HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 29 March 2023 – Tourism Shikoku is pleased to announce that regular, bi-directional flights on the Takamatsu-(Kagawa prefecture in Shikoku)Hong Kong route will resume starting on Sunday, April 16th. It is said that flights will operate three times a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays) from April 16th until October 26th.
The decision has been made to resume the third regular flight route among the four international routes at Takamatsu Airport, following the resumption of the Seoul route on November 23rd and the scheduled resumption of the Taipei route on January 19th.
Detailed schedules, including flight names and arrival/departure times at Takamatsu Airport, will be determined, and announced in due course.
*Please note that the above plans are subject to government approval.
<Tourism in Shikoku>
Shikoku consists of four prefectures: Tokushima, Kagawa, Ehime, and Kochi. Enjoying tourism in Shikoku is a new style of travel that changes one’s inner self through activities in nature and experiences of different cultures.
Shikoku is situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Seto Inland Sea, with the highest peak in western Japan, Mount Ishizuchi, and the second highest peak, Mount Tsurugi, towering in the central region. It is a treasure trove of top-class natural features such as the sea, mountains, and rivers.
Moreover, various unique cultures rooted in Shikoku, such as the “Osettai” of the Shikoku Pilgrimage, are scattered throughout the region. While abundant activities utilizing nature are available, they are also compactly gathered in the area.
Adventure travel, which values the locals’ lives and minimizes environmental impact, is a “new style of travel” that leads to the future. It is particularly recommended for those who seek the extraordinary, want to refresh themselves in nature, want to experience diverse cultures and cuisine, and want to take on new challenges.
By experiencing the nature, activities, diverse cultures, and cuisine of Shikoku, you will surely discover a new self that you have never seen before.
Student riding a bike with thick haze in the air. ( Photo : Toun's Journey )
Due to concerns about dangerous air pollution levels affecting the health of students, all schools in Thaphabat District, Bolikhamxay Province, and Xayaboury Province, have been ordered to close from 28-31 March.
HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM – Media OutReach – 29 March 2023 – Global Business Services LLC (GBS) is a business law firm just introduced its one-stop-shop solution for foreign investors looking to register their businesses in Vietnam. With GBS, foreign investors can set up their businesses in Vietnam without finding the company registration process daunting and time-consuming.
GBS offers a comprehensive service that includes key business registrations such as the investment registration certificate (IRC) and enterprise registration certificate (ERC), tax registrations, opening bank accounts, and more, all in one place. There is no need to contact multiple agencies or navigate complex bureaucracy. Additionally, GBS provides an all-in-one compliance solution that simplifies the process and ensures that foreign businesses operate legally in Vietnam without incurring any fines.
Sophie Dao, the senior partner at GBS, stated that “forming your company in Vietnam as a foreign investor is a lengthy process, and you’ll need to have all the necessary information at hand. Deciding to launch your own business in Vietnam is hard enough. GBS takes what is often a big headache of incorporation for founders and simplifies the process into an efficient, personalized one-stop-shop.”
Alexander Wood, an Australian entrepreneur, also shared similar sentiments, stating that “GBS provides a personalized and headache-free experience for incorporating your business in Vietnam. I highly recommend their services to anyone who wants to start a business in Vietnam.”
Founded in 2002, GBS has become one of the most prestigious business law firms in Vietnam, with a network in Asia and Europe regions. As a company formation agency, GBS offers its services at an effective cost and even provides cashback in credit if investors use related services with them.
