HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam, Jan. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — For more than 40 years, Dewan Architects + Engineers has been shaping cities and destinations across the Middle East, Europe and beyond. From large-scale mixed-use developments to hospitality, residential, leisure and lifestyle projects, the firm has built a reputation for delivering ambitious, design-led projects in fast-moving markets while adhering to the visions and market needs of their clients.

Today, as Dewan continues to grow across Southeast Asia, particularly in Vietnam, yet with a deep regard for the local culture and a sense of place. The goal is simple: to bring the experience, confidence, structure, and resources of a global design practice, with input from our local team and partners to ensure every project fits its context, culture, and market needs.

Over the past eight years, Dewan’s Vietnam studio has become a key part of this approach. Working side by side with Dewan’s global offices, but deeply rooted in local knowledge, culture, codes, and ways of working.

One Team, Two Perspectives

“Vietnam and Southeast Asia are exciting markets, but they also move fast,” says Freek Jansen, Branch Manager of Dewan Vietnam. “Developers here need strong ideas, but they also need clarity, coordination, and partners who understand how things really work on the ground.”

Dewan’s strength lies in combining these two worlds. Concept design and strategic thinking are developed from the firm’s headquarters in Dubai, drawing on decades of experience in large, complex projects, while the Vietnam studio plays an important role in supporting these ideas into designs that respond to local regulations, construction methods, climate, and cultural expectations, as well having a constant local point of contact to serve our clients.

Rather than a one-directional workflow, Dewan operates as one connected team. Designers, technical specialists, and local architects collaborate from the early stages, ensuring projects are unique yet buildable, efficient, and commercially viable.

Design That Feels Right for Its Location

There is no “standard Dewan style.” Each project is shaped by its context, market positioning, and end users. What remains consistent is the firm’s design mindset: clarity, strong spatial thinking, and a focus on human experience.

In Vietnam, this has meant learning quickly and adapting continuously. Over time, Dewan’s teams have refined how global design standards are blended with local materials, traditions, and lifestyles, resulting in projects that feel international in quality, but familiar and relevant to local users.

Experience You Can See on the Ground

Dewan’s growing portfolio in Southeast Asia reflects this balance between ambition and context.

In Hanoi, SolForest at Ecopark introduced the idea of a “vertical forest” to high-rise living—long before green residential towers became a mainstream discussion. As one of Dewan Vietnam’s first completed projects, it demonstrated how sustainability, lifestyle, and high-density housing could come together in a meaningful way.

In Thailand, Layan Verde in Phuket takes a different approach, responding to steep terrain and coastal views. Terraced residences, integrated landscape, and passive design strategies turn the site’s challenges into its strongest features—creating a resort-style environment that feels connected to nature rather than imposed on it, creating an almost non architectural statement where nature overtakes the building.

Meanwhile, in southern Vietnam, Maia Ho Tram represents Dewan’s ability to deliver at scale. As Lead Architect and Interior Designer, Dewan is shaping a coastal destination that combines hospitality, residences, wellness, and leisure into one cohesive vision. Despite its size and short design timeline, the project remains focused on human experience—open terraces, generous outdoor spaces, and interiors inspired by nature and local identity.

Why Developers Choose Dewan

For developers, working with Dewan means more than accessing an international name. It means:

• Global experience from the Middle East, Europe, Africa and other fast-growth markets
• Strong design leadership backed by technical depth
• Local teams who understand approvals, coordination, and construction realities
• Cultural sensitivity, not global imported solutions
• One integrated process, from concept to delivery

“Our international background taught us how to work fast, manage complexity, and deliver under pressure,” Jansen explains. “But our success in Asia comes from listening, adapting, and building trust with local partners.”

Looking Forward

As Dewan continues to expand across Vietnam and Southeast Asia, the firm remains focused on long-term partnerships rather than one-off projects. Each new development is seen as a collaboration, where global knowledge and local insight come together to create places that work commercially, culturally, and socially. “Our journey in Asia has changed how we design,” Mr. Mohammed Adib, Chief Design Officer – Dewan Architects reflects. “It’s made us more flexible, more grounded, and more connected to how people actually live. That combination is what we bring to every developer we work with and eventually for the final users.”

Looking ahead, with a strong regional presence and a fully integrated global network, Dewan Architects remains committed to creating places that add real value: projects that are globally informed, locally delivered, and designed to support how people live, work, and connect.

For high-resolution photos, please download the media kit here.

