Category: Trade

MIL-OSI USA: Hagerty Leads Legislation to Establish a Stablecoin Regulatory Framework
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for Tennessee Bill Hagerty

WASHINGTON—United States Senators Bill Hagerty (R-TN), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, Tim Scott (R-SC), Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) today introduced the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, legislation to establish a clear regulatory framework for payment stablecoins.

Based on a public discussion draft released by Hagerty in October 2024, the legislation has benefited from extensive consultation with industry participants, academic experts, and federal government stakeholders.

“From enhancing transaction efficiency to driving demand for U.S. Treasuries, the potential benefits of strong stablecoin innovation are immense,” said Senator Hagerty. “My legislation establishes a safe and pro-growth regulatory framework that will unleash innovation and advance the President’s mission to make America the world capital of crypto. I look forward to working with Chairman French Hill and the House Financial Services Committee to get it to the President’s desk and signed into law.”

“Stablecoins enable faster, cheaper, and competitive transactions in our digital world and facilitate seamless cross-border payments,” said Chairman Scott. “This legislation will expand financial inclusion and provide much-needed clarity to ensure the industry can innovate and grow here in the United States, while protecting consumers and promoting the U.S. dollar’s global position. I look forward to working with our colleagues – including House Financial Services Chairman French Hill – to advance this legislation to President Trump’s desk.”

“Passing clear and sensible regulations for stablecoins is critical to maintaining U.S. dollar dominance, promoting responsible innovation, and protecting consumers,” said U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. “The bipartisan Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins Act protects consumers by requiring stablecoin issuers to maintain one-to-one reserves; prohibiting algorithmic stablecoins; and requiring issuers to comply with U.S. anti-money-laundering and sanctions rules. Importantly, it will empower responsible innovation, maintain U.S. leadership in digital assets and blockchain technology, and keep crypto companies and jobs onshore. The future of stablecoins and cryptocurrency has strong bipartisan support—I’m proud to introduce this bill with Senators Hagerty, Lummis and Scott, and look forward to working together to pass this important legislation.”

“Creating a bipartisan regulatory framework for stablecoins is critical to maintaining the U.S.’s dollar dominance and promoting responsible financial innovation,” said Senator Lummis. “I’m proud to support Sen. Hagerty’s important legislation, which goes a long way towards protecting Wyoming’s regulatory framework for digital assets, and ensures stablecoin issuers have a real choice when it comes to a state or national charter.”

Background:

Dollar-denominated payment stablecoins are digital assets pegged to the U.S. dollar. They can improve transaction efficiency, expand financial inclusion, and strengthen the dollar’s supremacy as the world reserve currency by driving demand for U.S. Treasuries. The previous Administration’s hostility toward crypto and refusal to provide clear regulatory guidelines has severely stifled stablecoin innovation. This legislation turns a new page.

The GENIUS Act:
- Defines a payment stablecoin as a digital asset used for payment or settlement that is pegged to a fixed monetary value;
- Establishes clear procedures for institutions seeking licenses to issue stablecoins;
- Implements reserve requirements and light-touch, tailored regulatory standards for stablecoin issuers;
- For issuers of more than $10 billion of stablecoins, applies the Federal Reserve’s regulatory framework to depository institutions and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency’s framework for nonbank issuers;
- Allows for state regulation of issuers under $10 billion in market capitalization and provides a waiver process for issuers exceeding the threshold to remain state-regulated; and
- Establishes supervisory, examination, and enforcement regimes with clear limitations.
Full text of the GENIUS Act can be found here.

A one-page overview of the legislation can be found here.
MIL OSI USA News –
February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: On Senate Floor, Shaheen Condemns Proposed Trump Tariffs that Would Increase Costs on Granite Staters
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) delivered remarks on the Senate floor condemning President Trump’s proposed tariffs on Mexico and Canada, New Hampshire’s largest trading partner, that could cause prices on everything from gas to cars to groceries to skyrocket, hurting Granite Staters and Granite State businesses. Click here to watch the full speech.

Key Quotes from Senator Shaheen:
- “Even though many of these tariff taxes were delayed, they’re still scheduled to go into effect next month, and they’ve created unnecessary panic and uncertainty among businesses and families across the country and in New Hampshire.”
- “President Trump campaigned on a promise to lower prices for everything. The tariffs that he’s talking about would have the exact opposite effect.”
- “For Elon Musk and his billionaire friends, and the billionaire friends of the President, $150 to $250 may not sound like a lot in the winter, but there are a lot of people in New Hampshire for whom $150 to $250 is the difference between staying warm and being cold.”
- “I’m glad for the delay. I don’t want people to misunderstand that. But how is a business or a family supposed to plan when they don’t know if important costs like gas or heating or groceries are going to spike any day?”
Remarks as delivered can be found below:

We’re here today to talk about a very serious issue, and that is the tariffs that President Trump is talking about imposing on goods from Canada and Mexico, and the impact that will have on Americans.

On Saturday, President Trump announced a 25% tariff, which would be a tax on imported goods from Canada and Mexico, and a 10% tariff, which would amount to a tax on imported energy from Canada, and on all goods from China.

So, 10% on all goods from China and then 10% on energy from Canada.

He’s also threatened universal tariffs on all countries.

Now, thankfully, the tariffs that he announced on Canada and Mexico appear to have been delayed for a month, but the tariff taxes on China are now in effect.

And even though many of these tariff taxes were delayed, they’re still scheduled to go into effect next month, and they’ve created unnecessary panic and uncertainty among businesses and families across the country and in New Hampshire.

Now, I want to point out in the beginning very clearly that it’s not foreign countries who pay these taxes, these tariff taxes, it’s Americans who pay these tariff taxes.

These are tariff taxes on imported goods, meaning that the person or company who is importing the good will be footing the bill – and these costs will be passed on to American consumers and businesses.

And you don’t have to take my word for it: Best Buy’s CEO said, and I quote, “the vast majority of that tariff will probably be passed on to the consumer as a price increase.”

And Walmart’s CFO said, “there will probably be cases where prices will go up for consumers.”

Columbia Sportswear’s CEO said about tariffs “we’re set to raise prices” and “it’s going to be very, very difficult to keep products affordable.”

Now, if we look at the cost of just the tariff taxes that were originally announced on Saturday, those would raise costs for the average American household by more than $1,200 a year.

And if we get into a trade war with increasingly high tariffs on both sides—and that’s what it appears could be happening with China—those costs would go up even more.

Now, President Trump campaigned on a promise to lower prices for everything. The tariffs that he’s talking about would have the exact opposite effect.

I’m glad the administration and the President listened to reason.

He delayed the start of these tariffs, but I hope we don’t have to be back here in a few weeks making this case again.

And I want to make sure that people understand what these tariff taxes would do and highlight some of the areas where Americans would be directly affected.

First is energy.

America imports more oil and gas from Canada than any other product.

In New Hampshire, more than half of the gas in people’s cars comes from Canada.

These tariff taxes would make gas prices go up, and they could even lead to supply shortages because refinery and delivery infrastructure just doesn’t turn on a dime.

President Trump’s new 10% tariff tax on energy from Canada would also directly raise the cost of keeping warm for Granite Staters during the coldest months of this year.

In New Hampshire, our number one import from Canada is heating oil, and nearly a quarter of a million households in New Hampshire—that’s about 40% of our households—more than Vermont, I think
Senator Welch, rely on fuel oil to heat their homes.

We’re the second highest state in the nation, next to Maine who relies on number two heating oil, to heat our homes.

Another hundred thousand Granite Staters rely on propane and about 30,000 homes use wood.

So that’s about 60% of New Hampshire that relies on delivered fuel to stay warm. Much of that is coming from Canada.

The average home in New Hampshire on heating oil, uses about 600 gallons in the winter and for older, draftier homes, and sadly we have a lot of those in New Hampshire, or those who are further up north, families may be using upwards of a thousand gallons a winter.

And with temperatures dipping as low as 20 below zero in the state in recent weeks, heating oil is a real necessity.

And my constituents are already getting notices, and I don’t know, Senator Welch, if the same is true of your constituents, but I bet it is. But they’re saying that those notices tell them their costs are going to go up if these tariffs go into effect.

On Sunday, I heard from Derek in Sandwich, New Hampshire, who received a letter from his heating supplier, Irving Oil, that informed him that his bill for heating oil would be going up.

The letter stated, “As you may be aware, the U.S. government has announced a new tariff on imports from Canada, including the heating oil or propane that Irving Energy delivers to you.”

And the letter went on to describe that the tariff costs will be added to the price that he pays, even though he already has a contract.

As Derek wrote to me, “I will now have less to spend locally. My local businesses will suffer through lost business and increased costs. And then their suppliers and employees will suffer. It’s a real hardship.”

On inauguration day, this year, heating oil cost an average of $3.93 a gallon in New Hampshire.

Tacking an ill-advised 10% tariff tax on heating oil from Canada could mean about $150 to $250 more for many in New Hampshire just to keep warm through the winter.

And while for Elon Musk and his billionaire friends, and the billionaire friends of the president, $150 to $250 may not sound like a lot in the winter, but there are a lot of people in New Hampshire for whom $150 to $250 is the difference between staying warm and being cold in the winter.

So let me also be clear: We don’t use gas and heating oil from Canada because we don’t produce it here in the United States. We do it because it makes logistical and economic sense because in New England, we are at the end of the pipelines that are coming from Texas and the south.

Now, the United States produces more oil than any other country in the history of the world.

That was true during the last three years of the first Trump Administration. It was true for the last four years of the Biden Administration.

But for New Hampshire, the Saint John Refinery in Canada simply provides us the closest, lowest-cost supply.

And by the way, that refinery sources as much as half of its crude oil from the United States.

So, it’s helping oil producers in the United States send their oil the refinery, and we get it back in New Hampshire and New England.

President Trump campaigned on cutting energy prices in half. Reckless tariffs on Canada and Mexico will make those prices higher, not lower.

New Hampshire families shouldn’t be punished for what The Wall Street journal has just called, “The Dumbest Trade War in History”.

And that’s not all. These tariff taxes will affect groceries because the U.S. imports 38% of our fresh vegetables, 60% of our fresh fruit and more than 99% of the coffee that we drink.

If we take all these together, Americans could be seeing an extra $200 a year on their grocery bills because of the trump tariff taxes.

That doesn’t include the longer term impact of taxes on farm equipment or fertilizer. America imports about 85% of the potash fertilizer we use and much of that comes from Canada.

Now, we already have record-high prices on coffee and eggs, if you can find eggs, some grocery stores are sold out. And one of the things that just happened in the last week is that because of the stop-work order that President Trump put on our services that we provide overseas to track bird flu, we’re no longer tracking the bird flu that has helped to drive up the cost of eggs.

So, it could get worse and we’re not even going to know about it until we see those prices reflected at the grocery store.

Any new 25% tariff tax on these imports would make our food more expensive when families are already stretching and straining their household budgets.

Tariffs sometimes get talked about as a way to support American manufacturers, but that also misses the mark.

Half of the products the U.S. imports are either raw materials or intermediate components, and that means the parts we make into cars or electronics.

All of these inputs would get more expensive for American manufacturers, which is only going to make it harder for them to compete internationally.

One of the messages I hear regularly from businesses is that uncertainty is one of the hardest things for them to deal with.

One example of this is a call I got two weeks ago from a small business owner in New Hampshire who sells specialized agricultural equipment both in the U.S. and overseas.

This is a family business with five employees. His father founded it 50 years ago, and he reached out specifically because he’s worried about what tariffs on the components he buys from Canada could do to his business.

For the specialized equipment that he needs, there aren’t a lot of manufacturers out there.

So, he reached out to my office asking if he was going to have to pay $5,000 more in costs for each of the machines he sells.

He took over this business just a couple of years ago and he’s been working to invest to modernize it and expand.

Now he has to worry about whether he can try to grow the business, whether he might face new foreign competition or even if he can pay out bonuses or give raises to his employees.

He can’t even be certain what kind of pricing schedule he should send out for the year because his costs could go up $5,000 next month.

And last week, I heard from another small business, Granite State Packing. It’s a start-up meat-processing company that’s only two years old.

They started just two years ago, and they already have ten employees.

Last year, they actually got $1.6 million in a grant from USDA to expand their operations. That’s going to allow them to double their workforce.

In order to expand, they placed an order for $500,000 in new equipment because the specialized equipment that they use isn’t made in the United States.

Now, depending on how and when these tariffs go into effect, and when their equipment might get delivered, they could be looking at an increased bill for $125,000.

That’s going to affect whether they can follow through on the expansion, whether they can actually add the staff they want to add, and they don’t have any way of knowing if they’re going to face an unexpected $125,000 bill because President Trump and this administration hasn’t made up their mind about what they’re going do with these tariffs.

Over the weekend, I had another business owner from C&J bus lines, they run a great bus line from the seacoast of New Hampshire to Boston.

The owner told me that they’ve ordered seven new buses from Quebec—new buses because they’re made in Quebec—these tariffs would add $150,000 to the cost of each bus.

Now, between that and the higher fuel costs that they would pay, they could be looking at $1.3 million more in added costs this year because of the Trump tariff tax.

No small business can easily just absorb a 25% price increase, nor can they plan on how to grow their business and keep providing good-paying jobs with this kind of uncertainty.

Make no mistake, I’m glad the administration delayed these tariffs. I hope they understand how this action could affect America’s small businesses and the impact this would have on the economy.

And let me finally just talk about housing impacts, because New Hampshire has an affordable housing crisis.

These tariffs would make that worse.

Lumber makes up about 15% of building a house, and a lot of building materials, in addition to lumber, are imported.

The National Association of Homebuilders wrote in part, and I quote, “imposing additional tariffs on these imports will ultimately be passed on to home buyers in the form of increased housing prices.”

That means that this 25% tariff tax would directly add to the cost of building a home at a time when too many Granite Staters and too many Americans across the country already can’t afford housing.

And we shouldn’t pretend that American tariffs are going to go unanswered. Other countries are going to retaliate, and getting into a tit for tat trade war is not going to help working Americans pay their bills.

Families across New Hampshire and America are worried about the high cost of housing, about the cost of groceries, about what it costs to heat their homes.

Business owners are similarly worried about costs or unexpected expenses. I’m hearing regularly from them about the impact of the uncertainty on their ability to grow their businesses because of these tariffs.

President Trump promised during his campaign, and I’m quoting here, “to lower the price of everything,” but instead of doing something to lower costs, what he’s doing now, what his administration is doing, is planning to add a 25% tariff tax to countless imports from Canada and Mexico.

And they’ve already added a 10% tariff tax on goods coming in from China.

And again, while this was delayed at the last minute, this would raise costs for everything from groceries to housing to energy.

It would proportionately hit lower-income families.

I’m glad for the delay. I don’t want people to misunderstand that, but how is a business or a family supposed to plan when they don’t know if important costs like gas or heating or groceries are going to spike any day?

I want to finish by reading a quote here.

The quote says, “Tariffs are inflationary, and would strengthen the dollar—hardly a good starting point for U.S. Industrial renaissance.”

That’s a quote from Scott Bessent, the new Treasury Secretary who just got confirmed, when he wrote to his investors just a year ago.

I happen to agree with what he said then, but unfortunately the administration he just joined seems to be willing to risk more inflation.

These sweeping tariff tax increases would hurt American families, businesses and workers.

I’m glad the taxes on goods from Canada and Mexico were delayed.

I hope this administration can provide everyone with certainty that they won’t go into effect next month.

Thank you, Mr. President. I yield to my colleague from Vermont.

Last week, Shaheen led the New Hampshire Congressional Delegation in sending a letter to the White House urging him not to impose tariffs on Canada which are expected to cost the average Granite Stater $1,100 per year.

Earlier this year, Shaheen introduced new legislation with U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) to shield American businesses and consumers from rising prices imposed by tariffs on imported goods into the United States. The Senators’ legislation would keep costs down for imported goods by limiting the authority of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA)—which allows a President to immediately place unlimited tariffs after declaring a national emergency—while preserving IEEPA’s use for sanctions and other tools.

After the November election, a multitude of business leaders verified that, if the President placed sweeping tariffs as promised, they’d be forced to raise prices on consumers. The CEO of Best Buy said, “the vast majority of that tariff will probably be passed on to the consumer as a price increase.” The CFO of Walmart said, “there will probably be cases where prices will go up for consumers.” The CEO of Columbia Sportswear said, “we’re set to raise prices” and “it’s going to be very, very difficult to keep products affordable.” The CEO of AutoZone said, “if we get tariffs, we will pass those tariff costs back to the consumer.” The President of a Texas-based Lipow Oil Associates said, “The prices at the pump are going to go up.”
MIL OSI USA News –
February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Tillis to Chair Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property for the 119th Congress

US Senate News:

Source: United States Senator for North Carolina Thom Tillis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Thom Tillis released the following statement on his role as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property for the 119th Congress:

“I’m excited to receive the gavel from my colleague and friend Senator Coons and to return as Chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property for the 119th Congress. As a champion for strong, reliable, and predictable intellectual property rights – for inventors and creators large and small – I look forward to ushering in meaningful change within the IP space. This change includes reforming patent eligibility via the Patent Eligibility Restoration Act, reforming the Patent Trial and Appeal Board, ensuring that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office delivers on its mission to deliver high-quality and timely patents and trademarks, that the U.S. Copyright Office delivers on its mission to deliver timely registrations, as well as ensuring that theft of IP via online piracy is not tolerated via both legislative and enforcement means. I also believe the we must keep a close eye on artificial intelligence and its impact on the IP space. Strong, reliable, and predictable IP rights drive investments to innovative technologies and encourage the creation of content that employs vast numbers of U.S. citizens – all of which are critical to the economic and global competitiveness of our great country and to our national security. Therefore, I will continue to champion and push to ensure that the U.S. does not fall behind and that the U.S. remains the global innovation leader.”

MIL OSI USA News –

February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI China: China announces export controls on items related to tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum, indium

Source: China State Council Information Office

China on Tuesday announced export controls on items related to tungsten, tellurium, bismuth, molybdenum and indium, according to a statement jointly issued by the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) and the General Administration of Customs.

The policy comes into effect on Tuesday, according to the statement.

In response to media inquiries, an MOC spokesperson said the move is a common international practice.

As a major global producer and exporter of tungsten and other items, China has long been committed to fulfilling non-proliferation and other international obligations, and imposed export controls on specific items according to laws and based on the need to safeguard national security and interests, the spokesperson said.

The decision to include these items on the export control list reflects China’s holistic approach to balancing development and security, according to the spokesperson.

This move not only serves to better protect China’s national security and interests, but also enables the country to better fulfill non-proliferation and other international obligations, the spokesperson said, adding that it also safeguards the security and stability of global industrial and supply chains.

Exports that comply with relevant regulations will be permitted, according to the spokesperson.

MIL OSI China News –

February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI United Kingdom: Birmingham scores transformative investment into new Sports Quarter
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments

US company Knighthead have invested £100m to build new Sports Quarter in East Birmingham.
Following on from the Chancellors plans to go ‘further, faster on growth’ US company Knighthead has invested £100m in regeneration project in East Birmingham.

The Sports Quarter project will include a 60,000-seat stadium, sporting facilities and commercial and residential spaces, creating 8,400 new jobs and driving further investment.

Announcement is the latest in a series of job-boosting investments across the country showing the Plan for Change is working.

US company Knighthead has invested £100 million into East Birmingham, showing how the Government’s Plan for Change is boosting jobs and opportunities in the West Midlands.

The new site is estimated to create 8,400 new jobs annually in Birmingham while also supporting the wider city and West Midlands. The investment will pave the way for a new 60,000-seater stadium alongside a sports campus of training facilities, a new academy, and community pitches. Beyond sport, the campus plans also include leisure, commercial, and residential development.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will visit the site and learn about how the new Sports Quarter and surrounding area is projected to provide £370 million in growth each year.

Securing investment is central to the government’s mission to deliver economic growth which will create jobs, improve living standards, and make communities and families across the country better off as part of our Plan for Change.

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said:

The West Midlands is a powerhouse for investment, and this project will not only play a vital role in bringing thousands of new jobs into the area but will put more money into the pockets of the local community here in East Birmingham.

Seeing global investors put billions in the UK economy shows the Plan for Change is working, with more and more companies choosing Britain. This is another vote of confidence in our plans to deliver growth that supports skilled jobs and raises living standards across the country.

This is the latest in a series of investment projects into the West Midlands, as the region continues to be a powerhouse for investment. The West Midlands attracted over 130 Foreign Direct Investment Projects in 2024, creating 7,581 jobs.

Unleashing the full potential of the UK’s cities and regions is a core objective of the government’s Industrial Strategy. Facilitating investments like this is central to achieving this goal.

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy said:

The Birmingham Sports Quarter is an exciting venture that highlights how sport can be an important driver for regeneration and growth.

Across the divisions, our professional football clubs are vital community assets at the heart of towns and cities around the country, so it is fantastic to see investment directly benefiting residents of Birmingham and the wider region.

Investment continues to flow into the UK sports sector on an unprecedented level. The UK is an appealing destination for investors aiming to capitalise on diverse revenue streams and long-term growth prospects.

The commercial attractiveness of the UK sports sector is underpinned by both legacy and heritage and its position at the cutting edge of innovative subsectors such as sports-tech and women’s sports.

The Business Secretary’s visit comes after Birmingham City Football Club’s Chairman Tom Wagner’s meeting with Minister for Investment Baroness Gustafsson OBE at One Goal, the government’s annual sports investment conference. The Department for Business and Trade continues to support transformational institutional investment into UK sport and local communities.

Co-founder of Knighthead & Chairman of Birmingham City Football Club Tom Wagner said:

Birmingham and the West Midlands have huge untapped potential for growth, and we intend to seize that opportunity. With the support of government, the Sports Quarter can be a catalyst for regeneration, transforming the prospects for people in of one of the poorest parts of the UK and crowding in interest and investment from around the globe.

Richard Parker, Mayor of the West Midlands, said:

This investment is a huge vote of confidence in Birmingham and the West Midlands. It was made possible by strong partnerships with Knighthead and others committed to our region’s growth.