To learn more about how GBS can help you start your business and succeed in Vietnam, please contact Ms. Sophie Dao at ask@gbs.com.vn, hotline/WhatsApp/Viber/iMessage: +84903189033, or visit the company’s website at https://gbs.com.vn.Hashtag: #GBS
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
CDMO honored as winner in all six core award categories
Vetter celebrates its second consecutive year earning this award in six categories with three additional honors in the CDMO Leadership Awards
The results reflect the continuous effort taken every day to meet the high expectations and requirements of its customers
Gaining champion status for quality, expertise, and compatibility, reaffirms the performance and the level of service the CDMO is offering
RAVENSBURG, GERMANY – Media OutReach – 29 March 2023 – Vetter, a globally operating Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization (CDMO), earned the esteemed 2023 CDMO Leadership Awards in all six core categories – quality, expertise, reliability, capabilities, compatibility and service. In addition, the company was awarded Champion Status for quality, expertise and compatibility – both recognitions for the second year in a row. In its 12thyear, now dubbed the CDMO Leadership Awards (formally, CMO Leadership Awards) and thus including the important clinical development support companies such as Vetter are offering, these prestigious honors were presented by Outsourced Pharma and supported by Life Science Leader. The choice to rename the award aligns with the fact that successful commercial market supply is often already founded in the early development phases of a drug candidate.
“Our organizational-wide mission is to provide patients around the world with high quality medications,” shared Vetter Managing Director Peter Soelkner. “We support our customers on their challenging path from early clinical development of their injectable drug candidates through regulatory approvals, to commercial production and long-term market supply. Receiving recognition as a leader in expertise, quality, reliability and service, to name a few, attests to the fact that we are meeting our common goals as a company very well.”
“Above all, this prestigious honor indicates that every one of our 6,000 employees brings a mindset driven by service and dedication to work each day – through that, we share a common understanding of unprecedented and robust internal processes,” explained Vetter Managing Director Thomas Otto. “This award is based on customer feedback which proves to us that our processes are working well.”
The CDMO Leadership Awards program offers a unique representation of the service provided to customers, as they are chosen according to customer evaluations of service providers, they have worked with in the past 18 months.
“Congratulations to the 2023 CDMO Leadership Award winners. You served our industry – and patients around the world – through some turbulent and unsettled times and rose above all others in meeting supply-chain and innovation challenges, and effectively advancing new platforms, technologies, and products. An award in any category – capabilities, compatibility, expertise, quality, reliability, and service – is one you and all your customers should be proud of,” says Louis Garguilo, Chief Editor and Conference Chair, Outsourced Pharma.
Find the Vetter press kit and more background information here.
Hashtag: #Vetter
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About the CDMO Leadership Awards
The CDMO Leadership Awards is an annual event now in its 12th year. In determining the award recipients, Life Science Leaderteams up with (ISR) which conducted the research. For the 2023 award, more than 72 contract manufacturers were assessed by 23 performance metrics in ISR’s annual Contract Manufacturing Quality Benchmarking survey. Participants were recruited from pharma and biotech companies of all sizes and screened for decision-making influence related to working with contract manufacturing partners. Respondents only evaluate those companies with which they have worked on an outsourced project within the past 18 months. Through this level of qualification, survey responses are based on actual involvement with contract manufacturers and clear experiential data. www.cmoleadershipawards.com/
About Vetter
Headquartered in Ravensburg, Germany, Vetter is a family-owned, global leading contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) with production facilities in Germany, Austria and the United States. Currently employing 6,000 individuals worldwide, the company has long-term experience in supporting biotechnology and pharmaceutical customers both large and small. Vetter services range from early stage development support including clinical manufacturing, to commercial supply and numerous packaging solutions for vials, syringes and cartridges. As a leading solution provider, Vetter appreciates its responsibility to support the needs of its customers by developing devices that contribute to increased patient safety, convenience, and enhanced compliance. Great importance is also given to social responsibility including environmental protection and sustainability. Learn more about Vetter at www.vetter-pharma.com
Infobip data from more than 449 billion interactions in 2022 shows conversational experience is becoming more popular across all forms of customer communication, from sales to customer support
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 29 March 2023– New research from global cloud communications platform Infobip reveals the growing trend towards conversational experiences for customer communications. The data, from 449 billion communications interactions on Infobip’s platform across 2022, shows the rapid growth of interactions on chat apps such as WhatsApp Business Platform and social media channels such as Instagram for many customer needs.
