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Laos Inflation Edges Up in July, Electricity Prices Surge 91.5% Year-on-Year

By
Namfon Chanthavong
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A picture of Laos's Kip currency used for illustration purpose only.

Electricity prices jumped 91.5 percent in July compared to the same month last year, becoming one of the main factors behind a slight increase in Laos’ inflation rate, which rose to 7.6 percent from 7.4 percent in June.

According to the latest figures from the Lao Statistics Bureau, the sharp rise in electricity costs pushed the housing, water supply, electricity and cooking fuel category up 25.7 percent compared to July 2025.

Electricity prices also increased 27.6 percent compared to the previous month, contributing to a 0.7 percent rise in overall consumer prices in July.

The increase comes after months of gradual improvement in inflation. The rate dropped from 10.2 percent in April to 9 percent in May and 7.4 percent in June, as fuel prices eased and exchange rate pressures became more stable.

But while inflation has slowed, some of the costs people deal with every day are still climbing.

Transport has become another pressure point. Bus fares were 41.5 percent higher than a year earlier and increased slightly compared to June. Fuel prices, although lower than the previous month, remained 30 percent higher than July 2025.

Food prices also continued to rise. The price of glutinous rice, a staple food for many Lao households, increased by 3 percent compared to both July last year and June this year. Agricultural products also saw price adjustments linked to seasonal production changes.

Other essential expenses recorded further increases, including healthcare and medicine, which rose 12.7 percent year-on-year, education costs, which increased 12.3 percent, and restaurants and hotel prices, which rose 9.4 percent.

A Mixed Picture in July

Compared to June, prices increased by 0.7 percent overall, although not every category moved upward.

Housing-related costs recorded the biggest monthly increase, rising 6.1 percent, mainly due to higher electricity prices. Construction-related expenses, including stone, sand and wall painting labour, also became more expensive.

Healthcare costs increased by 1.3 percent during the month, with higher prices recorded for medicines, medical equipment, outpatient services and hospital services.

Food and non-alcoholic beverage prices rose 1 percent, driven largely by higher vegetable prices. Fresh vegetables increased 5.2 percent, while rice prices rose 1 percent and poultry prices edged higher.

Smaller increases were recorded in categories including alcohol and tobacco, household appliances, restaurants and hotels, telecommunications, entertainment, and clothing.

Meanwhile, some costs declined. The other goods and services category fell 1.4 percent, while transportation and communication costs decreased 1.1 percent compared to June.

The government has continued efforts to keep inflation below 8 percent through measures focused on price stability, stronger domestic production and foreign exchange management. However, electricity bills and other daily expenses continuing to rise.

FCC Philippines, Subsidiary of Japan’s FCC CO., LTD., Global Leader in Motorcycle Clutch Systems, Signs 1,500 MWh Long-Term Solar Agreement with Peak Energy

By
Advertorial Desk
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Onsite solar installation to cut FCC Philippines’ energy costs by 30% compared to grid electricity prices, supporting the automotive supply chain manufacturer’s cost competitiveness and energy resilience in Laguna.


LAGUNA, PHILIPPINES – Media OutReach Newswire – 29 July 2026 – FCC (Philippines) Corp., a subsidiary of Japan’s FCC CO., LTD. and a key global supplier to leading automotive and motorcycle brands including Honda, Yamaha, Suzuki and Kawasaki, Ford, Harley-Davidson, BMW, among others, has signed a long-term solar agreement with Peak Energy to power its clutch systems facility in Laguna with onsite renewable energy.

Sandro Bruni (Peak Energy) and Tsuyoshi Nakada (FCC Philippines Corporation) at the Signing Ceremony held on 10th of July
Sandro Bruni (Peak Energy) and Tsuyoshi Nakada (FCC Philippines Corporation) at the Signing Ceremony held on 10th of July

The system is expected to generate approximately 1,500 MWh in its first year of operation from a
1 MWp onsite solar installation, delivering electricity to FCC Philippines at a price approximately 30% lower than grid tariffs. This is expected to avoid approximately 650 tons of CO₂ annually, equivalent to avoiding the consumption of almost 252,000 liters of gasoline.

Under the 15-year agreement, Peak Energy will design, finance, construct, own and operate the solar system, with FCC Philippines purchasing the electricity generated at no upfront capital cost. The structure allows FCC Philippines to access clean, competitively priced power while Peak Energy manages construction and ongoing operations and maintenance.

FCC CO., LTD. is the undisputed global leader in the motorcycle clutch market, with more than 50% global market share, and a leading supplier of automotive clutch components worldwide. The company and has manufactured in the Philippines since 1993, supplying integrated clutch systems not only to the four of the world’s four largest motorcycle OEMs, but also to other established global brands across both the two-wheel and four-wheel industries. Global automotive supply chains are under growing pressure to reduce embedded emissions, and the agreement gives FCC Philippines a concrete way to strengthen its competitiveness within that supply chain.

The agreement builds on Peak Energy’s track record with Japanese-parented manufacturers across the region, including JTEKT (Toyota Group) in Japan, AICA in Thailand and Yokogawa in Singapore. FCC Philippines’ decision to choose Peak Energy reflects the same standard of engineering excellence and delivery experience that has earned these manufacturers’ trust, technical rigor, disciplined project execution and a track record of on-time, on-budget delivery that meets the exacting quality expectations Japanese corporates apply to their partners across Asia.

As industrial demand for lower-cost, predictable power grows, the Philippine market is naturally redirecting capacity toward developers with the financial strength, engineering capability and technology to execute and operate assets credibly at scale, supported by a Department of Energy target of 35% renewable energy share by 2030.

“Industrial buyers in the Philippines are increasingly looking for power that’s cheaper than the grid and shielded from imported fuel prices,” said Gavin Adda, CEO of Peak Energy. “This project delivers both, at a 30% discount to grid tariffs. We are glad to see FCC moving toward a developer with the financial strength and engineering capability to deliver at scale.”