We’ve worked to create the perfect conditions to attract investment, and this will bring thousands of jobs, new opportunities, and a major economic boost.

Working with Tom Wagner and Knighthead, we’ll unlock our region’s full potential – delivering the Sports Quarter and lasting change for the region.

The announcement comes after the Chancellor vowed to go further and faster to kickstart economic growth last week, as the government wants to help put more money in people’s pockets.

The Budget in the Autumn fixed the foundations of the UK’s economy by putting in place measures to support economic and fiscal stability and long-term investment in national infrastructure.

Securing investment is central to the government’s mission to deliver economic growth which will create jobs, improve living standards, and make communities and families across the country better off as part of our Plan for Change.

The government’s new modern Industrial Strategy will deliver long-term, sustainable, inclusive growth right across the UK by driving investment into the economy and hardwire stability for investors, giving them the confidence to plan not just for the next year, but for the next 10 years and beyond.

Notes to editors

Today’s announcement comes off the back of Knighthead announcing its £3 billion regeneration project last March and also follows the company’s acquisition of Birmingham City Football Club in 2023.

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Published 5 February 2025
MIL OSI United Kingdom –
February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Wisconsin Man Indicted for Selling and Smuggling Firearms to Buyers in Saudi Arabia

Source: US State Government of Utah

A six-count indictment was unsealed today charging Mark John Buschman, 60, of Viroqua, Wisconsin, for allegedly selling firearms and related parts without a license to buyers in Saudi Arabia, shipping the prohibited items, and then lying to federal inspectors about it.

According to the indictment, Buschman allegedly conducted an illegal export conspiracy for more than five years, lasting from about February 2019 to about December 2024. Buschman obtained firearms and firearms parts in the U.S. and advertised the items for sale on eBay and other online marketplace-style websites. When buyers in Saudi Arabia expressed interest in the items for sale, he agreed to sell and ship the items out of the country to them. Throughout the course of the conspiracy, Saudi Arabian-based buyers paid the defendant approximately $398,000.

Court documents indicate that serial numbers from some of the firearms and firearms parts were removed before he shipped the items. The defendant then prepared the items further before shipping them by concealing the firearms and firearm parts inside of common household appliances and tools such as toasters, coffee makers, space heaters, fans, and landscaping edge trimmers. For example, the defendant concealed rifle barrels in items such as car axles, and smaller pistols inside of toasters. Using a fake return address, the defendant shipped the items through the U.S. Postal Service to freight forwarders, which are companies that specialize in the logistics of shipping items from one country to another. The defendant allegedly shipped the items to freight forwarding companies that operated out of Ohio, New Jersey, Oregon, and elsewhere without declaring that the shipments contained firearms and firearms parts.

Buschman is charged by indictment with conspiracy to smuggle goods from the United States; attempted smuggling of goods from the United States; transporting and shipping firearms with removed, obliterated, or altered serial numbers; mailing firearms as nonmailable prohibited items; unlawful dealing in firearms without a license; and making false statements to law enforcement. If convicted on all counts, Buschman faces a maximum penalty of 42 years in prison and fines of up to $1.5 million. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The Homeland Security Investigations Cleveland Office, U.S. Postal Inspection Service Cleveland Office, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives are investigating the case with assistance from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Matthew Shepherd and Jerome J. Teresinski for the Northern District of Ohio, Trial Attorney Christopher Cook of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Section, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Corey Stephan for the Western District of Wisconsin prosecuted the case.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI: Veea Issues Letter to Shareholders

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

NEW YORK, Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Veea Inc. (NASDAQ: VEEA), a pioneer in edge computing and AI-driven solutions, today issued a Letter to Shareholders from Founder and Chief Executive Officer Allen Salmasi.

Dear Fellow Shareholders,

On the occasion of Veea ringing the Nasdaq Opening Bell on February 5, I want to welcome our shareholders and share our insights with respect to our vision, strategy, and the opportunities that lie ahead.

Connecting the World at the Edge
I am thrilled to share with you that a monumental shift in technology has occurred, one that now directly aligns with our vision of the future dating back to the founding of the company ten years ago. This transformation is the convergence of Edge Computing, Hyperconverged Networks, and the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) at the very edge that all things connect to the network, commonly referred to as Edge AI.

We have developed a portfolio of fully integrated, scalable, and turnkey wireless and wired communications and computing devices and services – VeeaHub products, VeeaWare, and VeeaCloud – that deliver cloud-to-edge solutions and allow businesses to manage high volumes of data to enable real-time applications and maintain system reliability. Our solutions have been iterated over the last several years to minimize production costs, reduce installation expenses, and deliver scalability with easy integration to third party solutions, resulting in a lower total cost of ownership compared to typical edge computing solutions.

We possess more than 100 exclusively-owned patents covering 26 patent families, and a significant partner ecosystem. Our products have been deployed to enterprises and SMB/SMEs across several countries, providing real-world solutions across various end markets. We are transforming lives from remote villages in Indonesia, where Veea’s mesh network is empowering internet connectivity in health, education, and agriculture, to retailers in Mexico, farms in North America, a campus in Hong Kong, and a 21-acre commercial building complex in Orlando, Florida where our Veea Edge Platform is enabling common indoor and outdoor common area Wi-Fi.

Well Positioned to Support the 5^thIndustrial Revolution
Significant advances in AI technologies are now driving the 5th Industrial Revolution, fundamentally reshaping how we live, work, and interact. Unlike previous industrial revolutions driven by mechanization, electricity, computing, and automation, the 5th Industrial Revolution is characterized by the seamless integration of AI and human intelligence to enhance decision-making, improve productivity, and drive innovation across every sector. This is not just a technological trend; it is a pivotal force shaping the future of industries, economies, and our organization.

AI inferencing is at the heart of this revolution, driving a new business paradigm that demands a fresh approach to technology infrastructure and service delivery. AI inferencing refers to the process where a trained AI model applies its learned knowledge to analyze new, unseen data and generate predictions or decisions based on the patterns it has identified during training; essentially, it’s the “action” of using an AI model to make sense of “new information” and draw conclusions from it. For many enterprise and consumer use cases massive amounts of data must be collected and processed at the edge. Among many of its utilities, this is what Veea Edge Platform does most efficiently.

Veea’s unique implementation of Edge AI brings the power of AI closer to where data is generated—at the “edge” of networks. This means faster decision-making, reduced latency, enhanced security, increased reliability, data privacy and sovereignty, and real-time insights without the dependency on centralized cloud infrastructure. Edge Computing complements this by processing data locally, significantly improving efficiency and reducing bandwidth costs.

Edge Computing is not just a supporting technology—it is the core capability that enables AI inferencing to deliver real-time, context-aware insights to both enterprises and consumers alike. By processing data closer to the source, Edge Computing ensures that AI applications are responsive, resilient, and efficient. This shift requires businesses to adopt new operational models, emphasizing agility, scalability, and decentralized intelligence.

AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS)
At Veea, we are at the forefront of this transformation, leveraging Edge Computing to power our AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS) offerings. Traditional business models are no longer sufficient to support the speed, scale, and complexity required by broadly adopted AI-driven applications. Some believe that AI Agents will eventually replace SaaS solutions.

Hyperconverged Networking (HCN) is the backbone that supports this rapid data processing and AI-driven environment. By integrating computing, storage, and networking into a unified system, HCN enhances scalability, simplifies IT infrastructure, and ensures robust data flow between edge devices and core systems. Veea’s virtualized software environment, supporting cloud-native applications, together with one of the most advanced HCN implementations, positions us very well to lead in the delivery of highly optimized solutions in this new era, creating unparalleled value for our customers and sustainable growth for our shareholders.

Through the seamless integration of Edge AI, Edge Computing, and Hyperconverged Networking, all supported by Veea’s cloud-managed products, we are driving:

– Innovation: Delivering cutting-edge products and services that meet the demands of the widest range of the rapidly evolving digital landscape.

– Operational Efficiency: Reducing costs and improving performance for many industries.

– Growth Opportunities: Expanding into new markets and sectors that are rapidly adopting AI inferencing and edge technologies.

– Shareholder Value: Enhancing our competitive advantage, creating revenue streams, and supporting long-term financial performance.

A Unique Business Model Supported by Technology that Delivers Solutions to Real World Problems
What sets Veea apart in this transformative era is our unique business model as a Managed Service Provider (MSP) that is delivering solutions such i) as 5G fixed wireless access through our VeeaHub edge computing products with AI-driven cybersecurity, and a range of value-added services currently being rolled-out by network operators to SMBs and SME, as one of its highly scalable use cases, and ii) Edge AI inferencing through our innovative AIaaS offering with complete turnkey hardware and software solutions (i.e., full stack). This model allows us to deliver AI-powered applications and insights at scale without requiring the end-users to invest heavily in infrastructure or specialized talent.

Through our AIaaS platform, we provide end-to-end management of AI workloads, from deployment and optimization to continuous monitoring and maintenance. This approach offers several key differentiators:

– Scalability: Clients can easily scale their AI capabilities as their business grows, without the complexities of managing hardware and software.

– Cost Efficiency: By offering AI on a subscription basis, we lower the barriers to entry, making advanced AI accessible to organizations of all sizes.

– Agility: Our managed services enable rapid deployment and iteration, allowing businesses to adapt quickly to changing market demands.

– Expertise: Clients benefit from our deep expertise in AI, edge computing, and hyperconverged networking, ensuring optimal performance and reliability.

AI inferencing supported by Edge AI represents a compelling business model and a significant growth opportunity for several reasons:

– Explosive Market Demand: The global demand for real-time, data-driven decision-making is rising across industries including retail, healthcare, manufacturing, smart buildings, smart cities, and smart farming. Organizations need solutions that process data instantly, making Edge AI inferencing critical.

– Recurring Revenue Streams: The MSP and AIaaS business models enable predictable, recurring revenue through subscription-based offerings. This stabilizes our financial outlook and supports sustainable growth.

– Competitive Advantage: Edge AI allows businesses to differentiate themselves through faster, smarter, and more secure operations. By providing managed AI inferencing services, we help our clients maintain a competitive edge, which in turn strengthens our market position.

– Lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): Our managed services reduce the cost and complexity for customers, making it more attractive for businesses to adopt advanced AI without large upfront investments.

– Global Scalability: The decentralized nature of Edge AI allows us to serve clients worldwide, expanding our reach and unlocking new markets without the limitations of traditional centralized data processing.

– Rapid Innovation Cycle: Continuous improvements in AI algorithms, edge devices, and networking technologies create opportunities for us to innovate and offer enhanced services regularly, driving both customer retention and new customer acquisition.

– Portable Software Stack: Our full stack software can run on third-party hardware (i.e., CPU-based or GPU-based servers, Access Points (APs), routers, etc.) with a Linux host that meet our minimum requirements, making our cloud-managed platform hardware agnostic.

In Closing
Our commitment to innovation and excellence, combined with a differentiated business model, not only strengthens our value proposition to customers but also positions us to develop a robust, recurring revenue stream that drives sustainable growth and profitability.

We are committed to investing in these transformative technologies, fostering strategic partnerships, and continuing to lead in innovation. Our goal is to ensure that Veea remains at the forefront of this technological revolution, delivering growth and value to our shareholders.

Thank you for your continued support and trust in our vision. Together, we are shaping the future.

Warm regards,

Allen Salmasi
Founder & Chief Executive Officer

About Veea
Veea Inc. (NASDAQ: VEEA) was formed in 2014 and is headquartered in New York City with a rich history of major innovations in the development of advanced networking, wireless and computing technologies. Veea makes living and working at the edge simpler and more secure. Veea has unified multi-tenant computing, multiaccess multiprotocol communications, edge storage and cybersecurity solutions through fully integrated cloud- and edge-managed products. Veea’s fully integrated turnkey solution offers end-to-end cloud management of devices, applications and services with Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), optionally with a highly simplified plug and play 5G-based Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) offering. Veea Edge Platform™ enables direct connections from the wide area optical fiber, cellular and satellite networks to devices on the local area networks created by a VeeaHub® mesh cluster over network-managed Wi-Fi and IoT devices – a unique patented capability called Multiprotocol Private Network Slicing (MPNS) for ISPs to offer subscription-based services for one or a group of endpoints. Veea Developer Portal and development tools provide for rapid development of edge applications including federated learning with pre-trained models for inferencing to cost-effectively enable Edge AI for most enterprise use cases.

Veea was recognized in 2023 by Gartner as a Leading Smart Edge Platform for the innovativeness and capabilities of our Veea Edge Platform™ and a Cool Vendor in Edge Computing in 2021. Veea was named in Market Reports World’s in its research report published in October 2023 as one of the top 10 Edge AI solution providers alongside IBM, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services among others. For more information about Veea and its product offerings, visit veea.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“Securities Act”) as well as Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the safe harbor created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe the Company’s future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “believe,” “expect,” “may,” “will,” “should,” “would,” “could,” “seek,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “project,” “estimate,” “anticipate,” “strategy,” “future,” “likely” or other comparable terms, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. All statements other than statements of historical facts included in this press release regarding the Company’s strategies, prospects, financial condition, operations, costs, plans and objectives are forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause the Company’s actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties including those regarding: the Company’s business strategies, and the risk and uncertainties described in “Risk Factors,” “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” “Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Statements” and the additional risk described in Veea’s Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended September 30, 2024 and any subsequent filings which Veea makes with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. You should not rely upon forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. The forward-looking statements made in the press release relate only to events or information as of the date on which the statements are made in the press release. We undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events except as required by law. You should read this press release with the understanding that our actual future results may be materially different from what we expect.

The Equity Group

Devin Sullivan
Managing Director
dsullivan@equityny.com

Conor Rodriguez
Analyst
crodriguez@equityny.com

The MIL Network –

February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Superseding Indictment Charges Chinese National in Relation to Alleged Plan to Steal Proprietary AI Technology

Source: US State of California

Note: View the superseding indictment here.

A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment today charging Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, 38, with seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets in connection with an alleged plan to steal from Google LLC (Google) proprietary information related to AI technology.

Ding was initially indicted in March 2024 on four counts of theft of trade secrets. The superseding indictment returned today describes seven categories of trade secrets stolen by Ding and charges Ding with seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets.

According to the superseding indictment, Google hired Ding as a software engineer in 2019. Between approximately May 2022 and May 2023, Ding uploaded more than 1,000 unique files containing Google confidential information from Google’s network to his personal Google Cloud account, including the trade secrets alleged in the superseding indictment.

While Ding was employed by Google, he secretly affiliated himself with two People’s Republic of China (PRC)-based technology companies. Around June 2022, Ding was in discussions to be the Chief Technology Officer for an early-stage technology company based in the PRC. By May 2023, Ding had founded his own technology company focused on AI and machine learning in the PRC and was acting as the company’s CEO.

The superseding indictment alleges that Ding intended to benefit the PRC government by stealing trade secrets from Google. Ding allegedly stole technology relating to the hardware infrastructure and software platform that allows Google’s supercomputing data center to train and serve large AI models. The trade secrets contain detailed information about the architecture and functionality of Google’s Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) chips and systems and Google’s Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) systems, the software that allows the chips to communicate and execute tasks, and the software that orchestrates thousands of chips into a supercomputer capable of training and executing cutting-edge AI workloads. The trade secrets also pertain to Google’s custom-designed SmartNIC, a type of network interface card used to enhance Google’s GPU, high performance, and cloud networking products.

As alleged, Ding circulated a PowerPoint presentation to employees of his technology company citing PRC national policies encouraging the development of the domestic AI industry. He also created a PowerPoint presentation containing an application to a PRC talent program based in Shanghai. The superseding indictment describes how PRC-sponsored talent programs incentivize individuals engaged in research and development outside the PRC to transmit that knowledge and research to the PRC in exchange for salaries, research funds, lab space, or other incentives. Ding’s application for the talent program stated that his company’s product “will help China to have computing power infrastructure capabilities that are on par with the international level.”

If convicted, Ding faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for each trade-secret count and 15 years in prison and $5,000,000 fine for each economic-espionage count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey Boome and Molly K. Priedeman for the Northern District of California and Trial Attorneys Stephen Marzen and Yifei Zheng of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

Today’s action was coordinated through the Justice and Commerce Departments’ Disruptive Technology Strike Force. The Disruptive Technology Strike Force is an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation-states.

A superseding indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Australia: Interview with Sabra Lane, AM on ABC Radio

Source: Minister for Trade

Sabra Lane: The US-China trade war is escalating, with Beijing imposing retaliatory tariffs and restrictions on critical mineral exports. Where does Australia stand? Senator Don Farrell is Australia’s Trade and Tourism Minister and Special Minister of State. Minister, thanks for joining the program.

Minister for Trade: Nice to be with you, Sabra.

Sabra Lane: China has announced retaliatory action to Mr. Trump’s tariffs. They’re both Australia’s friends, but only one is an ally. Does the government back Mr Trump?

Minister for Trade: We want to have a cool, calm and collected approach to this issue. We believe that we have a very strong argument to defend free and fair trade, and that’s the argument that we put to the Chinese Government. And at the end of last year, the last of the products that had been subject to those impediments, namely crayfish, were sent back into China. When the opportunity arises, I’ll be putting exactly the same argument to my American counterpart that we support free and fair trade and it’s in the best interests of both our countries to continue to do that.

Sabra Lane: Some say it’s shakedown diplomacy. You argue, and the government says, Australia is prepared, but a slowdown in China could affect Australia. How hard could this be?

Minister for Trade: Well, it’s always possible that higher tariffs on Chinese products going into the United States will have an impact on the Australian economy. As I say, what Australia needs to do is to push issues that are in our national interest. We’re an island. We rely on trade to produce our prosperity. It’s been very successful in recent years. We’ve had record trade. One thing that this government has managed to do is to diversify our trading relationship. So, we now have new free trade agreements with the with the United Kingdom, with India. In fact, in the last few days, India made us a fresh offer to extend our free trade agreement. We’ve negotiated a new free trade agreement with the United Arab Emirates. So, all around the world, we’re looking to diversify our trading relationship so that we’re not simply reliant on one or two countries to provide for our prosperity. We’re looking for a much broader relationship and we’ve been successful in that.

Sabra Lane: Mr. Trump’s choice of Commerce Minister Howard Lutnick has not been confirmed just yet. Have you spoken with him yet or when do you expect to meet with him to discuss trade?

Minister for Trade: No, I haven’t spoken with him yet, Sabra, but I have approached the person who will be his Chief of Staff. We’ve indicated that we are very keen to talk. under their system until you get approved by the Senate, you’re not in a position to discuss with other countries. But we’ve made it very clear, and the message that’s come back from Mr Lutnick is that he is very happy to talk with us as soon as he’s legally able to do that. And I hope to be, if not the first person or first overseas minister to speak with him, to be one of the first. And when we get that opportunity, we will push our argument in our national interests that we believe in free and fair trade. That there is no reason for the American Government to impose tariffs on Australia.

Sabra Lane: We avoided them last time round on steel and aluminium. Are you confident that we can do that again?

Minister for Trade: What I’m confident about, Sabra, is that we will push the issues that are in our national interest. One of the points I’ll be making to Mr Lutnick is that since President Trump was last in the White House, American sales to Australia have virtually doubled. So, free trade has been very good for the American businesses in Australia. Of course, it’s been good for us because we have increased our trade with the United States. But right at the moment, the balance is very much in the United States’ favour. We buy almost twice as much from the United States as we sell to them. So, I pose this question; why would you impose a tariff on a country where you’ve got a surplus? And, of course, that was the argument that former Prime Minister Turnbull used with Mr Trump last time. So, I think we’ve got a very strong argument. In Singapore mid-last year, we signed another trade agreement with the United States, the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework. So, we’ve been building strong relations with the United States over the last few years. And I think we have a very, very good and strong argument. And I want to do, I want to present that argument to the United States and ask for their serious consideration about what further action they might take.

Sabra Lane: We have heard this morning with your Special Minister of State hat on, the group Advance is sending out material right now to voters that the Electoral Commission ruled at the last election was misleading. The group says it’s legal right now because it’s being sent before the writs have been issued. Do our laws need tightening to stop this kind of misleading material being sent all the time?

Minister for Trade: Well, we’ve got laws to deal with the issue of truth in advertising in the electoral context.

Sabra Lane: Well, this is getting through right now.

Minister for Trade: Well, those laws haven’t yet passed. We’ve got legislation before the Parliament that’s coming on this Thursday. They’re trying to put downward pressure on the cost of Australian elections. We want every ordinary Australian to be able to participate in the electoral process. And as you saw earlier in the week, Sabra, there’s massive amounts of money going into the Australian electoral system. We want to stop that.

Sabra Lane: Have you got to deal with the Coalition to get this passed?

Minister for Trade: Well, I’m talking to everybody, Sabra, as I have been for the last couple of years. And I’m hopeful that this Senate, this week will see the merit in putting downward pressure on the amount of money that’s being spent in Australian elections. It’s interesting over the break, President Biden himself warned that we can’t have a situation where the billionaire oligarchs simply determine who gets into the Australian Parliament. Ordinary Australians, people like you and me, Sabra, have to be able to participate in the electoral process without having billionaire sponsors determining who will and won’t get into the Parliament. So, I’m hopeful that all the discussions I’ve had and I’ve, you know, met with all of the serious players in this space and I’m hopeful that the arguments that we’re presenting for putting downward pressure on the cost of Australian elections will be successful.

Sabra Lane: Minister, thanks for joining us this morning.

Minister for Trade: Nice talking with you, Sabra.

Sabra Lane: That’s Don Farrell, the Minister for Trade and Tourism and the Special Minister of State.

MIL OSI News –

February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Superseding Indictment Charges Chinese National in Relation to Alleged Plan to Steal Proprietary AI Technology

Source: United States Attorneys General 12

Note: View the superseding indictment here.

A federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment today charging Linwei Ding, also known as Leon Ding, 38, with seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets in connection with an alleged plan to steal from Google LLC (Google) proprietary information related to AI technology.