SHANGHAI, Jan. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Over the past decade, China’s electric vehicle (EV) industry has evolved from a niche experiment into a leading force in the global automotive landscape. In the first ten months of 2025, China exported over 2 million EVs, nearly double the year-earlier figure. From European city streets to Southeast Asian highways and Latin American urban centers, Chinese EVs have emerged as one of the most prominent symbols of a new era of “Made in China.”

The global automotive market is undergoing a corresponding transformation. From January to September 2025, global vehicle sales hit approximately 70.53 million units, with new energy vehicles (NEVs) making up over 22% of the total volume. More notably, nearly 70% of the global growth in NEV sales came from China. China’s supply chain now holds a 70%–85% global market share in critical components such as batteries. Taken together, China is providing much of the momentum behind the global shift toward electrification.

This structural change extends beyond OEMs. It is also reshaping the supply chain. China has built systemic advantages across the battery supply chain, electric drive platforms, electronic and electrical architectures, and manufacturing efficiency, forming the foundation for the next phase of intelligent mobility.

Against this backdrop, chassis-level system solutions are shifting from mechanical components to core enablers of intelligent driving. Technologies such as brake-by-wire and steer-by-wire now determine whether an intelligent vehicle can carry out algorithmic decisions safely and reliably.

LeeKr Technology is among a new generation of Tier 1 suppliers emerging at this turning point. By migrating and restructuring application software from actuators to a centralized controller, the company is dedicated to providing secure, efficient, and intelligent holistic chassis-level system solutions for the era of software-defined vehicle.  

The global supply chain is being redefined, with the ability to build chassis-level system emerging as a new competitive frontier. The rise of companies like LeeKr is highlighting the profound strength of China’s supply chain. Behind the globally successful EV brands, a cohort of new-generation Tier 1 suppliers, mastering core technologies, is rapidly emerging to form the new foundation of the future automotive industry.

The Capital Story

The restructuring of the automotive supply chain has reshaped not only technology architecture but also the direction of capital. This is where LeeKr’s story begins.

In the four years since its founding in 2021, LeeKr has raised more than USD 284 million in total financing. In a sector that demands rigorous engineering, mature mass-production capabilities, and uncompromising safety standards, such a rapid funding pace is unusual.

2022: Tech Investors Who Saw the Shift Coming

LeeKr’s earliest backers came from investors deeply rooted in China’s technology and intelligent mobility sectors, many with prior experience at major internet companies such as Baidu and Alibaba. A representative figure is Dr. Kai-Fu Lee, founder of Sinovation Ventures, who previously held senior roles at Apple, Microsoft and Google. His earlier investments include companies such as Momenta and WeRide, reflecting a long-standing focus on the intersection of software, intelligence and mobility.

In 2022, LeeKr closed nearly USD 28.4 million in Series A and A+ financing from leading Chinese institutions. These investors brought long track records across China’s internet, hardware, and early autonomous-driving sectors. What they valued was not short-term revenue, but the underlying trend itself.

Their investment reflected confidence in LeeKr’s technical direction and team, as well as an early conviction about where the industry is heading.

2023: National and Industrial Capital Take Notice

In 2023, LeeKr secured USD 56.8 million in Series B financing. The significance of this round lay not in the size but in who participated: national research-linked institutions, local industrial investment platforms, and capital associated with major OEMs appeared together for the first time.

This marked a shift in how LeeKr was perceived. The company was no longer seen only as a promising technology startup, but as a participant with strategic value in China’s intelligent EV ecosystem.

The closer alignment of capital and industry became an important milestone. It signaled a move from early-stage uncertainty toward greater supply-chain certainty, giving LeeKr the ability to integrate upstream and downstream resources and positioning it for future strategic orders.

2024: Integration into China’s Core NEV Supply Chain

In 2024, LeeKr closed a Series C funding round of more than USD 142 million. Government-guided funds and the strategic investment platforms of major OEMs were the primary participants. Local industrial capital involved in intelligent NEV development also joined, along with investment platforms linked to OEMs that have performed strongly overseas, including Chery.

By the first three quarters of 2025, Chery exported 936,000 vehicles, up 12.9% year-on-year, maintaining its position as China’s number-one passenger-vehicle exporter. As one of the earliest Chinese OEMs to achieve global scale, Chery consistently ranks among the top in markets such as Brazil and the Middle East. Its selection criteria for supply-chain partners are widely considered among the most demanding in the industry.

