encourage childbearing by giving incentives to family applicants of public rental housing (PRH) and subsidised sale flats (SSF) sale exercises.

Regarding the allocation of PRH, the HA has implemented the Families with Newborns Allocation Priority Scheme since April 1, 2024. PRH family applications with babies born on or after October 25, 2023 and aged one or below are credited one year of waiting time. As at end-June 2025, about 5 000 PRH applications have been credited one year of waiting time under the scheme, of which about 420 families have already been successfully housed to PRH.

As for SSF, starting from the Sale of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) Flats 2024 (HOS 2024), the HA has implemented the Families with Newborns Flat Selection Priority Scheme which was announced in the 2023 Policy Address. A quota of about 40 per cent of the new flats for sale (i.e. 2 900 flats) under HOS 2024 were set aside for eligible applicants under the Families with Newborns Flat Selection Priority Scheme and the Priority Scheme for Families with Elderly Members for balloting and priority flat selection. Family applicants of HOS with babies born on or after October 25, 2023 are eligible if their children are aged three or below on the closing day of the application.

During the application period of HOS 2024, the HA received a total of around 106 000 applications. Among them, around 50 000 were family applicants, of which around 19 000 (i.e. about 40 per cent) applied under the Priority Scheme for Families with Elderly Members and Families with Newborns Flat Selection Priority Scheme. Among these 19 000 applicants, 800 applicants have successfully purchased flats through the Families with Newborns Flat Selection Priority Scheme. If eligible families applying under the Families with Newborns Flat Selection Priority Scheme fail to purchase a flat under HOS 2024, they may still apply under the Scheme for priority flat selection as long as their children are aged three or below on the closing day of the application in subsequent SSF sale exercises.

The Government announced in the 2023 Policy Address that a cash reward of $20,000 will be provided to eligible parents for each baby born from October 25, 2023, for a period of three years. Starting from October 25, 2023, parents can submit an application for the bonus at the same time when registering the birth of their baby and applying for a birth certificate. As of end-June 2025, a total of 49 567 qualified applications have been received, and the bonus has been distributed to 48 984 applicants, at a total amount of approximately $979 million. The Deputy Chief Secretary for Administration’s Office is carrying out a review of the Newborn Baby Bonus Scheme.

The Government has been supporting parents who cannot take care of their children temporarily through subsidising non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to provide a variety of day child care services, including Child Care Centres (CCCs), the After School Care Programme and the Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project (NSCCP). To strengthen support for working families in childbearing, the Government has announced the setting up of additional 11 aided standalone CCCs in phases, doubling the total number of service places to reach around 2 000. The Government is extending the After School Care Programme for pre-primary children to cover all districts in phases, and increasing the number of service places under the NSCCP to 2 500 with the estimated number of beneficiaries increasing to 25 000. The Social Welfare Department will also provide information and assistance to private organisations applying for registration to operate CCCs, and encourage private organisations to provide child care support for their employees. Meanwhile, the Government reviews the Working Family Allowance (WFA) Scheme from time to time. The rates of the household and child allowances under the WFA Scheme have been increased by 15 per cent across the board with effect from April 2024, benefiting all households receiving the WFA. The WFA Scheme provides additional allowances for relevant childbearing families, and increasing the rates of the WFA helps further alleviate the burden of grassroots working families. Taking a four-person household with two eligible children as an example, the maximum monthly WFA they may receive have increased from the original amount of $4,200 to $4,830 at present.

As regards tax concessions, starting from the year of assessment (YA) 2023/24, the basic child allowance and the additional child allowance for each child born during the YA have been raised from $120,000 to $130,000. In addition, starting from YA 2024/25, for taxpayers who live with their children born on or after October 25, 2023 and meet the prescribed conditions, the deduction ceiling for home loan interest or domestic rents will be raised from $100,000 to $120,000 for a maximum of 19 YAs. These measures can encourage childbearing by helping taxpayers to alleviate their financial burden from raising children.

As regards antenatal services, currently the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Departments of the Hospital Authority and the Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs) of the Department of Health (DH) provide free antenatal services for all local pregnant women who are eligible persons (who generally refer to holders of Hong Kong Identity Cards or such other persons as may be approved by the Chief Executive of the Hospital Authority/ Director of Health) to ensure the health of the pregnant women and their foetuses. The scope of services includes the first antenatal check-up, personal and family medical history, as well as various investigations and vaccinations conducted by doctors according to the clinical needs of individual pregnant women.

Besides, as announced in the 2024 Policy Address, the DH will revamp maternal and child health and family planning services to strengthen pre-pregnancy counselling and parental education and promote healthy fertility. The DH will provide the new pre-pregnancy health services to reproductive age group women at the MCHCs in phases, support women in preparing for pregnancy through health consultation and counselling, health assessments, arrangement of blood tests and other investigations, and provide nutritional dietary and lifestyle advice, to align with the Government’s policy of encouraging and promoting healthy fertility, as well as protecting and advancing maternal and child health. Details on the above initiatives will be announced at an appropriate juncture. In addition, the DH will review and adjust the scope of the subsidised family planning service currently provided by NGOs, so as to dovetail with the Government’s policy of encouraging and promoting healthy fertility.

The HYAB has been supporting the work of the Family Council (the Council) in promoting a culture of loving families to the general public through organising different publicity programmes and activities. In October 2024, the HYAB and the Council launched the five-year Funding Scheme on the Promotion of Family Education (the Scheme). With an annual funding of $8 million, the Scheme subsidises non-profit-making community projects in promoting family education. NGOs may, based on societal needs, apply to the Scheme for funding to implement projects related to topics such as family building, new parents, and marriage-related. On the other hand, the Council has been encouraging the wider adoption of more diversified and flexible family-friendly employment practices (FFEPs) in the community. Measures include launching promotional videos entitled “Family-friendly Workplace”, which feature various FFEPs adopted by local companies, and collaborating with the Radio Television Hong Kong to produce radio programmes to promulgate different types of FFEPs. These measures will also help foster a pro-family environment.

The HYAB launched the first release of the “HKYouth+” youth mobile application in March 2024, and has been continuously updating it to cater to the needs of young people. Its content cover various areas, including personal development opportunities, local hot topics, national development, world news, arts and leisure, innovation and technology, physical and mental wellness. It aims to help young people expand their knowledge, explore interests and enrich themselves in different aspects. The HYAB will work with relevant bureaux and departments to encourage them to make use of “HKYouth+” for strengthening promotion of various support measures to the youth community.

(3) The population policy straddles a wide range of policy areas, involving various bureaux. For the current term of the HKSAR Government, in addition to the standing committees, the CE and Secretaries and Deputy Secretaries of Departments are now providing high-level steer as necessary through various channels, such as working groups and inter-departmental meetings, to coordinate relevant inter-departmental work.

Chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Human Resources Planning Commission (HRPC) consolidates resources and efforts of the Government and various sectors to examine, review and holistically co-ordinate policies and measures on human resources, including issues pertaining to the population policy. The HRPC is a high-level policy platform, with eight policy secretaries, including Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, Secretary for Education, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Secretary for Health, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Secretary for Labour and Welfare and Secretary for Security; the Government Economist; the Commissioner for Census and Statistics and the Chairmen of the Employees Retraining Board, the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications and the Vocational Training Council as ex-officio members; and non-official members drawn from a diverse mix of experts and stakeholders from different fields and sectors. Since its establishment in 2018, the HRPC has looked into a number of issues to tackle the demographic challenges, facilitating the Government to formulate and refine the relevant policies and measures.

Currently, population policy measures have been subsumed under the portfolios of various bureaux as part of the ongoing efforts. As the Government’s existing steering and inter-departmental co-ordination mechanism are flexible and effective, the Government does not consider it necessary to set up a separate structure for the work on the population policy.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI: Trust and human-AI collaboration set to define the next era of agentic AI, unlocking $450 billion opportunity by 2028
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Press contact:
Mollie Mellows
Tel: +44 7342 709384
Email: mollie.mellows@capgemini.com

Trust and human-AI collaboration set to define the next era of agentic AI, unlocking $450 billion opportunity by 2028
- AI agents are poised to deliver up to $450 billion in economic value by 2028 through revenue gains and cost savings, yet the path to scale is currently elusive
- Confidence in fully autonomous AI agents dropped from 43% to 27% in the past year amidst privacy and ethical concerns
- However, AI agents are expected to be involved in most business tasks within three years, with effective human-agent collaboration projected to increase human engagement in high-value tasks by 65%
Paris, July 16, 2025 – Agentic AI is poised to deliver up to $450 billion in economic value by 2028 yet, despite strong momentum, only 2% of organizations have fully scaled deployment and trust in AI agents is declining. Organizations are discovering that AI agents deliver the greatest impact when humans remain actively involved. Nearly three-quarters of executives say the benefits of human oversight outweigh the costs, and 90% view human involvement in AI-driven workflows as either positive or cost-neutral. This is according to the Capgemini Research Institute’s latest report “Rise of agentic AI: How trust is the key to human-AI collaboration”, that finds trust and human oversight are critical factors in realizing the potential of agentic AI, and the gap between intent and readiness is now one of the biggest barriers to realizing the $450 billion opportunity.

Agentic AI is one of the fastest-emerging technological trends, but organizations are still in the early stages of application. While nearly a quarter have already launched pilots and a small number have begun implementation (14%), the majority remain in planning mode. This steady progress stands in contrast to executive ambition – nearly all (93%) business leaders believe that scaling AI agents over the next 12 months will provide a competitive edge, yet nearly half of organizations still lack a strategy for implementing them.

“The economic potential of AI agents is significant but realizing this value depends on more than just the technology, it requires a comprehensive and strategic transformation across people, processes and systems,” said Franck Greverie, Chief Portfolio & Technology Officer, Head of Global Business Lines, and Group Executive Board Member at Capgemini. “To succeed, organizations must remain focused on outcomes, reimagining their processes with an AI-first mindset. Central to this transformation is the need to build trust in AI by ensuring it is developed responsibly, with ethics and safety baked in from the outset. It also means reshaping organizations to support effective human-AI chemistry, creating the right conditions for these systems to enhance human judgment and help deliver superior business outcomes.”

Organizations prioritize transparency as the agentic AI trust gap widens
Trust in fully autonomous AI agents has dropped sharply, from 43% to 27% in the past year alone, with nearly two in five executives believing that the risks of implementing AI agents outweigh the benefits. Only 40% of organizations say they trust AI agents to manage tasks and processes autonomously, while most do not fully trust the technology.