“This solar project represents an important milestone in FCC’s journey toward a more sustainable future,” said Tsuyoshi Nakada, President of FCC (Philippines) Corp. “As part of the FCC CO., LTD., Group’s commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, with a 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2030, we continue to invest in initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint while strengthening the resilience of our operations. We are pleased to partner with Peak Energy in advancing these shared sustainability goals.”
Hashtag: #Japan #Automotive #Irarwar #Iran #Philippines #redalert #energy #energycosts #Scope2 #sustainability


The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Peak Energy

Headquartered in Singapore, Peak Energy develops, owns, and operates renewable assets across Asia Pacific (APAC). With over 300 MW of operating assets and 2 GW worth of projects in development, Peak Energy is the fastest growing renewable energy developer with a portfolio spanning Japan, Korea, Australia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Thailand, Singapore and Indonesia. With activities encompassing the full range of renewable energy business models – including utility-scale development, off-site PPAs, onsite PPAs, and energy storage applications – Peak Energy is a one-stop partner for corporates seeking to decarbonize their operations in APAC. We believe in establishing long-term partnerships with our corporate customers, to accompany them in their decarbonization journey, through cleaner, cheaper energy.

An experienced team handles the complete life cycle of our energy assets from origination and development through to operations and decommissioning, employing state-of-the art technology and the industry best practices, respectful of the environment and following world-class HSE standards.

Our business practices, technological and HSE standards are standardized across APAC, but we are implemented and operate locally, with teams in seven countries, and lasting partnerships with local customers, EPCs, vendors, channel partners.

Peak Energy is wholly owned by Stonepeak, a leading alternative investment firm specializing in infrastructure and real assets with approximatively USD 88 billion of assets under management. Our financial and technical strength coupled with our relationships in local markets allows us to optimize our capital deployment in high quality assets.

For more information, please visit .

About FCC (Philippines) Corporation

Established in 1993 at Laguna Technopark in Biñan City, Laguna, FCC (Philippines) Corp. is a subsidiary of Japan’s FCC CO., LTD., a global leader in automotive and motorcycle clutch systems. The company manufactures and assembles clutch engine components for leading global automotive and motorcycle brands and has a workforce of more than 600 personnel at its Laguna facility. As part of its commitment to sustainable growth, FCC CO., LTD., continues to strengthen its core clutch business while expanding into electrification-related technologies by leveraging its core expertise in die casting, press, and joining technologies to support the evolving mobility industry.

TCMA Launches “The NEXT Chapter” with 5 Engines to Accelerate Cement Industry Toward Net Zero 2050

By
Advertorial Desk
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Thai Cement Manufacturers Association (TCMA) has advanced its strategy, “The NEXT Chapter to Net Zero 2050,” through five key implementation pillars – “5 Engines to Net Zero” – under the theme ‘Accelerating Collaborative Action towards Net Zero 2050.’ The initiative aims to accelerate the transition of Thailand’s cement industry toward a low-carbon future, while elevating its role as a Climate Solution Partner, in alignment with Thailand 2050 Net Zero Cement and Concrete Roadmap, a shared industry commitment.


BANGKOK, THAILAND – Media OutReach Newswire – 23 July 2026 – Amid growing climate pressures and intensifying global competition, Thailand’s cement industry is accelerating its transformation by integrating policy, technology, innovation, energy transition, circular economy, and digitalization into practical implementation; enhancing competitiveness while reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Speech Mr

Mr. Surachai Nimla-or, Chairman of TCMA, stated that “The NEXT Chapter” represents a critical inflection point for the industry, guided by the principle of being “competitive, growth-oriented, and low-carbon.” TCMA is advancing this transition through five key engines:

  1. Policy – Strengthening carbon governance frameworks, including carbon pricing, emissions trading systems, and green procurement, alongside standards and incentives to create an enabling investment environment.
  2. Transition – Advancing low-carbon technologies across the value chain, including calcined clay cement, new supplementary cementitious materials, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), through international collaboration.
  3. Energy – Increasing the share of clean energy and alternative fuels, while improving production efficiency to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
  4. Circular – Promoting the circular economy through co-processing in cement kilns, utilizing waste as alternative inputs to reduce landfill and emissions.
  5. Digital & AI – Enhancing system-wide efficiency, improving precision, reducing energy use, and increasing productivity through digital technologies and artificial intelligence.

“The core of ‘The NEXT Chapter’ is ‘accelerating collaborative action’; connecting policy, technology, and investment to deliver measurable and scalable impact,” said Mr. Surachai. He added that TCMA continues to advance SARABURI SANDBOX, a low-carbon city pilot that serves as a testing ground for innovative technologies and mechanisms before scaling at the national and regional levels.

The implementation of the 5 Engines to Net Zero reflects the industry’s transition from a traditional producer to a solution provider in addressing climate change, reinforcing the role of Thailand’s cement industry as a key driver in the country’s pathway toward Net Zero 2050.

Hashtag: #TCMA #TCMAat20 #TCMAinAction #TCMAtoNetZero2050 #NextChapterNetZero #ClimateSolutionPartner #CementDecarbonization

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

FST Corp. Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results

By
Advertorial Desk
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10 Percent Revenue Increase Year-over-Year;
Operating Income and Bottom-Line Improvements Year-over-Year;
Board Approves Share Repurchase Program of up to $3 million.

Boulder, Colorado–(Newsfile Corp. – July 28, 2026) – FST Corp. (NASDAQ: KBSX) (“FST” or the “Company”), a leading manufacturer and marketer of steel and graphite golf shafts and a provider of other golf-related services, today announced its unaudited financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2026.

Revenue for the second quarter was $12,552,012, a 9.7 percent increase from revenue of $11,437,270 for the second quarter of 2025. This increase was mainly the result of additional aftermarket sales in both the Company’s steel and graphite lines.

