31st edition tackles EV lubrication, decarbonisation, and the regulatory shifts reshaping the global fuels and lubricants value chain — with exclusive masterclasses and the F&L Asia Awards Gala Dinner.

HONG KONG, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — F&L Asia Ltd. today announced the full programme and speaker line-up for F+L Week 2026, the 31st edition of Asia’s premier fuels, lubricants, and additives conference. The event takes place 26–27 March 2026 at The St. Regis Bangkok, Thailand, under the theme “Navigating Uncertainties. Strengthening Resilience.” Registration is open at fuelsandlubes.com.

“Thirty-one years ago, F&L Asia brought together a small circle of industry visionaries to do something that had never been done quite this way before — to place the fuels and lubricants industry’s most critical conversations at the heart of the world’s fastest-growing market. The partnerships forged in rooms like this one — between chemists and engineers, between additive companies and OEMs, between regional specialists and global standard-setters — remain the engine of progress. That is what F+L Week has always been.”

Vicky Villena-Denton, Editor-in-Chief & CEO, F+L Asia Ltd.

Conference Programme

F+L Week 2026 opens on Wednesday, 25 March with two exclusive pre-conference masterclasses. Kazuo Yamamori of Toyota Motor Corporation, chairman of the JASO Engine Oil Subcommittee, will present on the latest revisions to JASO M 364:2024 and M 355:2024 engine oil standards, followed by Dr. Takuma Koinuma of Hitachi Construction Machinery, chairman of the JCMA Oil Technical Subcommittee, on navigating high-efficiency hydraulic fluid requirements.

Day 1 (Thursday, 26 March) features Session 1, Powering Asia’s Energy and Mobility Transition, chaired by Dr. George Zhang of Valvoline Global Solutions. Confirmed speakers include executives from Shell, Lubrizol, TotalEnergies, Afton Chemical, PETRONAS Lubricants International, Hitachi Energy, and Indian Oil Corp. Session 2, which focuses on Electrification and Hybrid Mobility: Redefining Lubrication for the New Powertrain, is chaired by Dr. Wenyang Zhang of Tesla.

Day 2 (Friday, 27 March) addresses global regulatory and sustainability challenges through Session 3, Innovation, Regulation, and Sustainable Solutions for a Net Zero Future, chaired by Dr. Ping Zhu of Lubrizol Additives. Headlining Session 3 is Bundit Hansapaiboon, Acting President, Refinery and Marketing Business Group (R&M), of Bangchak Corporation. Session 4, which focuses on Decarbonising Transport: Fuels, Bioenergy, and Emissions Reduction, is chaired by Dr. Hind Abi-Akar of HD Fluids Consulting. Topics include the EU reclassification of substituted diphenylamine antioxidants (SDPA), new American Petroleum Institute (API) engine oil standards, maritime pathways to net-zero emissions, sustainable aviation fuel, biofuels, and global fuel quality.

F&L Asia Awards 2026: Recipients Announced

The F&L Asia Awards Gala Dinner, sponsored by Lubrizol Southeast Asia Pte. Ltd., takes place on the evening of 27 March at The St. Regis Bangkok. The F&L Asia Awards recognise the individuals and organisations whose work is defining the future of the global fuels and lubricants industry. F&L Asia Ltd. is proud to announce the 2026 recipients:

Product Development of the Year: TotalEnergies receives the Product Development of the Year Award for its Quartz EV3R EV-Drive, a fluid engineered for wet electric drive unit (EDU) architectures that simultaneously functions as a dielectric coolant for the motor and a high-pressure lubricant for gears and bearings. The product is formulated using 100% re-refined base oil (RRBO), delivering more than a 50% reduction in CO₂ emissions on a cradle-to-gate basis compared to conventional virgin base oil alternatives. Performance was validated through six electric vehicles, which completed 200,000 kilometres of fleet trials in China. Commercial launch is scheduled for the first semester of 2026.

Person of the Year: Charlotte Kehoe, AsPac Technology & Sustainability Director, bp Castrol, and Chair of the Asian Lubricants Industry Association (ALIA). The F&L Asia Advisory Board recognised Kehoe for her convening power and industry-wide leadership on product carbon footprint standards, re-refined base oils, and advanced data centre cooling fluids.

