Nestled at the entrance of Montenegro’s UNESCO-listed Bay of Kotor the intimate island sanctuary is housed in a restored 19th-century fortress encircled by sea and sky

HERCEG NOVI, Montenegro, June 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Banyan Group (“Banyan Tree Holdings Limited” or the “Group” – SGX: B58), an independent global hospitality company, officially unveils Mamula Island by Banyan Tree in its first full season under its flagship Banyan Tree brand, marking Banyan Tree’s first resort in Europe.

Set on a secluded islet at the entrance of the UNESCO-listed Bay of Kotor (known locally as Boka Bay), Mamula Island by Banyan Tree is housed in a restored 19th-century fortress encircled by sea and sky, with far-reaching views across the Adriatic. Following its addition to the Banyan Tree portfolio, the 32-room island sanctuary now features the brand’s award-winning Banyan Tree Spa, alongside refreshed brand experiences spanning destination-led dining, cultural programming, wellbeing and nature-based discovery.

A Guardian of the Bay of Kotor

Originally built in the 1850s, Fort Mamula once served as a coastal defence fortification at the entrance of the Bay of Kotor. Its seven-year restoration was led by developer Samih Sawiris, in partnership with Lisbon-based MCM Architecture & Design, Montenegrin conservation and architecture studio Projektor, and local heritage authorities.

Interior design was overseen by Piotr Wisniewski and weStudio Berlin, combining mid-century influences, local craftsmanship and bespoke furniture. Across the resort, natural stone, aged brass, solid oak and organic textiles create interiors that are warm, understated and enduring.

The arch, a defining feature of the original fortress, is reinterpreted throughout the resort, including in a custom-made furniture line developed for the hotel. The design also draws on local artisanal traditions, from pottery and joinery to abstract fine art, creating a contemporary retreat grounded in the island and the wider region.

Rooms and Suites Overlooking the Adriatic

The journey to the island begins with a private boat transfer across Boka Bay or a helicopter flight from Dubrovnik or Tivat, with views over Montenegro’s coastline and the Adriatic Sea.

The Adriatic is a constant presence throughout the resort, with all rooms and suites offering sea views. Heritage Suites are set within the original fortress structure, preserving stonework and heritage features, while newly built rooms and suites feature contemporary interiors, floor-to-ceiling windows and private terraces. The Heritage Sky Suites have been recognised as “Best Hotel Suite” at AHEAD Awards Europe and ranked among the world’s top ten suites.

Dining Across Land and Sea

Dining at Mamula Island by Banyan Tree is shaped by local produce, fresh seafood and the micro-seasonality of the Montenegrin coast. Parasol, set at the heart of the fortress beside three outdoor pools, offers a crudo concept centred on just-caught seafood, while Kamena Restaurant overlooks the Adriatic and highlights land-led flavours and locally harvested ingredients.

Perched on the edge of the island, Celeste offers a relaxed outdoor terrace experience inspired by coastal cooking traditions from Italy, the Caribbean and the Levant. As evening falls, guests can gather at Pinea Bar, an intimate speakeasy-style bar offering handcrafted cocktails and vinyl nights under the stars.

A Restorative Island Journey

Located within the historic fortress tower, Banyan Tree Spa offers a wellbeing experience guided by the brand’s 8 Pillars of Wellbeing. Treatments draw on local plants, oils and natural elements, with rituals designed to reflect the island’s setting and the restorative qualities of the surrounding landscape.

The spa features an indoor gym, ritual rooms, Finnish and herbal saunas, steam room, halotherapy room, flotation chamber and experience shower. Guests can also experience hydro and weightless therapies, including a meditative float experience, as well as traditional Thai, Javanese Indonesian and Chinese healing therapies, therapeutic bodywork and the brand’s signature Royal Banyan treatment.

Beyond the spa, the island offers space for quiet restoration and outdoor discovery. At the northern tip of the island, a serviced beach features sunbeds, individual coves and views towards Herceg Novi, with direct access to the island’s natural coastline.