Net loss for the second quarter was $1,046,379, or ($0.02) per share, compared to a net loss of $3,029,029, or $(0.07) per share, in the same period of 2025. This improvement was primarily the result of a $752,673 improvement in gross profit driven by increased revenue and a change in product mix, a decline in total costs and operating expenses of $196,714, and a $2,394,387 improvement in foreign exchange loss.

These improvements were offset in part by an unrealized loss on change in fair value of warrant liability of $721,171 compared to no such charge in the second quarter of last year, an income tax expense of $282,578 compared to an income tax benefit of $128,747 in the year ago period, and by a decrease in other income of $224,370 compared to Q2 2025.

Operating income in Q2 2026 was $259,899, an improvement of $949,387 compared to an operating loss of $689,488 in the second quarter of 2025.

For the first six months of 2026, the Company was profitable, reporting net income of $831,189, or $0.02 per share, a $6,658,236 improvement from a net loss of $5,827,047, or $(0.13) per share, in the first half of 2025.

The weighted average number of shares outstanding for the second quarter of 2026 and 2025 was 44,766,003.

As of June 30, 2026, and December 31, 2025, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $8,221,962 and $7,179,800, total assets of $62,890,586 and $60,921,557, total liabilities of $46,940,722 and $45,370,369, and total shareholders’ equity of $15,949,864 and $15,551,188, respectively.

For the first six months of 2026, net cash provided by operating activities was $1,148,290 compared with net cash used in operating activities of $4,315,501 for the first six months of 2025. For the first six months of 2026 and 2025, net cash used in investing activities was $1,053,088 and $241,198, and net cash provided by financing activities was $1,739,975 and $3,435,609, respectively.

Management believes that its current liquidity, together with cash flows from operations and available credit facilities, will be sufficient to fund operating requirements for the next 12 months.

“We’re pleased to report that our strong start to the year has continued throughout the second quarter, during which we’ve grown aftermarket revenue in both our steel and graphite lines and improved gross margins while reducing our operating expenses,” said FST Chairman and Chief Executive Officer David Chuang. “In addition, the flexibility utilized in our capital structure has enabled us to lay the foundation for providing greater long-term value for our shareholders.”

“Looking forward, we anticipate continued revenue growth through the end of the year via expanding sales in both domestic and export markets.” Mr. Chuang said these strategic initiatives include:

  • Launch of new steel shaft product in Q3
  • Launch of new programs at OEM partners where KBS is the stock shaft;
  • Expansion of regional sales coverage, development of new customer relationships, and increased support provided to existing customers by the Company’s European office, allowing it to contribute incremental revenue across the European market;
  • Hosting the second annual KBS Open in Taiwan, thereby providing additional marketing exposure, enhancing brand awareness, and strengthening engagement with customers and industry participants in Taiwan and other key Asian markets.
  • Implement additional cost-control measures focused on production efficiency, inventory management, logistics, and discretionary operating expenses.

Share Repurchase Plan
The Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”) has authorized a stock repurchase program under which the Company may repurchase up to $3.0 million of its outstanding ordinary shares. Shares may be repurchased from time to time through open-market transactions, privately negotiated transactions, or other legally permissible means. The timing, manner, price, and actual number of shares repurchased will be determined at management’s discretion, based on various factors, including stock price, market and business conditions, the Company’s capital position and liquidity requirements, applicable legal and regulatory requirements, and other relevant considerations.

This authorization reflects the Board’s confidence in the Company’s long-term strategy and growth trajectory and provides the Company with the flexibility to repurchase shares when balanced against the Company’s operating, liquidity, and growth requirements.

The Company remains committed to maintaining a disciplined capital-allocation strategy that balances investments in growth with opportunities to return capital to shareholders.

About FST Corp.
Founded in 1989, FST Corp. manufactures and sells golf club shafts, along with other golf-related items, to golf equipment brands, OEMs, distributors, and consumers via the company’s KBS Golf Experience retail outlets. FST’s equipment, marketed under the KBS brand, is utilized by golfers at all levels, including many professional players participating in the PGA and other major golf associations. The company’s product portfolio, retail presence, and golf-related services are part of a vertically integrated business model that has established the KBS brand on a global scale and created significant competitive advantages over peer brands. The company’s growth strategies currently position it for expansion into under-tapped golf shaft markets.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future expectations, plans, and prospects, and the Company’s belief with respect to its ability to capture growth opportunities and the impact of hosting the second annual KBS Open in Taiwan, as well as statements that are not historical facts. These statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including foreign exchange fluctuations, changes in market demand, competitive pressures, and other factors listed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025, which are beyond the Company’s control. Forward-looking statements can often be identified by terms such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “likely,” and similar expressions.

The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise these statements to reflect new events or changes in expectations, except as required by law. While these statements reflect reasonable expectations, actual results may differ materially. Investors are encouraged to review the Company’s registration statement and SEC filings for additional information on factors that may impact future results.

Company Contact:
FST Corp.
1801 13th Street, Suite 306,
Boulder, CO 80302
Office: 303-444-2226
Email: investorrelations@fstshafts.com

Investor Relations Inquiries:
Skyline Corporate Communications Group, LLC
Scott Powell, President
1177 Avenue of the Americas, 5th Floor
New York, New York 10036
Office: (646) 893-5835
Email: ir@skylineccg.com

FST Corp.
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
(In U.S. dollars, except for share data, or otherwise noted)