Customer conversations on their preferred chat channel
Customers have access to more channels and devices than ever before. Infobip’s analysis shows that traditional channels like SMS still play an important role for time-sensitive messages, two-factor authentication, and one-time passwords. But when it comes to engagement and support, customers are shifting to more conversational experiences over chat apps.
The data shows a 73% and 51% increase in WhatsApp Business Platform and Email interactions in 2022 compared to 2021, highlighting the ongoing critical nature of these channels. Demonstrating the desire of customers to connect with brands on channels they already use, the data also reveals a thirty-fold increase in Instagram interactions last year. Meanwhile Google Business Messages and Apple Messages for Business interactions increased by 186% and 232%. For customer engagement, WhatsApp Business Platform, Voice, and mobile app messaging saw the highest growth in 2022. Since the introduction of marketing messages over WhatsApp Business Platform, customer engagement and promotional usage increased interactions on the channel by 2.5 times. Meanwhile, Voice and mobile app messaging increased by 191% and 92%, demonstrating how customers now prefer instant, rich, and human-like experiences with a business or brand.
Chatbots with conversational experience for customer queries
The data also shows how customers increasingly prefer to seek answers to their queries through chatbots on channels they use every day and that have rich capabilities. For instance, WhatsApp Business Platform interactions on Infobip’s chatbot increased by 69% in 2022 while Telegram and SMS interactions increased seven-fold and five-fold respectively.
Conversational customer support
When it comes to customer support, Infobip’s analysis shows customers now seek support on the conversational channels they use with their family and friends. Reflecting the desire for instant and rich messaging experiences, WhatsApp Business Platform interactions for customer support increased by 91%. Voice remains popular with a 51% increase.
Ivan Ostojić, Chief Business Officer at Infobip, said: “Our data reveals that conversational everything is rapidly becoming the norm for customer communications. Whether for marketing, support, or sales, customers want a conversation with a brand or brand on the channels they already use. For customers, the benefits are clear. They get a richer, more convenient, and more personalized experience. Businesses and brands meanwhile benefit from better customer loyalty and ultimately stronger sales.”
The move towards conversational everything is mirrored across many industries:
Reflecting the shift from traditional banking to conversational banking, rich messaging is picking up pace with huge increases recorded on Google Business Messages, Instagram, and Telegram
The retail and eCommerce sector recorded significant increases in MMS, Instagram and mobile app messaging interactions in 2022
The data shows skyrocketing growth among rich communications channels including Instagram, Telegram, and Messenger within the transport and logistics sector last year
In 2022, marketing and advertising companies have increasingly turned to rich communication on MMS, Messenger, and Google Business Messages
MMS and Google Business Messages are leading rich channels within the telecoms industry for customer communication
Ivan Ostojić continued: “We expect to see conversational experiences continue to expand across sectors from ride sharing to healthcare and even the public sector as organizations adapt to conversational everything.But organizations may struggle to meet customer demand for such experiences without scalable and easy-to-use omnichannel communications. That is why Infobip’s most comprehensive capacity and capabilities of any global communications provider helps ensure we are the one communication platform for every platform.”
Hashtag: #Infobip
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Infobip
Infobip is a global cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build connected experiences across all stages of the customer journey. Accessed through a single platform, Infobip’s omnichannel engagement, identity, user authentication and contact centre solutions help businesses and partners overcome the complexity of consumer communications to grow business and increase loyalty. With over a decade of industry experience, Infobip has expanded to 70+ offices globally. It offers natively built technology with the capacity to reach over seven billion mobile devices and ‘things’ in 6 continents connected to over 9,700+ connections of which 800+ are direct operator connections. Infobip was established in 2006 and is led by its co-founders, CEO Silvio Kutić, Roberto Kutić and Izabel Jelenić.