Guests can explore the island, coastline and Luštica Peninsula by kayak, paddleboard, water bike or e-bike. Further afield, curated experiences include Boka Bay, sunrise swims in the Blue Cave, Kotor Old Town, Royal Lovćen and Cetinje, Skadar Lake and the Tara River. Luštica food tours and local discovery experiences connect guests with Montenegro’s history, landscapes and coastal life.

Creative and Cultural Programming

Cultural programming is central to the Mamula Island experience. A new Artists-in-Residence programme brings local and regional creatives to the island, with workshops, exhibitions, maker sessions, opera evenings, live music and the Operosa Music Festival offering guests a closer connection to the region’s creative community.

Mamula Island by Banyan Tree is also available for full island buyout for weddings, private events and retreats, with a collection of distinctive venues spanning the restored fortress, open-air terraces, gardens, spa facilities and beach.

For more information and reservations, please visit banyantree.com.

For high-resolution images, please download here.

ABOUT BANYAN GROUP

Banyan Group (“Banyan Tree Holdings Limited” or the “Group” – SGX: B58) is an independent, global hospitality company with purpose. The Group prides itself on its pioneering spirit, design-led experiences and commitment to responsible stewardship. Its extensive portfolio spans 100 hotels and resorts, over 140 spas and galleries, and 20 plus branded residences in over 20 countries. Comprising 13 global brands, including the flagship brand Banyan Tree, each distinct yet united under the experiential membership programme with Banyan. The founding ethos of “Embracing the Environment, Empowering People” is embodied through the Banyan Global Foundation and Banyan Academy. Banyan Group is committed to remaining the leading advocate of sustainable travel, with a focus on regenerative tourism and innovative programmes that elevate the guest experience.

MUSCAT, Oman, June 30, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Dar Global  and FENDI Casa announce the launch of Azure Oceanfront Villas, a collection of ultra-luxury mansions with interiors by FENDI Casa, set within the prestigious AIDA clifftop community in Muscat, Oman. Conceived by Dar Global, the London-listed luxury real estate company, AIDA is one of the most expansive and exclusive mixed-use real estate developments globally.

DAR GLOBAL AND FENDI CASA ANNOUNCE AZURE OCEANFRONT VILLASIN OMAN FOR UNPARALLELED COASTAL LIVINGDEFINED BY ITALIAN SOPHISTICATION

The launch unveils 19 thoughtfully designed and exquisitely appointed mansions with direct beach access featuring FENDI Casa’s signature Italian craftsmanship and refined high-end design to AIDA, a magnificent, gated community built on a 130-metre-high cliff, surrounded by rocky canyons, pristine beaches, and the scenic Oman coastline.

Ziad El Chaar, CEO of Dar Global, said: “The launch of Azure Oceanfront Villas, Interiors by FENDI Casa, at AIDA reflects Dar Global’s commitment to identifying and unlocking high-value real estate opportunities in growth markets. Oman’s luxury property sector is at a turning point, fuelled by investor appetite for branded residences and government initiatives driving inbound investment. Our partnership with FENDI Casa brings world-renowned Italian design to this vision, elevating the standard of upscale living in Muscat. Together, we are further elevating the position of  AIDA as a strategic gateway for global investors seeking long-term value, lifestyle returns, and design-led distinction in the region.”

Positioned on an expansive site with unobstructed sea views, Azure Oceanfront Villas, with interiors by FENDI Casa, offers exceptional privacy and seclusion for a select group of discerning residents. The distinctly modern mansions embody the essence of seaside living, evoking a tranquil and luxurious sanctuary. With spacious floor plans, each villa includes private amenities such as an outdoor pool and a state-of-the-art gym.

This elegant new landmark within AIDA marks the first collaboration between Dar Global and FENDI Casa on a high-end residential project. The unveiling also represents a significant milestone for Oman as Azure Oceanfront Villas, Interiors by FENDI Casa, becomes the first development in the Sultanate to feature interiors by the design brand of a luxury fashion Maison.