The report finds that as organizations move from exploration to implementation, trust in AI agents grows: for organizations in implementation phase, 47% have an above average level of trust, compared to 37% in exploratory phase. Therefore, organizations are prioritizing transparency, clarity around how AI agents make decisions, and ethical safeguards to drive greater adoption.

Human-AI chemistry is key to lasting adoption
The real promise of agentic AI lies in tackling core business challenges and reimagining how work gets done. Within the next 12 months, over 60% of organizations expect to form human-agent teams where AI agents function as subordinates or enhance human capabilities. This means that AI agents can no longer be considered tools, they are becoming active participants in the team.

70% of organizations believe AI agents will necessitate organizational restructuring, prompting leaders to rethink roles, team structures, and workflows. Enterprises are discovering AI agents deliver most value when humans remain in the loop. With effective human-AI collaboration, organizations expect a 65% increase in human engagement in high-value tasks, a 53% rise in creativity, and a 49% boost in employee satisfaction.

The time to scale is now
The $450 billion dollar opportunity for AI agents to deliver new economic value by 2028 includes both revenue uplift and cost savings, driven by the implementation of semi to fully autonomous AI agents. Scaled adoption is found to hold far greater potential, as organizations with scaled implementation are projected to generate approximately $382 million on average over the next three years, while others may realize around $76 million.

In the near term, AI agents are expected to see most extensive adoption in customer service, IT, and sales, expanding into operations, R&D, and marketing over the next three years. However, most deployments remain at early stages of autonomy with only 15% of all business processes operating at semi-autonomous to fully autonomous levels in a year. While this is expected to rise to 25% by 2028, most agents today function as assistants or copilots, supporting routine tasks rather than independently managing complex workflows.

AI-readiness remains a challenge
Today, most organizations are not equipped to scale agentic AI effectively cites the report. 80% lack mature AI infrastructure and fewer than one in five report high levels of data-readiness. Ethical concerns such as data privacy, algorithmic bias, and lack of explainability remain widespread, yet few organizations are taking decisive action. For example, privacy is the primary concern for over half of organizations (51%), yet only 34% are actively taking steps to mitigate it. Compounding this, only half of business leaders say they understand what AI agents are capable of, and even fewer can identify where these systems outperform traditional automation.

To harness the full potential of AI agents, organizations must move beyond the hype, recommends the report – working toward redesigning processes and reimagining business models, transforming organizational structure, and striking the right balance between agent autonomy and human involvement.

For more information and to download the full report, click here.

Report methodology
The Capgemini Research Institute conducted a global survey of 1,500 executives at organizations each with more than $1 billion in annual revenue across 14 countries. Organizations operate across 13 sectors and all have started to explore Agentic AI. The global survey took place in April 2025. Executives surveyed are at director level and above, and of these, 60% are from data and AI functions, while 40% are from diverse business functions.

About Capgemini
Capgemini is a global business and technology transformation partner, helping organizations to accelerate their dual transition to a digital and sustainable world, while creating tangible impact for enterprises and society. It is a responsible and diverse group of 340,000 team members in more than 50 countries. With its strong over 55-year heritage, Capgemini is trusted by its clients to unlock the value of technology to address the entire breadth of their business needs. It delivers end-to-end services and solutions leveraging strengths from strategy and design to engineering, all fueled by its market leading capabilities in AI, generative AI, cloud and data, combined with its deep industry expertise and partner ecosystem. The Group reported 2024 global revenues of €22.1 billion.

Get The Future You Want | www.capgemini.com

About the Capgemini Research Institute
The Capgemini Research Institute is Capgemini’s in-house think-tank on all things digital. The Institute publishes research on the impact of digital technologies on large traditional businesses. The team draws on the worldwide network of Capgemini experts and works closely with academic and technology partners. The Institute has dedicated research centers in India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the United States. It was ranked #1 in the world for the quality of its research by independent analysts for six consecutive times – an industry first.

Visit us at https://www.capgemini.com/researchinstitute/

Attachments
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The MIL Network –
July 16, 2025

MIL-OSI: Q1 Trading Statement for the three months ended 30 June 2025

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Intermediate Capital Group plc

16 July 2025

Q1 Trading Statement for the three months ended 30 June 2025

Highlights

AUM of $123bn; fee-earning AUM of $82bn; AUM not yet earning fees of $19bn
Fee-earning AUM up 4%¹ in the quarter, up 11%¹ year-on-year
Fundraising in the quarter of $3.4bn, driven by Europe IX ($1.5bn / €1.3bn) and Infrastructure Europe II ($1.2bn / €1.0bn). Focus from LPs on liquidity and investment performance is continuing to drive manager selection
Infrastructure Europe has shown strong momentum into its final close, with Fund II receiving substantially more client capital than the prior vintage: at 30 June 2025 Infrastructure Europe II had a Total Fund Size of €2.5bn (Fund I: €1.5bn), and we expect to close a further €0.6bn before the end of the current quarter, reaching the hard cap for the strategy
Europe IX has had an impressive start to the fundraise, with global demand from current and new clients attracted by the strategy’s track record of private equity-like returns with downside protection and high DPI. At 30 June 2025 the Total Fund Size was €5.8bn (Europe VIII: €8.1bn)
Investment landscape remains very attractive for a number of strategies, including structured capital, secondaries and real assets equity
FY25 Sustainability and People Report published in June 2025, available here

Unless otherwise stated the financial results discussed herein are on the basis of alternative performance measures (APM) basis; see full year results
1 On a constant currency basis

PERFORMANCE REVIEW

AUM
		Growth¹
	30 June 2025	Last three months	Year-on-year	Last five years (CAGR)
AUM	$123bn	3%	15%	18%
Fee-earning AUM	$82bn	4%	11%	14%

1 On a constant currency basis

Business activity

$bn	Fundraising		Deployment¹		Realisations^1,2
$bn	Q1 FY26	LTM	Q1 FY26	LTM	Q1 FY26	LTM
Structured Capital and Secondaries	1.9	13.3	1.0	9.8	0.4	2.0
Real Assets	1.3	3.2	0.5	2.7	0.3	1.6
Debt³	0.2	5.8	1.3	3.8	0.4	3.9
Total	3.4	22.3	2.8	16.3	1.1	7.5

1 Direct investment funds; 2 Realisations of fee-earning AUM; 3 Includes Deployment and Realisations for Private Debt only.

PERIOD IN REVIEW

AUM and FY26 fundraising

At 30 June 2025, AUM stood at $123bn, fee-earning AUM at $82bn and dry powder at $34bn. The bridge between AUM and fee-earning AUM is as follows:

$m	Structured Capital and Secondaries	Real Assets	Debt	Seed investments	Total
Fee-earning AUM	39,347	9,375	33,472		82,194
AUM not yet earning fees	3,278	1,187	14,639	—	19,104
Fee-exempt AUM	10,686	5,918	1,393	—	17,997
Balance sheet investment portfolio¹	2,412	563	(53)	360	3,282
AUM	55,723	17,043	49,451	360	122,577
1 Includes elimination of $657m (£479m) within Credit due to how the balance sheet investment portfolio accounts for and invests into CLO’s managed by ICG and its affiliates

AUM of $123bn

AUM ($m)	Structured Capital and Secondaries	Real Assets	Debt	Seed investments	Total
At 1 April 2025	51,499	12,922	47,557	379	112,357
Fundraising	1,933	1,355	154	—	3,442
Other additions¹	202	2,050	75	—	2,327
Realisations	(471)	(233)	(585)	—	(1,289)
Market and other movements	2,607	889	2,218	—	5,714
Balance sheet movement	(47)	60	32	(19)	26
At 30 June 2025	55,723	17,043	49,451	360	122,577
Change $m	4,224	4,121	1,894	(19)	10,220
Change %	8%	32%	4%	(5) %	9%
Change % (constant exchange rate)	3%	21%	(1) %	—	3%
1 Other additions within Real Assets includes $1.9bn non fee-eligible leverage capacity within certain Real Estate strategies

Fee-earning AUM of $82bn

Fee-earning AUM ($m)	Structured Capital and Secondaries	Real Assets	Debt	Total
At 1 April 2025	36,086	7,711	31,330	75,127
Funds raised: fees on committed capital	1,470	1,242	—	2,712
Deployment of funds: fees on invested capital	281	162	1,235	1,678
Total additions	1,751	1,404	1,235	4,390
Realisations	(456)	(279)	(774)	(1,509)
Net additions / (realisations)	1,295	1,125	461	2,881
Stepdowns	—	—	—	—
FX and other	1,966	539	1,681	4,186
At 30 June 2025	39,347	9,375	33,472	82,194
Change $m	3,261	1,664	2,142	7,067
Change %	9%	22%	7%	9%
Change % (constant exchange rate)	4%	13%	1%	4%

FY26 fundraising¹

At 30 June 2025, closed-end funds and associated SMAs that were actively fundraising² included Europe IX, Asia-Pacific Infrastructure I and Real Estate equity. We anticipate launching LP Secondaries II during FY26.

¹ The timings of launches and closes depend on a number of factors, including the prevailing market conditions
² Excluding Credit (CLOs and Liquid Credit)

Balance sheet

Balance Sheet Investment Portfolio valued at £2.9bn
Total available liquidity of £1.1bn (FY25: £1.1bn) and net financial debt of £477m (FY25: £629m)

FOREIGN EXCHANGE RATES

	Average rate		Period end
	Q1 FY25	Q1 FY26	31 March 2025	30 June 2025
GBP:EUR	1.1753	1.1759	1.1944	1.1652
GBP:USD	1.2626	1.3507	1.2918	1.3732
EUR:USD	1.0743	1.1488	1.0815	1.1785

COMPANY TIMETABLE

Half year results announcement

13 November 2025

ENQUIRIES

Shareholders and debtholders / analysts:
Chris Hunt, Head of Corporate Development and Shareholder Relations, ICG	+44(0)20 3545 2020
Media:
Clare Glynn, Head of Corporate Communications, ICG	+44(0)79 3435 7794

This results statement may contain forward looking statements. These statements have been made by the Directors in good faith based on the information available to them up to the time of their approval of this report and should be treated with caution due to the inherent uncertainties, including both economic and business risk factors, underlying such forward looking information.