Recent award wins include:
Infobip named a leader in the CPaaS Leaderboard, Juniper Research (February 2023)
Infobip named a leader in the CCaaS Leaderboard, Juniper Research (Aug 2022)
Omdia Ranks Infobip as Leader in CPaaS Universe Report (May 2022)
Ranked the leading service provider in CPaaS by Juniper Research in its new Competitor Leaderboard CPaaS Vendors (October 2021)
Infobip named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Communications Platform-as-a-Service (CPaaS) 2021 Vendor Assessment (doc #US46746221, May 2021)
Best A2P SMS provider for the fourth year running by mobile operators and enterprises in ROCCO’s annual Messaging Vendor Benchmarking Report
Best CPaaS Provider of the Year, Best RCS Provider of the Year, and Mover & Shaker in Telco Innovation at the 2021 Juniper Digital Awards
Saguenay, Quebec – Newsfile Corp. – 28 March 2023 – First Phosphate Corp. (CSE: PHOS) (FSE: KD0) (“First Phosphate” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has finalized a joint lithium iron phosphate (“LFP”) homologation agreement and LFP production technology licensing agreement with Integrals Power Limited (“IPL”) of Milton Keynes, United Kingdom. The agreement was entered into on January 10, 2023 and became effective March 24, 2023. The agreement could serve to anchor the Company’s future LFP cathode active material production facilities and is currently of unknown potential future monetary value. The agreement provides for the following mutually beneficial, perpetual arrangements between the parties:
IPL will validate First Phosphate LFP-grade purified phosphoric acid and iron sulphate for the use in LFP battery cells.
IPLs LFP cathode active material homologation process will use First Phosphate LFP-grade purified phosphoric acid and iron sulphate.
IPL provides LFP production technology license to First Phosphate in the production of LFP cathode active material at any First Phosphate LFP cathode active material production facilities to be built in Quebec, Canada or elsewhere in North America. A royalty fee of 1.5% will apply to all LFP cathode active material sales.
First Phosphate has acquired 7,386 common shares of IPL for a cost of CAD $83,060.35 and has the right to make follow-on investments in future funding rounds.
First Phosphate and IPL plan to leverage First Phosphate’s access to green hydro-electric energy in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean region of Quebec for optionality in the build-out of IPL’s future production facilities.
“We have visited the IPL facilities in the United Kingdom and were able to see and touch the LFP cathode active material produced by IPL,” says First Phosphate CEO, John Passalacqua. “We have also viewed the performance logs of test battery cells created using LFP cathode active material produced by IPL. We are cautiously optimistic that IPL technology could hold the answer to improved LFP battery performance.”
“There is the traditional solid-state method of making LFP cathode active material from ferro-phosphate and lithium-phosphate precursors which is currently the main production formula used in China. Then there are promising new advanced hydrothermal methods such as those being pioneered by IPL that produce higher performance LFP batteries,” says First Phosphate President Peter Kent. “We believe it prudent for the Company to have access to IPL’s advanced method of LFP cathode active material formulation.”
“We are pleased to partner with First Phosphate in gaining strategic access to properly curated LFP-grade purified phosphoric acid and iron sulphate which will be in short supply in the near future as LFP production comes online in the Western World,” says IPL Chief Executive Officer Behnam Hormozi. “We require a development partner like First Phosphate which is fully committed to the LFP battery industry, to a low carbon footprint, to ESG compliancy, to non-conflict ethical sourcing, to traceable and secure supply and to just-in-time provisioning. All of these are strategic production advantages for IPL and our clients.”
IPL technology demonstrates improvements that should allow for the production of LFP batteries that will have more simplified cooling systems, greater compactness, lighter footprint and lower pre-heating requirements in colder temperatures. Some of the benefits include:
Increased capacity at high discharge rates
High capacity retention within ambient and extreme environmental temperature
Lower cost or higher capacity
The Company is informed that IPL has recently closed its oversubscribed equity investment round which received co-investment by the UK government grant funded project for LFP battery material pilot plant development. The IPL pilot plant is expected to be operational by the end of 2023.