Lifetime Achievement Award: Eric Holthusen, Director of Technology & Technical Services, Petrolube, and Senior Technical Advisor, ALIA. Holthusen’s three-decade career spans Shell’s global fuels technology division, including spearheading the development of Shell V-Power globally, and the COO/CTO role at PETRONAS Lubricants International — recognised for bridging Western technical standards with Asian market growth.

Future Leaders Award: Irina Kaysina, Business Development Team Lead and co-founder of iQar. Kaysina was recognised for iQar, a B2B SaaS and IoT ecosystem automating fleet fluid dispensing, and for her concurrent pioneering work in bio-based lubricants for agritech applications.

The F&L Asia Awards Gala Dinner on 27 March brings together the industry’s senior leadership for an evening celebrating 31 years of technical excellence and strategic innovation in Asia’s fuels and lubricants sector. Attendance is exclusive to registered F+L Week 2026 delegates.

For more information, visit https://www.fuelsandlubes.com/fl-asia-awards/.

Sponsors and Partners

F+L Week 2026 is supported by Lubrizol (Platinum); Chevron Oronite Pte. Ltd. and Shell (Gold); Afton Chemical Corporation and ENEOS Corporation (Silver); SONGWON Industrial Group, SI Group, Evonik Oil Additives Asia Pacific, Chevron Base Oils, MicRos Lubrication Technology, and Ergon Oil (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (Bronze); BRB International and Vanderbilt Chemicals (Tabletop Display Exhibitors); and Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB), Thai Tribology Association (TTA), and ATIEL (Supporting Partners).

Sponsorship enquiries: sales@fuelsandlubes.com

Registration enquiries: conference@fuelsandlubes.com

REGISTER NOW

https://fuelsandlubes.com/fl-exhibition/fl-week-2026-home-3/

Places are limited.

ABOUT F+L WEEK
F+L Week is the annual flagship conference of F&L Asia Ltd. and Asia’s most comprehensive fuels, lubricants, and additives platform. First held in Singapore in 1995, the event has grown into the defining gathering for the global fuels and lubricants value chain in the Asia-Pacific region. F+L Week 2026 takes place 26–27 March at The St. Regis Bangkok, with the pre-conference masterclass on 25 March.

ABOUT F&L ASIA LTD.
F&L Asia Ltd. is the publisher of F+L Magazine and the organiser of F+L Week, the Asian Lubricant Exhibition, the F&L Asia Awards, and a suite of digital platforms including F+L Daily, F+L Magazine, F+L Executive Brief, F+L Lube Map, and F+L Webcast. The company reaches an audience spanning the entire fuels and lubricants value chain from refinery to road. F&L Asia Ltd., established in 1995 in Manila, Philippines, is headquartered at 22/F, 3 Lockhart Road, Wanchai, Hong Kong SAR.

The alliance brings real–time global money transfers, affordable and transparent pricing and a seamless mobile–first experience

JOHANNESBURG, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Absa Group, one of Africa’s largest diversified financial services providers, has partnered with Thunes, the Smart Superhighway to move money around the world, to launch a new digital-first remittance solution, Absa Global Pay, that makes sending money across borders faster, simpler and more affordable for millions of customers across Africa.

With international remittances playing an increasingly critical role in supporting families, education, healthcare and small businesses, customers are demanding solutions that are intuitive, transparent and cost-effective. The Absa–Thunes collaboration responds directly to this need by combining Absa’s trusted Pan African banking footprint with Thunes’ agile Direct Global Network to deliver an end–to–end, real–time money movement experience.

A simpler, faster, more intuitive customer experience

Absa Global Pay allows Absa customers to send funds directly from the Absa Banking App or Connected Banking (Absa Online) with instant settlement to 18 countries with 6 countries forming part of the first release (UK, Kenya, India, Malawi, Pakistan and Zimbabwe). Customers can choose from multiple payout methods — bank accounts, mobile wallets or approved cash pick–up points — with real–time notifications and full transaction visibility for added confidence and control.

Affordability and transparency at the core

By leveraging Thunes’ trusted Direct Global Network and Absa’s scale across key African markets, the solution offers lower fees, clear pricing, competitive FX rates, and greater value, ensuring that more of each transaction reaches the families and businesses that depend on remittances as a financial lifeline.