ABOUT ICG

ICG (LSE: ICG) is a global alternative asset manager with $123bn* in AUM and more than three decades of experience generating attractive returns. We operate from over 20 locations globally and invest our clients’ capital across Structured Capital; Private Equity Secondaries; Private Debt; Credit; and Real Assets.

Our exceptional people originate differentiated opportunities, invest responsibly, and deliver long-term value. We partner with management teams, founders, and business owners in a creative and solutions-focused approach, supporting them with our expertise and flexible capital. For more information visit our website and follow us on LinkedIn.

*As at 30 June 2025.

The MIL Network –

July 16, 2025

Nvidia’s resumption of AI chips to China is part of rare earths talks, says US

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

Nvidia’s planned resumption of sales of its H20 AI chips to China is part of U.S. negotiations on rare earths, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Tuesday, and comes days after its CEO met President Donald Trump.

“We put that in the trade deal with the magnets,” Lutnick told Reuters, referring to an agreement Trump made to restart rare earth shipments to U.S. manufacturers. He did not provide additional detail.

Nvidia said late on Monday that it is filing applications with the U.S. government to resume sales to China of its H20 graphics processing unit, and has been assured by the U.S. it will get the licences soon.

The planned resumption is a reversal of an export restriction imposed in April that is designed to keep the most advanced AI chips out of Chinese hands over national security concerns, an issue that has found rare bipartisan support. It drew swift questions and criticism from U.S. legislators on Tuesday.

The decision “would not only hand our foreign adversaries our most advanced technologies, but is also dangerously inconsistent with this Administration’s previously-stated position on export controls for China,” Democratic Representative Raja Krishnamoorthi, ranking member of the House of Representatives Select Committee on China, said in a statement.

Republican John Moolenaar, chair of that committee, said in a statement he would seek “clarification” from the Commerce Department.

“The H20 is a powerful chip that, according to our bipartisan investigation, played a significant role in the rise of PRC AI companies like DeepSeek,” Moolenaar said, referring to a Chinese startup that claims to have built AI models at a fraction of the cost paid by U.S. firms such as OpenAI. “It is crucial that the U.S. maintain its lead and keep advanced AI out of the hands of the CCP.”

Shares of Nvidia, the world’s most valuable firm, closed up 4% and were nearly unchanged in after-market trading. Nvidia had estimated that the curbs would cut its revenue by $15 billion.

Nvidia’s plan to resume sales has set off a scramble at Chinese firms to buy H20 chips, two sources told Reuters. The chips that Nvidia will resume selling are the best it can legally offer in China but lack much of the computing power of the versions for sale outside of China because of previous restrictions put in place by Trump’s first administration and then President Joe Biden’s administration.

But critically, H20 chips work with Nvidia’s software tools, which have become a de facto standard in the global AI industry.

CEO Jensen Huang, who is visiting Beijing and set to speak at an event on Wednesday, has argued that Nvidia’s leadership position could slip away if the company cannot sell to Chinese developers being courted by Huawei Technologies with chips produced in China.

The significance of the shift depends on the volume of H20 chips that the U.S. allows to be shipped to China, said Divyansh Kaushik, an AI expert at Beacon Global Strategies, a Washington-based advisory firm.

“If China is able to get a million H20 chips, it could significantly narrow, if not overtake, the U.S. lead in AI,” he said.

CHINA IS CRUCIAL

“The Chinese market is massive, dynamic, and highly innovative, and it’s also home to many AI researchers,” Huang told Chinese state broadcaster CCTV on Tuesday.

China generated $17 billion in revenue for Nvidia in the fiscal year ending January 26, or 13% of total sales, based on its latest annual report.

Internet giants ByteDance and Tencent 0700.HK are also in the process of submitting applications for H20 chips, the sources familiar with the matter said. Central to the process is an approved list put together by Nvidia for Chinese companies to register for potential purchases, one of the sources said.

Tencent did not respond to a request for comment. ByteDance denied in a statement that it is currently submitting applications. Nvidia declined to comment on the approved list system.

Asked at a regular foreign ministry briefing in Beijing about Nvidia’s plans to resume AI chip sales, a spokesperson said: “China is opposed to the politicisation, instrumentalisation and weaponisation of science, technology and economic and trade issues to maliciously blockade and suppress China.”

China halted exports of rare earths in March following a trade spat with Trump that has shown some signs of easing. It dominates the market for rare earths, a group of 17 metals used in cellphones, weapons, electric vehicles, and more.

Huang’s visit is being closely watched in both China and the United States, where a bipartisan pair of senators last week sent the CEO a letter asking him to abstain from meeting companies working with military or intelligence bodies.

The senators also asked Huang to refrain from meeting with entities named on the United States’ restricted export list.

Rival AI chipmaker AMD also said the Department of Commerce would review its licence applications to export its MI308 chips to China; it plans to resume those shipments when licences are approved, it said. Its shares gained 7% in trading on Tuesday.

(Reuters)

July 16, 2025
Sensex, Nifty open lower amid mixed global cues

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

Indian benchmark indices opened on a flat note on Wednesday, reflecting weakness in Asian markets and investor caution ahead of corporate earnings releases and key global trade developments.

At the start of the trading session, the BSE Sensex opened at 82,534.66, down 36.24 points, while the Nifty 50 at the National Stock Exchange (NSE) slipped 0.80 points to open at 25,196.60.

In early trade, market breadth remained moderately positive, with 1,271 stocks advancing, 818 declining, and 171 remaining unchanged.

On the NSE, SBI Life Insurance, Trent, Tech Mahindra, Hero MotoCorp, and Tata Consumer were among the top gainers. Meanwhile, Shriram Finance, Cipla, Hindalco, Reliance Industries, and TCS were notable laggards.

Market analysts flagged concerns around US President Donald Trump’s recent announcement of 200% tariffs on pharmaceuticals, expected to be implemented this month, much sooner than his earlier indication of a 12–18 month timeline. Additionally, the threat of secondary tariffs up to 100% on countries engaging in trade with Russia, particularly those importing crude oil, is creating unease among investors. The deadline for these potential sanctions is September 2.

“India is awaiting clarity on a US tariff deal. Trump’s abrupt announcement regarding pharma tariffs and the looming deadline for secondary sanctions on Russian oil imports are creating uncertainty. Disengaging from a strategic partner like Russia is not a viable option for India, which adds to investor anxiety,” said Ajay Bagga, Market and Banking Expert.

Investors are also closely monitoring corporate margin pressures, global demand outlooks, and forward guidance from companies as earnings season progresses.

Akshay Chinchalkar, Head of Research at Axis Securities, noted: “The Nifty gained 113 points to close at 25,196 yesterday, marking its first rise in five sessions. Technically, a swing low has been confirmed at 25,000. A close above 25,245 today could fuel further optimism. However, for bullish momentum to return convincingly, we need a daily close above 25,340. Support is currently seen between 24,940 and 25,000. While Asian markets remain flat, US index futures are down about 0.2%.”

Indian benchmark indices had snapped a four-day losing streak on Tuesday, driven by gains in the Auto and Banking & Financial Services (BFSI) sectors. Broader markets outperformed, with the Midcap and Smallcap indices rising 0.8% and 1.0%, respectively. Market breadth was robust, with a healthy 2:1 advance-to-decline ratio, according to SBI Securities.

(ANI)

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Mayor of London warns UK must not ‘pull up the drawbridge to international students’ in landmark speech
Source: Mayor of London
- Mayor shares new analysis of major economic benefits from international students in speech hosted by Imperial College London’s new Ghana hub
- City Hall projections put annual economic benefit of overseas students at UK universities around £55bn, with £12.5bn from those based in London
- Sadiq will warn that ministers who want to “pull up the drawbridge to international students” would “slow down growth and leave working people in Britain worse off” as he stresses economic benefits of attracting the best global talent to study, work and live here
Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, is urging the government not to make it harder for international students to study in the UK as he reveals new analysis showing they contribute £12.5bn to the capital and £55bn to the national economy every year.

The Mayor is in Ghana today (Wednesday 16 July) as part of his historic five-day trade mission to Africa, banging the drum for the capital as a place to invest and strengthening ties with countries across the continent. A major speech in Accra will see Sadiq make the case for welcoming students from around the world, and warn that proposals for a new levy on their university fees would be damaging to London and the UK’s economy.

The UK Government is currently considering a new levy on income that English universities generate from international students as part of its immigration whitepaper, which could not only put students off coming here from overseas but also create a substantial extra financial burden for already stretched universities. The Mayor’s speech today will warn that this levy would be “an act of immense economic self-harm”.

Today the Mayor will deliver a keynote speech on the power of education, innovation and entrepreneurship to Ghanaian students hosted at Imperial College London’s Accra hub. With five per cent of London’s higher education population coming from Africa [1], he will stress that London is open to global talent and make the positive case for international study.

Latest analysis by London Economics revealed a more than £10 billion rise in the economic contribution of international higher education students to the UK economy, from £31.3bn in 2018/19 to £41.9bn in 2021/22 – leading City Hall economists to project it could hit £55bn in the current academic year on the basis of historical trends [2].

London accounts for almost a quarter of this national impact, representing around £10bn in the latest data and projected to reach £12.5bn this year [3]. International students in the capital created an average net benefit of £1,040 per Londoner over the course of their studies, as beyond their university fees they contribute by spending in all sectors of the economy and bringing family or friends to visit [4].

This positive economic impact spreads across the UK, with international students making a £58m net contribution to the national economy per parliamentary constituency during their studies – providing an equivalent £560 benefit for each local resident [5]. They also bring a longer-term labour market value, as many stay here after their studies to work in key economic sectors from tech and AI to finance and creative industries.

Imperial is the first UK university with a permanent base solely focused on science, technology and innovation in Africa – building on the rapidly rising number of advancements and breakthroughs Imperial has made working with researchers in Ghana over recent years. Imperial Global Ghana serves as an academic hub to support high-impact collaboration in cutting-edge fields from medical diagnostics to urban health and AI to climate science.

As well as current students, the Mayor will meet recent graduates including Shirgade Laryea, a Ghanaian alumna of Imperial College London’s Business School who is now a rising star in the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce. Other alumni success stories include Affinity bank founder Tarek Mouganie, Liquify fintech platform COO Alberta Asafa-Asomoah and former Anglo Gold Ashanti CEO Sir Sam Jonah.