First Phosphate has a measured and phased development approach to becoming a fully vertically-integrated producer of LFP cathode active material in North America. First Phosphate can undertake this strategy because it has access to clean igneous anorthosite phosphate-bearing rock in Quebec, Canada that it will be able to purify into large quantities of battery-grade purified phosphoric acid. Today’s agreement with IPL allows First Phosphate to gain another important technological advantage in the production of LFP cathode active material for North America.
For additional information, please contact: Peter Kent, President peter@firstphosphate.com Tel: +1 (647) 707-1943
Forward-Looking Information and Cautionary Statements
Certain information in this news release constitutes forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as “may”, “should”, “anticipate”, “expect”, “potential”, “believe”, “intend” or the negative of these terms and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements relating to: the Company’s commitment to producing high purity phosphate materials at full ESG standard under a low carbon footprint; the Company’s plans to integrate directly into the functions of certain major North American LFP Battery producers; the Company’s proposed development of its land claims in the Saguenay Region; the anticipated benefits for entering into the IPL agreement, including access to IPL’s licenses, technologies, rights to make follow-on investments; the anticipated timeline and benefits of the IPL pilot plant; that the Company will be able to purify into large quantities of battery-grade purified phosphoric acid; and that the IPL agreement will allow the Company to gain another important technological advantage in the production of LFP cathode active material for North America.
Forward-looking information in this press release are based on certain assumptions and expected future events, namely: the Company’s ability to producing high purity phosphate materials at full ESG standard under a low carbon footprint; the Company’s ability to integrate directly into the functions of certain major North American LFP Battery producers; the Company’s ability to develop its land claims in the Saguenay Region; the Company has the ability to realize on the anticipated benefits for entering into the IPL agreement; the Company has the ability to realize upon the anticipated timeline and benefits of the IPL pilot plant; that the Company has the ability to purify into large quantities of battery-grade purified phosphoric acid; and that Company has the ability to realize on the IPL agreement to gain another important technological advantage in the production of LFP cathode active material for North America.
These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: the Company’s inability to produce high purity phosphate materials at full ESG standard under a low carbon footprint; the Company’s inability to integrate directly into the functions of certain major North American LFP Battery producers; the Company’s inability to develop its land claims in the Saguenay Region; the Company’s inability to realize on the anticipated benefits for entering into the IPL agreement; the Company’s inability to realize upon the anticipated timeline and benefits of the IPL pilot plant; that the Company will not have ability to purify into large quantities of battery-grade purified phosphoric acid; and that Company will not have the ability to realize on the IPL agreement to gain another important technological advantage in the production of LFP cathode active material for North America.
Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.
Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and reflect the Company’s expectations as of the date hereof and are subject to change thereafter. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About First Phosphate Corp.
First Phosphate is a mineral development company fully dedicated to extracting and purifying phosphate for the production of cathode active material for the Lithium Iron Phosphate (“LFP”) battery industry. First Phosphate is committed to producing at high purity level, at full ESG standard and with low anticipated carbon footprint. First Phosphate plans to vertically integrate from mine source directly into the supply chains of major North American LFP battery producers that require battery grade LFP cathode active material emanating from a consistent and secure supply source. First Phosphate holds over 1,500 sq. km of total land claims in the Saguenay-Lac-St-Jean Region of Quebec, Canada that it is actively developing. First Phosphate properties consist of rare anorthosite igneous phosphate rock that generally yields high purity phosphate material devoid of high concentrations of harmful elements.
About Integrals Power Limited (IPL)
IPL is a next-generation battery nano-material company committed to accelerated research, development and commercialisation of state-of-the-art battery. The team of entrepreneurs, scientists and engineers have conducted comprehensive market verification & validation to form their strategy for the development of commercially feasible state-of-the-art battery materials. This broad market research empowered the accelerated development and production of Integrals power proprietary high-performance, cost effective and scalable battery cathode materials for LFP for lithium based batteries. IPL’s latest battery material development results empower economical cells with higher performance compared to the conventional alternatives.