Against this backdrop, Chery’s decision to invest in LeeKr carries weight. At this stage, capital is no longer simply fueling the growth of a fast-moving startup. It is integrating LeeKr into the core of China’s NEV supply-chain system.

As vehicles move rapidly toward electrification and software-driven architectures, mastery of the underlying execution system is becoming a foundational capability for both industrial security and long-term global competitiveness.

LeeKr’s funding history reveals its most distinctive feature: the transformation of its client identity. This further demonstrates that the most powerful validation often comes from the market itself: multiple core OEMs, including China FAW Group, BAIC, and Chery Group, having successively taken stakes in LeeKr.

This signifies not only trust but also a long-term commitment to collaboration and a flywheel effect where one plus one becomes greater than two.

Today, LeeKr serves more than ten automaker customers, and its One-box products are deployed across over thirty vehicle models. Technical validation, industry trust, and strategic capital now reinforce one another and accelerate the company’s growth.

Looking back over the past four years, this is more than a financing history. It is a snapshot of the industry’s shift from the supplier logic of the fuel era to the emerging supply-chain architecture of the intelligent electric era.

A New Generation of Suppliers 

The global automotive industry is now undergoing a disruptive transformation driven by electrification and intelligence. The long-established order of the internal combustion engine era is being reshaped, with new players and multinational giants now competing on the same stage.

The dominant capability in the supply chain is shifting from mechanical manufacturing to electronic control, software, and system integration. With strengths in batteries, electric drive systems, manufacturing efficiency and engineering ecosystems, China has, for the first time, moved to the center of this global restructuring.

As the industry transitions, a new generation of suppliers is emerging. Rather than simply replacing traditional giants, they are working with OEMs to co-develop the architecture of intelligent electric vehicles and are becoming the new Tier 1. LeeKr is one of the most representative examples. As competition among electric vehicle makers expands from China to global markets, the role of these new suppliers is evolving as well.

Internally, LeeKr describes its globalization path as “going abroad with the ship,” a strategy of expanding overseas alongside its automotive customers. In its early stage, LeeKr follows clients into overseas markets to meet mass production demands for global vehicle models. It then works alongside OEMs to establish overseas factories, achieving localized manufacturing of critical components. The longer-term goal involves preemptively deploying R&D and production systems in key regions to build capabilities serving the global market.

This is not only LeeKr’s development path. It also reflects the broader movement of China’s new energy vehicle supply chain toward higher positions in the global value chain.

The Road Forward

Megatrends such as the software-defined vehicle, electric mobility, and autonomous driving are accelerating the need for more advanced chassis technology. From a longer-term perspective, the true constraints on industry expansion no longer lie in perception or computing power itself, but rather in the maturity, reliability, and cross-vehicle/cross-market replicability of holistic chassis-level system solutions. The technical solutions LeeKr focuses on directly address this bottleneck.  

Based on this assessment, it suggests that LeeKr is addressing not merely the question of “feasibility”, but rather the challenges of “sustainable operation, scalable delivery, and cross-market adaptability.” This positions it to evolve from a supporting role within the smart EV supply chain into a key provider of foundational capabilities.

The same logic extends to LeeKr’s global expansion. Whether following clients into overseas markets or participating in localized development, its consistent goal is ensuring the chassis-level system maintains uniform safety and reliability across diverse regulations and operating environments.

The recent cooperation between LeeKr and the Geleximco Group illustrates how this approach is beginning to take shape. Over time, we believe companies like LeeKr may increasingly serve global automakers directly, translating China’s engineering depth and supply chain capacity into universally applicable industrial capabilities.

Note:
This article is jointly developed by LeeKr Technology and EqualOcean. LeeKr Technology is the primary subject of the analysis, while EqualOcean serves as an independent industry research and analysis firm, providing industry perspectives and research support. EqualOcean focuses on China’s global business expansion and helps international organizations better understand China’s emerging industries and technology trends.

Discounted Fares, 2 + 1 Stays Available Until Supplies Last

CEBU CITY, Philippines, Jan. 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Cebu Pacific (CEB) launches a limited-time only Fly & Stay offer, in partnership with the Philippines Department of Tourism (DOT) and the Hotel, Resort, and Restaurant Association of Cebu Inc. (HRRACI).

This is part of the airline’s “Happy Starts in Cebu” campaign initiative, encouraging travelers to begin their Philippine journey from Cebu.

As the exclusive airline partner, CEB is offering discounted fares from Japan, Korea, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong to Cebu, until January 31, 2026. The travel period runs from February 1 to July 31, 2026.