Spanning over 4.3 million sqm and targeting international investors and buyers, AIDA blends nature, luxury, and lifestyle, boasting world-class hotels, an 18-hole golf course, an exclusive members-only club, and a bouquet of residential offerings including upscale villas and apartments.

LONDON, June 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On June 22, CATL and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation announced two new initiatives together with BMW, Renault, Volvo, Google, Xiaomi and other industry leaders and stakeholders, at the Climate Innovation Forum, the flagship event of London Climate Action Week 2026, through CATL’s Global Energy Circularity Commitment (GECC), developed in strategic partnership with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. The initiatives include circular battery design guidelines to embed circularity across the full battery lifecycle, and a business coalition to accelerate the policy, investment and commercial conditions needed to make circular business models the industry norm.

By 2040, the global battery recycling market alone is projected to exceed RMB 1.2 trillion, creating more than 10 million jobs, while the International Energy Agency projects demand for battery-critical minerals will increase fivefold over the same period. Meeting that demand sustainably will require not only greater recycling capacity, but common design standards and business models that keep materials in productive use for longer.

CATL became the first battery manufacturer to achieve carbon neutrality across its core operations in 2025, certified under ISO 14068-1, with full value-chain carbon neutrality targeted by 2035. Much of the remaining challenge lies in mining and raw material processing rather than manufacturing. Circularity will play a central role in meeting future demand without proportional increases in virgin material extraction. The initiatives announced aim to help build the common frameworks needed to accelerate that transition.

Earlier the same day, at Octopus Energy’s Energy Tech Summit, CATL and Octopus Energy announced Europe’s first battery-swapping joint venture, targeting 300,000 electric trucks and 30 hubs across Europe by 2035, with the first UK hubs scheduled to open in 2027. The partnership demonstrates the type of commercially viable circular business model the coalition aims to accelerate.

Miranda Schnitger, Climate Lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation: “Circular economy approaches were key to tackling the 45% of emissions that come from how we produce and consume.”

Jiang Li, Vice President and Board Secretary, CATL: “Last year we set the direction: decouple battery growth from virgin material extraction. Today, the industry is beginning to build the common rules that will help deliver it. That is not only a climate opportunity, but an industrial one.”

Greg Jackson, Founder and CEO, Octopus Energy Group: “By designing batteries to be swapped, optimised, shared and reused thousands of times, we can squeeze every drop of value out of the materials we already have, rather than digging up more. That’s why our battery-swapping joint venture with CATL matters; we are taking the world’s best hardware, combining it with smart energy tech to make it cheaper and more flexible, and building a completely self-sustaining transport network.”

Initiative I: Circular Battery Design Guidelines

The circular battery design guidelines establish a common methodology for circular battery design across a range of mobility applications. As a founding partner, CATL brings practical experience from battery manufacturing, recycling and service operations to support their development. The methodology is intended to inform procurement standards, investor frameworks and future regulatory discussions, including the evolution of European battery policy.

Developed to address fragmentation across approaches to repair, second life and recycling, the guidelines provide a shared basis for comparing circular performance across the market. They aim to help buyers evaluate products, investors assess long-term value, and policymakers reference a consistent framework.

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation provides a neutral platform through which companies across the battery value chain can develop shared principles that no single organisation could establish alone. The working group is now underway, with publication planned for 2027.

Initiative II: Business Coalition for Circular Business Models

The coalition for circular business models is a policy and industry platform established to accelerate the adoption of circular business models across mobility and energy. With battery swapping already operating across more than 1,650 stations in 127 Chinese cities, the focus is shifting from demonstrating technical feasibility to creating the commercial, regulatory and financing conditions required for international scale.

CATL contributes practical experience through its battery-as-a-service and battery-swapping businesses, including the expanding Choco-Swap and QIJI networks, providing operational insights that can support wider deployment globally.