The Mayor is expected to say in his speech: “There are people at home who believe we should pull up the drawbridge to international students, or punish universities that choose to welcome people from around the world.

“Our new analysis shows international students bring in tens of billions for our economy each year over the course of their studies, including £12.5 billion in London alone. And when they graduate, they go on to make our city – and our country – a better place to be.”

The Mayor will add: “Closing our country to global talent would be an act of immense economic self-harm – one that would slow down growth and leave working people in Britain worse off than before. That’s why I’m calling on our Government not to make it harder for international students to study in the UK.

“On my watch, London will be as open as ever… but I think we must do more. We cannot simply wait for the world to come to London; we must bring London to the world.”

Imperial College London President, Professor Hugh Brady, said: “Imperial Global Ghana creates a bridge between London and Accra so you get a flow of ideas, talent and capital. The hub supports hundreds of entrepreneurs and scientists in West Africa, and enables talented students to further their studies in London.

“International students are an essential part of Imperial’s global community. They bring diverse perspectives, new ideas, and fresh approaches to tackling today’s most complex challenges. We are pleased that London and the UK remains a top destination and welcoming environment for international students.”

Imperial Global Ghana Associate Director, Clare Turner, said: “A truly global city – and its universities – thrive when people with different cultural, social and intellectual perspectives come together. At Imperial Global Ghana, our focus is on building long-term equitable research and education partnerships that both inspire the next generation of leaders and innovators, and work towards a greater understanding of complex global challenges – such as climate change, the energy transition, and access to quality healthcare.”

University of Ghana Vice Chancellor, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, said: “It is a great honour to welcome the Mayor of London, Sir Sadiq Khan, to Ghana and to the University of Ghana. His presence underscores the growing importance of global partnerships in shaping the future of education and innovation; we look forward to deepening these ties as we empower the next generation of changemakers on the continent and beyond.

“We are especially proud of our collaboration with Imperial College London – one that continues to thrive through initiatives such as the Impact Hub and other areas such as digital diagnostics, innovation and entrepreneurship, public health, environmental sustainability, and vaccine manufacturing clearly stipulated in a five-year Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2024. This innovative cooperation is hinged on our five strategic priorities: transformative student experience, impactful research, commitment to our faculty and staff, engagement and partnerships, as well as sustainable resource mobilisation and stewardship.”

London Higher CEO, Liz Hutchinson, said: “London’s universities are world-leading because they are international, with overseas students enriching not just the economy but also the learning experience and the vibrant, creative communities that the capital is famous for. International graduates are crucial to London’s talent pipeline, joining the many businesses based here or as entrepreneurs.

“This is a time when we should be strengthening our position as a hub for talented individuals from across the world. The government’s proposed levy on international students does the opposite. With our partners in the sector, in industry and in London, we stand ready to collaborate with Government and sector colleagues to find alternative solutions that enhance rather than damage London’s international competitiveness.”

Universities UK Chief Executive, Vivienne Stern, said: “The Mayor of London will see first-hand the global reach of UK universities and their contribution to the cutting-edge research tackling shared challenges. He is right to champion the power of education, and this new analysis once again highlights the economic value of international students to the UK.

“We are fortunate to be a destination of choice for students from all over the world; they contribute to our research landscape and our communities, as well as enabling UK students to benefit from diverse perspectives. We should be proud of this and work hard to make sure that international students feel welcome.”

Business LDN Chief Executive, John Dickie, said: “At a time when some of our rivals are closing their doors to international students, the UK should do all it can to reinforce its attractiveness to talented people from across the globe.

“London is the world’s best city to study, but the Government’s plans to introduce a new levy on the income generated by overseas students risks damaging our competitiveness. Ministers should scrap these plans to avoid damaging growth, exacerbating the higher education sector’s financial challenges and undermining our soft power.”

Over the course of five days Sadiq will visit four cities – Lagos, Accra, Johannesburg and Cape Town – to boost trade links with London and build on extensive connections with the capital’s growing African diaspora. The Mayor’s growth agency London & Partners will also host a trade delegation of 27 London-based companies that are looking to grow their businesses and access opportunities in this dynamic and important region of the world.
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
July 16, 2025
Trump sets 19% tariff on Indonesia goods in latest deal, EU readies retaliation

Source: Government of India

Source: Government of India (4)

President Donald Trump on Tuesday said the U.S. would impose a 19% tariff on goods from Indonesia under a new agreement with the Southeast Asian country and more deals were coming, while offering fresh details on planned duties on pharmaceuticals.

Trump announced the pact with Indonesia, a relatively minor U.S. trading partner, as he continued to press for what he views as better terms with trading partners and ways to shrink a huge U.S. trade deficit. Letters setting tariff rates for dozens of smaller countries were also coming soon, he said on Tuesday.

The deal with Indonesia is among the handful struck so far by the Trump administration ahead of an August 1 deadline when duties on most U.S. imports are due to rise again. The accord came as the top U.S. trading partner – the European Union – readied retaliatory measures should talks with Washington fail.

As that deadline approached, negotiations were under way with other nations eager to avoid more U.S. levies beyond a baseline 10% on most goods that has been in place since April.

Trump’s roll-out of the policies has often been chaotic. His moves have upended decades of negotiated reductions in global trade barriers, unsettling international financial markets and threatening a new wave of inflation.

Based on Trump tariff announcements through Sunday, Yale Budget Lab estimated the U.S. effective average tariff rates will rise to 20.6% from between 2% and 3% before Trump’s return to the White House in January. Consumption shifts would bring the rate down to 19.7%, but it’s still the highest since 1933.

Trump outlined an Indonesia deal similar to a preliminary pact struck recently with Vietnam, with a flat tariff on exports to the U.S. roughly double the current 10% and no levies on U.S. exports going there. It also included a penalty rate for so-called transhipments of goods from China via Indonesia and a commitment to buy some U.S. goods.

“They are going to pay 19% and we are going to pay nothing … we will have full access into Indonesia, and we have a couple of those deals that are going to be announced,” Trump said outside the Oval Office. Trump later said on his Truth Social platform that Indonesia had agreed to buy $15 billion of U.S. energy products, $4.5 billion of American farm products and 50 Boeing BA.N jets, though no time frame was specified.

He told reporters the deal with Vietnam was “pretty well set” but said it was not necessary to release details.

TRUMP: INDIA TALKS MOVING SAME WAY

Indonesia’s total trade with the U.S. – totalling just under $40 billion in 2024 – does not rank in the top 15, but it has been growing. U.S. exports to Indonesia rose 3.7% last year, while imports from there were up 4.8%, leaving the U.S. with a goods trade deficit of nearly $18 billion.

The top U.S. import categories from Indonesia, according to U.S. Census Bureau data from the International Trade Centre’s TradeMap tool, last year were palm oil, electronics equipment including data routers and switches, footwear, car tires, natural rubber and frozen shrimp.

Susiwijono Moegiarso, a senior official with Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs, told Reuters in a text message: “We are preparing a joint statement between U.S. and Indonesia that will explain the size of reciprocal tariff for Indonesia including the tariff deal, non-tariff and commercial arrangements. We will inform (the public) soon.”

Trump had threatened the country with a 32% tariff rate starting August 1 in a letter sent to its president last week. He sent similar letters to about two dozen trading partners this month, including Canada, Japan and Brazil, laying out tariff rates ranging from 20% to 50%, plus a 50% tariff on copper.

Speaking in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Trump said he favored blanket tariffs over complicated negotiations, but his Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick were keen to land more trade agreements.

Upon his arrival back in Washington, Trump told reporters that letters would be going out soon for many smaller countries, suggesting they would face a tariff of “a little over 10%.”

He said his administration would also announce tariffs on pharmaceuticals imported into the United States, probably at the end of the month, starting with what he called a low tariff rate to give companies time to move manufacturing to the U.S. before imposing a “very high tariff” in a year or so.

The August 1 deadline gives targeted countries time to negotiate about lower tariff rates. Some economists have also noted Trump’s pattern of backing off his tariff threats.

Since launching his tariff policy, Trump has clinched only a few “framework” agreements, falling short of earlier promises to land “90 deals in 90 days.”

So far, such deals have been reached with the United Kingdom and Vietnam, and an interim deal has been struck with China to forestall the steepest of Trump’s tariffs while negotiations continue between Washington and Beijing.

Trump said talks with India were moving “along that same line,” saying the agreement would give U.S. firms access to the large Indian market.

EU READIES RETALIATION

The breakthrough with Indonesia came as the European Commission, which oversees trade for the EU, prepared to target 72 billion euros ($84.1 billion) worth of U.S. goods – from Boeing BA.N aircraft and bourbon whiskey to cars – for possible tariffs if trade talks with Washington fail.

Trump has threatened a 30% tariff on imports from the EU from August 1, a level European officials say is unacceptable and would end normal trade between two of the world’s largest markets.

The list, sent to EU member states and seen by Reuters on Tuesday, pre-dated Trump’s move over the weekend to ramp up pressure on the 27-nation bloc and responded instead to U.S. duties on cars and car parts and a 10% baseline tariff.

The package also covers chemicals, medical devices, electrical and precision equipment as well as agriculture and food products – a range of fruits and vegetables, along with wine, beer and spirits – valued at 6.35 billion euros.

(Reuters)

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI China: China, Australia sign MoU to implement, review free trade agreement

Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News

BEIJING, July 16 — China and Australia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the implementation and review of China-Australia Free Trade Agreement on Tuesday, according to the Chinese Ministry of Commerce (MOC).

The document was signed by Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and Australian Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade Jan Adams, witnessed by Chinese Premier Li Qiang and Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

Since its entry into force in 2015, the free trade agreement has significantly boosted bilateral economic and trade relations, delivering substantial benefits to both sides, said the MOC.

As 2025 marks the 10th anniversary of the agreement, the two countries will maintain close cooperation, continue high-quality implementation of the agreement, and jointly conduct a review to identify areas for further improvement or expansion, the MOC said.

This will enhance trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, providing a higher level of institutional support for bilateral economic and trade cooperation, the MOC said.

MIL OSI China News –

July 16, 2025
MIL-Evening Report: Right-wing political group Advance is in the headlines. What is it and what does it stand for?