As of
June 30,
2026 		As of
December 31,
2025
(Unaudited)
ASSETS
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents 8,221,962 7,179,800
Restricted cash 486,702 158,865
Accounts and notes receivable, net 6,301,127 6,979,725
Prepaid tax – 93,589
Inventories, net 12,463,255 11,812,740
Amounts due from a related party 77,267 73,820
Prepaid expenses and other current assets 2,218,321 1,188,451
Total current Assets 29,768,634 27,486,990
Non-current assets
Property, plant and equipment, net 18,343,684 19,044,954
Intangible assets, net 4,679,797 4,832,114
Long-term investments 737,978 551,628
Right-of-use assets 5,796,388 5,761,176
Deferred tax assets, net 1,677,753 1,692,802
Prepayment and other non-current assets 1,886,352 1,551,893
Total non-current assets 33,121,952 33,434,567
Total assets 62,890,586 60,921,557
LIABILITIES
Current liabilities
Short-term bank borrowings 20,867,343 18,199,806
Accounts payables 2,554,719 3,032,860
Operating lease liabilities, current 1,698,015 2,328,227
Amounts due to related parties 163,751 137,548
Current tax liabilities 696,642 367,902
Accrued expenses and other current liabilities 5,776,163 6,355,964
Total current Liabilities 31,756,633 30,422,307
Non-current liabilities
Long-term bank borrowings 9,584,042 10,963,881
Operating lease liabilities, non-current 4,874,565 3,974,560
OET derivative liability – 5,310
Warrant liabilities 725,482 4,311
Total non-current liabilities 15,184,089 14,948,062
Total Liabilities 46,940,722 45,370,369
SHAREHOLDERS’ EQUITY
Ordinary share (par value of US$0.0001 per share; 500,000,000 shares authorized; 44,766,003 shares issued and outstanding) 4,477 4,477
Additional paid in capital 15,443,336 15,396,434
Retained earnings 2,381,596 1,566,364
Accumulated other comprehensive loss (2,017,338 ) (1,537,922 )
Total FST Corp. shareholder’s equity 15,812,071 15,429,353
Non-controlling interests 137,793 121,835
Total shareholder’s equity 15,949,864 15,551,188
Total liabilities and shareholders’ equity 62,890,586 60,921,557

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS AND
COMPREHENSIVE LOSS
(In U.S. dollars, except for share data, or otherwise noted)

For the three Months Ended
June 30 		For the six Months Ended
June 30
2026 2025 2026 2025
Revenue 12,552,012 11,437,270 27,198,366 22,193,432
Cost of sales 6,539,950 6,177,881 13,629,833 11,978,297
Gross profit 6,012,062 5,259,389 13,568,533 10,215,135
COSTS AND OPERATING EXPENSES:
Selling expenses 3,166,484 3,315,626 6,034,397 6,232,888
General and administrative expenses 2,170,587 2,285,558 4,287,571 4,811,121
Research and development expenses 415,092 347,693 808,464 700,373
Total costs and operating expenses 5,752,163 5,948,877 11,130,432 11,744,382
GAIN (LOSS) FROM OPERATIONS 259,899 (689,488 ) 2,438,101 (1,529,247 )
OTHER (EXPENSE) INCOME
Interest expense, net (218,175 ) (208,607 ) (444,591 ) (402,491 )
Foreign exchange gain(loss) (115,615 ) (2,510,002 ) 278,457 (2,215,654 )
Other income, net 25,951 250,321 65,051 282,405
Unrealized gain(loss) on change in fair value of OET derivative liability 5,310 – 5,310 (1,884,824 )
Unrealized loss on change in fair value of Warrant liability (721,171 ) – (721,171 ) –
Total other loss, net (1,023,700 ) (2,468,288 ) (816,944 ) (4,220,564 )
PROFIT (LOSS) BEFORE INCOME TAX EXPENSES (763,801 ) (3,157,776 ) 1,621,157 (5,749,811 )
INCOME TAX EXPENSES 282,578 (128,747 ) 789,968 77,236
NET INCOME (LOSS) (1,046,379 ) (3,029,029 ) 831,189 (5,827,047 )
Less: net income(loss) attributable to non-controlling interests 3,566 (19,992 ) 15,958 (38,459 )
Net income (loss) attributable to FST Corp.’s shareholders (1,049,945 ) (3,009,037 ) 815,231 (5,788,588 )
OTHER COMPREHENSIVE INCOME(LOSS)
Foreign currency translation adjustment (408,157 ) 2,438,330 (479,416 ) 2,434,922
TOTAL COMPREHENSIVE INCOME(LOSS) (1,454,536 ) (590,699 ) 351,773 (3,392,125 )
Less: total comprehensive income (loss) attributable to non-controlling interests 4,036 (3,899 ) 15,958 (22,388 )
Comprehensive income (loss) attributable to FST Corp.’s shareholders (1,458,572 ) (586,800 ) 335,815 (3,369,737 )
Weighted average number of shares outstanding, basic and diluted 44,766,003 44,766,003 44,766,003 44,766,003
Earnings per share, basic and diluted (0.02 ) (0.07 ) 0.02 (0.13 )

UNAUDITED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(In U.S. dollars)

For the Six Months Ended
June 30
2026 2025
CASH FLOWS FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES:
Net cash provided by operating activities 1,148,290 (4,315,501 )
CASH FLOWS FROM INVESTING ACTIVITIES:
Purchase of property, plant and equipment (831,405 ) (121,491 )
Purchase of intangible assets (30,983 ) (21,996 )
Disposal of property and equipment – 6,635
Purchase of long-term investments (190,700 ) (104,346 )
Disposal of short-term investments – –
Net cash used in investing activities (1,053,088 ) (241,198 )
CASH FLOWS FROM FINANCING ACTIVITIES:
Proceeds from bank borrowings 25,422,785 21,975,236
Repayments of bank borrowings (23,682,810 ) (18,500,873 )
Buy back treasury shares – (38,754 )
Net cash provided by financing activities 1,739,975 3,435,609
Effect of foreign exchange rate on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash (465,178 ) 2,849,580
Net increase in cash and cash equivalents 1,369,999 1,728,490
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at the beginning of period 7,338,665 5,302,199
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash at the end of period 8,708,664 7,030,689
SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE OF CASH FLOW INFORMATION:
Interest expenses paid 355,506 303,125
Income taxes paid 364,553 114,019
Right of use assets obtained in exchange for operating lease obligations 1,696,192 335,513

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

LexisNexis Announces Agreement with AustLII to Advance the Rule of Law and Access to Justice in the AI Era

By
Advertorial Desk
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Agreement supports the next generation of AI-powered legal research for Australia’s free legal information service.