Ding was initially indicted in March 2024 on four counts of theft of trade secrets. The superseding indictment returned today describes seven categories of trade secrets stolen by Ding and charges Ding with seven counts of economic espionage and seven counts of theft of trade secrets.

According to the superseding indictment, Google hired Ding as a software engineer in 2019. Between approximately May 2022 and May 2023, Ding uploaded more than 1,000 unique files containing Google confidential information from Google’s network to his personal Google Cloud account, including the trade secrets alleged in the superseding indictment.

While Ding was employed by Google, he secretly affiliated himself with two People’s Republic of China (PRC)-based technology companies. Around June 2022, Ding was in discussions to be the Chief Technology Officer for an early-stage technology company based in the PRC. By May 2023, Ding had founded his own technology company focused on AI and machine learning in the PRC and was acting as the company’s CEO.

The superseding indictment alleges that Ding intended to benefit the PRC government by stealing trade secrets from Google. Ding allegedly stole technology relating to the hardware infrastructure and software platform that allows Google’s supercomputing data center to train and serve large AI models. The trade secrets contain detailed information about the architecture and functionality of Google’s Tensor Processing Unit (TPU) chips and systems and Google’s Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) systems, the software that allows the chips to communicate and execute tasks, and the software that orchestrates thousands of chips into a supercomputer capable of training and executing cutting-edge AI workloads. The trade secrets also pertain to Google’s custom-designed SmartNIC, a type of network interface card used to enhance Google’s GPU, high performance, and cloud networking products.

As alleged, Ding circulated a PowerPoint presentation to employees of his technology company citing PRC national policies encouraging the development of the domestic AI industry. He also created a PowerPoint presentation containing an application to a PRC talent program based in Shanghai. The superseding indictment describes how PRC-sponsored talent programs incentivize individuals engaged in research and development outside the PRC to transmit that knowledge and research to the PRC in exchange for salaries, research funds, lab space, or other incentives. Ding’s application for the talent program stated that his company’s product “will help China to have computing power infrastructure capabilities that are on par with the international level.”

If convicted, Ding faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine for each trade-secret count and 15 years in prison and $5,000,000 fine for each economic-espionage count. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Casey Boome and Molly K. Priedeman for the Northern District of California and Trial Attorneys Stephen Marzen and Yifei Zheng of the National Security Division’s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

Today’s action was coordinated through the Justice and Commerce Departments’ Disruptive Technology Strike Force. The Disruptive Technology Strike Force is an interagency law enforcement strike force co-led by the Departments of Justice and Commerce designed to target illicit actors, protect supply chains, and prevent critical technology from being acquired by authoritarian regimes and hostile nation-states.

A superseding indictment is merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

MIL Security OSI –

February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI New Zealand: Unemployment climbs above 5%

Source: Council of Trade Unions – CTU

Data released today by Statistics NZ shows that unemployment rose to 5.1%, with 33,000 more people out of work than last year said NZCTU Te Kauae Kaimahi Economist Craig Renney. “The latest data shows that employment fell in Aotearoa at its fastest rate since the GFC. Unemployment rose in 8 out 12 regions. 2.5m fewer hours were worked last year. There is a real and growing problem in the labour market.”

This data should be a wakeup call to the Government about the economy. Renney said “Unemployment is a lagging indicator and is forecast to continue to keep increasing. Nothing in this data suggests that these forecasts are going to change. The number of people who want more work and can’t get it is at its highest rate since COVID.

“Ahead of Waitangi Day, we should note that unemployment for Māori is nearly twice the rate of the general population at 9.2%. 5,700 more Māori are out of work than last year. Pacific Peoples unemployment is 9.6%, and unemployment for young people (15-24 year olds) is up 13,800 annually. The NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) rate was last this high, on a comparable basis, in 2012 according to Stats NZ.” Renney said.

“Wage increases are slowing, with nearly half (46%) of working people getting a pay rise less than CPI. With the minimum wage rising by only 1.5% in April, this is another trend likely to continue. With part-time work growing, but full-time work declining, maintaining incomes in households is going to be increasingly difficult.

“Right now, there is no plan for the economy. No plan for the labour market. The economy is in sharp recession. Unemployment is rising. It’s time for a plan for New Zealand. We are losing record numbers of people overseas, and without that these numbers would likely have been much worse,” said Renney.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Security: Indian Nationals Convicted of Money Laundering Conspiracy That Took Life Savings from Victims in Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, and Indiana

Source: Office of United States Attorneys

TOLEDO, Ohio – After a six-day trial, a federal jury convicted two men of participating in a vast money laundering conspiracy that robbed victims from across four states of their life savings. Pranay Kumar Mamidi, 27, and Kishan Vinayak Patel, 26, both nationals of the Republic of India, were found guilty of participating in a money laundering conspiracy, concealing the source of the money, and using the illegally gained money to further promote a criminal enterprise.

According to court documents, from about May to November 2023, Mamidi and Patel, along with other co-conspirators, engaged in a multi-layered scheme to launder proceeds derived from a fraud known as a phantom hacker scam. In this type of scam, a scammer, acting as a customer service representative for a store or bank, contacts a target victim and falsely informs them that their bank account has been hacked or compromised. Next, the victim is directed to a fake federal law enforcement agent for supposed assistance. The fake federal agent then proceeds to obtain the victim’s savings by deception, typically threatening imminent seizure or arrest.

In one common example, elderly victims are contacted by someone pretending to be an Amazon, Inc. employee, who informs the victim of suspicious activity on their accounts. Next, the victim is contacted by another person who claims to be from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and informs the victim that their identity was stolen. The victim is then contacted by another individual who claims to be a Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) special agent. The fake DEA special agent claims that the account in question is being investigated for facilitating fraud and has resulted in supposed arrest warrants for the victim. Fearing legal actions, the victim follows the scammer’s instructions to pull their savings from their bank account and convert funds into cash or gold bars. The victim is further instructed to give another supposed law enforcement official cash and/or gold bars at a designated drop-off point such as a gas station or fast food restaurant. After the drop, the victim is then sent a receipt which appears to be from the U.S. Department of the Treasury and completes the illusion of a legitimate transaction.

According to court documents, the defendants in this case served as money launderers for other co-conspirators throughout the world who participated in phantom hacker schemes based out of India. The U.S. based money laundering infrastructure allowed funds illegally taken from victims to be distributed throughout the world. Investigators estimate that the total amount of money laundered is in the tens of millions of dollars.

Sentencing has not yet been scheduled. Mamidi and Patel each face a maximum of 20 years in prison for each count of conviction.

Six other defendants also named in the second superseding indictment filed in August 2024 were also charged. The following have pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing: Dileep Kumar Sakineni, age 26; Balaji Rakesh Mulpuri, age 26; Avi Jitendrakumar Patel, age 22; Sai Hruthik Thodeti, age 25; and Srinivas Ravi Valluru, age 31, all nationals of the Republic of India; and Hiren Jagdishbhai Patel, age 33, of Columbus, Ohio.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI-Cleveland Field Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert Melching and Dexter Phillips for the Northern District of Ohio.

The investigation and prosecution of this case is in response to the Elder Justice Initiative Program originating from the Elder Abuse Prevention and Prosecution Act of 2017 (EAPPA). The mission of the EAPPA and Elder Justice Initiative is to support and coordinate the Department of Justice’s enforcement efforts to combat elder abuse, neglect, financial fraud, and scams that target the nation’s elderly population.

If you suspect fraudulent conduct involving an older adult, please contact the dedicated National Elder Fraud Hotline at 1-833-FRAUD-11 or 1-833-372-8311 and visit the FBI’s IC3 Elder Fraud Complaint Center at IC3.gov to report it.

MIL Security OSI –

February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Florida Court Orders Brazilian Nationals to Pay Over $128 Million for Fraudulent Commodity Pool Scheme

Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida issued an order of default judgment against Brazilian nationals Emerson Pires and Flavio Goncalves, as well as Florida resident Joshua Nicholas, for fraud in connection with the EmpiresX commodity pool scheme and other violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.
The order requires Pires and Goncalves to pay, jointly and severally, more than $32 million in disgorgement and more than $96 million in civil monetary penalties. Nicholas is required to pay $289,000 in disgorgement and $867,000 in civil monetary penalties. The order also permanently enjoins the three individual defendants from engaging in conduct that violates the CEA, as charged, and permanently bans them from registering with the CFTC and from trading in any CFTC-regulated markets.
The order resolves a CFTC complaint filed on June 30, 2022. [See CFTC Press Release No. 8551-22.]
The court previously ordered commodity pool operator Empires Consulting Corp. to pay $64 million in monetary sanctions for the fraud scheme. [See CFTC Press Release No. 8879-24.]
Case Background
The order finds that beginning in approximately September 2020, the defendants fraudulently solicited individuals to trade commodity futures and options and other products through commodity interest pools under the name EmpiresX through the EmpiresX website and in online videos posted on social media platforms. During the relevant period, Pires and Goncalves, along with Empires Consulting, the Florida corporation that operated the EmpiresX commodity pools, accepted and pooled at least $41.6 million from over 12,500 individuals. The order finds Pires and Goncalves collectively retained over $32 million in ill-gotten gains.
According to the order, Pires, Goncalves, and Nicholas knowingly made false claims regarding the use of pool participant funds, the size of the pools, and participant returns. The order further finds Nicholas showed pool participants an account page he identified as EmpiresX’s profitable account with a large, well-known electronic trading platform, when in fact EmpiresX had no account with that platform, and defendants created a fake website that mimicked the platform’s website to mislead participants into thinking that EmpiresX was actually trading their funds. By November 2021, the defendants stopped honoring participant withdrawal requests.
The order finds Pires, Goncalves, and Nicholas acted as associated persons of a commodity pool operator, Empires Consulting Corporation, without registering as required, and committed fraud in connection with EmpiresX. It further finds Pires and Goncalves commingled pool funds in violation of the CEA.
Parallel Criminal/Civil Enforcement Actions
On Sept. 8, 2022, the Department of Justice announced Nicholas pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud in connection with his role in the EmpiresX scheme. [See DOJ press release here.]
On June 21, 2023, the Securities and Exchange Commission obtained default judgment against Pires and Goncalves for their role in the EmpiresX scheme. SEC v. Empires Consulting Corp., No. 22-21995-Civ, ECF No. 48 (S.D. Fla. June 21, 2023).
The CFTC thanks the SEC and National Futures Association for their assistance in this matter.
The Division of Enforcement staff responsible for this matter are Heather N. Dasso, Ben Sedrish, Elizabeth N. Pendleton, Scott R. Williams, and Robert T. Howell.

* * * * * * *
Fraud Advisory
The CFTC has issued several customer protection fraud advisories and articles, including the Commodity Pool Fraud Advisory, which provides information about a type of fraud involving individuals and firms — often unregistered — offering investments in commodity pools and how customers can detect, avoid, and report these scams.
The CFTC also strongly urges the public to verify a company’s registration with the CFTC at NFA BASIC before committing funds. If unregistered, a customer should be wary of providing funds to that company.
Suspicious activities or information, such as possible violations of commodity trading laws, should be reported to the Division of Enforcement via a toll-free hotline 866-FON-CFTC (866-366-2382), file a tip or complaint online, or contact the CFTC Whistleblower Office at whistleblower.gov. Whistleblowers may be eligible to receive between 10 and 30 percent of the monetary sanctions collected paid from the CFTC Customer Protection Fund financed through monetary sanctions paid to the CFTC by violators of the Commodity Exchange Act.

MIL OSI USA News –

February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI USA: Shaheen Joins Young and Colleagues to Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Help Small Businesses Adopt Digital Tools
US Senate News:
Source: United States Senator for New Hampshire Jeanne Shaheen

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the former Chair and now a senior member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, joined U.S. Senators Todd Young (R-IN), Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Ted Budd (R-NC) in introducing bipartisan legislation to help small business owners integrate digital tools into their businesses. The Small Business Technological Advancement Act would clarify that small businesses can utilize the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) 7(a) loan program to finance technology that supports daily operations, including inventory management, product delivery and accounting systems.

“In an increasingly digital world, more and more companies are using technology to modernize operations and compete globally. To ensure our small businesses can compete too, we must cut red tape to allow them to utilize digital tools to help manage and grow their businesses,” said Senator Shaheen. “Our commonsense, bipartisan bill will empower small businesses to use SBA’s 7(a) loans to access new software, digital tools and online work.”

The last few years have seen an accelerated digital transformation among small businesses, pushing the adoption of software for business continuity and customer engagement. The Small Business Technological Advancement Act would help small businesses continue to bridge this technological gap by amending the Small Business Act to clarify that 7(a) loan borrowers can finance business software or cloud computing services for the following:
- Facilitating daily operations;
- Product or service delivery;
- Processing, payment, and tracking of payroll expenses;
- Human resources;
- Sales and billing functions; and/or
- Accounting or tracking of supplies, inventory, records and expenses.
Full legislative text can be found here.

As a former small business owner and now a top member of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, Shaheen fights for New Hampshire’s—and America’s—small businesses. During her time as Chair of the committee, Shaheen focused on addressing some of the biggest challenges small business owners face, reporting key legislation out of committee that included critical improvements to the State Trade Expansion Program (STEP) and improved access to federal contracting opportunities for small businesses. Shaheen recently introduced the bipartisan Helping Small Businesses THRIVE Act with Senator Bill Cassidy (R-LA) that would direct SBA to create a new program that helps small businesses lock in the cost of commodities, like gasoline or lumber, in order to protect against the future volatile price of energy and other expenses.
MIL OSI USA News –
February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – Recent developments regarding methane emissions possibly not complying with EU-New Zealand free trade agreement – E-002719/2024(ASW)
Source: European Parliament
The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union and New Zealand establishes the structures and procedures to analyse, discuss and address any matters which arise in relation to the FTA, including issues related to the Paris Agreement[1] on climate change.

The Commission services are in contact with their New Zealand counterparts to prepare the first meetings of the committees established under the FTA, which are foreseen to take place in the first half of 2025. In these bilateral exchanges, various matters of interest and concern are being anticipated and discussed, including with regard to greenhouse gases such as methane.

Independently from the FTA, the Commission is engaged with New Zealand in high level dialogues on climate change to intensify bilateral and multilateral climate cooperation, including on methane emissions. The first such dialogue took place in 2023, while the second one is expected to be held this year .

If a potential matter of concern with regard to the commitments agreed in an FTA is identified, the Commission can formally engage with New Zealand with an aim to resolve the issue. In particular, the matter can be followed-up in the relevant committee of the FTA. If no solution were to be found with respect to a potential breach, the FTA foresees the possibility to resort to dispute settlement proceedings.

The Paris Agreement is an essential element of the FTA and the Commission is committed to ensuring that its objective and purpose is respected, including in our relations with our closest partners.

[1] Key aspects of the Paris Agreement: https://unfccc.int/most-requested/key-aspects-of-the-paris-agreement
Last updated: 4 February 2025
MIL OSI Europe News –
February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Europe: Answer to a written question – European companies following the introduction of sanctions – E-002556/2024(ASW)

Source: European Parliament

From the outset, the sanctions have been designed and implemented to impose a heavy price on Russia and Belarus, whilst minimising adverse effects on the EU, its citizens and businesses.

When developing sanctions packages, the Commission carefully considers their impact on EU operators and on individual Member States. Consultations with Member States and industry are aimed at preventing adverse impacts.

Against the backdrop of Russia’s war of aggression, Ukraine has benefited from various EU support measures. The Autonomous Measures adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in June 2022 and renewed twice until June 2025 have provided duty and quota-free access for Ukrainian agricultural products to the EU market.

The Commission has been monitoring the impact of these measures closely (monitoring reports are shared with the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade) and has not found any adverse impact of liberalisation on the EU market.

Concerning the possible establishment of a mechanism to mitigate the impact of sanctions, the Commission would like to recall that the adoption of sanctions takes into account impacts on the EU’s economy and operators and systematically requires the unanimous approval by the Member States.

Last updated: 4 February 2025

MIL OSI Europe News –

February 5, 2025

MIL-OSI New Zealand: Op-Ed – Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face – OPED Conor English

Opinion – by Conor English

5 February 2025 – Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face – Boxer Mike Tyson famously said, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the face”. He was simply pointing out in his own unique direct way, that sometimes things don’t go the way you think. There can be unintended consequences. Your opponent can counter punch, so a “plan b” can be useful!

The new USA government has a plan to use tariffs as a way of incentivising other countries to do things that are helpful to the USA. Things like curtail immigrants or drugs travelling over the border, or to shift their manufacturing jobs to America. The President has described the word “tariffs” as “the most beautiful word in the dictionary” so its clear he likes the idea of using tariffs. It does have some logic. Maybe this plan will work?

So, using emergency powers that enable quick action, rather than long winded trade negotiation processes, this plan is being implemented this week. First up, 10% tariff on goods from China, and energy products from Canada. Tariffs will be set at 25% for most other goods from Canada and Mexico. If these countries change their drug, migration and manufacturing policies, the USA will look to review the tariff levels. That’s the new deal.

New Zealand had its own tariffs for many years as was fashionable. But now we seek fair trade, with no tariffs or quotas, or other non-tariff trade barriers in our trading relationships. It matters to us as a small trading country at the bottom of the world. Multilateral co-operation and enforcement frameworks such as the World Trade Organisation are vital.

America, like many countries, has a long history of using tariffs. An excellent example of how things can end up like a punch in the face, as Mike Tyson would put it, is the passing of what was known as the “Smoot Hawley” Tariff Act on June 17, 1930. This raised tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods, despite a petition signed by 1,028 economists asking President Hoover to veto the legislation. He didn’t. The theory was it would save jobs in America and protect local producers from international competition following the “Black Thursday” share market crash on October 24, 1929.

But it didn’t make things better, it made things worse.

Americas trading partners punched back. They didn’t do nothing. They retaliated, just as Canada and Mexico now have. The world economy and geopolitics has evolved significantly since the great depression and what happened then may not happen now. However, history can perhaps provide some small insight as to how this might play out.

Wikipedia tells us that after the Smoot- Hawley passed – yes – USA imports did decrease by 66% from $4.4 billion in 1929, to $1.5 billion in 1933. So that must be good for domestic jobs and industries? Well no, because other countries punched back with their own tariffs, as well as sourcing their own imports from other countries rather than America.

As a result, USA exports also decreased 61% from $5.4 billion to $2.1 billion. GNP fell from $103.1 billion in 1929 to $75.8 billion in 1931, bottoming out at $55.6 billion in 1933, a drop of around 50% over four years.

So rather than create jobs, jobs were lost, and plenty of them. Unemployment was at 8% in 1930 when the Smoot–Hawley Tariff Act was passed, but the new law failed to lower it. The unemployment rate jumped to 16% in 1931, and 25% in 1932–33. The factories that produced those export goods couldn’t sell their products, so staff lost their jobs.

Unemployment didn’t fall below early 1930s levels until the massive economic stimulus of World War 2.

As with any economy, there is always more than just one thing happening, but at that time, that is what happened in the USA. So how does this current fast changing situation effect New Zealand?

Unlike 100 years ago, we get impacted very quickly by the transmission of changes in our exchange rate, interest rates, commodity prices, share markets and trade flows. This then flows through our economy.

For example, if inflation goes up in America because of the new tariffs, international interest rates may go up, thus reducing the speed of any reductions on our mortgage rates. Dairy commodity prices might rise, but so too might international oil prices, pushing up our fuel prices and inflation. Our dollar may fall, making it cheaper for tourists to visit, but the cost of servicing our increasing national debt more expensive. Chinese built EVs may be more available and cheaper here as cars are diverted from the USA market.

There will be all sorts of positive and negative impacts, unintended consequences and unforeseen outcomes. It could be overall positive or overall negative for both America and New Zealand, but we just don’t know. We do know though that it creates more uncertainty, and that’s not helpful to anyone.

So will it be a punch in the face, as Mike Tyson suggests, or a pat on the back? Either way, we need to be fleet of foot and have a “Plan B”.

Conor English is a Director of Silvereye – a Wellington based Government relations firm, a former exporter, CEO of Federated Farmers, and Independent Advisor to the Reserve Bank of New Zealand.

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

February 5, 2025

MIL-OSI: Varonis Announces Fourth Quarter 2024 and Full-Year 2024 Financial Results

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Annual recurring revenues grew 18% year-over-year
SaaS ARR as a percentage of total ARR was approximately 53%
Year-to-date cash from operations generated $115.2 million vs. $59.4 million last year
Year-to-date free cash flow generated $108.5 million vs. $54.3 million last year

NEW YORK, Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Varonis Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: VRNS), a leader in data security, today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full-year ended December 31, 2024.

Yaki Faitelson, Varonis CEO, said, “We are excited by the approximately 50% increase in ARR from new customers, which was driven by the simplicity of SaaS and MDDR as well as customer interest in utilizing Generative AI raising awareness for our solution. We look forward to continuing our momentum and completing our SaaS transition in 2025, which will unlock many more benefits as we capture our massive opportunity.”

Guy Melamed, Varonis CFO & COO, added, “For the first time in company history, SaaS represents a majority of ARR as we finished the fourth quarter with 53% of total company ARR coming from SaaS. This demand positions the company for another year of strong ARR growth and continued improvement in free cash flow generation, while we make strategic investments aimed at supporting our goal of returning to more than 20% ARR growth.”

Financial Summary for the Fourth Quarter Ended December 31, 2024

Total revenues were $158.5 million, compared with $154.1 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.
SaaS revenues were $72.2 million, compared with $23.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Term license subscription revenues were $66.8 million, compared with $106.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Maintenance and services revenues were $19.5 million, compared with $24.9 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.
GAAP operating loss was ($17.6) million, compared to GAAP operating loss of ($5.2) million in the fourth quarter of 2023.
Non-GAAP operating income was $15.3 million, compared to non-GAAP operating income of $27.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2023.