The coalition also seeks to establish common approaches for evaluating circular battery assets, including service history, degradation data and second-life value, providing investors, fleet operators and policymakers with greater confidence and reducing market uncertainty.

CATL Advances Circular Battery Systems

CATL continues to scale circularity across its operations. In 2025, Brunp Recycling processed 210,000 tonnes of end-of-life batteries, recovering 99.6% of nickel, cobalt and manganese, with 80% of recovered materials returning directly into CATL’s battery production.

Rather than treating recycling as the end of a product’s life, CATL integrates circularity into battery design, manufacturing, use and recovery as a connected system.

Furthermore, CATL is accelerating the commercialization of sodium-ion batteries, with plans to deliver its first sodium-ion energy storage systems to customers starting this September. This initiative expands the energy storage technology roadmap beyond lithium, cobalt, and nickel, enhancing material supply resilience and cost stability.

ZURICH, June 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Amcor (NYSE: AMCR, ASX: AMC), a global leader in developing and producing responsible packaging solutions, today announced a collaboration with U.K.-based startup Kelpi to explore next-generation coating technologies designed to enhance the performance and sustainability of packaging materials.

The partnership with Kelpi supports Amcor’s broader innovation strategy focused on identifying and advancing solutions that enable more sustainable packaging while maintaining high functional standards. Amcor’s research and development teams are currently evaluating Kelpi’s proprietary coating technology platform, a bio-based¹ seaweed material designed to deliver barrier performance and compatibility with recycling streams for fiber-based packaging.

By evaluating breakthrough bio-based coating technologies, Amcor aims to further expand the options within its AmFiber™ fiber-based solutions platform to continue meeting demanding application requirements such as barrier performance, high running speed and circularity. The potential benefits of using such bio-based coatings include reduced reliance on fossil fuel-derived feedstocks and greater use of renewable resources, which may contribute to a lower carbon footprint.

“This collaboration reflects how we are advancing our material innovation pipeline, and it supports the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s call for accelerated innovation in paper-based flexible packaging²,” said Peter Ettridge, Director, Research and Development, AmFiber™, Amcor. “We’re excited by the potential of Kelpi’s technology, which combines processability, gas and moisture barrier performance, and paper recyclability.”

“Partnering with companies like Kelpi is a key part of how we bring new technologies into our innovation ecosystem,” said Frank Lehmann, Vice President, Corporate Venturing and Open Innovation, Amcor. “Its innovative approach to leveraging nature-sourced materials that won’t compromise packaging performance is promising, and we’re excited to explore opportunities to scale the technology within our global packaging portfolio.”

By combining Kelpi’s technology with Amcor’s global research and development capabilities and scale, the companies aim to evaluate commercially viable, scalable solutions for customers across various consumer goods sectors, supporting a circular economy for packaging.

Learn more about corporate venturing at Amcor.

About Amcor

Amcor is the global leader in developing and producing responsible consumer packaging and dispensing solutions across a variety of materials for nutrition, health, beauty and wellness categories. Our global product innovation and sustainability expertise enables us to solve packaging challenges around the world every day, producing a range of flexible packaging, rigid packaging, cartons and closures that are more sustainable, functional and appealing for our customers and their consumers. We are guided by our purpose of elevating customers, shaping lives and protecting the future. Supported by a commitment to safety, over 75,000 people generate $23 billion in annualized sales from operations that span over 400 locations in more than 40 countries. NYSE: AMCR; ASX: AMC

www.amcor.com | LinkedIn | YouTube 

LONDON and TOKYO, June 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — BRAHMA AI and Hakuhodo Technologies today announced a strategic partnership to develop, commercialize, and deploy high-fidelity digital humans at enterprise scale across Japan and the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

Digital Human (ATMAN) of Hibari Misora, featured in the BS Nippon TV program “Hibari Misora brought back in the Reiwa Era.”

Formalized under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the partnership establishes a joint framework to combine BRAHMA AI’s advanced AI-driven digital human technology with Hakuhodo DY Group’s deep creative expertise, client network, and market leadership in Japan and APAC.