SYDNEY, July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — LexisNexis Australia and the AustLII Foundation today announced an agreement that will shape the future of public access to legal information in Australia. This agreement will strengthen the rule of law, broaden access to justice, and ensure Australia’s legal ecosystem keeps pace with the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

LexisNexis Official Logo Legal
LexisNexis Official Logo Legal

AustLII is a not-for-profit charity that provides free online public access to Australian legal information, serving private citizens, government, the courts, educational institutions and the legal profession. The agreement will enable AustLII to build world-class AI-enhanced research capabilities on the foundation of its comprehensive legal data collection.

Under the agreement, LexisNexis will support AustLII to accelerate the development of AI-enhanced legal research capabilities, helping ensure Australians continue to have free access to trusted legal information in an AI-enabled legal environment.

For LexisNexis, this reflects a deep commitment to the broader legal ecosystem, one that goes beyond commercial interests. A well-functioning rule of law benefits every participant in Australia’s legal community, and investing in the infrastructure that underpins access to legal information is central to that vision.

This agreement is to help AustLII develop new AI-assisted tools that make Australian legal information easier to discover, understand and navigate for citizens, courts, government, educators and legal professionals

“At LexisNexis, we believe that access to the law is a cornerstone of a just society. This agreement with AustLII reflects our commitment to supporting the future of free public legal information in Australia. It is about ensuring that AI advances the rule of law rather than undermining the power of these technologies available to every Australian. We are proud to stand alongside AustLII in this shared mission.”
Carol Chris, Managing Director, LexisNexis Australia and New Zealand

“Free access to law” means something different in 2026 than it meant 30 years ago when we started AustLII. Our users have an expectation that AI will be used to enhance the research that they do using AustLII. With the support from LexisNexis, our aim is to build the highest quality AI resources on the foundations of AustLII’s comprehensive data collection.”
Professor Andrew Mowbray AM, Executive Director, AustLII, UTS Law Faculty

“The LexisNexis contribution will allow AustLII to continue its core mission in the artificial intelligence era. AustLII will expand its role as an independent and trusted free access publisher. AustLII will continue to serve the needs of all of its users including private citizens, government, the courts, education and the legal profession.”
Professor Philip Chung AM, Managing Director, AustLII, Macquarie Law School

“I am delighted by the contribution from LexisNexis to support AustLII and the rule of law in Australia. I also wish to thank all of AustLII’s existing contributors and note the importance of everyone’s contributions in maintaining, expanding and enhancing the AustLII service. In particular, I would like to thank UTS for its ongoing support and for hosting AustLII’s facilities.”
Mr Ian Govey AM, Chair, AustLII Foundation

Australia has one of the finest legal systems in the world, and for over three decades AustLII has been a quiet but essential pillar of that system. LexisNexis is committed to ensuring that this not only endures but grows stronger in the AI era. This agreement is one of the most meaningful contributions that can be made to the health of Australia’s legal ecosystem. 

About LexisNexis AI Development
LexisNexis prioritizes a customer-driven AI innovation approach that solves complex problems and enhances value. The company employs over 4,000 technologists, data scientists, and legal experts to develop safe, purpose-built solutions with human oversight in line with RELX Responsible AI Principles. Backed by advanced encryption and privacy technology, its global technology platform seamlessly integrates the latest AI advancements, including agentic AI, legal-tuned models and a proprietary framework for the development of legal-tuned agents, within a multi-cloud infrastructure. This enables high model performance and authoritative responses anchored in comprehensive legal content, with validated citations powered by Shepard’s®. Document Management System (DMS) integration personalizes and grounds responses in a customer’s own documents. The company’s multi-model approach selects the best AI model for each use case, supported by partners AWS, Anthropic, Microsoft, Mistral, and OpenAI. 

About LexisNexis Legal & Professional
LexisNexis® Legal & Professional provides AI-powered legal, regulatory, business information, analytics, and workflows that help customers increase their productivity, improve decision-making, achieve better outcomes, and advance the rule of law around the world. As a digital pioneer, the company was the first to bring legal and business information online with its Lexis® and Nexis® services. LexisNexis Legal & Professional, which serves customers in more than 150 countries with 11,900 employees worldwide, is part of RELX, a global provider of information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers.

About AustLII
AustLII Foundation is a not-for-profit charity that provides free online public access to Australian legal information. AustLII is hosted by the University of Technology Sydney and is committed to promoting the rule of law and improving access to justice across Australia and internationally.

GreenCore Solutions Corp. (GSC) Ships CPG Knowledge Graph v3.2.0 — AI Agents at 9.5 Million+ Monthly Transactions

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Advertorial Desk
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What’s inside the CPG Knowledge Graph: Retail grocery — 3.29 million points of sale (POS) across 15,688 retail grocery banners and 38,350 brands in 50 global markets.

VANCOUVER, BC and SYDNEY, July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — GreenCore Solutions Corp. (GSC) and its Asia-Pacific joint venture GSC Agentic today announced the general availability (GA) of the CPG Knowledge Graph v3.2.0 — the knowledge graph of the Beauty & Personal Care (BPC) segment of the consumer packaged goods (CPG) sector. It carries 2 billion resolved sector datapoints and 2.5 trillion answerable questions, and it is designed for one thing only: sustainable AI Agents carrying BPC stock-keeping unit (SKU) information to retail grocery AI Agent buyers — the same machine-to-machine layer where, as Cloudflare confirmed in June 2026, machines now transact more than humans on the open internet.

CPG Knowledge Graph v3.2.0 shipped two months ahead of its fall scheduled release — and it is already running at production scale: 3.7 AI Agent transactions every second — 220 a minute, 13,000+ an hour, 316,000+ a day, 9.5 million+ a month — held for three consecutive months (May, June, and July 2026), without a dollar of GSC advertising spend. In the era Cloudflare marked, AI Agent inbound transactions are the product win. The new technology design is what moves agent transactions.