Financial Summary for the Year Ended December 31, 2024

Total revenues were $551.0 million, compared with $499.2 million in 2023.
SaaS revenues were $208.8 million, compared with $44.4 million in 2023.
Term license subscription revenues were $254.2 million, compared with $356.5 million in 2023.
Maintenance and services revenues were $87.9 million, compared with $98.3 million in 2023.
GAAP operating loss was ($117.7) million, compared to GAAP operating loss of ($117.2) million in 2023.
Non-GAAP operating income was $15.9 million, compared to non-GAAP operating income of $28.7 million in 2023.

The tables at the end of this press release include a reconciliation of GAAP operating income (loss) to non-GAAP operating income (loss) and GAAP net income (loss) to non-GAAP net income (loss) for the three and twelve months ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. An explanation of these measures is included below under the heading “Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Performance Indicators.”

Key Performance Indicators and Recent Business Highlights

Annual recurring revenues, or ARR, was $641.9 million as of the end of the fourth quarter, up 18% year-over-year.
As of December 31, 2024, the Company had $1.2 billion in cash and cash equivalents, short-term deposits and short-term and long-term marketable securities.
During the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, the Company generated $115.2 million of cash from operations, compared to $59.4 million generated in the prior year period.
During the twelve months ended December 31, 2024, the Company generated $108.5 million of free cash flow, compared to $54.3 million generated in the prior year period.
Announced expansion of IaaS security coverage to Google Cloud, bringing the company’s proven data-centric approach to Google Cloud storage and data warehouses.
Expanded coverage to discover and classify critical data, remove exposures, and detect threats on the Databricks Data Intelligence Platform.
Broadened coverage to continuously discover and classify data and resolve issues related to data risk and overexposure within ServiceNow.

An explanation of ARR is included below under the heading “Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Performance Indicators.” In addition, the tables at the end of this press release include a reconciliation of net cash provided by operating activities to non-GAAP free cash flow. An explanation of this measure is also included below under the heading “Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Performance Indicators.”

Financial Outlook

For the first quarter of 2025, the Company expects:

Revenues of $130.0 million to $135.0 million, or year-over-year growth of 14% to 18%.
Non-GAAP operating loss of ($14.0) million to ($11.0) million.
Non-GAAP net loss per diluted share in the range of ($0.06) to ($0.04), based on 113.6 million diluted shares outstanding.

For full year 2025, the Company expects:

ARR of $737.0 million to $745.0 million, or year-over-year growth of 15% to 16%.
Net cash provided by operating activities of $132.0 million to $139.0 million.
Free cash flow of $120.0 million to $125.0 million.
Revenues of $610.0 million to $625.0 million, or year-over-year growth of 11% to 13%.
Non-GAAP operating income of $0.5 million to $10.5 million.
Non-GAAP net income per diluted share in the range of $0.13 to $0.17, based on 137.5 million diluted shares outstanding.

Actual results may differ materially from the Company’s Financial Outlook as a result of, among other things, the factors described below under “Forward-Looking Statements”.

Conference Call and Webcast
Varonis will host a conference call today, Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time, to discuss the Company’s fourth quarter 2024 and full-year 2024 financial results. To access this call, dial 877-425-9470 (domestic) or 201-389-0878 (international). The passcode is 13750890. A replay of this conference call will be available through February 11, 2025 at 844-512-2921 (domestic) or 412-317-6671 (international). The replay passcode is 13750890. A live webcast of this conference call will be available on the “Investors” page of the Company’s website (www.varonis.com), and a replay will be archived on the website as well.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures and Key Performance Indicators
Varonis believes that the use of non-GAAP operating income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) is helpful to our investors. These measures, which the Company refers to as our non-GAAP financial measures, are not prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Non-GAAP operating income (loss) is calculated as operating income (loss) excluding (i) stock-based compensation expense, (ii) payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation, and (iii) amortization of acquired intangible assets and acquisition-related expenses.

Non-GAAP net income (loss) is calculated as net income (loss) excluding (i) stock-based compensation expense, (ii) payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation, (iii) amortization of acquired intangible assets and acquisition-related expenses, (iv) foreign exchange gains (losses) which include exchange rate differences on lease contracts as a result of the implementation of ASC 842 and (v) amortization of debt issuance costs.

The Company believes that the exclusion of these expenses provides a more meaningful comparison of our operational performance from period to period and offers investors and management greater visibility to the underlying performance of our business. Specifically:

Stock-based compensation expenses utilize varying available valuation methodologies, subjective assumptions and a variety of equity instruments that can impact a company’s non-cash expenses;
Payroll taxes are tied to the exercise or vesting of underlying equity awards and the price of our common stock at the time of vesting or exercise, factors which may vary from period to period;
Acquired intangible assets are valued at the time of acquisition and are amortized over an estimated useful life after the acquisition, and acquisition-related expenses are unrelated to current operations and neither are comparable to the prior period nor predictive of future results;
The Company incurs foreign exchange gains or losses from the revaluation of its significant operating lease liabilities in foreign currencies as well as other assets and liabilities denominated in non-U.S. dollars, which may vary from period to period; and
Amortization of debt issuance costs, which relate to the Company’s convertible senior notes issued in 2020 and 2024, are a non-cash item.

Free cash flow is calculated as net cash provided by or used in operating activities less purchases of property and equipment. We believe that free cash flow is a useful indicator of liquidity that provides information to management and investors about the amount of cash provided by or used in our operations that, after the investments in property and equipment, can be used for strategic initiatives.

Each of our non-GAAP financial measures is an important tool for financial and operational decision making and for evaluating our own operating results over different periods of time. The non-GAAP financial measures do not represent our financial performance under U.S. GAAP and should not be considered as alternatives to operating income (loss) or net income (loss) or any other performance measures derived in accordance with GAAP. Non-GAAP financial measures may not provide information that is directly comparable to that provided by other companies in our industry, as other companies in our industry may calculate non-GAAP financial results differently, particularly related to non-recurring, unusual items. In addition, there are limitations in using non-GAAP financial measures because the non-GAAP financial measures are not prepared in accordance with GAAP, and exclude expenses that may have a material impact on our reported financial results. Further, stock-based compensation expense and payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation have been, and will continue to be for the foreseeable future, significant recurring expenses in our business and an important part of the compensation provided to our employees. Also, the amortization of intangible assets are expected recurring expenses over the estimated useful life of the underlying intangible asset and acquisition-related expenses will be incurred to the extent acquisitions are made in the future. Additionally, foreign exchange rates may fluctuate from one period to another, and the Company does not estimate movements in foreign currencies. Finally, the amortization of debt issuance costs are expected recurring expenses until the maturity of the senior notes in 2029.

The presentation of non-GAAP financial information is not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for the directly comparable financial measures prepared in accordance with GAAP. Varonis urges investors to review the reconciliation of our non-GAAP financial measures to the comparable GAAP financial measures included below, and not to rely on any single financial measures to evaluate our business.

A reconciliation for non-GAAP operating income (loss) and non-GAAP net income (loss) referred to in our “Financial Outlook” is not provided because, as forward-looking statements, such reconciliation is not available without unreasonable effort due to the high variability, complexity, and difficulty of estimating certain items such as charges to stock-based compensation expense and currency fluctuations which could have an impact on our consolidated results. The Company believes the information provided is useful to investors because it can be considered in the context of the Company’s historical disclosures of this measure.

ARR is a key performance indicator defined as the annualized value of active SaaS contracts, term-based subscription license contracts, and maintenance contracts in effect at the end of that period. SaaS contracts, term-based subscription license contracts, and maintenance contracts are annualized by dividing the total contract value by the number of days in the term and multiplying the result by 365. The annualized value of contracts is a legal and contractual determination made by assessing the contractual terms with our customers. The annualized value of maintenance contracts is not determined by reference to historical revenues, deferred revenues or any other GAAP financial measure over any period. ARR is not a forecast of future revenues, which can be impacted by contract start and end dates and renewal rates.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains, and statements made during the above referenced conference call will contain, “forward-looking” statements, which are subject to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including regarding the Company’s growth rate and its expectations regarding future revenues, operating income or loss or earnings or loss per share. These statements are not guarantees of future performance but are based on management’s expectations as of the date of this press release and assumptions that are inherently subject to uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements include the following: the impact of potential information technology, cybersecurity or data security breaches; risks associated with anticipated growth in Varonis’ addressable market; general economic and industry conditions, such as foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations and expenditure trends for data and cybersecurity solutions; Varonis’ ability to predict the timing and rate of subscription renewals and their impact on the Company’s future revenues and operating results; risks associated with international operations; the impact of global conflicts on the budgets of our clients and on economic conditions generally; competitive factors, including increased sales cycle time, changes in the competitive environment, pricing changes and increased competition; the risk that Varonis may not be able to attract or retain employees, including sales personnel and engineers; Varonis’ ability to build and expand its direct sales efforts and reseller distribution channels; risks associated with the closing of large transactions, including Varonis’ ability to close large transactions consistently on a quarterly basis; new product introductions and Varonis’ ability to develop and deliver innovative products; Varonis’ ability to provide high-quality service and support offerings; the expansion of cloud-delivered services; and risks associated with our convertible notes and capped-call transactions. These and other important risk factors are described more fully in Varonis’ reports and other documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission and could cause actual results to vary from expectations. All information provided in this press release and in the conference call is as of the date hereof, and Varonis undertakes no duty to update or revise this information, whether as a result of new information, new developments or otherwise, except as required by law.

About Varonis

Varonis (Nasdaq: VRNS) is a leader in data security, fighting a different battle than conventional cybersecurity companies. Our cloud-native Data Security Platform continuously discovers and classifies critical data, removes exposures, and detects advanced threats with AI-powered automation.

Thousands of organizations worldwide trust Varonis to defend their data wherever it lives — across SaaS, IaaS, and hybrid cloud environments. Customers use Varonis to automate a wide range of security outcomes, including data security posture management (DSPM), data classification, data access governance (DAG), data detection and response (DDR), data loss prevention (DLP), and insider risk management.

Varonis protects data first, not last. Learn more at www.varonis.com.

Investor Relations Contact:
Tim Perz
Varonis Systems, Inc.
646-640-2112
investors@varonis.com

News Media Contact:
Rachel Hunt
Varonis Systems, Inc.
877-292-8767 (ext. 1598)
pr@varonis.com

Varonis Systems, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Operations
(in thousands, except for share and per share data)

	Three Months Ended December 31,						Twelve Months Ended December 31,
	2024			2023			2024			2023
	Unaudited						Unaudited
Revenues:
Term license subscriptions	$	66,781		$	106,184		$	254,241		$	356,490
SaaS		72,206			22,980			208,781			44,417
Maintenance and services		19,527			24,935			87,928			98,253
Total revenues		158,514			154,099			550,950			499,160

Cost of revenues		26,055			19,347			93,847			71,751

Gross profit		132,459			134,752			457,103			427,409

Operating expenses:
Research and development		50,546			48,144			196,765			183,838
Sales and marketing		76,123			70,569			288,769			277,893
General and administrative		23,342			21,283			89,220			82,901
Total operating expenses		150,011			139,996			574,754			544,632

Operating loss		(17,552	)		(5,244	)		(117,651	)		(117,223	)
Financial income, net		7,605			5,433			34,644			30,305

Income (loss) before income taxes		(9,947	)		189			(83,007	)		(86,918	)
Income taxes		(3,047	)		(1,087	)		(12,758	)		(13,998	)

Net loss	$	(12,994	)	$	(898	)	$	(95,765	)	$	(100,916	)

Net loss per share of common stock, basic and diluted	$	(0.12	)	$	(0.01	)	$	(0.86	)	$	(0.92	)

Weighted average number of shares used in computing net loss per share of common stock, basic and diluted		112,488,376			109,007,859			111,660,541			109,141,894

*Stock-based compensation expense for the* *three* *and* *twelve months ended* *December 31, 2024* *and* *2023* *is included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations as follows (in thousands):*

	Three Months Ended December 31,				Twelve Months Ended December 31,
	2024		2023		2024		2023
	Unaudited				Unaudited
Cost of revenues	$	1,175	$	1,275	$	5,192	$	7,221
Research and development		10,709		11,199		41,766		48,679
Sales and marketing		10,509		10,186		41,494		48,047
General and administrative		10,176		8,983		38,230		35,872
	$	32,569	$	31,643	$	126,682	$	139,819

*Payroll tax expense related to stock-based compensation for the* *three* *and* *twelve months ended* *December 31, 2024* *and* *2023* *is included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations as follows (in thousands):*

	Three Months Ended December 31,				Twelve Months Ended December 31,
	2024		2023		2024		2023
	Unaudited				Unaudited
Cost of revenues	$	6	$	20	$	637	$	405
Research and development		38		133		604		365
Sales and marketing		146		152		3,196		1,972
General and administrative		16		32		1,181		518
	$	206	$	337	$	5,618	$	3,260

*Amortization of acquired intangibles and acquisition-related expenses for the* *three* *and* *twelve months ended* *December 31, 2024* *and* *2023* *is included in the Consolidated Statements of Operations as follows (in thousands):*

	Three Months Ended December 31,				Twelve Months Ended December 31,
	2024		2023		2024		2023
	Unaudited				Unaudited
Cost of revenues	$	119	$	381	$	1,263	$	1,525
Research and development		—		128		—		1,363
Sales and marketing		—		—		—		—
General and administrative		—		—		—		—
	$	119	$	509	$	1,263	$	2,888

Varonis Systems, Inc.
Consolidated Balance Sheets
(in thousands)

	December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023
	Unaudited
Assets
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	185,585		$	230,740
Marketable securities		343,383			253,175
Short-term deposits		39,450			49,800
Trade receivables, net		192,832			169,116
Prepaid expenses and other short-term assets		116,824			64,326
Total current assets		878,074			767,157
Long-term assets:
Long-term marketable securities		658,896			211,063
Operating lease right-of-use assets		45,593			51,838
Property and equipment, net		30,795			33,964
Intangible assets, net		—			1,263
Goodwill		23,135			23,135
Other assets		27,782			15,490
Total long-term assets		786,201			336,753
Total assets	$	1,664,275		$	1,103,910

Liabilities and stockholders’ equity
Current liabilities:
Trade payables	$	4,313		$	672
Accrued expenses and other short-term liabilities		164,930			125,057
Convertible senior notes, net		250,529			—
Deferred revenues		290,113			181,049
Total current liabilities		709,885			306,778
Long-term liabilities:
Convertible senior notes, net		450,243			250,477
Operating lease liabilities		42,789			51,313
Deferred revenues		2,211			886
Other liabilities		3,491			4,808
Total long-term liabilities		498,734			307,484

Stockholders’ equity:
Share capital
Common stock		113			109
Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)		2,676			(8,649	)
Additional paid-in capital		1,193,022			1,142,578
Accumulated deficit		(740,155	)		(644,390	)
Total stockholders’ equity		455,656			489,648
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	1,664,275		$	1,103,910

Varonis Systems, Inc.
Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows
(in thousands)

	Twelve Months Ended December 31,
	2024			2023
	Unaudited
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net loss	$	(95,765	)	$	(100,916	)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization		11,126			11,703
Stock-based compensation		126,682			139,819
Amortization of deferred commissions		54,392			53,072
Non-cash operating lease costs		9,526			9,468
Amortization of debt issuance costs		2,144			1,514
Amortization of premium and accretion of discount on marketable securities, net		(12,690	)		(9,354	)
Acquired in-process research and development		6,653			—

Changes in assets and liabilities:
Trade receivables		(23,716	)		(33,137	)
Prepaid expenses and other short-term assets		(35,332	)		(21,459	)
Deferred commissions		(59,820	)		(53,505	)
Other long-term assets		347			(577	)
Trade payables		3,641			(2,290	)
Accrued expenses and other short-term liabilities		17,317			(5,278	)
Deferred revenues		110,389			69,882
Other long-term liabilities		306			474
Net cash provided by operating activities		115,200			59,416

Cash flows from investing activities:
Proceeds from maturities of marketable securities		308,840			301,350
Proceeds from sales of marketable securities		111,552			—
Investment in marketable securities		(949,841	)		(517,948	)
Proceeds from short-term and long-term deposits		34,795			214,444
Investment in short-term and long-term deposits		(24,254	)		(135,823	)
Purchase of in-process research and development		(6,653	)		—
Purchases of property and equipment		(6,694	)		(5,099	)
Net cash used in investing activities		(532,255	)		(143,076	)

Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of convertible senior notes, net of issuance costs		449,635			—
Purchases of capped calls		(55,522	)		—
Proceeds from employee stock plans		16,082			11,537
Taxes paid related to net share settlement of equity awards		(38,295	)		(21,415	)
Repurchase of common stock		—			(43,522	)
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities		371,900			(53,400	)
Decrease in cash and cash equivalents		(45,155	)		(137,060	)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period		230,740			367,800
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	$	185,585		$	230,740

Varonis Systems, Inc.
Reconciliation of GAAP Measures to non-GAAP
(in thousands, except share and per share data)

	Three Months Ended December 31,						Twelve Months Ended December 31,
	2024			2023			2024			2023
	Unaudited						Unaudited
Reconciliation to non-GAAP operating income:

GAAP operating loss	$	(17,552	)	$	(5,244	)	$	(117,651	)	$	(117,223	)

Add back:
Stock-based compensation expense		32,569			31,643			126,682			139,819
Payroll tax expenses related to stock-based compensation		206			337			5,618			3,260
Amortization of acquired intangible assets and acquisition-related expenses		119			509			1,263			2,888
Non-GAAP operating income	$	15,342		$	27,245		$	15,912		$	28,744

Reconciliation to non-GAAP net income:

GAAP net loss	$	(12,994	)	$	(898	)	$	(95,765	)	$	(100,916	)

Add back:
Stock-based compensation expense		32,569			31,643			126,682			139,819
Payroll tax expenses related to stock-based compensation		206			337			5,618			3,260
Amortization of acquired intangible assets and acquisition-related expenses		119			509			1,263			2,888
Foreign exchange rate differences, net		3,129			2,290			827			(916	)
Amortization of debt issuance costs		880			381			2,144			1,514
Non-GAAP net income	$	23,909		$	34,262		$	40,769		$	45,649

GAAP weighted average number of shares used in computing net loss per share of common stock – basic and diluted		112,488,376			109,007,859			111,660,541			109,141,894
Non-GAAP weighted average number of shares used in computing net income per share of common stock – basic		112,488,376			109,007,859			111,660,541			109,141,894
Non-GAAP weighted average number of shares used in computing net income per share of common stock – diluted		135,097,388			126,061,869			130,278,825			126,585,777

GAAP net loss per share of common stock – basic and diluted	$	(0.12	)	$	(0.01	)	$	(0.86	)	$	(0.92	)
Non-GAAP net income per share of common stock – basic	$	0.21		$	0.31		$	0.37		$	0.42
Non-GAAP net income per share of common stock – diluted	$	0.18		$	0.27		$	0.31		$	0.36

Varonis Systems, Inc.
Reconciliation of GAAP Measures to non-GAAP
(in millions)

	Twelve Months Ended December 31,
	2024			2023
	Unaudited
Reconciliation to non-GAAP free cash flow:
Net cash provided by operating activities	$	115.2		$	59.4
Purchases of property and equipment		(6.7	)		(5.1	)
Free cash flow	$	108.5		$	54.3

Varonis Systems, Inc.
Reconciliation of GAAP Measures to non-GAAP
(in millions)

	Twelve Months Ended December 31, 2025
	Low			High
Reconciliation to non-GAAP free cash flow:
Net cash provided by operating activities	$	132.0		$	139.0
Purchases of property and equipment		(12.0	)		(14.0	)
Free cash flow	$	120.0		$	125.0

The MIL Network –

February 5, 2025

MIL-OSI: Key Tronic Corporation Announces Results For the Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2025

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash., Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Key Tronic Corporation (Nasdaq: KTCC), a provider of electronic manufacturing services (EMS), today announced its results for the quarter ended December 28, 2024. These results are in line with the updated guidance provided on January 24, 2025.

For the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, Key Tronic reported total revenue of $113.9 million, compared to $147.8 million in the same period of fiscal year 2024. The lower than anticipated revenue and earnings for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 are primarily due to unexpected shortages for specific components managed by a large customer, lower-than-expected production during the holiday season, and reduced demand from certain customers which together lowered revenue by approximately $15 million from initial guidance for the quarter. For the first six months of fiscal year 2025, total revenue was $245.4 million, compared to $298.0 million in the same period of fiscal year 2024.

Gross margins were 6.8% and operating margins were (1.0)% in the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, compared to 8.0% and 2.7%, respectively, in the same period of fiscal year 2024. The decline in margins for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025 primarily reflects the reduction of revenue. As previously announced, interest expense also included approximately $1.0 million in write-offs of unamortized loan fees related to refinancing the Company’s debt with a new lender.

The net loss was $(4.9) million or $(0.46) per share for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, compared to net income of $1.1 million or $0.10 per share for the same period of fiscal year 2024. For the first six months of fiscal year 2025, the net loss was $(3.8) million or $(0.35) per share, compared to net income of $1.4 million or $0.13 per share for the same period of fiscal year 2024.

The adjusted net loss was $(4.1) million or $(0.38) per share for the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, compared to adjusted net income of $1.1 million or $0.10 per share for the same period of fiscal year 2024. The adjusted net loss was $(2.9) million or $(0.27) per share for first six months of fiscal year 2025, compared to adjusted net income of $1.2 million or $0.11 per share for the same period of fiscal year 2024. See “Non-GAAP Financial Measures,” below for additional information about adjusted net income and adjusted net income per share.

“As we announced today, we’re planning to significantly increase production capacity in Arkansas and Vietnam in order to continue to benefit from the growing customer demand for rebalancing their contract manufacturing. We believe these initiatives should help mitigate the adverse impact and uncertainties surrounding the recently announced tariffs on goods manufactured in China and Mexico,” said Brett Larsen, President and CEO.

“We are disappointed with the unexpected decline in revenue in the second quarter of fiscal 2025, however, we expect our revenue and earnings to improve in the third quarter of fiscal year 2025 as strategic initiatives undertaken in previous quarters come to fruition. We’re actively streamlining our international and domestic operations, with further headcount reductions to enhance efficiency, building on similar actions a year ago. We’re also pleased to see our inventory levels being more in line with current revenue levels and expect that these strategic changes will improve our overall profitability in the longer term.”