Nick Nkosi, Managing Executive for Transactional and Deposits at Absa Personal and Private Banking, said:

“At Absa, we are committed to building financial services that are innovative, intuitive and deeply connected to the everyday needs of our customers. Remittances remain essential for keeping families supported across borders, and our research shows significant opportunity to unlock more value in this space. Together with Thunes, we are delivering a solution that is simpler, faster and more affordable — empowering customers with choice, transparency and meaningful value.”

Simon Nelson, Chief Commercial Officer at Thunes, said:

“We are proud to partner with Absa, one of Africa’s most trusted financial institutions, to expand access to modern, low–cost cross–border payments. By combining Absa’s deep local insights with Thunes’ expansive Direct Global Network, we are making international money movement seamless and accessible for anyone, anywhere. This launch is an important milestone in our mission to support the growth of the continent by powering intra-Africa money movement and bring inclusive financial connectivity to communities across the world.”

A track record of multiple payment innovations at Absa

This product launch builds on a growing track record of several recent Absa payment innovations aimed at simplifying how customers interact with their money — from mobile-first solutions such as Absa Pay for online payments – a secure online platform allowing Absa customers to pay for their ecommerce purchases on a merchant site without sharing banking login details and most recently the launch of Bill payments in partnership with EasyPay and Pay@.

For more information about Thunes, visit: https://www.thunes.com/
For further information about Absa Group Limited, visit www.absa.africa

HONG KONG and SHANGHAI, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (“Ping An” or “the Group”; HKEX: 2318/82318; SSE: 601318) has coordinated its subsidiaries, including Property & Casualty insurance (“P&C”), Life and Health insurance (“Life & Health”), and Ping An Bank, in response to the recent escalation of tensions in the Middle East. The Group promptly issued early warning notifications and evacuation recommendations to customers stranded in the region, while simultaneously gathering information on personnel status and customer needs in high-risk areas.

Ping An Global Emergency Assistance Service Center has been alerting customers to potential risks and distributed targeted risk analysis reports. To date, the Group has issued a total of 59 risk warnings, 23 risk analysis reports, and handled 52 customer inquiries. Notably, it facilitated the safe evacuation of two employees of corporate clients from high-risk areas in the Middle East within 24 hours.

Continued Support for Customers

Ping An remains vigilant in monitoring customers’ situations in high-risk regions, ready to deploy global resources at a moment’s notice to address any emergency needs and provide support to Mainland Chinese citizens in conflict zones.

On January 12, Ping An issued a high‑risk advisory and began providing timely alerts to customers in the Middle East. It carried out thorough risk assessments and prepared evacuation resources to ensure rapid support whenever needed.

The Group will continue to closely monitor developments in high-risk areas and ensure immediate responses to assistance requests. Whether you are a Ping An customer or not, help is available by calling the emergency hotline at 95511 (from overseas: +86 755 95511).

About Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd.

Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. (HKEX:2318 / 82318; SSE:601318) is one of the largest financial services companies in the world. It strives to become a world-leading provider of integrated finance, health and senior care services. Under the technology-enabled “integrated finance + health and senior care” dual-pronged strategy, the Group provides professional “financial advisory, family doctor, and senior care concierge” services to its nearly 250 million retail customers. Ping An advances intelligent digital transformation and employs technologies to improve financial businesses’ quality and efficiency and enhance risk management. The Group is listed on the stock exchanges in Hong Kong and Shanghai. As of the end of December 2024, Ping An had more than RMB12 trillion in total assets. The Group ranked 27th in the Forbes Global 2000 list in 2025, 47th in the Fortune Global 500 list in 2025, and ranked AAA in MSCI ESG Ratings in 2025.

For more information, please visit the www.group.pingan.com and follow our LinkedIn page – PING AN.

BEIJING, March 5, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, China’s top political advisory body, opened its annual session on Wednesday in Beijing, the Xinhua News Agency reported. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping, together with other leaders, attended the opening meeting of the fourth session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee at the Great Hall of the People.

According to Xinhua, the agenda for the session was reviewed and approved at the meeting. Wang Huning, chairman of the CPPCC National Committee, delivered a work report on behalf of the Standing Committee of the CPPCC National Committee.