GSC Customer AI Agent Onboarding

GSC onboards BPC brands and private label SKUs to its AI Agents in 3–5 weeks — to production, not prototype — with the CPG Knowledge Graph’s performance benefits bundled in: SKUs mount onto the already-resolved knowledge graph, and bad data never gets in. RAG-based competitor stacks (Retrieval-Augmented Generation) typically take 3–5 months to reach production grade, with data preparation consuming 50–70% of the project budget before the first buyer query is answered.

Operating AI Agents — Procurement Effectiveness with the CPG Knowledge Graph

GSC provides managed services for BPC AI Agents — and when the retail grocery buyer agent asks, the answer is right the first time. No retry loops, no lost purchase orders nobody reports — every SKU answered from fact at wire speed.

Human in the Loop (HITL)

A human on every transaction is the rule, not an option: a person signs every purchase order and every RFP. And every SKU gets quality of care — one correction resolves once and serves everywhere, reaching all 15,688 banners at once.

Retail Already Switched

Microsoft opened Dynamics 365 to AI Agents in Q1 2026; Oracle shipped agentic Fusion the same quarter. SAP — the software that runs the world’s grocery chains — published the end date: its AI Agent Hub goes live Q3 2026, machine-to-machine buying goes GA in Q4, and its API Policy (v4/2026, §2.2.2) bars external AI agents from the legacy APIs. From the end of 2026, roughly $3 trillion of annual grocery buying power sits behind AI Agent gates that speak only two open protocols: MCP and A2A.

In June 2026, Cloudflare — the network used by 42% of the Fortune 500, carrying roughly 20% of the world’s web traffic — reported that AI Agent traffic had passed human traffic on its network for the first time. By July, Cloudflare Radar showed the split at roughly 60% AI – 40% human. The same migration is live in retail grocery: 9.5 million+ persistent inbound AI Agent transactions a month run on GSC, an estimated 15–20% of the world’s agentic grocery procurement traffic. That traffic is the forward indicator, and it points one way for BPC customers: faster to market, lower run-rate cost, higher sales, and sustainability built into every exchange — up to 80% lower token use and energy per SKU exchange than the generalist norm.

Gartner’s Strategic Predictions for 2026 names the destination: by 2028, 90% of B2B buying will be AI-agent intermediated, pushing over $15 trillion of B2B spend through agent exchanges. “Products will need to be machine-readable, and procurement will shift to efficient, autonomous machine-to-machine transactions.”

What Ships in v3.2.0

  • 2 billion datapoints resolved into the graph — 38,350 brands, 15,495 makers, 30 billion cells
  • 2.5 trillion answerable questions available to buyer AI Agents at wire speed
  • The SPARKS classification standard — SKU, Pack, Amount, Region, Kernel, and Standard, pinning each product to its market.  SPARKS is a live schema of the CPG Knowledge Graph and will ship as an Agent Skill in a coming version.

Retrieval bolted onto unmanaged files serves wrong answers 15–35% of the time even in controlled, optimized RAG systems — and 50–70% in real production environments. A Knowledge Graph with schema enforced at ingestion serves under 2%. The Knowledge Graph is the opposite of an index: a curated map of facts where every record is verified and connected before it’s stored, so an AI Agent answers from structure, not from luck.

Delivered on Three Open Protocols

v3.2.0 ships on MCP (Model Context Protocol — how AI Agents connect to systems), A2A (the machine-verified handshake identifying agents to each other), and ACM-68000 (deterministic status signals for agentic commerce). Signals, not compute. Machine identity, not anonymous requests.

Availability

CPG Knowledge Graph v3.2.0 is generally available today for BPC brands and private-label makers, served in-region on Microsoft Azure across nine countries — France, Australia, the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Singapore, and South Korea — and Google Cloud Enterprise, Madrid, and discovered through the GSC MCP AI surfaces: mcp.cpgknowledgegraph.ai (data), mcp.gsc-fleet.ai (discovery), mcp.cpghumanintheloop.ai (transaction), and mcp.cpgagentprotocols.ai (standards). These are machine surfaces, not human-viewable websites — built for AI Agents to read, not for people to browse.

“We make the only AI Agents for BPC brands and private-label makers built on the CPG Knowledge Graph — the edge in sustainability and agentic retail sales,” said Matthew Keddy, CEO, GreenCore Solutions Corp. (GSC). “Our customers get better AI Agents for their SKUs: fast onboarding, faster time to market and sales, and real retail grocery procurement security. We delivered all three — and the results are No. 1 in agentic CPG procurement, with an estimated 15–20% of the world’s agentic grocery traffic.

About GreenCore Solutions Corp. (GSC)

GreenCore Solutions Corp. (GSC) builds AI Agents with the CPG Knowledge Graph, powered by SPARKS, delivered on MCP + A2A + ACM-68000. An estimated 15–20% of the world’s agentic procurement transaction traffic across retail grocery runs on GSC. GSC AI Agents run sustainable, transact safe, human in the loop, and live on Microsoft Azure and Google Cloud. GSC is a Microsoft AI Cloud Partner — Crunchbase Global Rank 1,481 as of July 2026. D-U-N-S 24-336-6774.

About GSC Agentic Pty. Ltd.

GSC Agentic Pty. Ltd., headquartered in Sydney, Australia, is the Asia-Pacific joint venture delivering the GSC AI Agent Stack across APAC markets.

SK hynix Announces 2Q26 Financial Results

By
Advertorial Desk
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  • Reports revenues of 79.3187 trillion won, operating profit of 60.5426 trillion won, net profit of 93.9226 trillion won
  • Record-Breaking Quarterly Performance Driven by High-Value Product Sales Amid Strong AI Demand; Cumulative First-Half Revenue Surpasses 100 Trillion won for the First Time
  • Long-Term Agreements with around 10 Key Customers; Multi-Year Contracts and Technological Innovation Address Structural Demand Growth
  • HBM4 achieves customer-required operating speeds, industry-leading power efficiency, and cost competitiveness, demonstrating differentiated technological edge
  • Company to reinforce Production Capacity and Financial Health simultaneously by Preparing for Mid-to-Long-Term Growth Opportunities while Adhering to CapEx Discipline

SEOUL, South Korea, July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — SK hynix Inc. (or “the company”, www.skhynix.com) announced today that it has recorded 79.3187 trillion won in revenues, 60.5426 trillion won in operating profit (with an operating margin of 76%), and 93.9226 trillion won in net profit (with a net margin of 118%), marking an all-time high quarterly performance.