“At the same time, we continued to win new programs, such as aerospace systems and an energy resiliency technology program, which was recently announced. Once fully ramped, the latter program could generate annual revenue for us in excess of $60 million. We also closed on a long-term debt refinancing agreement during the quarter that expands available capital for growth. We believe Key Tronic remains well positioned for increased growth and profitability in coming periods.”

The financial data presented for the second quarter of fiscal 2025 should be considered preliminary and could be subject to change, as the Company’s independent auditor has not completed their review procedures.

Business Outlook

Due to uncertainty in the economic and political environments related to the impact of recently announced potential tariffs, Key Tronic will not be issuing revenue or earnings guidance for the third quarter of fiscal year 2025.

Conference Call

Key Tronic will host a conference call to discuss its financial results at 2:00 PM Pacific (5:00 PM Eastern) today. A broadcast of the conference call will be available at www.keytronic.com under “Investor Relations” or by calling 888-394-8218 or +1-313-209-4906 (Access Code: 2254355). The Company will also reference accompanying slides that can be viewed with the webcast at www.keytronic.com under “Investor Relations”. A replay will be available at www.keytronic.com under “Investor Relations”.

About Key Tronic

Key Tronic is a leading contract manufacturer offering value-added design and manufacturing services from its facilities in the United States, Mexico, China and Vietnam. The Company provides its customers with full engineering services, materials management, worldwide manufacturing facilities, assembly services, in-house testing, and worldwide distribution. Its customers include some of the world’s leading original equipment manufacturers. For more information about Key Tronic visit: www.keytronic.com

Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to those including such words as aims, anticipates, believes, continues, estimates, expects, hopes, intends, plans, predicts, projects, targets, will, or would, similar verbs, or nouns corresponding to such verbs, which may be forward looking. Forward-looking statements also include other passages that are relevant to expected future events, performances, and actions or that can only be fully evaluated by events that will occur in the future. Forward-looking statements in this release include, without limitation, the Company’s statements regarding its expectations with respect to financial conditions and results, including revenue and earnings, cost savings from headcount reduction and the Mexican Peso exchange rate, demand for certain products and the effectiveness of some of its programs, business from customers and programs, and impacts from operational streamlining and efficiencies, including reductions in inventories. There are many factors, risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those predicted or projected in forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: the future of the global economic environment and its impact on our customers and suppliers; the success and timing of our expansion plans; the availability of components from the supply chain; the availability of a healthy workforce; the accuracy of suppliers’ and customers’ forecasts; development and success of customers’ programs and products; timing and effectiveness of ramping of new programs; success of new-product introductions; the risk of legal proceedings or governmental investigations relating to the previously reported financial statement restatements and related material weaknesses, the May 2024 cybersecurity incident and the subject of the internal investigation by the Company’s Audit Committee and related or other unrelated matters; acquisitions or divestitures of operations or facilities; technology advances; changes in pricing policies by the Company, its competitors, customers or suppliers; impact of new governmental legislation and regulation, including tax reform, tariffs and related activities, such trade negotiations and other risks; and other factors, risks, and uncertainties detailed from time to time in the Company’s SEC filings.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

To supplement our consolidated financial statements, which are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (GAAP), we use certain non-GAAP financial measures, adjusted net income and adjusted net income per share, diluted. We provide these non-GAAP financial measures because we believe they provide greater transparency related to our core operations and represent supplemental information used by management in its financial and operational decision making. We exclude (or include) certain items in our non-GAAP financial measures as we believe the net result is a measure of our core business. We believe this facilitates operating performance comparisons from period to period by eliminating potential differences caused by the existence and timing of certain income and expense items that would not otherwise be apparent on a GAAP basis. Non-GAAP performance measures should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, results prepared in accordance with GAAP. We strongly encourage investors and shareholders to review our financial statements and publicly-filed reports in their entirety and not to rely on any single financial measure. Our non-GAAP financial measures may be different from those reported by other companies. See the table below entitled “Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures” for reconciliations of adjusted net income to the most directly comparable GAAP measure, which is GAAP net income, and the computation of adjusted net income per share, diluted.


CONTACTS:	Tony Voorhees	Michael Newman
	Chief Financial Officer	Investor Relations
	Key Tronic Corporation	StreetConnect
	(509)-927-5345	(206) 729-3625

KEY TRONIC CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended						Six Months Ended
	December 28, 2024			December 30, 2023			December 28, 2024			December 30, 2023
Net sales	$	113,853		$	147,847		$	245,411		$	297,959
Cost of sales		106,147			136,084			224,402			275,334
Gross profit		7,706			11,763			21,009			22,625
Research, development and engineering expenses		2,320			1,758			4,609			3,999
Selling, general and administrative expenses		6,507			6,057			13,077			11,841
Gain on insurance proceeds, net of losses		—			—			—			(431	)
Total operating expenses		8,827			7,815			17,686			15,409
Operating income (loss)		(1,121	)		3,948			3,323			7,216
Interest expense, net		3,904			2,961			7,167			5,972
Income (loss) before income taxes		(5,025	)		987			(3,844	)		1,244
Income tax benefit		(111	)		(97	)		(54	)		(175	)
Net income (loss)	$	(4,914	)	$	1,084		$	(3,790	)	$	1,419
Net income (loss) per share — Basic	$	(0.46	)	$	0.10		$	(0.35	)	$	0.13
Weighted average shares outstanding — Basic		10,762			10,762			10,762			10,762
Net income (loss) per share — Diluted	$	(0.46	)	$	0.10		$	(0.35	)	$	0.13
Weighted average shares outstanding — Diluted		10,762			10,889			10,762			10,889

KEY TRONIC CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In thousands)
(Unaudited)

	December 28, 2024			June 29, 2024
ASSETS
Current assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	4,244		$	4,752
Trade receivables, net of credit losses of $2,931 and $2,918		113,132			132,559
Contract assets		18,892			21,250
Inventories, net		100,709			105,099
Other, net of credit losses of $1,496 and $1,679		24,159			24,739
Total current assets		261,136			288,399
Property, plant and equipment, net		27,123			28,806
Operating lease right-of-use assets, net		13,829			15,416
Other assets:
Deferred income tax asset		19,287			17,376
Other		6,454			5,346
Total other assets		25,741			22,722
Total assets	$	327,829		$	355,343
LIABILITIES AND SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Current liabilities:
Accounts payable	$	63,585		$	79,394
Accrued compensation and vacation		6,218			6,510
Current portion of long-term debt		5,063			3,123
Other		18,904			15,149
Total current liabilities		93,770			104,176
Long-term liabilities:
Long-term debt, net		106,020			116,383
Operating lease liabilities		8,429			10,312
Deferred income tax liability		9			263
Other long-term obligations		114			219
Total long-term liabilities		114,572			127,177
Total liabilities		208,342			231,353
Shareholders’ equity:
Common stock, no par value—shares authorized 25,000; issued and outstanding 10,762 and 10,762 shares, respectively		47,367			47,284
Retained earnings		73,131			76,921
Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(1,011	)		(215	)
Total shareholders’ equity		119,487			123,990
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity	$	327,829		$	355,343

KEY TRONIC CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
Reconciliation of GAAP to non-GAAP measures
(In thousands, except per share amounts)
(Unaudited)

	Three Months Ended						Six Months Ended
	December 28, 2024			December 30, 2023			December 28, 2024			December 30, 2023
GAAP net income (loss)	$	(4,914	)	$	1,084		$	(3,790	)	$	1,419
Gain on insurance proceeds (net of losses)		—			—			—			(431	)
Stock-based compensation expense		16			53			83			112
Write-off of unamortized loan fees		1,012			—			1,012			—
Income tax effect of non-GAAP adjustments (1)		(206	)		(11	)		(219	)		64
Adjusted net income (loss):	$	(4,092	)	$	1,126		$	(2,914	)	$	1,164

Adjusted net income (loss) per share — non-GAAP Diluted	$	(0.38	)	$	0.10		$	(0.27	)	$	0.11
Weighted average shares outstanding — Diluted		10,762			10,889			10,762			10,889

(1) Income tax effects are calculated using an effective tax rate of 20%, which approximates the statutory GAAP tax rate for the presented periods.

The MIL Network –

February 5, 2025

MIL-OSI: Nokia Corporation: Repurchase of own shares on 04.02.2025
Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Nokia Corporation
Stock Exchange Release
4 February 2025 at 22:30 EET

Nokia Corporation: Repurchase of own shares on 04.02.2025

Espoo, Finland – On 4 February 2025 Nokia Corporation (LEI: 549300A0JPRWG1KI7U06) has acquired its own shares (ISIN FI0009000681) as follows:

Trading venue (MIC Code) Number of shares Weighted average price / share, EUR*

XHEL 1,221,522 4.52

CEUX – –

BATE – –

AQEU – –

TQEX – –

Total 1,221,522 4.52

* Rounded to two decimals

On 22 November 2024, Nokia announced that its Board of Directors is initiating a share buyback program to offset the dilutive effect of new Nokia shares issued to the shareholders of Infinera Corporation and certain Infinera Corporation share-based incentives. The repurchases in compliance with the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR), the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 and under the authorization granted by Nokia’s Annual General Meeting on 3 April 2024 started on 25 November 2024 and end by 31 December 2025 and target to repurchase 150 million shares for a maximum aggregate purchase price of EUR 900 million.

Total cost of transactions executed on 4 February 2025 was EUR 5,526,288. After the disclosed transactions, Nokia Corporation holds 238,124,606 treasury shares.

Details of transactions are included as an appendix to this announcement.

On behalf of Nokia Corporation

BofA Securities Europe SA

About Nokia
At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.

With truly open architectures that seamlessly integrate into any ecosystem, our high-performance networks create new opportunities for monetization and scale. Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.

Inquiries:

Nokia Communications
Phone: +358 10 448 4900
Email: press.services@nokia.com
Maria Vaismaa, Global Head of External Communications

Nokia Investor Relations
Phone: +358 931 580 507
Email: investor.relations@nokia.com

Attachment
- Daily Report 2025-02-04
The MIL Network –
February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Global: Trump’s opening tariff salvo will hurt US consumers − following through on Canada, Mexico threats will increase the price pain

Source: The Conversation – USA – By Jason Reed, Associate Teaching Professor of Finance, University of Notre Dame

If U.S. voters reelected Donald Trump hoping for relief from higher prices, his recent threats to impose tariffs on America’s three largest trade partners might make them think again.

On Saturday, Feb. 1, Trump announced 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico and 10% tariffs on China, which he said would take effect on Tuesday, Feb. 4. While markets braced for the news to some degree, they still saw a steep premarket sell-off on Monday, Feb. 3, followed by morning volatility.

While Canada and Mexico negotiated monthlong reprieves on Monday, the new tariffs on China went into effect as expected Tuesday, Feb. 4. And while the ultimate shape of Trump’s tariff policy remains to be seen, the president warned that American consumers could feel “some pain” as a result.

Given my training as an economist and finance professor, I think Trump could be right on that score. In fact, if the tariffs go into effect, they could spell disaster for the Federal Reserve’s inflation reduction efforts.

From grocery stores to homes

U.S. consumers might be surprised to find out that almost every economic sector could be affected by this opening salvo of tariffs, should they go ahead in March. Imports from Mexico and Canada reached close to US$1 trillion in 2024, almost double the amount the U.S. imports from China.

The U.S. is particularly reliant on Mexico for fresh fruits and vegetables, and on Canada for lumber. So if the tariffs go into effect, Americans who have been waiting for home prices to ease may have to continue waiting, as tariffs on lumber and other building materials could worsen the affordable-housing crunch. And let’s not even talk about avocado prices.

Meanwhile, the 10% tariffs on Chinese goods will likely boost the price of electronics, and China has already imposed retaliatory measures. Trump has also proposed 25% tariffs on Taiwan and its semiconductor industry, in an attempt to push Taiwanese companies to invest more in U.S. manufacturing. If that tariff were to go into effect, prices for U.S. consumers would be even higher.

A tax by any other name …

Tariffs are an import tax. They’re passed through the supply chain in the form of higher prices and are eventually paid by consumers. Traditionally, governments have used tariffs as a fiscal tool to encourage businesses and consumers to move away from foreign-made products and support domestic businesses instead.

In theory, new tariffs could encourage foreign businesses to invest in the U.S. and make more stuff on American soil. Unfortunately, domestic manufacturing has seen a systemic decline since the 1980s, resulting in lower prices for consumers but severely limiting U.S.-produced products. In the short term, at least, import taxes on Canadian, Mexican and Chinese products would ultimately be paid by U.S. consumers.

Although this round of tariff threats may seem arbitrary to some, the Trump administration says it considers tariffs deeply intertwined with national security concerns. Stephen Miran, Trump’s pick to chair the president’s Council of Economic Advisers, has laid out a path for Trump’s tariff plan, which he says is aimed at putting American industry on fairer ground against the rest of the world.

In the long term, it’s unclear whether Trump’s threatened trade war will bring domestic manufacturing back to the U.S. and start a new industrial renaissance. In the meantime, American consumers will likely be stuck holding the bag.

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

– ref. Trump’s opening tariff salvo will hurt US consumers − following through on Canada, Mexico threats will increase the price pain – https://theconversation.com/trumps-opening-tariff-salvo-will-hurt-us-consumers-following-through-on-canada-mexico-threats-will-increase-the-price-pain-248991

MIL OSI – Global Reports –

February 5, 2025

MIL-OSI New Zealand: Proposed changes to cost recovery settings: 2025 annual review

Source: Ministry for Primary Industries

Have your say

The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) seeks your feedback on increases to:

the Dairy Standards Processor Levy and the Dairy Exporter Levy
veterinary service fees for establishments
veterinary service fees for live animal imports and exports, including germplasm
the Raw Milk Levy
the Homekill Levy.

We’re also proposing 6 relatively small design changes to ensure appropriate charging for the services provided.

Summaries of the proposals are on this page and full details are in the consultation document.

Consultation opened on 5 February and we must get your submissions by 5pm on 7 March 2025.

Consultation document

Annual review 2025: Proposed changes to MPI’s cost recovery settings [PDF, 1.9 MB]

What’s being proposed?

Fee/levy	Current rate	Proposed rate
Dairy Standards Processor Levy total revenue per annum	$4,279,580	$5,576,268
Dairy Exporter Levy revenue per annum	$834,567	$1,541,334
Establishments fees (vets) per hour	$128.15	$152.42 or $155.80
Establishments fees (supervising vets) per hour	$136.45	$169.89 or $173.71
Veterinary service fees for live animal imports and exports, including germplasm per hour	$186.30	$216.84
Raw Milk Levy per annum	$581.25	2% increases per annum for 3 years. $616.83 by 2027–28.
Homekill Levy per annum	$100	2% increases per annum for 3 years. $106.12 by 2027–28.

Summaries of proposed regulatory design changes to 6 other cost recovery settings

1. Clearance of increased regulatory interest and high regulatory interest foods (for example, frozen berries)

Regulations currently include an administration activity fee for importing of increased regulatory interest food or high regulatory interest food. Under the regulations, charging is specified as being for “each consignment”. The administration activity is often done for groups of consignments, for example, where a group of consignments comes from a single origin, rather than for each consignment within that group. This saves time and reduces the bill for the importer. It is proposed to amend the regulations to clarify that charging is done for “each consignment or group of consignments of a single origin”.

2. Levy waiver relating to the former Meat Industry Initiative Fund

Regulations state amounts to be charged for a now-ended Meat Initiative Fund. A permanent waiver is in place so that these amounts are not actually charged. The design change proposes to replace the waiver with a change to the regulations to clarify that these charges have ceased.

3. Food export exemptions

It is proposed to add a new charge of $135 per application plus $33.75 per quarter hour beyond the first hour to recover the cost of the work undertaken by MPI officials to process exemption requests under section 347 of the Food Act 2014. For example, if food is destined solely for export, it should comply with standards in the destination market and could be given an exemption from meeting New Zealand standards where these differ from those prevailing in the destination market. The new fee will increase revenue by about $34,000 per annum.

4. Agent collection rate (Domestic Food Business Levy)

A change is proposed to clarify that the $11 collection charge for the Domestic Food Business Levy currently described in regulation is GST-exclusive. Charges in regulations are routinely recorded as GST-exclusive because businesses are generally the one charged and claim back GST (the price businesses are concerned about is the GST-exclusive price). This will also future-proof charges in case of future GST changes. This charge was intended to be GST-exclusive.

5. Animal products: charges for use of electronic system

The proposal is to amend the Animal Products (Dairy Industry Fees, Charges, and Levies) Regulations 2015 and Animal Products (Fees, Charges, and Levies) Regulations 2007, to enable certification costs to be recovered at the same level during 2025–26, as the certification system transitions from the AP e-cert system to the new trade certification system. The proposals include removing the “cost per second” component of the charging formula, and to amend the definition of “cost per request” as the cost per second component is not compatible with how the new system will operate.

6. Food Importer Levy

Three changes are proposed to the new Food Importer Levy. The changes improve efficiency around who pays, what data is used in the calculation of the levy, and the due date for levy payment. The changes reflect original intentions when the Food Importer Levy was approved last year, but which were not given effect at the time. The changes are as follows:

extend the levy to importers who are registered but who do not import any amount of food. Despite importing no food, these importers generate some cost by interacting with the food safety system
charge importers at the start of each financial year according to their import amounts from the previous year. This is expected to reduce administration costs for importers and MPI.

We also propose to standardise the date the levy is payable to within 20 working days of the date of the annual levy invoice.

Making a submission

We welcome submissions on the proposals contained in the consultation document. Submissions must be received by 5pm on 7 March 2025.

You can make a submission by completing a submission form and either:

sending it to us by email, or
posting it to us.

Cost recovery submission form [DOCX, 110 KB]

How to submit your completed form by email

Attach your completed form to an email and send it to costrecovery@mpi.govt.nz

How to submit your completed form by post

Post your completed submission form to:

Cost Recovery Directorate I Corporate Branch
Ministry for Primary Industries
PO Box 2526
Wellington 6140.

Submissions are public information

Note that all, part, or a summary of your submission may be published on this website. Most often this happens when we issue a document that reviews the submissions received.

People can also ask for copies of submissions under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). The OIA says we must make the content of submissions available unless we have good reason for withholding it. Those reasons are detailed in sections 6 and 9 of the OIA.

If you think there are grounds to withhold specific information from publication, make this clear in your submission or contact us. Reasons may include that it discloses commercially sensitive or personal information. However, any decision MPI makes to withhold details can be reviewed by the Ombudsman, who may direct us to release it.

Official Information Act 1982 – NZ Legislation

MIL OSI New Zealand News –

February 5, 2025

MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: APEDA’s financial assistance schemes boosts 47.3% surge in India’s fruit and vegetable exports

Source: Government of India (2)

APEDA’s financial assistance schemes boosts 47.3% surge in India’s fruit and vegetable exports

APEDA strengthens exporter growth with new schemes for infrastructure, quality, and market development

India’s fruit and vegetable exports reach 123 countries, with 17 new market added in 3 years

Posted On: 04 FEB 2025 7:58PM by PIB Delhi

The Department of Commerce through Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) provides financial assistance to its member exporters of APEDA from across the country, for export promotion of its Scheduled products, including for Fruits & vegetables, under Agriculture and Processed Foods Export Promotion Scheme of APEDA for the 15th Finance Commission Cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26) in following three broad areas:

Scheme for infrastructure Development – Financial assistance for setting up of packhouse facilities with packing / grading lines, pre-cooling unit with cold storage and refrigerated transportation etc., cable system for handling of crops like banana, pre-shipment treatment facilities such as irradiation, vapor heat treatment, hot water dip treatment and common infrastructure facilities, reefer vans and missing gap in the existing infrastructure of individual exporters.

Scheme for Quality Development – Financial assistance for purchase of laboratory testing equipment, installation of quality management system, handheld devices for capturing farm level coordinates for traceability and testing of water, soil, residues and pesticides etc.

Scheme for Market Promotion – The assistance covers participation of exporters in international trade fairs, organizing buyer seller meets and developing packaging standards for new products and upgrading the existing packaging standards.

The details of financial assistance guidelines are available at APEDA Website www.apeda.gov.in under the “Scheme” tab.

As a result of these initiatives, there has been a growth of 47.3%, in the volume of exports of fruits and vegetables between the period 2019-20 to 2023-24.

Export data of fruits and vegetables in last five years

Country: All

Product: Fresh Fruits & Vegetables

Value In USD Million

Qty In Thousand MT

Products

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

2023-24

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

2023-24

Fresh Fruits & Vegetables

1,282.43

1,342.13

1,527.63

1,635.95

1,814.58

2,659.48

3,148.08

3,376.25

4,335.68

3,911.95

Source: DGCIS

Growth in terms of Volume in the last five years =47.30%

Growth in terms of Value in the last five years= 41.50 %

The Government maintains the record of total exports of fruits and vegetables from India. The export figures of States are compiled on the basis of the State-of-Origin code reported by the exporters in the shipping bills. Thus, the state wise data of exports of Fruits and vegetables is not available as the same is not validated by DGCI&S. However, the major states producing Fruits and vegetables are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Karnataka.