Source: The Conversation (Au and NZ) – By Mark Riboldi, Lecturer in Social Impact and Social Change, UTS Business School, University of Technology Sydney

Advance/Facebook

Political lobby group Advance has been back in the headlines this week. It was revealed an organisation headed by the husband of the Special Envoy for Combatting Antisemitism, Jillian Segal, donated A$50,000 to the group.

The news prompted outcry, though Segal denied any personal involvement.

So what is Advance and what does it do?

What is Advance?

Advance (originally Advance Australia) is a digital campaigning organisation. It was formed in 2018 by a group of wealthy Australians, many with connections to the Liberal Party. The idea was to be a conservative counterpoint to progressive digital campaigning group GetUp!

At the time, political journalist Mungo McCallum described them as a “stratospherically elite clique of rich, bored men looking for a hobby.” He suggested they would have little, if any, impact.

Today the group has more than 330,000 members.

They also successfully led the “No” campaign in the Indigenous Voice to Parliament Referendum in 2023.

McCallum’s initial dismissal of Advance appears somewhat premature.

What does Advance want?

Advance’s stated aim is to “take the fight to the activists and elites” to “secure Australia’s freedom, security and prosperity”. They campaign against progressive taxation, immigration, the transition to renewable energy and even Welcome to Country ceremonies.

This positions Advance alongside other right-wing populist actors, including Donald Trump, in the modern “war on woke”. This comparison was welcomed by founding Advance director, major donor and hedge fund manager Simon Fenwick.

Read more:
Follow the money: the organisations that spent the most on social media during the election

These actors, which in Australia also include the Murdoch Press, construct elitism not along class lines, but along an urban/rural divide. In its view, Advance’s billionaire funders are apparently not elites. Instead, they attempt to foster divisions between urban “elites” and regional and suburban “mainstream Australians”.

Like the Trumpian model of “flood(ing) the zone with shit”, Advance has been accused of pursuing these aims by “unleashing a veritable fire hose of disinformation”. The hose is often aimed at progressive political candidates, climate change, immigrants or the Voice referendum.

Who runs and funds Advance?

Advance’s longtime Executive Director and “main man” is the somewhat enigmatic Matthew Sheahan. Their current spokesperson is Sandra Bourke, who has a background in law enforcement and national security. In 2024, Bourke claimed Advance was “the biggest grassroots movement in Australian political history”.

While Advance is structurally independent of any political party, a variety of Liberal Party figures have been closely connected to the organisation, including former Prime Minister Tony Abbott.

Early prominent members (and funders) of Advance included storage king Sam Kennard, far-right president of the Australian Jewish Association David Adler, and climate denier Maurice Newman.

Founding Director Simon Fenwick has donated at least $400,000 to the organisation through his family trust since its inception.

In 2023–24, Advance received a $500,000 donation from the Cormack Foundation, an investment fund created by the Liberal Party of Victoria.

The organisation reported income of more than $15.5 million in the same period. It claims their average donation received from supporters is $160.

What impact has Advance had?

The 2023 Voice Referendum “made” Advance (and arguably Matthew Sheahan) via their management of two prominent No campaigns.

Prior to this, Advance’s campaigning was arguably more nuisance than anything else.

Advance’s No campaign featured significant amounts of dis- and misinformation across multiple media channels, including phone banking (cold calling voters). The campaign was characterised by contradictory micro campaigns that sowed the confusion that fed the slogan of “if you don’t know, vote No”.

The Advance-led No campaigns also strongly embraced racism against leading First Nations voices. This included suggestions that media commentator Stan Grant had artificially darkened his skin, questioning the “blackness” of Victorian Senator Lidia Thorpe, and utilising “Jim Crow” style advertising against leading Yes campaigner Thomas Mayo.

The Jim Crow era of American history refers to a time in the late 19th and early-mid 20th centuries where laws enforced racial segregation and discrimination.

One of the key spokespeople for Advance’s No campaign was Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, a woman with Aboriginal and Anglo-Celtic heritage. She’s a former Advance staffer and current Liberal Party Senator and made the comments about Lidia Thorpe.

Why is Advance important?

Following their role in the Voice campaign, Advance have arguably “eclipsed” their inspiration and progressive rivals GetUp! as Australia’s leading digital campaigning organisation. Glen Berman, current GetUp! chair, has even admitted “there were things that GetUp! could learn” from Advance.

Advance appeared influential over Liberal Party strategy ahead of the 2025 federal election campaign. During the campaign, it was the highest spending third party group (non-party, non-candidate) on Meta (Facebook and Instagram) advertising. This saw it emerge as the conservative third party “opposition” to the Australian union movement.

However, following the Australian Labor Party’s landslide victory, Advance attempted to distance themselves from the Coalition’s campaign. While they claim to have been focused on “destroying” the Greens, analysis suggests Advance’s campaign was equally focused on framing Labor Prime Minister Anthony Albanese as “weak, woke and sending us broke”.

Senior Liberal Party figures, for their part, have also “cast doubt on the effectiveness of Advance”, saying it may have cost them seats.

Generally, scholars Marian Sawer and Kurt Sengul argue Advance, along with the Murdoch media, have engaged in the “populist mobilisation of resentment which is likely to exacerbate the kind of divisions seen in the Voice referendum” since 2018.

Part of a worldwide trend towards right-wing populism, Advance will likely continue to be at the centre of conservative politics in Australia.

Mark Riboldi 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. Right-wing political group Advance is in the headlines. What is it and what does it stand for? – https://theconversation.com/right-wing-political-group-advance-is-in-the-headlines-what-is-it-and-what-does-it-stand-for-261164

MIL OSI Analysis – EveningReport.nz –

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Investments Sector – NZ SUPER FUND STAKEHOLDER UPDATE

Source: New Zealand Super Fund

Nelson-Tasman State of Emergency

NZ Super Fund-owned farms and orchards in the top of the South Island seem to have escaped the worst of the recent weather, with extensive cleaning up required but no significant damage to trees or infrastructure. Our thoughts are with those of our neighbours who have been hit hard by successive storms and heavy rain events over the past few weeks. The FarmRight team has been out in the community helping where it can.

Kaingaroa Timberlands expands plantation area

Kaingaroa Timberlands (KT), in which the Guardians has a 42 percent shareholding, recently announced it had bought 9,200 hectares of forestry land from Te Waihou Holdings Ltd.

Ryan Cavanagh, Chief Executive of KT subsidiary Timberlands, said the transaction underscored KT’s long-term commitment to New Zealand and its confidence in the forestry industry:

“By expanding our estate, we are not only securing the future of forestry in the Central North Island, we are also positioning ourselves to make further investments in our operations, driving further economic growth and job creation. It will help ensure New Zealand can remain a global leader in responsibly managed forestry.”

Ryan said the transaction preserves the land’s established role in commercial forestry and supports the South Waikato region’s economic and environmental objectives.

Select Committee Report tabled

The Finance & Expenditure Select Committee has presented a report on the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation to Parliament. The Committee’s report draws on our appearance before them on 2 April, and covers topics including performance, tax status, domestic investments, and the Elevate NZ Venture Fund. The full report can be found here.

Guardians Board Member joins Business Hall of Fame

Ahead of her induction next month into the NZ Business Hall of Fame, Guardians Board member Hinerangi Raumati talked to the NBR’s Mike McRoberts about the growing influence of kaupapa Māori in corporate New Zealand, and her own efforts to integrate Māori values and perspectives into mainstream boardrooms.

“There is a certain group dynamic that can happen in a room full of men … just bringing a different lens to things, as well as having a holistic view of the world, is what my approach has always been,” said Hinerangi – referring to a time in her career when she was frequently not only the sole Māori at the decision-making table but also the only woman.

Hinerangi also told the NBR that while it’s important to recognise what has been achieved, more remains to be done.

“None of us should sit on our laurels in terms of what we’ve achieved, and we shouldn’t lower our expectations either. Just keep raising the bar on what we’ve done. There’s good things being done in this country … we should all be proud of those things.”

Go to the Business Hall of Fame website for more information on Hinerangi and the other 2025 laureates; click here to read Mike McRoberts’ full story (paywalled).

Super Fund reintroduces buyout strategies

After stepping back from private market buyouts more than ten years ago, the NZ Super Fund is re-entering the global arena with a commitment of around US$800 million, reports i3Insights’ Florence Chong.

Doug Bell and Sian Orr from our External Investments & Partnerships team talked to Florence about how this initiative reflects a broader strategy designed to enhance international diversification, leverage specialist external managers, and integrate sustainability and other ESG considerations into the NZ Super Fund’s private markets programme.

Read the full article here: https://nzsuperfund.cmail20.com/t/d-l-suikyut-hujkdust-o/

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI: Mega Fortune Company Limited Announces Pricing of $15 Million Initial Public Offering

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Hong Kong, July 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Mega Fortune Company Limited (the “Company” or “MGRT”), an Internet of Things (“IoT”) solution provider in Hong Kong, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering (the “Offering”) of 3,750,000 ordinary shares at a price of $4.00 per share. The ordinary shares have been approved for listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market and are expected to commence trading on July 16, 2025 under the ticker symbol “MGRT.”

The aggregate gross proceeds from the Offering will be $15 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and other related expenses. The Offering is expected to close on or about July 17, 2025, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions. MGRT has granted the underwriter a 45-day option to purchase up to an additional 562,500 ordinary shares at the public offering price, less underwriting discounts and commissions.

The Offering is being conducted on a firm commitment basis. D. Boral Capital LLC is acting as the sole book-running manager for the Offering. FisherBroyles, LLP is acting as U.S. securities counsel to the Company, and JunHe Law Offices LLC is acting as U.S. counsel to D. Boral Capital LLC in connection with the Offering.

A registration statement on Form F-1, as amended, relating to the Offering has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) (File Number: 333-282977) and was declared effective by the SEC on June 30, 2025. The Offering is being made only by means of a final prospectus, forming a part of the registration statement. Copies of the prospectus relating to the Offering may be obtained, when available, from D. Boral Capital LLC, 590 Madison Avenue, 39^thFloor, New York, NY 10022 by email to dbccapitalmarkets@dboralcapital.com, or by calling +1 (212) 970 5150. In addition, the final prospectus will be filed with the SEC and will be available on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

Before you invest, you should read the prospectus and other documents the Company has filed or will file with the SEC for more information about the Company and the Offering. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell, or the solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Company’s securities, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of any of the Company’s securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such state or jurisdiction.