Strategic Collaboration

The partnership will focus on:

• Developing and deploying advanced AI-powered digital human technologies (including Interactive models)
• Delivering AI products, and services tailored to the Japanese market
• Commercializing lifelike digital humans called ATMANs for enterprise clients
• Creating new storytelling formats, branded content, and immersive customer experiences
• Integrating digital humans, ATMANs, into Hakuhodo DY Group-led campaigns and platforms
• Expanding applications across industries and intellectual property (IP) owners in Japan and APAC

Core creative and technical teams from both organizations will work in close collaboration to drive concept development and deliver high-quality, culturally nuanced content.

A Proven Foundation

This partnership builds on a successful prior collaboration, most notably the debut of the digital likeness of Hibari Misora, created using proprietary AI models, ATMANs, trained on historical footage and audio.

The digital performer was featured in a BS Nippon TV special program “Hibari Misora brought back in the Reiwa Era” (broadcast January 7–8, 2026), appearing alongside contemporary artists. The project demonstrated both the creative and commercial potential of high-fidelity digital humans, ATMANs in modern media.

Strategic Objectives

Through this partnership, the Parties aim to:

• Accelerate enterprise adoption of digital human technologies
• Establish a new category of AI-driven communication through digital humans, ATMANs.
• Deliver culturally adaptive, high-fidelity digital humans, ATMANs, tailored to regional markets
• Unlock scalable commercial opportunities across media, entertainment, retail, and communications

Roles and Contributions

BRAHMA AI

• Provides core AI technology and digital human, ATMAN, systems
• Leads innovation in high-fidelity digital human, ATMAN, development
• Supports enterprise deployment and scaling

Hakuhodo Technologies

• Lead client integration, creative direction, and market deployment
• Provide access to enterprise clients across Japan and APAC
• Contribute creative strategy, production capabilities, and localization expertise

Future Outlook

Looking ahead, the partnership will expand joint initiatives across Japan and the broader APAC region, focusing on:

• New visual formats and creative applications
• Deeper integration into enterprise workflows in order to implement digital humans, ATMANs
• Co-development and co-commercialization opportunities
• Scalable, content-driven business models leveraging digital humans, ATMANs

Executive Commentary

Prabhu Narasimhan, CEO, BRAHMA AI:
“Digital humans, ATMANs represent a fundamental shift in how brands and audiences connect. Our partnership with Hakuhodo enables us to deliver culturally nuanced, high-fidelity digital humans, ATMANs, at enterprise scale across APAC.”

Jo Plaete, CTO, BRAHMA AI:
“By combining Hakuhodo DY Group’s creative heritage with BRAHMA AI’s technological innovation, we are establishing a new category of communication. This partnership empowers brands to explore entirely new methods of expression through digital humans.”

Ken Matsuzaki, Creative Technologist, Hakuhodo Technologies:
“BRAHMA AI’s exceptional digital human technology has played a pivotal role in advancing our creative initiatives. By integrating this innovation with our expertise, we look forward to strengthening our collaboration and delivering greater value to clients across Japan and APAC.”

About BRAHMA AI

BRAHMA AI is an enterprise AI content platform enabling organisations to create, manage and distribute AI-driven media through BRAHMA AI Studio and BRAHMA AI Core, guided by its Mind² foundation and delivering industry-leading fidelity, trust and governance. BRAHMA AI is founded on technology which has won eight Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects, including for Interstellar, Tenet and Dune Parts One and Two. Its goal is to bring Hollywood-grade AI content to enterprise, setting the standard for quality, fidelity and trust.

Visit: www.brahma.io

About Hakuhodo Technologies Inc.

A technology strategy company that plans and develops various technology strategies, including full-funnel marketing, the consumer interface market, media, and creative domains. Established in April 2022 for the purpose of consolidating the development structure of the Hakuhodo DY Group, and strengthening and evolving that structure.

Visit: https://www.hakuhodo-technologies.co.jp

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