Residents expect to retire at 63 and chronic or other health issues to set in at 64
With the average life expectancy at 85, they possibly face over 20 years in retirement with poor health
Hongkongers recognize importance of health planning but savings timeline is unrealistic
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 29 March 2023 – Hongkongers live longer than most people in the world, but they expect their later years to be dogged by poor health, a period many think will start when they enter their early-to-mid sixties. These findings show there is a compelling need for people in Hong Kong to have a savings plan in place to help with the medical costs in later life.
Patrick Graham, Chief Executive Officer, Manulife Hong Kong and Macau
According to Manulife Asia Care Survey 2023, which was conducted across seven markets in Asia, Hong Kong residents expect to retire at 63 and for poor health to set in at 64. With the average life expectancy in the city at 85, many people face the prospect of over 20 years in retirement with poor health. The pessimism is strongest among 25- to 34-year-olds who expect poor health to start at 57 before retiring at 60. This pessimism, however, fades with age, with the 45-plus age group more upbeat, expecting to retire at 64 and stay healthy until they are 69.
In terms of physical and mental health, just one-in-ten Hongkongers describe their physical (10%) and mental (11%) health to be excellent, less than half the regional average for each (respectively 21% and 24%). Interestingly, it is the 25-34 age group that drags Hong Kong’s overall percentages down with 7% and 8% for physical and mental health respectively.
“Hong Kong people enjoy a long-life expectancy but early onset of poor health might affect their quality of life in retirement,” said Patrick Graham, Chief Executive Officer, Manulife Hong Kong and Macau. “They will need to find a way to tackle their health issues to stretch out their retirement. Putting a plan in place can open the door to a happier retirement with peace of mind, while offering more freedom and flexibility in choosing quality healthcare.”
The Manulife Asia Care Survey takes a deep dive into local economies across the region to explore in detail the health and wealth trends and sentiment, along with insurance buying habits. This year, more than 7,000 people across Asia shared their health and financial thoughts and concerns in the post-Covid environment.
According to the survey, Hongkongers’ main concern is the challenge of paying for medical treatment, which continues to rise, and finding ways to mitigate or delay its impact. Nearly half (47%) of Hong Kong respondents said they are concerned about the cost of treatment if diagnosed with a serious illness, while just over a third (36%) worry about loss of income or job if they become seriously ill. More than a quarter (29%) are not sure who will take care of them if they become ill.
Hongkongers recognize importance of health planning but savings timeline is unrealistic
In general, Hongkongers think rising healthcare costs (45%) and poorer health (40%) are barriers to achieving their financial goals, especially among those aged 45 or over. More than a third (37%) of those surveyed identified saving for healthcare or medical needs as one of their top three financial goals and are working towards it to support themselves in retirement.
Among these respondents, more than half (56%) said they use cash savings to achieve the financial goal of saving for healthcare or medical needs. However, insurance also plays a significant role, with a third saying they had health and critical illness insurance (33%), and a fifth utilizing savings and endowment insurance to cover healthcare costs. Beyond that, a quarter said they rely on their Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) savings to support their medical needs.
On average, the Hong Kong respondents expect to achieve this financial goal within seven years. The younger segment and mid-income group are more optimistic – or aggressive – in their expectations, aiming to achieve their goals in six years.
Alongside financial planning, taking personal action to improve health and well-being is important to delay health issues in later life. The vast majority – more than 9-in-10 – said they are taking action to help address health issues, with more exercise (54%), better diet (47%), regular body check (40%) and closer self-monitoring of their health (35%) the main methods.
“The timeframe for meeting savings targets reflected in our survey may not be realistic, given a lengthy retirement and much of it possibly in poor health, especially with the over-reliance on cash. After all, cash is particularly exposed to inflation, which can erode its value very quickly,” said Graham. “To avoid getting caught short, we would encourage people to talk to a financial planner on how best to plan for their future.”