About Mega Fortune Company Limited

Mega Fortune Company Limited (the “Company”) is an Internet of Things (“IoT”) solution provider in Hong Kong. Through its operating subsidiary QBS System Limited (“QBS System”), the Company has specialized in delivering comprehensive IoT solutions and services across various industries. QBS System’s business service portfolio includes the provision of IoT Integration Solution Services, IoT Maintenance and Support services, Business Process Outsourcing (“BPO”) services and trading sales. Through its IoT platform, tools and services, QBS system helps enterprises through their digital transformation, launch IoT initiatives, upscale an existing IoT application or integrate any IoT solution with a legacy system to help them become more innovative, effective and productive. The Company’s vision is to become the preferred choice for IoT solutions for enterprises and projects in the Asia-Pacific region.

Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including but not limited to, the Company’s proposed Offering. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on the Company’s current expectations and projections about future events that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs, including the expectation that the Offering will be successfully completed. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “is/are likely to,” “potential,” “continue” or other similar expressions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results and encourages investors to review other factors that may affect its future results in the Company’s registration statement and other filings with the SEC, which are available for review at www.sec.gov.

For more information, please contact:

Mega Fortune Company Limited
Phone: +852 5627 5338
Email: priscilla.cheng@megafortune-group.com

The MIL Network –

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Krasniy Oktyabr Inc. USA Issues Alert on Eviscerate Dry Salted Vobla “Aral Silver”

Source: US Department of Health and Human Services – 3

Summary

Company Announcement Date:
July 15, 2025
FDA Publish Date:
July 15, 2025
Product Type:
Food & BeveragesFoodborne Illness
Reason for Announcement:

Recall Reason Description
Potential Foodborne Illness – Clostridium botulinum

Company Name:
KRASNIY OKTYABR INC. USA
Brand Name:

Brand Name(s)
ARAL SILVER VOBLA

Product Description:

Product Description
EVISCERATE DRY SALTED VOBLA ARAL SILVER

Company Announcement
KRASNIY OKTYABR INC. USA. of BROOKLYN, NY, is recalling its “ARAL SILVER VOBLA” brand “ARAL”, because the product was found to be uneviscerated.
The fish were distributed nationwide through retail stores. The product comes in a clear plastic vacuum packaged bag with a blue label, containing two whole fish inside marked “Product of Kazakhstan”.
The recall was initiated after routine sampling by New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets food inspectors and subsequent analysis by NYS Food Laboratory revealed the product was not properly eviscerated prior to processing.
The sale of uneviscerated fish is prohibited because clostridium botulinum spores are more likely to be concentrated in the viscera than any other portion of the fish. Uneviscerated fish have been linked to outbreaks of botulism poisoning. Symptoms of botulism include dizziness, blurred or double vision and trouble with speaking or swallowing. Difficulty in breathing, weakness of other muscles, abdominal distension and constipation may also be common symptoms. People experiencing these problems should seek immediate medical attention.
No illness has been reported to date in connection with this problem.
Consumers who have purchased packages ‘DRY SALTED VOBLA ARAL SILVER’ are urged to return them to the place of purchase for a full refund. Consumers with questions may contact the company at 718-858-6720.

Company Contact Information

Consumers:
718-858-6720

Product Photos

Content current as of:
07/15/2025

Regulated Product(s)

Topic(s)

Follow FDA

MIL OSI USA News –

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Economics: Samsung Members Connect 2025 Unfolds on a Global Stage in New York

Source: Samsung

On July 8 (local time), Samsung Electronics hosted Samsung Members Connect 2025 in New York City, welcoming over 70 Samsung Members Stars selected from 17 countries around the world.

Samsung Members is a pre-loaded app and all related activities that provide access to a variety of Galaxy-related news, benefits and community activities. Within the app’s community, highly active users who consistently share high-quality content and engage with others are selected as Samsung Members Stars (hereinafter “Members”).

At the July 2025 Samsung Members Connect, Members were among the first to get hands-on with the newly unveiled Galaxy Z Fold7, Galaxy Z Flip7 and the next evolution of Galaxy AI.

Through a series of curated programs, they captured and shared their real-time experiences — offering authentic insights with their local communities. Teaming up with influencers from #TeamGalaxy, Members co-created content that showcased the energy and excitement of the moment.

Their shared journey is now live on Samsung Newsroom. Let’s take a look.

Orientation Kicks Off Connections Between Members
The event commenced with a Members Orientation, where participants introduced their past activities within the Samsung Members community. Members overcame language and cultural differences, laying the groundwork for future collaboration.

▲ Samsung Members engaging and getting to know one another.

A Broader Experience Unfolds at Galaxy Unpacked 2025
One of the most anticipated highlights of the event was Galaxy Unpacked 2025, held in Brooklyn. Members attended in person, being among the very first to experience the Galaxy Z Fold7, Galaxy Z Flip7 and the latest AI innovations.

The event showcased Samsung’s vision for multimodal Galaxy AI — technology that understands user intent, responds seamlessly and delivers truly personalized experiences. It marked another step forward in Galaxy AI’s evolution into a trusted companion in everyday life.

▲ Members attending and experiencing Galaxy Unpacked 2025 firsthand.

▲ Members in a hands-on session with the products at the Experience Zone after Galaxy Unpacked 2025.

Samsung Members Stars Florencia Danloy (Argentina) said, “The Galaxy Z Fold7, which I first experienced in New York, featured a much slimmer and more refined professional design. I could immediately feel the difference the moment I held it in my hand.

Following Galaxy Unpacked 2025, participants visited the Galaxy Experience Space, where they engaged in hands-on activities featuring AI-based multitasking and Google Gemini Live — presented in creative ways inspired by Korean culture.

Sophia Hwang, EVP and Head of Retail team, Mobile eXperience (MX) Business at Samsung Electronics, said, “We hope you’ll take this opportunity to experience the innovation of our latest Galaxy products throughout the Galaxy Experience Space and share your insights with Samsung Members communities around the world.”

▲ Members exploring the Galaxy Experience Space.

▲ Group photo taken after EVP Sophia Hwang’s welcoming speech.

Members and #TeamGalaxy Shape Stories Together
The workshop brought Members and #TeamGalaxy together for a meaningful exchange of Galaxy knowledge and content creation insights. Drawing on their individual strengths, they collaborated on the next day’s group mission — discussing Galaxy’s new features, planning storylines and selecting key New York landmarks that would best capture their creative messages.

▲ Members and #TeamGalaxy planning their content shoot together.

An ‘Epic Tour’ With the New Galaxy Devices in New York
Set against the urban backdrop of New York City, the ‘Epic Tour’ offered Members a chance to creatively experience the Galaxy Z Fold7 and Galaxy Z Flip7.

From creatively reinterpreting Broadway posters using AI to capturing unique moments at city landmarks with FlexCam, Members brought their ideas to life. Each team worked on concept planning, real-time filming and editing — culminating in compelling content co-produced with #TeamGalaxy.

Samsung Members Stars Darshan Kiran Jaiswal (India) said, “The magic of Galaxy AI goes beyond editing — it truly feels like having a creative partner right in your pocket!”

▲ Members and #TeamGalaxy working together on their mission.

At the Gala Night, Members enjoyed a meaningful evening set to live jazz and framed by the New York skyline. Members viewed creative group photos co-created with #TeamGalaxy during the Epic Tour mission. A live vote selected the best shot, adding a fun highlight to the evening.

▲ Sharing the group mission photos from the Epic Tour at Gala Night.

Over four inspiring days, Samsung Members Connect 2025 gave Members a unique opportunity to dive deep into the Galaxy Z Fold7, Galaxy Z Flip7 and the next chapter of Galaxy AI. More than just a product showcase, it was a global platform for connection — strengthening the bond between Members and the brand.

MIL OSI Economics –

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: How to cancel and resubmit a SERR report

Source: New places to play in Gungahlin

You can cancel parts of, or a whole report that you have previously lodged. You instruct us of the change you want through the Message Type Indicators and Document Type Indicators in the schema. You must use the correct indicators in your request or it may be rejected.

The tables contained in the SERR Business Implementation GuideExternal Link outline acceptable combinations of Message and Document types. Only certain combinations of Message Type and Document Type are compatible under SERR. Combinations that haven’t been included in the business implementation guide that are lodged will not be processed and will require a resubmission.

For further information on message structures and the requirements for lodging a cancellation request, refer to Section 5 (Cancelling and relodging reports) of the SERR Business Implementation GuideExternal Link.

MIL OSI News –

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Reed Helps Introduce Consumer OPT-IN Act Designed to Ease Unsubscribing