One-way base fares (exclusive of fees and surcharges)

One-way all-in fares

The seat sale supports the DOT’s “Visit Cebu” campaign launched in December last year, marking the first-of-its-kind partnership between DOT and CEB to put Cebu on the map for 2026 travels.

Through the campaign, guests booking CEB’s direct international flights to Cebu are eligible to purchase a 2-night stay with breakfast for two, with one FREE night with breakfast, at participating Cebu hotels and resorts. The offer is available for purchase until January 31, 2026, for stays from February 1 to August 30, 2026.

The 2 + 1 offer is subject to availability and applies only to accredited participating properties listed below:

• 1521 Mactan Resort
• Bai Hotel Cebu
• BE Resort
• Cebu Grand Hotel
• Cebu Parklane International Hotel
• Crimson Resort & Spa
• Golden Peak Hotel & Suites
• Golden Prince Hotel & Suites
• Golden Sands Destination Resort
• Jpark Island Resort & Waterpark Mactan Cebu
• Maayo Hotel
• Marco Polo Plaza Cebu
• Mezzo Hotel
• Mövenpick Hotel Mactan Island Cebu
• NUSTAR Resort Cebu
• Quest Hotel
• Radisson Blu Cebu
• Shangri-la Mactan Cebu
• Solea Mactan Resort
• Tambuli Seaside Resort & Spa

All accommodation vouchers must be booked in advance, either directly with the participating hotel or through the designated redemption platform. To enjoy the offer, guests simply need to present their Fly & Stay voucher together with their CEB boarding pass upon hotel check-in.

For more information on the promo mechanics, visit https://bit.ly/VisitCebu2026 . 

Our social media handles: 

Facebook: Cebu Pacific Air 
X: @CebuPacificAir 
Instagram: cebupacificair 

KOTA DELTAMAS, Indonesia, Jan. 19, 2026  /PRNewswire/ — In an era of rising operational complexity and global competition, digital transformation has become a critical catalyst for industrial growth. Industry data confirms that integrated monitoring systems significantly boost efficiency, bolster security, and empower leadership with real-time, data-driven insights. To meet these evolving demands, PT Samakta Mitra—an IT solutions provider and subsidiary of Sinar Mas Land—has partnered with NEC Indonesia to establish a state-of-the-art Smart City Command Center within the Greenland International Industrial Center (GIIC) at Kota Deltamas.

The Smart City Command Center at Deltamas Industrial Estate functions as an integrated monitoring and control center, offering real-time visibility and accuracy over field operations. By synthesizing data from an extensive network of CCTV cameras, traffic management systems, and environmental sensors, the center provides a comprehensive visualization of the estate’s status. This integrated approach ensures that decision-making—whether for routine operations or critical emergency response—is standardized, rapid, and data-backed. Key features include advanced hazard alerts, such as landslide and flood detection, alongside proactive traffic and security monitoring to ensure a secure industrial environment.

Irvan Yasni, CEO of Technology Advisory and Business at Sinar Mas Land, stated: “The collaboration with NEC Indonesia is a strategic step in providing technological solutions that strengthen the management of the Deltamas industrial area to be modern, safe, and sustainable. The presence of the Smart City Command Center is expected to help the industrial area accelerate its digital transformation and improve its capabilities to be ready to meet future industrial needs. This solution not only integrates data from CCTV cameras, but also supports traffic monitoring, potential hazard detection, and disaster risk mitigation. With an early warning system and data-driven analytics, we hope that area managers can respond more proactively to potential operational disruptions, ranging from internal traffic congestion, potential safety hazards, to disaster risks such as floods and landslides.

Tommy Satriotomo, Operations Director of Kota Deltamas, added, “Today’s industrial estates face increasingly complex challenges, from maintaining the safety of tenants to ensuring the smooth running of daily operations across a large and diverse area. Digital readiness is no longer optional, but a necessity to remain competitive. The Smart City Command Center is a critical digital foundation for the Deltamas Industrial Estate to improve safety, efficiency, and long-term competitiveness through data-driven decision-making and integrated intelligent monitoring.”

Joji Yamamoto, President Director of NEC Indonesia, added, “Through the Smart City Command Centre, we are enabling faster and more efficient responses with advanced IoT and AI visualization. To ensure the long-term value and integrity of such sophisticated systems, a secure digital environment is essential. Recognizing this, NEC would be able to enhance the Smart City Command Centre with a robust cybersecurity solution as the next step to safeguarding operations against the evolving risks of Industry 4.0. ‘Creating What’s Ahead’ to support the realization of modern, safe, and sustainable industrial estates, where innovation and security advance hand-in-hand.”