Hashtag: #Manulife
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Manulife Asia Care Survey
The Manulife Asia Care Survey was conducted via online self-completed questionnaires in seven markets: mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, and Vietnam. A total of 7,224 people, aged 25 to 60 years old, were surveyed in late December 2022 and early January 2023. In Hong Kong, 1,035 people were surveyed. Each respondent either owns insurance or intends to buy insurance.
About Manulife Hong Kong Manulife Hong Kong has been a trusted name for 126 years. Since our operations started in Hong Kong in 1897, we have grown to become one of the top-tier providers of financial services, offering a diverse range of protection and wealth products and services to over 2.4 million customers in Hong Kong and Macau. We are committed to helping make decisions easier and lives better for our customers.
Manulife Hong Kong, through Manulife International Holdings Limited, owns Manulife (International) Limited, Manulife Investment Management (Hong Kong) Limited and Manulife Provident Funds Trust Company Limited.
About Manulife Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. With our global headquarters in Toronto, Canada, we provide financial advice and insurance, operating as Manulife across Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States. Through Manulife Investment Management, the global brand for our Global Wealth and Asset Management segment, we serve individuals, institutions, and retirement plan members worldwide. At the end of 2022, we had more than 40,000 employees, over 116,000 agents, and thousands of distribution partners, serving over 34 million customers. We trade as ‘MFC’ on the Toronto, New York, and the Philippine stock exchanges and under ‘945’ in Hong Kong.
Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit manulife.com.
HANOI, VIETNAM – Media OutReach – 29 March 2023 – Vingroup has just been named “The Best Issuer in Sustainable Finance in 2022”. At the same time, Vingroup and subsidiary VinFast also jointly received the “Best Green Loan” award from The Asset Triple-A Country Awards. With these two prestigious awards, Vingroup has affirmed its pioneering role in sustainable investment and international finance.
The Asset Triple-A Country Awards is one of the region’s leading prestigious financial awards with a history of more than 20 years, attracting the participation of major issuers and financial institutions from 18 Asian countries. The awards are held annually, with an objective and independent evaluation process by a council of leading international finance, banking and capital markets professionals.
Overcoming many candidates, Vingroup was awarded the “Best Issuer for Sustainable Finance in 2022” award, a prestigious award recognizing the commitment to sustainable finance and implementing effective activities towards the United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals.
In addition to the “Best Issuer in Sustainable Finance in 2022”, Vingroup and VinFast were also honored in the category of “Best Green Loan” for a US$500 million syndicated term loan (including US$400 million for Vingroup and US$100 million for VinFast). Although this is the first syndicated green loan financing from Vietnam, Vingroup and VinFast drew strong interest from the market very quickly, allowing the borrowers to increase the total facility amount from $300 million to $500 million, marking a new milestone in the Group’s international fund raising track record.
Mr. Nguyen Viet Quang, Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Vingroup said: “The Asset Triple-A’s award affirms Vingroup’s prestige in the international capital market, as well as our long-term commitment to sustainable development in Vietnam. It also serves as a vote of confidence from international investors in the Vietnamese capital markets and particularly Vingroup and VinFast.”
Recognitions awarded to Vingroup and VinFast demonstrate the partnership and trust from international financial institutions and lenders in our sustainability efforts. Most prominently, VinFast aims to become a global smart electric vehicle manufacturer to promote green private and public passenger transportation in Vietnam and our international markets.
Hashtag: #Vingroup
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Vingroup
Founded in 1993, Vingroup is one of the leading private conglomerates in the region and currently focuses on three business pillars: Technology and Industrials, Real-estate and Services, and Social Enterprises. Find out more at: https://www.vingroup.net/en.
About The Asset The Asset, founded in 1999, is the leading Asian financial and banking magazine. Since its foundation, The Asset has provided essential news, analysis and insights addressed to a distinct community of corporate leaders and financial decision-makers. The Asset news are delivered through multi-media platforms before print and digital audiences of 130,000.