India’s Export of Mango and Onion to World (By Variety)
Product	Variety	USD Million					Qty in MT
Product	Variety	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24	2019-20	2020-21	2021-22	2022-23	2023-24
Mango	Other Mangoes	0.00	25.42	23.48	33.26	36.18	0.00	15795.09	17448.90	17257.28	23786.16
	Kesar	0.00	2.92	6.91	4.97	11.25	0.00	983.73	2319.08	1749.97	3787.01
	Alphonso (Hapus)	0.00	6.08	10.09	7.84	8.68	0.00	3195.86	5994.86	2829.76	2673.39
	Banganapalli	0.00	1.46	3.01	2.00	3.20	0.00	830.55	1674.04	856.91	1081.68
	Chausa	0.00	0.05	0.05	0.03	0.24	0.00	40.98	25.64	19.72	488.26
	Langda	0.00	0.08	0.16	0.12	0.19	0.00	48.99	122.16	70.02	81.94
	Dasheri	0.00	0.09	0.11	0.06	0.17	0.00	49.50	75.92	34.70	75.54
	Totapuri	0.00	0.07	0.17	0.20	0.16	0.00	47.47	151.01	116.60	91.95
	Mallika	0.00	0.03	0.09	0.06	0.07	0.00	41.40	61.16	28.81	38.17
	Mangoes , Fresh/Dried,	56.11	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	49658.68	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00
	Total Mangoes	56.11	36.20	44.07	48.54	60.14	49658.68	21033.57	27872.77	22963.77	32104.10
Onion	Other Onions Fresh of Chilled	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	434.78	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	1606683.97
	Rose Onions Fresh of Chilled	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	38.94	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.00	110755.38
	Onions, Fresh/Chilled	324.20	378.49	460.56	561.38	0.00	1149896.84	1578016.57	1537496.85	2525258.35	0.00
	Total Onions	324.20	378.49	460.56	561.38	473.72	1149896.84	1578016.57	1537496.85	2525258.35	1717439.35
	Source: DGCIS
	Note :- ITC HS Code with () mark of the Commodity is either dropped or re-allocated*

In FY 2023-24, India’s exports of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables reached 123 countries. In the last 3 years, Indian fresh produce entered 17 new markets, some of which are Brazil, Georgia, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, Czech Republic, Uganda, Ghana etc. This has been achieved through a host of measures such as participation in international trade fairs, actively pursuing market access negotiations, organizing buyer seller meets etc.

Department of Commerce is working in close coordination with the MoA&FW in prioritizing agriculture products for market access negotiations to reach new markets. As a result, India has achieved new market access in following commodities in the last three years:

Indian Potatoes and Onions in Serbia
Baby corn and fresh banana in Canada
Pomegranate arils in Australia, USA, Serbia, and New Zealand
Whole pomegranates in Australia via Irradiation treatment

The barriers in accessing new markets differ from product to product and are dynamic in nature. Some of the major barriers in accessing new markets for fruits & vegetables are:

Long geographic distance from India raising the costs of logistics.
Delay in grant of market access by importing countries for certain products.
Stringent Phyto-sanitary requirements imposed by some importing countries.
Delay in registration of enterprises in certain countries.

To address the above issues, various steps are being taken by the Department of Commerce:

For expand market access to our products, MoA&FW & APEDA have identified key products and key countries for intensifying market access negotiations.
Development of Sea protocols for horticulture products to reduce logistic expenses and to enable larger volume of exports.
Regular follow up with the counterpart authorities of importing countries with support of our Missions abroad for registration of facilities and market access negotiations.
For meeting stringent Phyto-sanitary requirements, setting up of traceability system and a system of farmer and facility registration.

***

Abhishek Dayal/Abhijith Narayanan/Asmitabha Manna

(Release ID: 2099814) Visitor Counter : 20

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 5, 2025

MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Potassium Derived from Molasses (PDM), a by-product of sugar industry has minimum 14.5% potash and can be used by farmers in field as an alternative to MOP (Muriate of Potash with 60% potash content) reducing the dependence on imported potash

Source: Government of India (2)

Potassium Derived from Molasses (PDM), a by-product of sugar industry has minimum 14.5% potash and can be used by farmers in field as an alternative to MOP (Muriate of Potash with 60% potash content) reducing the dependence on imported potash

Institute of Pesticides Formulation and Technology works on supporting adoption of greener technologies and development of user & environment friendly new pesticide formulations

Posted On: 04 FEB 2025 6:52PM by PIB Delhi

Potassium Derived from Molasses (PDM) is a by-product of sugar industry. PDM has minimum 14.5% potash and can be used by farmers in field as an alternative to MOP (Muriate of Potash with 60% potash content). Thus, PDM can reduce the dependence on imported potash. PDM was notified under Fertilizer Control Order (1985) in 2009, and in order to incentivize the use of PDM, it was inducted under Nutrient Based Subsidy scheme since Rabi, 2022. During 2024-25, Rs. 345 per tonne of subsidy has been fixed for PDM.

Potash and Glauconite(Potassic mineral) have been classified as Critical and Strategic Minerals under “The Mines & Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment (MMDR) Act, 2023” by Ministry of Mines which aims to enhance domestic production and achieve self- sufficiency in critical minerals. MMDR Act, 1957 ensure that critical minerals are produced, processed, and recycled by catalyzing investments from governments and the private sector across the full value chain, emphasizing the importance of sustainable and responsible mineral management practices. The Central Government has also commenced the auction of mineral blocks for critical & strategic minerals as per provisions of MMDR Act, 1957. As on 10.12.2024, Ministry of Mines have successfully auctioned 5 mineral blocks of Glauconite(Potassic mineral).

Chemical sector is broadly de-regulated and delicensed sector. The manufacturing, import, export, transportation etc. of Ammonium Nitrate are being regulated by Ammonium Nitrate Rules, 2012. Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) issues licenses for manufacture, storage, transportation, import and export of Ammonium Nitrate under these rules. The licenses for manufacturing of Ammonium Nitrate are issued based on Industrial Licenses issued by Department of Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade (DPIIT).

In Budget 2024-25, Basic Custom Duty (BCD) on Ammonium Nitrate has been increased from 7.5% to 10% to support existing and new capacities in pipeline. Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), Department of Commerce provides a level playing platform to the domestic industry against the adverse impact of the unfair trade practices viz. dumping, actionable subsidies, circumvention etc. from any exporting country by using effective Trade Remedial measures such as anti-dumping and safeguard measures. However, currently, there are no pending applications seeking protection in terms of import barriers like anti-dumping duty or countervailing duty/anti-subsidy duty on Ammonium Nitrate.

The Government has approved the Market Development Assistance (MDA) @ Rs. 1500/MT to promote organic fertilizers, i.e. manure produced at plants under GOBARdhan initiative covering different Biogas/CBG support schemes/programmes of stakeholder Ministries/Departments such as Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) scheme of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), ‘Waste to Energy’ programme of Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE), Swachh Bharat Mission (Rural) of Department of Drinking Water & Sanitation (DDWS), etc. with total outlay of Rs. 1451.84 crore (FY 2023-24 to 2025-26), which includes a corpus of Rs. 360 crore for research gap funding, etc.

Further, Institute of Pesticides Formulation and Technology works on supporting adoption of greener technologies and development of user & environment friendly new pesticide formulations. UNIDO FARM (Financing Agrochemical Reduction and Management) Project undertaken by HIL (India) Ltd. to detoxify the agriculture sector by eliminating the use of highly hazardous pesticides and Persistent Organic Pollutants. The project focuses on three types of bio-pesticides: Btk (Bacillus thuringiensis kurstaki), Neem, and Trichoderma spp. Btk, a strain of the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis, which is eﬀective for controlling caterpillar pests, while Neem controls a wide range of insect pests. Trichoderma provides eﬀective control against soil-borne fungal diseases and enhances plant growth.

This information was given by the Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Smt Anupriya Patel in Rajya Sabha in written reply to a question today.

*****

MV/AKS

(Release ID: 2099748) Visitor Counter : 75

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Hong Kong cinema celebrated at International Film Festival Rotterdam

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

     The Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Brussels (HKETO, Brussels) supported the participation of Hong Kong films and filmmakers in the 54th International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) being held in Rotterdam, The Netherlands, from January 30 to February 9.

     This year, IFFR proudly presents four Hong Kong films, highlighting the city’s vibrant film industry and its global influence. A Hong Kong networking event was organised by the HKETO, Brussels during IFFR on February 1 when Hong Kong production “Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In” was screened in the same night.

     Celebrating Hong Kong’s dynamic cinema, the Hong Kong networking event brought together 150 Dutch and international filmmakers, industry professionals and film enthusiasts to an engaging exchange with renowned and emerging filmmakers from Hong Kong.

The Deputy Representative of HKETO, Brussels, Miss Fiona Li highlighted at the networking event that Hong Kong films and long history in cinematography was one of the strongest testimony to the lively creativity and diverse yet blended cultures of Hong Kong. “Hong Kong is the destination that inspires and realises the storylines of your coming productions”, Miss Li said as she invited the audience to visit Hong Kong.

     Miss Li said that, “The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region actively supports the industry through the Film Development Fund, focusing on nurturing new talent, enhancing local film production, expanding international markets and building an international audience”. Hong Kong spares no efforts in showcasing promising filmmakers and accomplished talents among the arts, cultural and creative sectors in Europe for more collaboration. “We aspire to strengthen the international visibility of our productions beyond this festival, to take our film industry to the next level, and to enhance Hong Kong as an international centre of arts, creativity and innovation”, she added.

     As one of the leading international film festivals, the IFFR in 2024 recorded 253 500 visits across its programme of 424 films, including 183 world premieres, complemented with a variety of multi-disciplinary and industry programmes. The four Hong Kong productions screened in IFFF 2025 were: The Last Dance (Dutch Premiere) by Anselm Chan, Possession Street (European Premiere) by Jack Lai, Last Song For You (European Premiere) by Jill Leung, and Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (Dutch Premiere) by Soi Cheang.

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 5, 2025

MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Budget 2025-26: Fuelling MSME Expansion

Source: Government of India

Posted On: 04 FEB 2025 5:27PM by PIB Delhi

Credit access, digitisation, and business-friendly reforms lead the way

Introduction

The Union Budget 2025-26 introduces a series of measures aimed at strengthening the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, recognising its role as one of the key engines in India’s journey of development, alongside agriculture, investment, and exports. To help businesses expand and improve efficiency, the investment and turnover limits for MSME classification have been raised. Access to credit is set to improve with an increase in the credit guarantee cover for micro and small enterprises, startups, and export-focused MSMEs. A new scheme will provide financial support to first-time entrepreneurs from disadvantaged backgrounds, while sector-specific initiatives will enhance productivity in areas such as footwear, leather, and toy manufacturing.

As a vital contributor to India’s industrial landscape, the MSME sector plays a crucial role in manufacturing, exports, and employment. With 5.93 crore registered MSMEs employing more than 25 crore people, these enterprises generate a significant share of the country’s economic output. In 2023-24, MSME-related products accounted for 45.73% of India’s total exports, reinforcing their role in positioning the country as a global manufacturing hub. The new budgetary provisions aim to build on this strong foundation by fostering innovation, enhancing competitiveness, and ensuring better access to resources. Through these steps, the government seeks to equip MSMEs with the tools needed to expand their reach and strengthen their contribution to India’s economic growth.

Key Measures for MSMEs in Union Budget 2025-26

The Union Budget 2025-26 introduces a series of measures aimed at strengthening the MSME sector by enhancing credit access, supporting first-time entrepreneurs, and promoting labour-intensive industries.

Revised Classification Criteria

To help MSMEs scale operations and access better resources, the investment and turnover limits for classification have been increased by 2.5 times and 2 times, respectively. This is expected to improve efficiency, technological adoption, and employment generation.

Enhanced Credit Availability

The credit guarantee cover for micro and small enterprises has been increased from ₹5 crore to ₹10 crore, enabling additional credit of ₹1.5 lakh crore over five years.
Startups will see their guarantee cover double from ₹10 crore to ₹20 crore, with a reduced fee of 1% for loans in 27 priority sectors.
Exporter MSMEs will benefit from term loans up to ₹20 crore with enhanced guarantee cover.

Credit Cards for Micro Enterprises

A new customised Credit Card scheme will provide ₹5 lakh in credit to micro enterprises registered on the Udyam portal, with 10 lakh cards set to be issued in the first year.

Support for Startups and First-Time Entrepreneurs

A new Fund of Funds with ₹10,000 crore will be established to expand support for startups.
A scheme for 5 lakh first-time women, Scheduled Caste, and Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs will provide term loans up to ₹2 crore over five years, incorporating lessons from the Stand-Up India scheme.

Focus on Labour-Intensive Sectors

A Focus Product Scheme for the footwear and leather sector will support design, component manufacturing, and non-leather footwear production, expected to create 22 lakh jobs and generate a turnover of ₹4 lakh crore.
A new scheme for the toy sector will promote cluster development and skill-building, positioning India as a global toy manufacturing hub.
A National Institute of Food Technology, Entrepreneurship and Management will be established in Bihar to boost food processing industries in the eastern region.

Manufacturing and Clean Tech Initiatives

A National Manufacturing Mission will provide policy support and roadmaps f or small, medium, and large industries under the Make in India initiative.
Special emphasis will be given to clean tech manufacturing, fostering domestic production of solar PV cells, EV batteries, wind turbines, and high-voltage transmission equipment.

Budgetary Outlay of Ministry of MSME

(In Rs. Crore)

Financial Year	Budget Estimates	Revised Estimates
2019-20	7,011.29	7,011.29
2020-21	7,572.20	5,664.22
2021-22	15,699.65	15,699.65
2022-23	21,422.00	23,628.73
2023-24	22,137.95	22,138.01
2024-25	22,137.95	17,306.70
2025-26	23,168.15	–

Current Landscape of MSMEs in India

The MSME sector continues to be a cornerstone of India’s economic growth, contributing significantly to employment, manufacturing, and exports. In recent years, the sector has displayed remarkable resilience, with its share in the country’s Gross Value Added (GVA) increasing from 27.3% in 2020-21 to 29.6% in 2021-22 and 30.1% in 2022-23, highlighting its growing role in national economic output.

Exports from MSMEs have seen substantial growth, rising from ₹3.95 lakh crore in 2020-21 to ₹12.39 lakh crore in 2024-25. The number of exporting MSMEs has also surged, increasing from 52,849 in 2020-21 to 1,73,350 in 2024-25.

Their contribution to India’s total exports has steadily grown, reaching 43.59% in 2022-23, 45.73% in 2023-24, and 45.79% in 2024-25 (up to May 2024). These trends underscore the sector’s increasing integration into global trade and its potential to drive India’s position as a manufacturing and export hub.

Government Initiatives for MSMEs

The Government of India has implemented a robust array of initiatives aimed at bolstering the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector, recognizing its pivotal role in the economy. These efforts range from financial support and procurement policies to capacity building and market integration. Key initiatives include the Udyam Registration Portal, PM Vishwakarma scheme, PMEGP, SFURTI, and the Public Procurement Policy for MSEs, all aimed at fostering entrepreneurship, enhancing employment, and integrating informal sectors into the formal economy. These initiatives reflect the government’s commitment to supporting MSMEs and driving inclusive economic growth nationwide.

PM Vishwakarma

The ‘PM Vishwakarma’ scheme, launched by the Government of India, aims to enhance the quality and reach of products and services by artisans and craftspeople, integrating them into domestic and global value chains. Announced in the 2023-24 Budget and launched on September 17, 2023, this scheme seeks to provide comprehensive support to Vishwakarmas, improving their socio-economic status and quality of life.

PM Vishwakarma is fully funded by the Government of India with an initial outlay of Rs. 13,000 crores for 2023-24 to 2027-28.

Since its launch, the PM Vishwakarma scheme has achieved significant milestones, with over 2.65 crore applications submitted and 27.13 lakh applications successfully registered. Registered applicants will undergo a 5-day ‘Basic Training’ program, and those opting for credit support will receive collateral-free credit. These accomplishments highlight the scheme’s early success in empowering artisans and craftspeople nationwide.

Udyam Registration Portal

Launched on July 1, 2020, the Udyam Registration Portal serves as a pivotal platform for facilitating the registration of enterprises across India. The portal encourages enterprises previously registered under the Udyog Aadhaar Memorandum and Entrepreneurship Memorandum-II to migrate to this new system. It offers a free, paperless, and self-declaration-based registration process, eliminating the need for document uploads, thus simplifying the formalization of businesses.

In a significant step towards integrating informal micro-enterprises into the formal economy, the Government introduced the Udyam Assist Platform on November 11, 2023. This initiative aims to bring these micro-enterprises under the formal sector, enabling them to access benefits such as Priority Sector Lending, which is essential for their growth and sustainability.

As of February 4, 2025, the Udyam Portal boasts an impressive total of 5,93,38,604 registered MSMEs, with the vast majority classified as micro-enterprises. Beyond their economic contributions, these MSMEs have generated substantial employment opportunities, providing jobs to over 25.18 crore individuals. This extensive employment generation underscores the sector’s crucial role in driving economic development and enhancing social stability by offering livelihoods to millions across the country.

Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP)

Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) is a credit linked subsidy scheme for providing employment opportunities through establishment of micro-enterprises in the non-farm sector. Under the Scheme, Margin Money (Subsidy) is provided to beneficiaries availing loan from banks for setting up new enterprises. The maximum project cost admissible for setting up of new project is Rs. 50 lakhs in manufacturing sector and Rs. 20 lakhs in Service Sector

Subsidies under PMEGP vary by category:

Special Categories, including SC, ST, OBC, Minorities, Women, Ex-Servicemen, Transgenders, Differently-abled individuals, NER, Aspirational Districts, and Hill and Border areas, are eligible for a subsidy of 25% in urban areas and 35% in rural areas
General Category applicants are eligible for a subsidy of 15% in urban areas and 25% in rural areas.

In a notable development, units in Aspirational Districts and Transgenders have been included in the Special Category. Additionally, geo-tagging of PMEGP units has been initiated to capture details of the products and services offered by these units and to create market linkages for them. Furthermore, prospective entrepreneurs receive free 2-day Entrepreneurship Development Programme (EDP) training to equip them with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed.

In 2023-24, the Prime Minister’s Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) supported 89,118 enterprises, facilitating entrepreneurship across various sectors. The scheme disbursed ₹3,093.87 crore as margin money subsidy, enabling small businesses to scale operations and sustain growth. As a result, an estimated 7,12,944 employment opportunities were generated, reinforcing PMEGP’s role in strengthening self-employment and job creation nationwide.

Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI)

Launched in 2005-06, the Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) aims to organize traditional artisans into collectives or clusters, facilitating product development, diversification, and value addition. The scheme promotes traditional sectors and seeks to sustainably increase the income of artisans. SFURTI was revamped in 2014-15 to further enhance its impact and reach.

The primary objective of SFURTI is to organize artisans and traditional industries into clusters to improve competitiveness, create employment opportunities, and enhance the marketability of their products. By bringing artisans together, the scheme helps them leverage collective resources and skills, leading to better income prospects and sustained growth.

Achievements:

Since 2014-15, SFURTI has approved the formation of 513 clusters and 376 clusters have successfully become functional.
A total grant of ₹1,336 crore has been extended to support these clusters.
Sustainable employment opportunities have been generated for around 2,20,800 artisans in 376 functional clusters (as on 12 Dec 2024).

Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises

The Ministry of MSME, Government of India, notified the Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) in 2012. This policy mandates that 25% of annual procurement by Central Ministries, Departments, and Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) must be sourced from MSEs. Within this 25%, 4% is reserved for MSEs owned by Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST), and 3% is reserved for MSEs owned by women entrepreneurs. Additionally, 358 items are exclusively reserved for procurement from MSEs.

(Year: 2023-24)

Achievements:

In 2023-24, Central Ministries, Departments, and CPSEs procured a total of ₹74,717 crore worth of goods and services from MSEs, which constituted 43.71% of their total procurement.
This policy benefitted 2,58,413 MSEs, ensuring they had access to significant business opportunities and support through government procurement.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Union Budget 2025-26 outlines a strategic approach to bolster the MSME sector in India, emphasizing increased credit access, entrepreneurial support, and sector-specific initiatives. The significant revisions in classification criteria, coupled with enhanced credit guarantees and customised financial products like credit cards for micro-enterprises, are poised to catalyze growth and innovation. The focus on sectors like footwear, leather, and toys not only aims to boost employment but also positions India as a competitive player in global markets. Furthermore, the government’s ongoing initiatives like Udyam Registration, PM Vishwakarma, PMEGP, SFURTI, and the Public Procurement Policy continue to demonstrate a committed effort towards integrating and empowering MSMEs. These measures, combined with the establishment of new institutions and missions for manufacturing and clean technology, reflect a holistic strategy to not only sustain but significantly amplify the role of MSMEs in driving economic growth, employment, and inclusive development in India.

References:

Budget 2025-26: Fuelling MSME Expansion

***

Santosh Kumar/ Sarla Meena/ Saurabh Kalia

(Release ID: 2099687) Visitor Counter : 74

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 5, 2025

MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Import of poultry meat and products from areas in Hungary, Canada, Korea and Poland suspended

Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

Import of poultry meat and products from areas in Hungary, Canada, Korea and Poland suspended
Import of poultry meat and products from areas in Hungary, Canada, Korea and Poland suspended
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The Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department announced today (February 4) that in view of notifications from the Ministry of Agriculture of Hungary, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and the General Veterinary Inspectorate of Poland about outbreaks of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in areas in Hungary, Canada and Korea; and outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza and highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in areas in Poland respectively, the CFS has instructed the trade to suspend the import of poultry meat and products (including poultry eggs) from the relevant areas with immediate effect to protect public health in Hong Kong. The relevant areas are as follows: Hungary—-(1) Heves County(2) Pest CountyCanada—-Province of Ontario(3) Wellington CountyKorea—-Jeollanam-do Province(4) Damyang-gunGyeongsangnam-do Province(5) Geochang-gunChungcheongnam-do Province(6) Dangjin-siPoland—-Podkarpackie Region(7) Ropczycko-Sędziszowski DistrictŁódzkie Region(8) Zgierski DistrictWielkopolskie Region(9) Kolski District(10) Kępiński District(11) Kalisz DistrictLubuskie Region(12) Nowa Sól District A CFS spokesman said that Hong Kong has currently established a protocol with Hungary for the import of poultry meat but not for poultry eggs. According to the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong imported about 300 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Hungary; about 400 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Canada; about 80 tonnes of chilled and frozen poultry meat, and about 21.9 million poultry eggs from Korea; and about 6 600 tonnes of frozen poultry meat from Poland last year. ”The CFS has contacted the Hungarian, Canadian, Korean and Polish authorities over the issues and will closely monitor information issued by the WOAH and the relevant authorities on the avian influenza outbreaks. Appropriate action will be taken in response to the development of the situation,” the spokesman said.