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Rhode Island Jack Reed
WASHINGTON, DC – When it comes to companies offering ‘free trials’ for subscription services, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) says they should actually be free. And when it comes time to cancel unwanted recurring subscriptions, Senator Reed says it should be just as simple to cancel as it was to sign up.
Today, Reed joined U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) in introducing the Consumer Online Payment Transparency and Integrity (Consumer OPT-IN) Act to halt the use of unfair and deceptive practices in ‘negative option marketing’ (where consumers enroll in subscription plans that automatically renew unless consumers actively opt out before a given renewal). This legislation would help protect consumers from online ‘free trial’ scams and hard-to-cancel recurring-payment programs by requiring companies with customers on recurring payment programs to offer easy online cancellation.
The bill puts the onus on companies, not consumers, when it comes to extending subscriptions and memberships, including requiring a shift from “opt-out” conditions to “opt-in.”
The lawmakers say Congress must act in the wake of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit ruling last week that vacated the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) 2023 ‘click to cancel’ rule, which would have taken effect today and complemented this legislation by making it easier to get out of unwanted subscriptions. As a result of this ruling, businesses are free to continue using deceitful practices that trap consumers into making recurring payments that they never intended to make – underscoring the need to codify into law the “opt-in” requirements in this legislation.
“While companies have made it easier than ever to sign up for subscription-based services, too many Americans know the frustration of jumping through endless hoops to get out of them. Corporate special interests are pushing to preserve the status quo so they can pad their profits by keeping consumers locked into unwanted subscriptions, but we will keep fighting back. Our legislation puts consumers in control – offering them an easy way out of subscription traps and holding companies accountable for these deceptive practices,” said Senator Van Hollen.
“This legislation will make it easier for consumers to cancel subscriptions they don’t want. The process of enrolling and cancelling should be equally simple: If one click can sign you up, then you should be able to cancel with one click too,” said Senator Reed. “Simplifying the process for ending ‘free trials’ or unwanted subscriptions will save consumers real money. This bill will get rid of needless cancellation hurdles, hold corporations accountable, and save consumers time, money, and peace of mind.”
Companies increasingly use free trial offers and unclear terms and conditions to trap consumers into subscriptions. Additionally, companies often use software and interfaces that subtly trick users, called dark patterns, making it harder for consumers to end these subscriptions and stop unwanted charges. While the FTC has dedicated significant resources to combatting the worst of these business practices, resulting in at least $110 million worth of refunds returned to consumers over the past five years, more action is needed. To more effectively deter companies from employing these practices and better protect and inform consumers, the Consumer OPT-IN Act would limit the use of deceptive tactics and impose stricter notification requirements on companies.
To better protect and inform consumers, the Consumer OPT-IN Act would limit the use of deceptive tactics and impose stricter notification requirements on companies. It will protect consumers from deceptive free trials and marketing tactics by:
•           Requiring companies to get express informed consent from consumers before converting free trials into automatically renewing contracts and charging consumers;
•           Requiring companies to notify consumers of the first automatic renewal and obtain express informed consent from consumers before automatically renewing long term contracts;
•           Requiring that companies offering contracts that automatically renew on a short-term basis get express informed consent from consumers annually;
•           Requiring companies that have knowledge that a consumer isn’t using their products or service for 6 months to get the consumer’s express informed consent to continue billing, and allowing consumers to request a refund for the remaining portion of the contract;
•           Providing consumers with refunds when violations occur;
•           Giving the FTC rulemaking authority over negative option contracts, automatic renewals, and dark patterns.
In addition to Van Hollen and Reed, the bill is also cosponsored by U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Peter Welch (D-VT), and Ron Wyden (D-OR).
The Consumer OPT-IN Act has been endorsed by Public Citizen, National Consumer Law Center, Consumer Action, Americans for Financial Reform, and American Economic Liberties Project.
Consumers who feel they have been unfairly charged for an unwanted subscription or if a company used deceptive tactics to prevent them from cancelling may report it to the FTC: https://reportfraud.ftc.gov
Companion legislation is being introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (D-NY-9).

MIL OSI USA News –

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Schatz fights Trump-backed NOAA staffing cuts

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for Hawaii Brian Schatz
WASHINGTON >> Members of Congress are expressing renewed support for the nation’s weather forecasting system after deadly flooding in Texas and elsewhere put the focus on cuts within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The Trump administration proposed cutting NOAA’s fiscal 2026 budget to $4.5 billion — a 27%, nearly $1.7 billion reduction from the estimated fiscal 2025 spending.
But Senate appropriators from both parties highlighted the importance of NOAA, and particularly the National Weather Service housed within it, in a meeting last week.
During the Senate Appropriations Committee’s markup of its draft fiscal 2026 Commerce-Justice-Science bill on July 10, Subcommittee Chair Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said the bill would spare the NWS from the proposed cuts.
“NOAA, and particularly the National Weather Service, is a hugely important component of what this bill funds, and this bill recognizes that importance,” said Moran, adding that the “bill fully funds the (NWS) for purposes of employing people who work” and eliminates any reduction in the workforce.
Moran said the language would require the Trump administration to maintain staffing at levels necessary to fill statutory obligations and would increase the appropriation by $10 million to accomplish that goal. Moran didn’t provide a topline figure and the committee hasn’t yet released its draft text or bill summary.
Sen Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, expressed concern that the bill still gave too much discretion to the Office of Management and Budget to determine whether the agency has too many employees. He offered an amendment that would require the administration to maintain staffing at the same levels as they were on Sept. 30, 2024. The panel rejected the amendment along party lines.
“It’s clear to me that this administration has already made the judgment that the National Weather Service has too many human beings,” said Schatz.
The committee ultimately didn’t complete work on the bill last week due to an unrelated disagreement over the future of a proposed FBI campus in Maryland.
House Republicans, meanwhile, released their version of the fiscal 2026 Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill on Monday. The bill includes a cut of $387 million, or 6%, for NOAA, taking its budget to $5.8 billion in fiscal 2026, according to the GOP summary.
The House C-J-S Appropriations Subcommittee approved the measure for full committee consideration on a 9-6 vote today.
Staffing ‘a top priority’
The issue of staffing at NOAA also came up in the confirmation hearing for Neil Jacobs, Trump’s nominee to lead NOAA, in the Senate Commerce Committee on July 10. Ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., said NOAA has lost nearly 1,900 employees, with 3,000 vacancies due to firings of probationary employees and buyouts, since Trump took office.
“If confirmed, I will ensure that staffing the weather service offices is a top priority,” said Jacobs. “It’s really important for the people to be there because they have relationships with the people in the local community. They’re a trusted source.”
Jacobs said he supported the administration’s proposal to cut NOAA’s budget by 27% in fiscal 2026, adding the cuts could be implemented by shifting work from the research to operations without impacting “mission essential functions” at the NWS.
Monica Medina, principal deputy secretary for oceans and atmosphere at NOAA during the Obama administration and now a distinguished fellow with the environmental group Conservation International, said cuts to research would have significant implications for operations.
“Artificial intelligence is only as good as the data you put in it,” Medina said in an interview. “We need science and research and data to inform our weather forecasts now and in the future, and what we’re doing is taking apart a system that was getting better and better and better, and putting ourselves at greater risk. And the impact on people is real and the forecast will be less accurate.”

MIL OSI USA News –

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI: Veritex Holdings, Inc. Announces Date Change for Second Quarter 2025 Earnings Release and Cancellation of Conference Call

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

DALLAS, July 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Veritex Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: VBTX), the parent holding company for Veritex Community Bank, today announced a date change for release of its second quarter 2025 earnings results. Veritex will now release its second quarter 2025 earnings results before the opening of the market on Friday, July 18, 2025. The earnings release will be available on Veritex’s website, https://ir.veritexbank.com/.

Veritex also announced the cancellation of its second quarter 2025 investor conference call that Veritex had announced would occur on Wednesday, July 23, 2025 due to the announcement on July 14, 2025 that Veritex has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Huntington Bancshares Incorporated, subject to regulatory approvals and customary closing conditions. There will be no conference call scheduled this quarter relating to Veritex’s second quarter results.

About Veritex Holdings, Inc.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Veritex is a bank holding company that conducts banking activities through its wholly-owned subsidiary, Veritex Community Bank, with locations throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex and in the Houston metropolitan area. Veritex Community Bank is a Texas state-chartered bank regulated by the Texas Department of Banking and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. For more information, visit www.veritexbank.com.

Source: Veritex Holdings, Inc.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This communication may contain certain forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to, certain plans, expectations, goals, projections, and statements about the benefits of the proposed transaction, the plans, objectives, expectations and intentions of Veritex and Huntington, the expected timing of completion of the transaction, and other statements that are not historical facts and are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, and uncertainties that are beyond the control of Veritex and Huntington. Such statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks, estimates, uncertainties and other important factors that change over time and could cause actual results to differ materially from any results, performance, or events expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including as a result of the factors referenced below. Statements that do not describe historical or current facts, including statements about beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements may be identified by words such as expect, anticipate, continue, believe, intend, estimate, plan, trend, objective, target, goal, or similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as will, may, might, should, would, could, or similar variations. The forward-looking statements are intended to be subject to the safe harbor provided by Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.

Veritex and Huntington caution that the forward-looking statements in this communication are not guarantees of future performance and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to assess and are subject to change based on factors which are, in many instances, beyond Veritex’s and Huntington’s control. While there is no assurance that any list of risks and uncertainties or risk factors is complete, below are certain factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained or implied in the forward-looking statements or historical performance: changes in general economic, political, or industry conditions; deterioration in business and economic conditions, including persistent inflation, supply chain issues or labor shortages, instability in global economic conditions and geopolitical matters, as well as volatility in financial markets; changes in U.S. trade policies, including the imposition of tariffs and retaliatory tariffs; the impact of pandemics and other catastrophic events or disasters on the global economy and financial market conditions and our business, results of operations, and financial condition; the impacts related to or resulting from bank failures and other volatility, including potential increased regulatory requirements and costs, such as FDIC special assessments, long-term debt requirements and heightened capital requirements, and potential impacts to macroeconomic conditions, which could affect the ability of depository institutions, including us, to attract and retain depositors and to borrow or raise capital; unexpected outflows of uninsured deposits which may require us to sell investment securities at a loss; changing interest rates which could negatively impact the value of our portfolio of investment securities; the loss of value of our investment portfolio which could negatively impact market perceptions of us and could lead to deposit withdrawals; the effects of social media on market perceptions of us and banks generally; cybersecurity risks; uncertainty in U.S. fiscal and monetary policy, including the interest rate policies of the Federal Reserve; volatility and disruptions in global capital, foreign exchange and credit markets; movements in interest rates; competitive pressures on product pricing and services; success, impact, and timing of our business strategies, including market acceptance of any new products or services including those implementing our “Fair Play” banking philosophy; changes in policies and standards for regulatory review of bank mergers; the nature, extent, timing, and results of governmental actions, examinations, reviews, reforms, regulations, and interpretations, including those related to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the Basel III regulatory capital reforms, as well as those involving the SEC, OCC, Federal Reserve, FDIC, CFPB and state-level regulators; the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the right of one or both of the parties to terminate the merger agreement between Veritex and Huntington; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Veritex and Huntington; delays in completing the transaction; the failure to obtain necessary regulatory approvals (and the risk that such approvals may result in the imposition of conditions that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the transaction); the failure to obtain Veritex shareholder approval or to satisfy any of the other conditions to the transaction on a timely basis or at all; the possibility that the anticipated benefits of the transaction are not realized when expected or at all, including as a result of the impact of, or problems arising from, the integration of the two companies or as a result of the strength of the economy and competitive factors in the areas where Veritex and Huntington do business; the possibility that the transaction may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events; diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business operations and opportunities; potential adverse reactions or changes to business, customer or employee relationships, including those resulting from the announcement or completion of the transaction; the ability to complete the transaction and integration of Veritex and Huntington successfully; the dilution caused by Huntington’s issuance of additional shares of its capital stock in connection with the transaction; and other factors that may affect the future results of Veritex and Huntington. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described above can be found in Veritex’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and in its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, including for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, each of which is on file with the SEC and available on Veritex’s investor relations website, ir.veritexbank.com, under the heading “Financials” and in other documents Veritex files with the SEC, and in Huntington’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024 and in its subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, including for the quarter ended March 31, 2025, each of which is on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and available in the “Investor Relations” section of Huntington’s website, http://www.huntington.com, under the heading “Investor Relations” and in other documents Huntington files with the SEC.

All forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements set forth above. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made and are based on information available at that time. Neither Veritex nor Huntington assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect actual results, new information or future events, changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or other factors affecting forward-looking statements that occur after the date the forward-looking statements were made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by federal securities laws. If Veritex or Huntington update one or more forward-looking statements, no inference should be drawn that Veritex or Huntington will make additional updates with respect to those or other forward-looking statements. As forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, caution should be exercised against placing undue reliance on such statements.

IMPORTANT ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

In connection with the proposed transaction, Huntington will file with the SEC a Registration Statement on Form S-4 that will include a Proxy Statement of Veritex and a Prospectus of Huntington, as well as other relevant documents concerning the proposed transaction. The proposed transaction involving Huntington and Veritex will be submitted to Veritex’s shareholders for their consideration. This communication does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities or a solicitation of any vote or approval, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF VERITEX ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT AND THE PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS REGARDING THE TRANSACTION WHEN IT BECOMES AVAILABLE AND ANY OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH THE SEC, AS WELL AS ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS, BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Shareholders will be able to obtain a free copy of the definitive proxy statement/prospectus, as well as other filings containing information about Huntington and Veritex, without charge, at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov). Copies of the proxy statement/prospectus and the filings with the SEC that will be incorporated by reference in the proxy statement/prospectus can also be obtained, without charge, by directing a request to Huntington Investor Relations, Huntington Bancshares Incorporated, Huntington Center, 41 South High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43287, (800) 576-5007 or to Veritex Investor Relations, Veritex Holdings, Inc., 8214 Westchester Drive, Suite 800, Dallas, Texas 75225, (972) 349-6200.

PARTICIPANTS IN THE SOLICITATION

Huntington, Veritex, and certain of their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of Veritex in connection with the proposed transaction under the rules of the SEC. Information regarding the interests of the directors and executive officers of Huntington and Veritex and other persons who may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of shareholders of Veritex in connection with the transaction and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be included in the definitive proxy statement/prospectus related to the transaction, which will be filed by Huntington with the SEC. Information regarding Huntington’s directors and executive officers is available in its definitive proxy statement relating to its 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on March 6, 2025, and other documents filed by Huntington with the SEC. Information regarding Veritex’s directors and executive officers is available in its definitive proxy statement relating to its 2025 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, which was filed with the SEC on April 29, 2025, and other documents filed by Veritex with the SEC. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials filed with the SEC. Free copies of this document may be obtained as described above under “Important Additional Information.”

The MIL Network –

July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: House Passes Kean’s Bill to Strengthen American Technological Leadership
Source: US Representative Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07)

(July 15, 2025) WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1765, the Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act, by a voice vote.

Introduced by Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07), Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Congressman Tim Walberg (MI-05), and Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), this bipartisan bill strengthens American technological leadership by bringing together key trusted partners and encouraging U.S. participation in international standards-setting for 5G and future generations of wireless communications networks.

Watch Congressman Kean speak on the House floor in support of the bill HERE.

“As the global competition for 5G and wireless technology continues, the United States must lead—not follow,” said Congressman Kean. “This bipartisan bill ensures that it is American innovation, rather than that of our adversaries abroad, which sets the standard for the future of wireless communications. I am thankful to my colleagues in the House for passing this critical legislation to keep the U.S. competitive and at the forefront of global technological leadership.”

“The policy choices of today will have lasting effects on the global wireless technology development of tomorrow—especially as we compete against China,” said Congresswoman Dingell. “We must take concrete, proactive steps to lower barriers to entry for U.S. companies and promote American competitiveness in this space for each subsequent generation of these innovative technologies. As a Co-Chair of the 5G and Beyond Caucus, I am proud this bipartisan legislation has passed the House, and will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure the United States remains at the forefront of innovation.”

“The United States has been a longtime leader in cutting-edge technologies,” said Congressman Walberg.“ As a co-chair of the 5G and Beyond Caucus, I understand how critical it is that the U.S. remains the leading voice in the worldwide development of future wireless communications networks. By establishing clear rules of the road, we can protect against influence by foreign adversaries and ensure that the next generation of connectivity is built with America’s values and economic and security interests in mind. I am pleased to see the House pass this bipartisan legislation to secure our future and strengthen our global competitiveness.”

“For America to remain a global leader in the Digital Age, ensuring the continued effectiveness and stability of our 5G networks must be the highest priority,” said Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke. “Providing standards-setting bodies with the cooperation, support, and assistance they need from the NTIA is a key step to seeing that aspiration become a reality. I am proud to be a leader of this initiative to secure our continued success in deploying 5G technologies and laying the groundwork for the innovation of future generation wireless networks.”

Additionally, this bill would direct the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to:
- Encourage participation by trusted companies and relevant stakeholders
- Offer technical assistance to such trusted companies and relevant stakeholders.
Full bill text can be found HERE.

Congressman Kean serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, where he works on issues related to broadband access, telecommunications policy, and emerging technologies.

###

MIL OSI USA News –
July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: House Passes Kean’s Bill to Strengthen American Technological Leadership
Source: US Representative Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07)

(July 15, 2025) WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1765, the Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act, by a voice vote.

Introduced by Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07), Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Congressman Tim Walberg (MI-05), and Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), this bipartisan bill strengthens American technological leadership by bringing together key trusted partners and encouraging U.S. participation in international standards-setting for 5G and future generations of wireless communications networks.

Watch Congressman Kean speak on the House floor in support of the bill HERE.

“As the global competition for 5G and wireless technology continues, the United States must lead—not follow,” said Congressman Kean. “This bipartisan bill ensures that it is American innovation, rather than that of our adversaries abroad, which sets the standard for the future of wireless communications. I am thankful to my colleagues in the House for passing this critical legislation to keep the U.S. competitive and at the forefront of global technological leadership.”

“The policy choices of today will have lasting effects on the global wireless technology development of tomorrow—especially as we compete against China,” said Congresswoman Dingell. “We must take concrete, proactive steps to lower barriers to entry for U.S. companies and promote American competitiveness in this space for each subsequent generation of these innovative technologies. As a Co-Chair of the 5G and Beyond Caucus, I am proud this bipartisan legislation has passed the House, and will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure the United States remains at the forefront of innovation.”

“The United States has been a longtime leader in cutting-edge technologies,” said Congressman Walberg.“ As a co-chair of the 5G and Beyond Caucus, I understand how critical it is that the U.S. remains the leading voice in the worldwide development of future wireless communications networks. By establishing clear rules of the road, we can protect against influence by foreign adversaries and ensure that the next generation of connectivity is built with America’s values and economic and security interests in mind. I am pleased to see the House pass this bipartisan legislation to secure our future and strengthen our global competitiveness.”

“For America to remain a global leader in the Digital Age, ensuring the continued effectiveness and stability of our 5G networks must be the highest priority,” said Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke. “Providing standards-setting bodies with the cooperation, support, and assistance they need from the NTIA is a key step to seeing that aspiration become a reality. I am proud to be a leader of this initiative to secure our continued success in deploying 5G technologies and laying the groundwork for the innovation of future generation wireless networks.”

Additionally, this bill would direct the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to:
- Encourage participation by trusted companies and relevant stakeholders
- Offer technical assistance to such trusted companies and relevant stakeholders.
Full bill text can be found HERE.

Congressman Kean serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, where he works on issues related to broadband access, telecommunications policy, and emerging technologies.

###

MIL OSI USA News –
July 16, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: House Passes Kean’s Bill to Strengthen American Technological Leadership
Source: US Representative Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07)

(July 15, 2025) WASHINGTON, DC – Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1765, the Promoting United States Wireless Leadership Act, by a voice vote.

Introduced by Congressman Tom Kean, Jr. (NJ-07), Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06), Congressman Tim Walberg (MI-05), and Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09), this bipartisan bill strengthens American technological leadership by bringing together key trusted partners and encouraging U.S. participation in international standards-setting for 5G and future generations of wireless communications networks.

Watch Congressman Kean speak on the House floor in support of the bill HERE.

“As the global competition for 5G and wireless technology continues, the United States must lead—not follow,” said Congressman Kean. “This bipartisan bill ensures that it is American innovation, rather than that of our adversaries abroad, which sets the standard for the future of wireless communications. I am thankful to my colleagues in the House for passing this critical legislation to keep the U.S. competitive and at the forefront of global technological leadership.”

“The policy choices of today will have lasting effects on the global wireless technology development of tomorrow—especially as we compete against China,” said Congresswoman Dingell. “We must take concrete, proactive steps to lower barriers to entry for U.S. companies and promote American competitiveness in this space for each subsequent generation of these innovative technologies. As a Co-Chair of the 5G and Beyond Caucus, I am proud this bipartisan legislation has passed the House, and will continue to work with my colleagues to ensure the United States remains at the forefront of innovation.”

“The United States has been a longtime leader in cutting-edge technologies,” said Congressman Walberg.“ As a co-chair of the 5G and Beyond Caucus, I understand how critical it is that the U.S. remains the leading voice in the worldwide development of future wireless communications networks. By establishing clear rules of the road, we can protect against influence by foreign adversaries and ensure that the next generation of connectivity is built with America’s values and economic and security interests in mind. I am pleased to see the House pass this bipartisan legislation to secure our future and strengthen our global competitiveness.”

“For America to remain a global leader in the Digital Age, ensuring the continued effectiveness and stability of our 5G networks must be the highest priority,” said Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke. “Providing standards-setting bodies with the cooperation, support, and assistance they need from the NTIA is a key step to seeing that aspiration become a reality. I am proud to be a leader of this initiative to secure our continued success in deploying 5G technologies and laying the groundwork for the innovation of future generation wireless networks.”

Additionally, this bill would direct the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to:
- Encourage participation by trusted companies and relevant stakeholders
- Offer technical assistance to such trusted companies and relevant stakeholders.
Full bill text can be found HERE.

Congressman Kean serves on the Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, where he works on issues related to broadband access, telecommunications policy, and emerging technologies.

###

MIL OSI USA News –
July 16, 2025

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