A report on the handling of proposals submitted by political advisors since the last session of the CPPCC National Committee in March 2025 was presented at the meeting.

The CPPCC National Committee received 5,992 proposals from its members over the past year, of which 5,061 were accepted for processing. The response rate for the accepted proposals stood at 99.9 percent.

New achievements

The fourth session of the 14th CPPCC National Committee runs from Wednesday to March 11, spokesperson Liu Jieyi said at a news conference on Tuesday, Xinhua reported.

During the session, national political advisors will sit in on the fourth session of the 14th National People’s Congress, the country’s top legislature, which is scheduled to open on Thursday, hear and discuss documents including a government work report, and discuss a draft 15th Five-Year Plan for national economic and social development, according to Liu.

With the two sessions being a window to observe China’s policy, multiple foreign media outlets have paid close attention to the event. Reporting on the opening of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, the Financial Times noted that CPPCC members float hundreds of proposals during the conference.

Reuters highlighted China’s technology policies over the next five years, reporting on how China will “convert a wave of high-profile breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, space and robotics into industrial scale and capital market momentum.”

“I will particularly be looking at the indications of what will be in China’s 15th Five-Year Plan,” John Ross, Senior Fellow at the Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China, told the Global Times.

“During the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), China already succeeded in something which no other developing economy in history has ever achieved and that is to become a technological leader in a major series of industries. This overall economic framework allowed China to overcome negative trends produced by geopolitical actions of some other countries. I will therefore be particularly looking at how this successful integration of science and technology with production will be further developed in the 15th Five-Year Plan,” he said.

Advancing Chinese modernization

Prior to the opening meeting on Wednesday, nine members of the 14th CPPCC National Committee from various sectors including agriculture, quantum computing, education, new energy vehicles and telecommunications attended a group interview in three batches at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.

At the first meeting with the press, the representation of the political advisors, with one third of them coming from sci-tech related sectors, has underlined China’s focus on economic security and technological advance in 2026, Cong Yi, a professor at the Tianjin School of Administration, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Pan Jianwei, a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and an academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, introduced China’s breakthroughs in quantum technology during the 14th Five-Year Plan, noting that the country’s quantum communication sector maintains international leadership over the period, quantum computing firmly ranks among the world’s first tier, and that multiple directions in quantum precision measurement have advanced into the international forefront.

Yang Jie, a member of the 14th CPPCC National Committee and former chairman of China Mobile, told reporters on Wednesday that in order to elevate the building of a modern industrial system to a new level, more targeted and coordinated efforts are needed.

He suggested efforts including building an intelligent and integrated information infrastructure, strengthening strategic emerging industries and future industries, deepening the empowerment of traditional industries through digital-intelligence technologies, advancing “AI Plus,” and promoting the in-depth integration of technological and industrial innovation.

Zeng Yuqun, a member of the National Committee of the CPPCC and chairperson of CATL, stressed that homegrown innovation lies at the core of the rise of China’s new-energy sector.

Other members of the CPPCC national committee took questions relating to national unity, the development of the sports sector and marine economy.

Unique advantage

While addressing hot-button social issues, CPPCC members also actively make proposals during the two sessions to contribute to the advancing of Chinese modernization in the upcoming five years.

China’s political consultative system is also widely acclaimed as a unique advantage of China’s political system. 

The BBC reported on Wednesday that the CPPCC’s 2,000-plus members are drawn from various sectors, and not just the Communist Party of China, and its discussions offer insight into key policy debates. 

“This is an important component of the socialist political system with Chinese characteristics and a crucial form in developing whole-process people’s democracy. This system possesses notable advantages, as it can broadly unite various democratic parties, pool wisdom, and gather strength for advancing Chinese modernization,” Cong said.

Following the conclusion of the opening meeting, many Chinese and foreign journalists were seen thronging around members of the 14th CPPCC National Committee, eager to get a glimpse of the key policy priorities in China’s 15th Five-Year Plan from their proposals. 

“I’m particularly interested in what to expect from China in its next Five-Year Plan regarding its engagement with Latin America. China is one of Latin America’s most important partners, and many countries in the region now treat China as a key economic partner,” Bruno Falci, a correspondent for Latin American media teleSUR, told the Global Times.