Driven by sustained demand growth from expanding AI infrastructure investments, high-performance products for AI servers led price increases, enabling the company to surpass its previous record set in the prior quarter. Consequently, cumulative revenue for the first half of the year crossed the 100 trillion won mark for the first time in company history. Revenue and operating profit increased by 257% and 557% year-over-year, respectively.

– Q2 2025: Revenue of 22.232 trillion won, Operating Profit of 9.2129 trillion won
– Q1 2026: Revenue of 52.5763 trillion won, Operating Profit of 37.6103 trillion won

Both DRAM and NAND flash memory prices experienced significant quarter-over-quarter increases. SK hynix achieved top-tier profitability by expanding sales centered on high-value-added products, including HBM, DRAM for AI servers, and eSSD.

On the back of these strong operational results, cash and cash equivalents reached 88 trillion won at the end of the second quarter, an increase of 33.6 trillion won from the previous quarter. Total debt decreased by 0.7 trillion won to 18.6 trillion won, expanding the net cash position to 69.4 trillion won. The company evaluated that its financial flexibility has significantly strengthened, supported by record-high profit levels and cash generation capability.

As AI evolves into agentic forms that perform complex tasks on behalf of users and expands across various services, the underlying demand base for memory is broadening. Consequently, a structural shift is occurring where demand for both AI memory and conventional memory is expanding in tandem.

With major tech companies increasing their AI infrastructure investments, additional supply requests continue to mount. As these investments are supported by revenue generated from AI services, the momentum in memory demand is expected to persist.

Based on this demand outlook, SK hynix is expanding multi-year contract discussions with customers to secure mid-to-long-term supply stability. The company has finalized Long-Term Agreements (LTAs) with around 10 customers, including key strategic partners, and is continuing further discussions with major industry clients. Through these efforts, SK hynix aims to enhance operational efficiency while strengthening its mid-to-long-term business stability and sustainable growth foundation.

As AI models advance, the scope of memory competitiveness is expanding into system architecture and packaging. SK hynix plans to lead memory innovation from a system perspective, leveraging its comprehensive product portfolio and co-development capabilities with customers.

HBM4 has demonstrated its differentiated technological edge by achieving customer-required operating speeds while delivering industry-leading power efficiency and cost competitiveness. The company began mass shipments of HBM4 in the second quarter and will ramp up production in the second half of the year. For HBM4E, which completed sample shipments in the first half, the company applied optimal processes featuring technology maturity and mass-production stability. 

SK hynix plans to continue its leadership in the HBM sector based on its comprehensive strength, including superior quality, stable supply capabilities based on high yield, cost competitiveness, and industry-leading performance. 

Sales of SOCAMM2 grew significantly in the second quarter, and shipments of products based on 10nm-class 6th generation (1c) process technology began in earnest.

In NAND, SK hynix is accelerating its transition to advanced process nodes to strengthen its portfolio around high-capacity and high-performance products. 321-layer products already represent the largest share of total production, and the company plans to expand this to approximately 50% of domestic production capacity by the end of the year.

In a market environment where customer demand exceeds supply capabilities, the ability to deliver requested volumes in a timely manner has emerged as a core business competitiveness. 

In response, SK hynix is accelerating the mass production schedule for M15X while making investments to rapidly expand production capacity following the opening of the Yongin Phase 1 cleanroom in early 2027. Mid-to-long-term investment plans—including the recently announced P&T7 advanced packaging facility, M17 NAND production base, and the development of a new semiconductor cluster—will be executed in phases based on customer demand and investment efficiency.

SK hynix emphasized that it will reinforce both its production capacity and financial health by seamlessly preparing for mid-to-long-term growth opportunities while maintaining capital expenditure discipline (CapEx Discipline).

■ 2Q26 Financial Results (K-IFRS)

*Unit: Billion KRW

2Q26

QoQ

YoY

1Q26

Change

2Q25

Change

Revenues

79,318.7

52,576.3

51 %

22,232

257 %

Operating
Profit

60,542.6

37,610.3

61 %

9,212.9

557 %

Operating
Margin

76 %

72 %

4%P

41 %

35%P

Net Income

93,922.6

40,345.9

133 %

6,996.2

1,242 %

※ Financial information of the earnings is based on K-IFRS

※ Please note that the financial results discussed herein are preliminary and speak only as of July
29, 2026. Readers should not assume that this information remains operative at a later time.

Disclaimer

This material has been prepared by the Company for informational purposes only, and the information contained herein has not undergone any separate, independent verification process. No representations or warranties are made regarding the fairness, accuracy, or completeness of the information contained in this material, and such information should not be relied upon. Neither the Company nor its employees bear any civil, criminal, or administrative liability for any damages arising from this material or from its use.

Review of the FY2026 Q2 financial results has not been finalized. Figures in this earnings release are subject to changes during the independent auditing process.

All financial information contained in this document is based on consolidated K-IFRS.

This material contains forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are generally identified words such as “may,” “will,” “intend,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate” and similar expressions, or the negative of such expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to inherent risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. SK hynix undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release or to reflect actual outcomes, unless required by law.

This material does not constitute a solicitation for the acquisition or purchase of securities, and no part of this material should serve as the basis for any contract, agreement, or investment decision, nor should it be relied upon in connection therewith.

About SK hynix Inc.
SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world’s top tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (“DRAM”) and flash memory chips (“NAND flash”) for a wide range of distinguished customers globally. The Company’s shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK hynix is available at www.skhynix.com, news.skhynix.com .