Ends/Tuesday, February 4, 2025Issued at HKT 19:52

NNNN

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: India rises to become the World’s 2nd largest mobile manufacturer; From 2 units in 2014, over 300 units are operational nationwide today: Sh. Ashwini Vaishnaw

Source: Government of India (2)

India rises to become the World’s 2nd largest mobile manufacturer; From 2 units in 2014, over 300 units are operational nationwide today: Sh. Ashwini Vaishnaw

From Imports to Independence: 99.2% of Mobile Phones sold in India now made locally, Manufacturing Value soars to ₹4,22,000 crore with exports crossing ₹1,29,000 Cr in 2024

‘Make in India’ has driven the domestic production of key electronics ranging from chargers, battery packs to camera modules, display modules etc.

India is shifting gears by deepening the value chain of manufacturing with a strong focus on the development of semiconductor chips and finer components

Posted On: 04 FEB 2025 5:03PM by PIB Delhi

Prime Minister’s ‘Make In India’ vision is helping India become a global manufacturing hub. The Make in India program within a decade of its launch is not only driving our self-reliance, and boosting production but also creating jobs. Sharing data in this regard the Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Railways and Information & Broadcasting Sh. Ashwini Vaishnaw highlighted the remarkable transformation of India’s mobile and electronics manufacturing sector in the last decade.

From Import to Independence: India’s rise in Mobile Manufacturing

India has made significant progress in mobile and electronics manufacturing and become the world’s 2nd largest mobile manufacturing country. In 2014, India had only 2 mobile manufacturing units but fast forward to today, the nation boasts over 300 manufacturing units, underscoring a significant expansion in this vital sector.

1. India has made significant progress in mobile and electronics manufacturing.
From just 2 mobile manufacturing units in 2014 to over 300 today, the sector has expanded rapidly. pic.twitter.com/cMjyEU2hYJ

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) February 4, 2025

In 2014 -15 only 26% of the mobile phones which were being sold in India were made in India, the rest were being imported. It is worth mentioning that today, 99.2% of all mobile phones which are sold in India are made in India. The manufacturing value of mobile phones has surged from ₹18,900 crore in FY14 to a staggering ₹4,22,000 crore in FY24.

2. The value of mobile phone manufacturing has grown substantially:
• FY14: ₹18,900 Cr
• FY24: ₹4,22,000 Cr
Exports, which were negligible in 2014, have now crossed ₹1,29,000 Cr pic.twitter.com/F2U0usHLYM

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) February 4, 2025

More than 325 to 330 million mobile phones a year are being manufactured in India and on average there are about a billion mobile phones in use in India. Indian mobile phones have virtually saturated the domestic market and that’s there’s a substantial uptick in the exports of mobile phones. The exports, which were almost non-existent in 2014, have now surpassed ₹1,29,000 crore.

A Decade of Job Creation in Electronics Manufacturing

The sector’s expansion has also been a major employment driver, creating approximately 12 lakh direct and indirect jobs over the decade. These employment opportunities have not only uplifted the economic status of numerous families but also contributed to the socio-economic fabric of the country.

The ‘Make in India’ initiative has been pivotal in achieving these milestones. It has enabled the domestic production of critical components and sub-assemblies such as chargers, battery packs, mechanics of all types, USB cables, and more complex components like Lithium Ion Cells, speaker and microphones, display assemblies and camera modules.

Looking forward, the focus will intensify on advancing deeper into the value chain, particularly in the production of components and semiconductors. This shift is part of a broader strategy to enhance self-reliance and establish India as a leading player in the global electronics market.

Deepening the Value Chain: Advancing India’s Electronics Manufacturing

Sh. Ashwini Vaishnaw mentioned that the focus is now on advancing deeper into the value chain, with an increased emphasis on fine components and semiconductor production, thereby ensuring the indigenous development of the electronic component ecosystem. This will bolster India’s stance as a leading electronics market globally.

Between 1950 and 1990, restrictive policies stifled manufacturing. However, ‘Make in India’ is reversing that trend by moving deeper into the value chain and increasing the production of components and chips.

5. The focus is now on moving deeper into the value chain by increasing production of components and chips. Between 1950 and 1990, restrictive policies stifled manufacturing. Make in India is reversing that trend. pic.twitter.com/mqbfqgHuOL

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) February 4, 2025

The setting up a semiconductor manufacturing base in the country has been an important part of Make in India, which India has been attempting to achieve for over six decades. With the launch of the India Semiconductor Mission and the five major projects which have been approved, starting with Micron, the two projects by Tata Electronics, the one project by CG Power, and the last project by Keynes, a real manufacturing base of semiconductors in this country is being established in India.

Make In India shaping the new economic era

From toys to mobile phones, defence equipment to EV motors, production is shifting back to India. The ‘Make In India’ vision of the Prime Minister of India Sh. Narendra Modi is to make India a global manufacturing hub. The Make in India program is driving self-reliance, boosting production, and creating jobs, thereby contributing significantly to the nation’s economic fortitude.

6. From toys to mobile phones, defence equipment to EV motors, production is shifting back to India.
PM @narendramodi Ji’s ‘Make In India’ vision is to make India a global manufacturing hub. The Make in India program is driving self-reliance, boosting production, and creating… pic.twitter.com/v7AaUct8vA

— Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) February 4, 2025

*****

Dharmendra Tewari/Kshitij Singha

(Release ID: 2099656) Visitor Counter : 91

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 5, 2025
MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Bharat Tex 2025 is a testament to India’s commitment to becoming a global textile powerhouse: Secretary, Textiles

Source: Government of India (2)

Bharat Tex 2025 is a testament to India’s commitment to becoming a global textile powerhouse: Secretary, Textiles

Secretary, Textiles compliments Industry bodies for the largest ever Global Textile Show

Bharat Tex is a perfect example of industry- government collaboration: Secretary, Textiles

Posted On: 04 FEB 2025 4:52PM by PIB Delhi

Launches App and website for Bharat Tex 2025

Building on the success of its inaugural edition in 2024, Bharat Tex 2025 aims to further elevate its stature by attracting over 5,000 exhibitors, 6,000 international buyers from over 120 countries, and more than 1,20,000 visitors. The event will feature comprehensive pavilions, showcasing the entire textile value chain under one roof

Union Textiles Secretary, Mrs. Neelam Shami Rao applauded textile industry bodies for their proactive efforts in organizing Bharat Tex 2025. Describing it as the largest and most comprehensive textiles event ever, she commended the commitment of textile Export Promotion Councils and other industry bodies for their relentless efforts and dedication in bringing the entire value chain of textiles under the Bharat Tex umbrella. She underlined that Bharat Tex will reaffirm the attractiveness of India as a reliable, sustainable sourcing destination as well as an investment destination at scale for textiles. The entire event is a testament to India’s commitment to becoming a global textile powerhouse, she added.

The Secretary was speaking on the occasion of the unveiling of the Bharat Tex 2025 app and website at Udyog Bhawan.

Bharat Tex 2025, organized by 11 major textile industry bodies and supported by the Ministry of Textiles, promises to be a landmark event showcasing the diversity, scale, and capability of India’s textile sector. The event spread over an area of 2.2 million square feet is expected to attract over 5,000 exhibitors, 6,000 international buyers from 120 countries, and more than 1,20,000 visitors. Exhibitors will showcase a wide range of products, including apparel, dyes & chemicals, machinery & equipment, home furnishings, technical textiles, handlooms, and handicrafts.

The event will also feature over 70 conference sessions, roundtables, and master classes, with discussions led by nearly 100 international speakers. Topics such as sustainability, investments, manufacturing 4.0, and future fashion trends will dominate the agenda.

Besides a global sized trade fair and expo and an international textiles conference, the textile extravaganza will also offer a wide range of activities, seminars, CEO roundtables, and B2B and G2G meetings. It will also feature strategic investment announcements, product launches, and collaborations poised to reshape the global textile industry. Attendees can look forward to live demonstrations, cultural events, and fashion presentations, designer and brand exhibitions and sustainability workshops, and expert talks. Bharat Tex 2025 aims to serve as a unique and consolidated platform to showcase India’s full textile value chain, while highlighting its strengths in fashion, traditional crafts, and sustainability initiatives. The event is an industry led initiative and will be organized jointly by the 11 Textile related Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) and other industry bodies. It is supported by the Ministry of Textiles.

Bharat Tex is being run on an advanced technology platform offering a one source engagement to visitors, exhibitors and buyers. The Bharat Tex app, is a part of the overall technology platform designed to facilitate seamless engagement, networking, and information dissemination for this largest global textile event. Designed to enhance user convenience by offering exhibitor profiles, session details, and interactive maps, it is a comprehensive tool for buyers, exhibitors, and visitors to explore the vast scale and diversity of India’s textile ecosystem, connect with global stakeholders, and stay informed about key events during and after the expo.

The app allows users to explore the latest developments and technological advancements in the entire textile value chain covering fibers, yarns, apparels & fashions, home textiles, handlooms, technical textiles, and intelligent manufacturing. With easy access to venue maps, session details, and more, the app eliminates the need for paper guides, offering an efficient and eco-friendly experience. Available for download on the Apple App Store and Google Play Store, the Bharat Tex 2025 app is an essential tool for attendees aiming to navigate the event efficiently to maximize their opportunities. With the launch of the Bharat Tex 2025 exhibitors, buyers, and visitors will have access to an easy-to-use platform, to access event information, develop networks, and plan their participation efficiently.

****

Dhanya Sanal K

Director(M&C)

(Release ID: 2099638) Visitor Counter : 61

MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

February 5, 2025

MIL-OSI: GAMCO Investors, Inc. Reports Results for the Fourth Quarter and Year Ended December 31, 2024

Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

Quarter End AUM of $31.7 billion
Operating Margin of 32.3% for the Fourth Quarter and 31.0% for 2024
Fourth Quarter Earnings of $0.70 per Share versus $0.66 per Share in the Fourth Quarter of 2023
2024 Earnings of $2.65 per Share versus $2.38 per Share for 2023
$182.8 million in Cash, Cash Equivalents, Seed Capital, and Investments and No Debt
Board Authorizes 100% Increase of the Regular Quarterly Dividend
Repurchased 1.3 million Shares, or 3% of Outstanding Shares, During the Fourth Quarter of 2024 and Increased Buyback Authorization to 1.5 Million Shares

GREENWICH, Conn., Feb. 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — GAMCO Investors, Inc. (“Gabelli”) (OTCQX: GAMI) today reported its operating results for the quarter ended December 31, 2024.

Financial Highlights

(In thousands, except percentages and per share data)
	Three Months Ended
	December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023
U.S. GAAP
Revenue	$	59,262		$	57,313
Expenses		40,109			41,517
Operating income		19,153			15,796
Non-operating income		3,452			6,199
Net income		16,797			16,560
Diluted earnings per share	$	0.70		$	0.66
Operating margin		32.3	%		27.6	%

Giving Back to Society – $80 million since IPO

Since our initial public offering in February 1999, our firm’s combined charitable donations total approximately $80 million, including $48 million through the shareholder designated charitable contribution program. Based on the program created by Warren Buffett at Berkshire Hathaway, our corporate charitable giving is unique in that the recipients of Gabelli’s charitable contributions are chosen directly by our shareholders, rather than by our corporate officers. Since its inception in 2013, Gabelli shareholders have designated charitable gifts to approximately 350 charitable organizations.

On August 6, 2024, Gabelli’s board of directors authorized the creation of a private foundation, headquartered in Reno, Nevada, to continue our charitable giving program with an initial contribution of $5 million.

Revenue

(In thousands)	Three Months Ended
	December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023
Investment advisory and incentive fees
Funds	$	40,441		$	37,748
Institutional and Private Wealth Management		15,057			13,712
SICAV		4	(a)		1,541	(a)
Total	$	55,502		$	53,001
Distribution fees and other income		3,760			4,312
Total revenue	$	59,262		$	57,313

(a) Reflects change in reporting methodology. See AUM table.

The year over year increase in Funds revenues was primarily the result of higher average assets under management. The increase in Institutional and Private Wealth Management revenues was primarily the result of higher beginning of the quarter equity assets under management, which are generally used to calculate the revenues. The decrease in SICAV revenues reflects a change in the agreement for the merger arbitrage SICAV, an open-end fund available to non-U.S. shareholders, which became effective in December 2023. The change better aligns the financial arrangements with the services rendered by each party in managing the fund and did not have a material impact on the financial results. The decrease in distribution fees and other income was primarily the result of a decrease in equity mutual funds AUM that pay distribution fees.

Expenses

(In thousands)	Three Months Ended
	December 31, 2024		December 31, 2023
Compensation	$	26,593	$	27,316
Management fee		2,512		2,444
Distribution costs		5,634		5,848
Other operating expenses		5,370		5,909
Total expenses	$	40,109	$	41,517

The lower compensation expense in the fourth quarter of 2024 reflected $2.9 million of waived compensation partially offset by increased fixed compensation of $1.4 million and increased variable compensation of $0.8 million.
The $0.1 million increase in management fee is attributable to the higher pre-management fee income of $0.7 million; and,
Other operating expenses this quarter were lower versus the fourth quarter of 2023 reflecting the change in the agreement for the merger arbitrage SICAV beginning in December 2023.

Operating Margin

The operating margin, which represents the ratio of operating income to revenue, was 32.3% for the fourth quarter of 2024 compared with 27.6% for the fourth quarter of 2023.

Non-Operating Income

(In thousands)	Three Months Ended
	December 31, 2024			December 31, 2023
Gain from investments, net	$	644		$	3,529
Interest and dividend income		3,090			2,951
Interest expense (a)		(282	)		(281	)
Total non-operating income	$	3,452		$	6,199

(a) Related to GAAP accounting of finance lease.

Non-operating income decreased $2.7 million for the quarter, reflecting the lower mark-to-market net gains on our investment portfolio for the quarter slightly offset by an increase in interest and dividend income.

Other Financial Highlights

The effective income tax rate for the fourth quarter of 2024 was 25.7% versus 24.7% for the fourth quarter of 2023.

Cash, cash equivalents, and investments were $182.8 million with no debt at December 31, 2024.

Assets Under Management

(In millions)	As of
	December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2023

Mutual Funds	$	8,078	$	8,440	$	7,973
Closed-end Funds		7,344		7,459		7,097
Institutional & PWM (a) (b)		10,700		10,984		10,738
SICAV (c)		9		9		631
Total Equities		26,131		26,892		26,439

100% U.S. Treasury Money Market Fund		5,552		5,268		4,615
Institutional & PWM Fixed Income		32		32		32
Total Treasuries & Fixed Income		5,584		5,300		4,647
Total Assets Under Management	$	31,715	$	32,192	$	31,086

(a) Includes $242, $278, and $370 of AUM subadvised for Teton Advisors, Inc. at December 31, 2024, September 30,
2024, and December 31, 2023, respectively.
(b) Includes $237, $212, and $227 of 100% U.S. Treasury Money Market Fund AUM at December 31, 2024,
September 30, 2024, and December 31, 2023, respectively.
(c) Includes $0, $0, and $620 of the SICAV AUM subadvised by Associated Capital Group, Inc. at December 31, 2024,
September 30, 2024, and December 31, 2023, respectively.

Assets under management on December 31, 2024 were $31.7 billion, a decrease of 1.6% from the $32.2 billion on September 30, 2024. The quarter’s decrease consisted of net market depreciation of $0.2 billion, net outflows of $0.2 billion, and distributions, net of reinvestments, of $0.1 billion.

Mutual Funds

Assets under management in Mutual Funds on December 31, 2024 were $8.1 billion, a decrease of 4.3% from the $8.4 billion at September 30, 2024. The quarterly change was attributed to:

Distributions, net of reinvestment, of $27 million;
Net outflows of $209 million; and
Net market depreciation of $126 million.

Closed-end Funds

Assets under management in Closed-end Funds on December 31, 2024 were $7.3 billion, a decrease of 1.5% from the $7.5 billion on September 30, 2024. The quarterly change was comprised of:

Distributions, net of reinvestment, of $129 million;
Net inflows of $169 million, including the issuance of $150 million preferred shares, the issuance of $62 million common shares less the redemption of $30 million of preferred shares, and the repurchase of $13 million of common stock ; and
Net market depreciation of $155 million.

Institutional & PWM

Assets under management in Institutional & PWM on December 31, 2024 were $10.7 billion, a decrease of 0.9% from the $10.8 billion on December 31, 2023. The quarterly change was due to:

Net outflows of $345 million; and
Net market appreciation of $61 million.

SICAV

Assets under management were $9 million in the GAMCO All Cap Value sleeve and the GAMCO Convertible Securities sleeve on December 31, 2024 versus $11 million in those sleeves at December 31, 2023.

100% U.S. Treasury Money Market Fund

Assets under management in our 100% U.S. Treasury Money Market Fund (GABXX) on December 31, 2024 were $5.6 billion, up from $5.3 billion at September 30, 2024.

The Gabelli Growth Fund – Up 35.8% For 2024

The Growth team of Howard Ward, CFA, and John Belton, CFA, commented on The Gabelli Growth Fund’s 2024 performance:

“The environment remained favorable for growth stocks in 2024, underpinned by a resilient economy and the start of a Federal Reserve interest rate cutting cycle. Earnings growth accelerated for many US companies, aided by healthy consumer spending trends, robust technology investments, and continued cost discipline. Artificial Intelligence (AI) remained a key stock market theme, as capital expenditure plans across the hyperscale cloud computing group reached astronomical levels, and given a host of new AI-centric business models which have started to take shape. To date, this technology appears to be making some of the strongest companies, stronger, and to that end we maintained positions in many of the largest AI beneficiaries including NVIDIA, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet and Meta Platforms. This group remains a cornerstone of our portfolio, and as of year-end more than half of the portfolio’s assets are invested across the Technology Sector as a whole. Outside of the Megacap Tech group, top performers to performance this year included Eli Lilly (boosted by continued success across an industry-leading incretin drug portfolio), ServiceNow (which is an early leader in AI software commercialization) and Intuitive Surgical.”

The Gabelli Gold Fund – Up 15.2% For 2024

Portfolio manager Caesar Bryan commented on The Gabelli Gold Fund’s 2024 performance:

“Gold performed strongly for the second consecutive year largely driven by overseas central bank purchases. However, gold equities underperformed the gold price. Recently the rise in the gold price has not been fully reflected in the profit margins of gold mining companies. This has largely been due to cost pressures emanating from a variety of sources, exacerbated by covid. But we believe the market may be too pessimistic concerning both cost pressures which are diminishing and enhanced revenues from a higher gold price. Gold equities are inexpensive relative to their history and on an absolute basis. But a catalyst is needed to alter investor perception. This could be gold backed ETFs adding ounces reflecting a recovery in investor interest in the sector, a decline in other asset markets which may highlight gold as a portfolio diversifier, increased takeover activity or simply continued strength in the gold price. Some of our smaller gold producers such as Lundin Gold and Wesdome Gold Mines, had stellar returns. Among our larger producers Kinross and Agnico Eagle contributed significantly to performance. We continue to favor mid capitalization gold producers with good assets that trade at a big discount to some of the larger producers.”

The Gabelli Small Cap Growth Fund

We utilize our own in-house team of over 40 industry equity analysts and portfolio managers to analyze the stocks in the fund, using our bottom-up research-intensive process and, more importantly, our accumulated and compounded knowledge of selected industry sectors. We use GAPIC – gather, array, project, interpret, and communicate data daily. We have consistently applied our Private Market Value with a Catalyst approach to help generate our long-term returns since the inception of the fund in 1991.

ETFs

In 2024, Gabelli Growth Innovators (NYSE: GGRW), managed by Howard Ward and John Belton, generated a 41.8% total return, the Gabelli Financial Services Opportunities ETF (NYSE: GABF), led by Macrae Sykes, produced a 44.6% total return, and the Gabelli Commercial Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSE: GCAD), managed by Lieutenant Colonel G. Anthony (Tony) Bancroft, USMCR returned 22.2%. The firm launched its first active ETF, the Gabelli Love Our Planet & People ETF (NYSE: LOPP) in January 2021 to extend the tax benefits of owning exchange traded funds to our investors. Since the initial launch, the Gabelli platform has steadily grown the differentiated suite of ETFs. We are pleased with the client adoption progress and excited about this growth area of the market and positioning of these unique funds supported by our investment team. To accelerate the growth of these funds, each of the funds (with the exception of GGRW) has fee and expense waivers on the first $25 million of assets, whereas LOPP has a fee and expense waiver for the first $100 million of assets under management.

Assets Under Administration

(In millions)	As of
	December 31, 2024		September 30, 2024		December 31, 2023

Teton-Keeley Funds (a)	$	809	$	883	$	964
SICAV		408		431		–
Total Assets Under Administration	$	1,217	$	1,314	$	964

(a) Includes $242, $278 and $370 of AUM subadvised for Teton Advisors, Inc. at
December 31, 2024, September 30, 2024 and December 31, 2023, respectively.

AUA on December 31, 2024 were $1.2 billion, a slight decline from the $1.3 billion at September 30, 2024.

Return to Shareholders

During the fourth quarter of 2024, Gabelli returned to shareholders $86 million in the form of a special dividend of $2.00 per share totaling $50.5 million that was declared in the third quarter of 2024, the repurchase of 1,304,358 shares for $34.4 million at an average investment of $26.37 per share, and a regular quarterly dividend of $0.04 per share totaling $1.0 million. From January 1, 2025 to February 4, 2025, the Company has repurchased 12,971 shares at an average price of $23.95 per share for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $0.3 million. On February 4, 2025, the board of directors increased the buyback authorization to 1.5 million shares.

On February 4, 2025, Gabelli’s board of directors declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.08 per share, an increase of 100%, which is payable on March 25, 2025 to class A and class B shareholders of record on March 11, 2025.