The Smart City Command Center is located in the Greenland International Industrial Center (GIIC), an international-standard industrial area on an area of approximately 2,200 hectares in Kota Deltamas, equipped with modern infrastructure, ranging from clean water management (WTP), waste treatment (WWTP), electricity supply based on green renewable electricity from PLN, to a fiber optic network and extensive green areas. To date, more than 205 national and international companies have joined GIIC with diverse business sectors, ranging from automotive and food to data centers. The area’s reputation is also recognized globally through various prestigious awards, including the PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (2021, 2022, and 2024) and the FIABCI World Prix d’Excellence Awards 2022.

In terms of accessibility, the Smart City Command Center at GIIC, Kota Deltamas has a strategic location that can be reached directly via the Jakarta–Cikampek Toll Road at KM 37, as well as access to the Jakarta–Cikampek Selatan Toll Road at KM 31. In addition, this area will also be more easily accessible with the planned operation of the Karawang High-Speed Train Station which is directly connected to the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Whoosh High-Speed Train. The support of modern infrastructure and adequate transportation access further strengthens Kota Deltamas as a leading destination for housing, business, industry, and the lifestyle of urban communities.(*)

***

About PT NEC Indonesia
NEC first established its representative office in Jakarta in 1968. To this day, PT NEC Indonesia continues to play an important role in providing innovative ICT solutions to promote safety, security, and improve the quality of life for individuals and communities. As a leading provider of information and communication technology, PT NEC Indonesia provides world-class services and technology including telecommunications networks, biometric identification, intelligent solutions for Banks and other Financial Services, Public Transportation and Logistics, Manufacturing, Smart City, as well as government applications and infrastructure and business enterprises to support the digital transformation journey. For more information, visit us at http://id.nec.com/.

About Sinar Mas Land

Sinar Mas Land is a property developer in Indonesia with over 50 years of experience. The company has developed more than 50 projects across Indonesia, the United Kingdom, and Singapore. Sinar Mas Land’s achievements in property and real estate development in Indonesia have also been recognized by independent and credible institutions, earning prestigious international awards such as the MIPIM Awards in France (2018), ASEAN Energy Awards (2019 & 2023), Asia Pacific Property Awards (2021 & 2023), Cambridge IFA’s Global Good Governance Awards (2021 & 2023), FIABCI World Prix d’Excellence Awards (2022), and PropertyGuru Asia Property Awards (2021 – 2024).

Sinar Mas Land is renowned as a township developer through several projects, including BSD City (Greater Tangerang), Kota Wisata & Legenda Wisata (Cibubur), Grand Wisata (Bekasi), Rancamaya Golf Estate, Royal Tajur, Harvest City, R Hotel (Bogor), Grand City Balikpapan and Balikpapan Baru (Balikpapan), Nuvasa Bay (Batam), as well as Wisata Bukit Mas and Klaska Residence (Surabaya). In Jakarta, Sinar Mas Land has also developed several apartment projects, such as Aerium Residence, Southgate Residence, and The Elements. Additionally, Sinar Mas Land, in partnership with Sojitz Corporation, has developed the industrial area Kota Deltamas in Cikarang, Bekasi, and together with ITOCHU Corporation, has developed Karawang International Industrial City (KIIC).

Beyond residential and commercial developments, Sinar Mas Land has developed D-HUB SEZ, a 60-hectare Special Economic Zone in BSD City, the only SEZ in the Jabodetabek area focusing on education, healthcare, technology, and the creative economy. The company also developed Digital Hub, an ecosystem and business enabler that serves as Sinar Mas Land’s innovation center, integrating startups, multinational companies, and players in technology, healthcare, and education across its projects in Indonesia.

Sinar Mas Land is listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange through four entities: PT Bumi Serpong Damai Tbk (BSDE), PT Puradelta Lestari Tbk (DMAS), PT Duta Pertiwi Tbk (DUTI), and PT Suryamas Dutamakmur Tbk (SMDM), and on the Singapore Stock Exchange under Sinar Mas Land Limited. The company has strong strategic partners, including Sojitz Japan, Aeon, Itochu, Mitsubishi Corporation, Hongkong Land, Astra Land Indonesia, as well as local partners such as Kompas Gramedia, Kawan Lama Group, Duta Putra Land, and Kalbe.

For more information, please visit: www.sinarmasland.com