Firmable launches MCP, giving sales teams a direct line from any AI tool to verified company and contact data

By
Advertorial Desk
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New Firmable MCP brings GTM data, CRM context, and buyer intent into Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, and more.

SAN FRANCISCO and MELBOURNE, Australia, July 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Firmable, the AI-native B2B sales platform, launched its Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, giving revenue teams the ability to run go-to-market activity directly from the AI tools they already use. The Firmable MCP is available now through Firmable Connect, a new hub at https://connect.firmable.ai that brings together MCP, webhooks, native CRM integrations, and API access in one place.

Sales teams have spent the past two years bolting AI onto old workflows and legacy data platforms. Reps switch between five tabs to build a single account list. Agents hallucinate company details because they’re working from stale, unverified data. CRMs fill up with duplicate records nobody trusts. The AI tools got smarter. The connection to the data underneath them didn’t keep up.

That gap is exactly what Firmable was built to close. “Every competitor in this space talks AI now,” said Karthik Venkatasubramanian, co-founder and Chief Product & Technology Officer at Firmable. “Most of them mean an AI layer sitting on top of a legacy database. Firmable is AI-native from the ground up, continuously sourcing, assembling, and refreshing accurate data and buying signals, not retrofitting an old system to sound like a new one.”

Firmable’s Lead GTM Engineer Asher Chua will introduce the MCP connector and illustrate its use in a live and recorded webinar on August 12. Register here: https://zoom.us/webinar/register/4817852096930/WN_asz65zH-RXeB85Crg1mlqg

Kieran Krohn is Head of Growth at ScaleStation, a Firmable and HubSpot partner specializing in GTM strategy and processes. “We’re big fans of Firmable and have been impressed with the quality of their data, which is why we recommend them to our customers,” he said. “As we move deeper into a world of AI, we find it more and more useful to be able to leverage Claude as the operating layer that connects into our different systems. Having access to Firmable’s data via MCP makes a huge difference in being able to pull that data and manipulate it with intelligence.”

One connection, five unique processes beneath

The Firmable MCP gives almost any AI tool – Claude, Claude Code, ChatGPT, Codex, or Cursor – direct access to the Firmable B2B data stack. What makes it different comes down to five layers working together, continuously, before a rep ever types a prompt:

  • AI-native sourcing. Firmable’s proprietary AI pulls from hundreds of datasets to build its own map of the market, rather than reselling the same licensed feeds most other vendors use. That means more company profiles, deeper decision-maker detail, and stronger mobile and email coverage. Teams switching from Apollo or ZoomInfo consistently uncover meaningful net-new contacts on day one, and in head-to-head testing, Firmable delivers significantly higher verified mobile coverage than these legacy vendors in the same market.
  • Structure at scale. AI agents map, resolve, and clean every record automatically, stripping out bots, inactive accounts, and stale profiles before anything reaches a user. Inefficient manual list curation is not required.
  • Refreshed and verified. Database segments refresh continuously, and every record is cross-checked against live signals, so sellers aren’t calling a number that was disconnected two months ago or emailing someone who changed jobs in the spring.
  • Insights at speed. AI agents scan constantly for what matters: role changes, hiring surges, funding rounds, and surface it as an assigned CRM action, not as a chart buried in a dashboard.
  • Delivered for action. All of this reaches reps wherever they already work, in the Firmable app, through the new MCP connector in Claude and ChatGPT, via two-way CRM sync, or through webhooks and API access for custom workflows.

A rep can now ask their AI assistant to build a list of mid-market SaaS companies in San Francisco and map the buying committee at each one, and get verified, ready-to-action results in one step instead of ten.

Built-in guardrails, not just built-in AI

Firmable’s MCP marketplace, part of Firmable Connect, already contains an industry-leading set of 540 pre-built skills and prompts.

Some, like CRM Push Prep, add a layer that most AI tools skip. Before any list is written to Salesforce, HubSpot, or Microsoft Dynamics 365, CRM Push Prep previews exactly what will be created and what will be updated; flags duplicates; shows the cost and waits for the rep to confirm the list by name. No AI tool gets to write to a CRM unsupervised.

Other popular skills include Account Brief, which pulls firmographics, tech footprint, and ICP fit into one structured answer, and Buying Committee Mapper, which grounds its recommendations in real, verified Firmable contacts weighted by what the rep is selling.

Firmable Connect: one platform, four ways in

Firmable Connect is the new home for this capability. Alongside the MCP, the platform offers webhooks that push job and role changes, funding rounds, and intent spikes straight into Slack or any workflow tool; native two-way sync for HubSpot, Salesforce, Pipedrive, and Microsoft Dynamics 365; and direct API access for teams building on Firmable data. Setup takes seconds: install the MCP, authenticate with OAuth, and run a first GTM skill in under two minutes.

“We didn’t want to be another data vendor with an API bolted on,” said Leigh Jasper, co-founder and co-CEO of Firmable. “Other tools hand you a database and wish you luck, but Firmable is your AI sales teammate. We wanted to meet revenue teams inside the tools they’ve already adopted for AI, and to make sure what shows up there is data they trust enough to act on immediately, with the context they need. Smarter data, sharper timing, that’s the whole bet behind Firmable Connect.”

The launch lands as Firmable accelerates its expansion into the US and Canada, building on its established base across Australia, New Zealand, and wider APAC. The MCP is available today, with a free trial for new users.

Firmable MCP is available now at https://connect.firmable.ai/mcp, where the full skill and prompt marketplace can be browsed, and downloaded into your AI tool. Teams can start a free trial at https://app.firmable.com/sign-up.

About Firmable

Firmable is an AI-native B2B sales platform, your AI sales teammate, that helps revenue teams find, understand, and connect with the right buyers at the right time. Combining verified company and contact data with CRM context, buyer intent, and agentic AI, Firmable powers go-to-market teams across the US and Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia. www.firmable.ai

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