Balance Sheet Information

As of December 31, 2024, cash, cash equivalents, and U.S Treasury Bills were $116.5 million and investments were $66.3 million, compared with cash, cash equivalents, and U.S. Treasury Bills of $160.8 million and investments of $44.1 million as of December 31, 2023. As of December 31, 2024, stockholders’ equity was $136.6 million compared to $181.0 million as of December 31, 2023. The decline in stockholders’ equity resulted from the payment of $59.5 million in dividends, $49.3 million of stock buybacks, offset partially by $64.4 million in net income.

Symposiums/Conferences

On November 4^th and 5^th, we hosted the 48^th Annual Automotive Aftermarket Symposium at the Encore at Wynn in Las Vegas. The symposium featured presentations from senior management of leading automotive and trucking companies, with a lineup that enabled investors to understand everchanging dynamics within the automotive industry.
On November 15^th, we hosted the 6^th Annual Healthcare Symposium in connection with Columbia Business School.
On December 5^th, we hosted the 2^nd Section 852(b)(6) Conference.
In addition to the above, we hosted the following during 2024:
- 34^th Pump, Valve & Water Systems Symposium
- 30^th Aerospace & Defense Symposium
- 18^th Omaha Research Trip
- 16^th Media & Entertainment Symposium
- 15^th Specialty Chemicals Symposium
- 10^th Waste & Environmental Services Conference
- 2^nd PFAS Symposium

We are hosting the following symposiums and conferences in 2025:

About Gabelli

Gabelli is best known for its research-driven value approach to equity investing (known as PMV with a Catalyst^TM). Gabelli conducts its investment advisory business principally through two subsidiaries: Gabelli Funds, LLC (24 open-end funds, 14 closed-end funds, 5 actively managed ETFs, and a SICAV) and GAMCO Asset Management Inc. (approximately 1,400 institutional and private wealth separate accounts). Gabelli serves a broad client base including institutions, intermediaries, offshore investors, private wealth, and direct retail investors. In recent years, Gabelli has successfully integrated new teams of RIAs by providing attractive compensation arrangements and extensive research capabilities. As we stated in the past, Gabelli continues to look for new acquisitions / lift-outs and will pay finder’s fees for successful opportunities.

Gabelli offers a wide range of solutions for clients across Value and Growth Equity, Convertibles, actively managed ETFs, sector-focused strategies including Gold and Utilities, Merger Arbitrage, Fixed Income, and 100% U.S. Treasury Money Market.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Our disclosure and analysis in this press release, which do not present historical information, contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements convey our current expectations or forecasts of future events. You can identify these statements because they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. They use words such as “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “project,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” and other words and terms of similar meaning. They also appear in any discussion of future operating or financial performance. In particular, these include statements relating to future actions, future performance of our products, expenses, the outcome of any legal proceedings, and financial results. Although we believe that we are basing our expectations and beliefs on reasonable assumptions within the bounds of what we currently know about our business and operations, the economy, and other conditions, there can be no assurance that our actual results will not differ materially from what we expect or believe. Therefore, you should proceed with caution in relying on any of these forward-looking statements. They are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance.

Forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors, some of which are listed below, that are difficult to predict and could cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from any future results or outcomes expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Some of the factors that may cause our actual results to differ from our expectations include risks associated with the duration and scope of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic resulting in volatile market conditions, a decline in the securities markets that adversely affect our assets under management, negative performance of our products, the failure to perform as required under our investment management agreements, and a general downturn in the economy that negatively impacts our operations. We also direct your attention to the more specific discussions of these and other risks, uncertainties and other important factors contained in our Annual Report and other public filings. Other factors that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We do not undertake to update publicly any forward-looking statements if we subsequently learn that we are unlikely to achieve our expectations whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Gabelli Funds, LLC is a registered investment adviser with the Securities and Exchange Commission and is a wholly owned subsidiary of GAMCO Investors, Inc. (OTCQX: GAMI).

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of the fund before investing. The prospectus, which contains more complete information about this and other matters, should be read carefully before investing. To obtain a prospectus, please call 800 GABELLI or visit www.gabelli.com
Fitch rating drivers include: credit quality, interest rate risk, liquid assets, maturity profiles, and the capabilities of the investment advisor

Active Transparent Exchange-Traded Funds
GABELLI FINANCIAL SERVICES OPPORTUNITIES: GABF

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES

Shares of this ETF are bought and sold at market prices (not NAV) and are not individually redeemed from the fund.
Buying or selling ETF shares may require additional fees such as brokerage commissions, which will reduce returns.
These traditional risks may be even greater in challenging or uncertain market conditions.
Financial service companies operate in heavily regulated industries, which are subject to change. The underlying securities are subject to credit and interest rate sensitivity risk, which could affect earnings. Additionally, since financial services firms are correlated to GDP, a decline in the economic environment could impact profitability.

Active Exchange-Traded Funds
GABELI LOVE OUR PLANET & PEOPLE: LOPP
GABELLI GROWTH INNOVATORS: GGRW
GABELLI COMMERCIAL AEROSPACE & DEFENSE: GCAD

IMPORTANT DISCLOSURES
These ETFs are different from traditional ETFs. Traditional ETFs tell the public what assets they hold each day. These ETFs do not. This may create additional risks for your investment. For example:
• You may have to pay more money to trade the ETFs’ shares. These ETFs will provide less information to traders, who tend to charge more for trades when they have less information.
• The price you pay to buy ETF shares on an exchange may not match the value of an ETF’s portfolio. The same is true when you sell shares. These price differences may be greater for these ETFs compared to other ETFs because they provide less information to traders.
• These additional risks may be even greater in challenging or uncertain market conditions.
• The differences between these ETFs and other ETFs may also have advantages. By keeping certain information about the ETFs undisclosed, these ETFs may face less risk that other traders can predict or copy its investment strategy. This may improve the ETFs’ performance. If other traders are able to copy or predict the ETFs’ investment strategies, however, this may hurt the ETFs’ performance. For additional information regarding the unique attributes and risks of these ETFs, see the ActiveShares prospectus/registration statement.

You should consider the ETFs’ investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before you invest. The ETFs’ Prospectus is available from G.distributors, LLC, a registered broker-dealer and FINRA member firm, and contains this and other information about the ETFs, and should be read carefully before investing.

GABF
Financial services companies operate in heavily regulated industries, which are subject to change. The underlying securities are subject to credit and interest rate sensitivity risk, which could impact earnings. Additionally, since financial services firms are correlated to GDP, a decline in the economic environment could impact profitability.

GGRW
Securities of growth companies may be more volatile since such companies usually invest a high portion of earnings in their business, and they may lack the dividends of value stocks that can cushion stock prices in a falling market.

GCAD
Government aerospace regulation and spending policies can significantly affect the aerospace industry because many companies involved in the aerospace industry rely to a large extent on U.S. (and other) Government demand for their products and services.

LOPP
The application of the Adviser’s socially responsible criteria will affect the Fund’s exposure to certain issuers, industries, sectors, regions, and countries, and may impact the relative financial performance of the Fund.

Money Market Fund
Investment in the fund is neither guaranteed nor insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any government agency. Although the fund seeks to preserve the value of your investment at $1.00 per share, it cannot guarantee it will do so. The fund’s sponsor has no legal obligation to provide financial support to the fund, and you should not expect that the sponsor will provide financial support to the fund at any time. You could lose money by investing in the fund.

Growth
Securities of growth companies may be more volatile since such companies usually invest a high portion of earnings in their business, and they may lack the dividends of value stocks that can cushion stock prices in a falling market.

As of December 31, 2024, GAMI and affiliates owned less than one percent of all stocks mentioned in the Growth Fund.

Gold
Investments related to gold and other precious metals and minerals are considered speculative and are affected by a variety of worldwide economic, financial, and political factors. Investing in foreign securities involves risks not ordinarily associated with investment in domestic issues. Funds concentrating in specific sectors may experience greater fluctuations in value than funds that are more diversified. Not FDIC Insured. Not Bank Guaranteed. May Lose Value.

As of December 31, 2024, GAMI and affiliates owned less than one percent of all stocks mentioned in the Gold Fund.

Small Cap
Small capitalization stocks are subject to significant price fluctuations and business risks. The stocks of smaller companies may trade less frequently and experience more abrupt price movements than stocks of larger companies; therefore, investing in this sector involves special challenges.

Returns represent past performance and do not guarantee future results. Investment returns and the principal value of an investment will fluctuate. When shares are redeemed, they may be worth more or less than their original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data presented. Visit www.gabelli.com for performance information as of the most recent month end.

GAMCO Investors, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (Unaudited)
(in thousands, except per share data)
	Three Months Ended
	December 31, 2024			September 30, 2024			December 31, 2023
Revenue:
Investment advisory and incentive fees	$	55,502		$	53,829		$	53,001
Distribution fees and other income		3,760			3,717			4,312
Total revenue		59,262			57,546			57,313
Expenses:
Compensation		26,593			22,566			27,316
Management fee		2,512			2,517			2,444
Distribution costs		5,634			6,033			5,848
Other operating expenses		5,370			4,801			5,909
Total expenses		40,109			35,917			41,517
Operating income		19,153			21,629			15,796
Non-operating income:
Gain from investments, net		644			3,370			3,529
Interest and dividend income		3,090			2,947			2,951
Interest expense		(282	)		(290	)		(281	)
Charitable giving contribution		–			(5,000	)		–
Total non-operating income		3,452			1,027			6,199
Income before provision for income taxes		22,605			22,656			21,995
Provision for income taxes		5,808			5,822			5,435
Net income	$	16,797		$	16,834		$	16,560

Earnings per share attributable to common
stockholders:
Basic	$	0.70		$	0.69		$	0.66
Diluted	$	0.70		$	0.69		$	0.66

Weighted average shares outstanding:
Basic		23,971			24,263			25,038
Diluted		23,971			24,263			25,038

Shares outstanding		22,930			24,235			24,906

GAMCO Investors, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition (Unaudited)
(in thousands)

	December 31,		December 31,
	2024		2023
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$	17,254	$	61,801
Short-term investments in U.S. Treasury Bills		99,216		99,025
Investments in securities		36,855		19,998
Seed capital investments		29,452		24,044
Receivable from brokers		3,103		4,562
Other receivables		21,246		21,178
Deferred tax asset and income tax receivable		7,553		8,927
Other assets		9,509		9,896
Total assets	$	224,188	$	249,431

Liabilities and stockholders’ equity
Income taxes payable	$	196	$	17
Compensation payable		38,489		23,399
Accrued expenses and other liabilities		48,929		45,036
Total liabilities		87,614		68,452

Stockholders’ equity		136,574		180,979
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity	$	224,188	$	249,431

Shares outstanding		22,930		24,906

GAMCO Investors, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Assets Under Management
By investment vehicle
(in millions)
		Three Months Ended									% Changed From
		December 31,			September 30,			December 31,			September 30,		December 31,
		2024			2024			2023			2024		2023
Equities:
Mutual Funds
Beginning of period assets		$	8,440		$	8,035		$	7,546
	Inflows		211			175			153
	Outflows		(420	)		(415	)		(451	)
	Net inflows (outflows)		(209	)		(240	)		(298	)
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		(126	)		652			744
	Fund distributions, net of reinvestment		(27	)		(7	)		(19	)
	Total increase (decrease)		(362	)		405			427
Assets under management, end of period		$	8,078		$	8,440		$	7,973		-4.3	%	1.3	%
Percentage of total assets under management			25.5	%		26.2	%		25.6	%
Average assets under management		$	8,447		$	8,177		$	7,593		3.3	%	11.2	%

Closed-end Funds
Beginning of period assets		$	7,459		$	7,052		$	6,727
	Inflows		212			25			16
	Outflows		(43	)		(32	)		(63	)
	Net inflows (outflows)		169			(7	)		(47	)
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		(155	)		540			544
	Fund distributions, net of reinvestment		(129	)		(126	)		(127	)
	Total increase (decrease)		(115	)		407			370
Assets under management, end of period			7,344		$	7,459		$	7,097		-1.5	%	3.5	%
Percentage of total assets under management			23.2	%		23.2	%		22.8	%
Average assets under management		$	7,610		$	7,260		$	6,785		4.8	%	12.2	%

Institutional & PWM
Beginning of period assets		$	10,984		$	10,436		$	10,034
	Inflows		62			87			63
	Outflows		(407	)		(373	)		(371	)
	Net inflows (outflows)		(345	)		(286	)		(308	)
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		61			834			1,012
	Total increase (decrease)		(284	)		548			704
Assets under management, end of period		$	10,700		$	10,984		$	10,738		-2.6	%	-0.4	%
Percentage of total assets under management			33.7	%		34.1	%		34.5	%
Average assets under management		$	11,085		$	10,905		$	10,005		1.7	%	10.8	%

SICAV
Beginning of period assets		$	9		$	9		$	622
	Inflows		–			–			82
	Outflows		–			–			(110	)
	Net inflows (outflows)		–			–			(28	)
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		–			–			37
	Total increase (decrease)		–			–			9
Assets under management, end of period		$	9		$	9		$	631		0.0	%	-98.6	%
Percentage of total assets under management			0.0	%		0.0	%		2.0	%
Average assets under management		$	9		$	9		$	628		0.0	%	-98.6	%

Total Equities
Beginning of period assets		$	26,892		$	25,532		$	24,929
	Inflows		485			287			314
	Outflows		(870	)		(820	)		(995	)
	Net inflows (outflows)		(385	)		(533	)		(681	)
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		(220	)		2,026			2,337
	Fund distributions, net of reinvestment		(156	)		(133	)		(146	)
	Reclassification to AUA		–			–			–
	Total increase (decrease)		(761	)		1,360			1,510
Assets under management, end of period		$	26,131		$	26,892		$	26,439		-2.8	%	-1.2	%
Percentage of total assets under management			82.4	%		83.5	%		85.1	%
Average assets under management		$	27,151		$	26,351		$	25,011		3.0	%	8.6	%


GAMCO Investors, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Assets Under Management
By investment vehicle – continued
(in millions)
		Three Months Ended									% Changed From
		December 31,			September 30,			December 31,			September 30,		December 31,
		2024			2024			2023			2024		2023
Fixed Income:
100% U.S. Treasury fund
Beginning of period assets		$	5,268		$	5,159		$	4,217
	Inflows		1,656			1,245			1,424
	Outflows		(1,440	)		(1,205	)		(1,088	)
	Net inflows (outflows)		216			40			336
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		68			69			62
	Total increase (decrease)		284			109			398
Assets under management, end of period		$	5,552		$	5,268		$	4,615		5.4	%	20.3	%
Percentage of total assets under management			17.5	%		16.4	%		14.8	%
Average assets under management		$	5,415		$	5,246		$	4,418		3.2	%	22.6	%

Institutional & PWM Fixed Income
Beginning of period assets		$	32		$	32		$	32
	Inflows		–			–			–
	Outflows		–			–			–
	Net inflows (outflows)		–			–			–
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		–			–			–
	Total increase (decrease)		–			–			–
Assets under management, end of period		$	32		$	32		$	32		0.0	%	0.0	%
Percentage of total assets under management			0.1	%		0.1	%		0.1	%
Average assets under management		$	32		$	32		$	32		0.0	%	0.0	%

Total Treasuries & Fixed Income
Beginning of period assets		$	5,300		$	5,191		$	4,249
	Inflows		1,656			1,245			1,424
	Outflows		(1,440	)		(1,205	)		(1,088	)
	Net inflows (outflows)		216			40			336
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		68			69			62
	Total increase (decrease)		284			109			398
Assets under management, end of period		$	5,584		$	5,300		$	4,647		5.4	%	20.2	%
Percentage of total assets under management			17.6	%		16.5	%		14.9	%
Average assets under management		$	5,447		$	5,278		$	4,450		3.2	%	22.4	%

Total AUM
Beginning of period assets		$	32,192		$	30,723		$	29,178
	Inflows		2,141			1,532			1,738
	Outflows		(2,310	)		(2,025	)		(2,083	)
	Net inflows (outflows)		(169	)		(493	)		(345	)
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		(152	)		2,095			2,399
	Fund distributions, net of reinvestment		(156	)		(133	)		(146	)
	Reclassification to AUA		–			–			–
	Total increase (decrease)		(477	)		1,469			1,908
Assets under management, end of period		$	31,715		$	32,192		$	31,086		-1.5	%	2.0	%
Average assets under management		$	32,598		$	31,629		$	29,461		3.1	%	10.6	%

GAMCO Investors, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Assets Under Management
By investment vehicle
(in millions)
		Twelve Months Ended
		December 31,			December 31,
		2024			2023			% Change
Equities:
Mutual Funds
Beginning of period assets		$	7,973		$	8,140
	Inflows		751			711
	Outflows		(1,626	)		(1,616	)
	Net inflows (outflows)		(875	)		(905	)
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		1,023			772
	Fund distributions, net of reinvestment		(43	)		(34	)
	Total increase (decrease)		105			(167	)
Assets under management, end of period		$	8,078		$	7,973		1.3	%
Percentage of total assets under management			25.5	%		25.6	%
Average assets under management		$	8,173		$	8,035		1.7	%

Closed-end Funds
Beginning of period assets		$	7,097		$	7,046
	Inflows		281			41
	Outflows		(226	)		(130	)
	Net inflows (outflows)		55			(89	)
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		700			654
	Fund distributions, net of reinvestment		(508	)		(514	)
	Total increase (decrease)		247			51
Assets under management, end of period		$	7,344		$	7,097		3.5	%
Percentage of total assets under management			23.2	%		22.8	%
Average assets under management		$	7,274		$	7,058		3.1	%

Institutional & PWM
Beginning of period assets		$	10,738		$	10,714
	Inflows		340			241
	Outflows		(1,701	)		(1,739	)
	Net inflows (outflows)		(1,361	)		(1,498	)
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		1,323			1,522
	Total increase (decrease)		(38	)		24
Assets under management, end of period		$	10,700		$	10,738		-0.4	%
Percentage of total assets under management			33.7	%		34.5	%
Average assets under management		$	10,891		$	10,670		2.1	%

SICAV
Beginning of period assets		$	631		$	867
	Inflows		–			357
	Outflows		(2	)		(624	)
	Net inflows (outflows)		(2	)		(267	)
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		–			31
	Reclassification to AUA		(620	)		–
	Total increase (decrease)		(622	)		(236	)
Assets under management, end of period		$	9		$	631		-98.6	%
Percentage of total assets under management			0.0	%		2.0	%
Average assets under management		$	9		$	694		-98.7	%

Total Equities
Beginning of period assets		$	26,439		$	26,767
	Inflows		1,372			1,350
	Outflows		(3,555	)		(4,109	)
	Net inflows (outflows)		(2,183	)		(2,759	)
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		3,046			2,979
	Fund distributions, net of reinvestment		(551	)		(548	)
	Reclassification to AUA		(620	)		–
	Total increase (decrease)		(308	)		(328	)
Assets under management, end of period		$	26,131		$	26,439		-1.2	%
Percentage of total assets under management			82.4	%		85.1	%
Average assets under management		$	26,347		$	26,457		-0.4	%


GAMCO Investors, Inc. and Subsidiaries
Assets Under Management
By investment vehicle – continued
(in millions)
		Twelve Months Ended
		December 31,			December 31,
		2024			2023			% Change
Fixed Income:
100% U.S. Treasury fund
Beginning of period assets		$	4,615		$	2,462
	Inflows		5,796			5,498
	Outflows		(5,122	)		(3,536	)
	Net inflows (outflows)		674			1,962
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		263			191
	Total increase (decrease)		937			2,153
Assets under management, end of period		$	5,552		$	4,615		20.3	%
Percentage of total assets under management			17.5	%		14.8	%
Average assets under management		$	5,140		$	3,823		34.4	%

Institutional & PWM Fixed Income
Beginning of period assets		$	32		$	32
	Inflows		–			–
	Outflows		–			–
	Net inflows (outflows)		–			–
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		–			–
	Total increase (decrease)		–			–
Assets under management, end of period		$	32		$	32		0.0	%
Percentage of total assets under management			0.1	%		0.1	%
Average assets under management		$	32		$	32		0.0	%

Total Treasuries & Fixed Income
Beginning of period assets		$	4,647		$	2,494
	Inflows		5,796			5,498
	Outflows		(5,122	)		(3,536	)
	Net inflows (outflows)		674			1,962
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		263			191
	Total increase (decrease)		937			2,153
Assets under management, end of period		$	5,584		$	4,647		20.2	%
Percentage of total assets under management			17.6	%		14.9	%
Average assets under management		$	5,172		$	3,855		34.2	%

Total AUM
Beginning of period assets		$	31,086		$	29,261
	Inflows		7,168			6,848
	Outflows		(8,677	)		(7,645	)
	Net inflows (outflows)		(1,509	)		(797	)
	Market appreciation (depreciation)		3,309			3,170
	Fund distributions, net of reinvestment		(551	)		(548	)
	Reclassification to AUA		(620	)		–
	Total increase (decrease)		629			1,825
Assets under management, end of period		$	31,715		$	31,086		2.0	%
Average assets under management		$	31,519		$	30,312		4.0	%

Contact:	Kieran Caterina
	Chief Accounting Officer
	(914) 921-5149

	For further information please visit
	www.gabelli.com

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/67be43da-4ba8-4a8b-adfc-6568958b2c5f
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/184b5374-0f9b-4bf5-a782-689155142d7e

The MIL Network –

February 5, 2025

Trading venue (MIC Code)	Number of shares	Weighted average price / share, EUR*
XHEL	1,221,522	4.52
CEUX	–	–
BATE	–	–
AQEU	–	–
TQEX	–	–
Total	1,221,522	4.52

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From grocery stores to homes

A tax by any other name …

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Consultation document

What’s being proposed?

Summaries of proposed regulatory design changes to 6 other cost recovery settings

1. Clearance of increased regulatory interest and high regulatory interest foods (for example, frozen berries)

2. Levy waiver relating to the former Meat Industry Initiative Fund

3. Food export exemptions

4. Agent collection rate (Domestic Food Business Levy)

5. Animal products: charges for use of electronic system

6. Food Importer Levy

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How to submit your completed form by email

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