GUANGZHOU, China, July 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — On July 22, the China-Singapore ETF Link continues to expand with the listing of the Amova E Fund ChiNext Index ETF (ticker: CXT) on Singapore Exchange (SGX), launched by Nikko Asset Management (Nikko AM) in collaboration with E Fund Management (E Fund), the largest mutual fund manager in China, aiming to provide overseas investors with access to the growth potential of China’s ChiNext market.
The Amova E Fund ChiNext Index ETF is linked to the E Fund ChiNext ETF (ticker: 159915), which tracks the ChiNext Index—a key broad-based index of innovative and entrepreneurial companies listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE). Over 90% of the index is weighted in strategic emerging industries such as next-generation information technology, new energy vehicles, and biotechnology, and includes leading companies like CATL, Inovance, InnoLight, Mindray, and Sungrow. The index constituents have demonstrated strong fundamentals, with compound annual growth rates of 21% in revenue and 14% in net profit since 2021. As of July 18, ETFs tracking the ChiNext Index held more than USD 16.3 billion in assets, led by the E Fund ChiNext ETF (ticker: 159915) accounting for USD 12 billion, which was also the first ETF to track the index.
“As the world’s second-largest economy, China has been steadily opening up its financial markets, becoming an essential part of global asset allocation,” Yue Fan, Executive Vice President of E Fund, stated. “As a core flagship of SZSE, the ChiNext Index was launched in 2010, with constituents reflecting the driving forces of China’s new economy – spanning innovative sectors such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, new energy, and biopharmaceuticals. The Amova E Fund ChiNext Index ETF marks a milestone in China–Singapore financial collaboration, offering investors in Singapore and the broader region efficient access to China’s new economy. We have a similar cross-border ETF partnership with Nikko AM in Japan, and this new ETF in Singapore highlights our deepening long-term partnership and shared vision for global market expansion.”
“Our collaboration with E Fund marks a significant milestone in cross-border ETF innovation. We are proud to partner with E Fund to channel our combined scale, deep expertise, and local insights into this ETF that is a powerful representation of China’s entrepreneurial spirit and technological advancement. Together, we are offering investors a differentiated and forward-looking way to participate in China’s innovation-led growth story,” said Eleanor Seet, President and Director, Nikko Asset Management Asia Limited and Head of Asia ex-Japan, Nikko Asset Management.
The listing brings the China-Singapore ETF Link program to 10 ETFs since its 2022 inception, demonstrating strengthened financial cooperation and improved cross-border investment access between both markets while offering greater convenience to investors across Asia-Pacific region and globally.
About E Fund
Established in 2001, E Fund is a leading comprehensive mutual fund manager in China with over RMB 3.6 trillion (USD 512 billion) under management as of 30 Jun 2025. It offers investment solutions to onshore and offshore clients, helping clients achieve long-term sustainable investment performances. E Fund’s clients include both individuals and institutions, ranging from central banks, sovereign wealth funds, social security funds, pension funds, insurance and reinsurance companies, to corporates and banks. Long-term oriented, it has been focusing on the investment management business since inception and believes in the power of in-depth research and time in investing. It is a pioneer and leading practitioner in responsible investments in China and is widely recognized as one of the most trusted and outstanding Chinese asset managers.
About Nikko AM
With US$233.9 billion under management as of 31 March 2025, Nikko Asset Management is one of Asia’s largest asset managers, providing high-conviction, active fund management across a range of equity, fixed income, multi-asset and alternative strategies. In addition, its complementary range of passive strategies covers more than 20 indices and includes some of Asia’s leading exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Effective 1 September 2025, Nikko Asset Management will be known as Amova Asset Management.
Credits surge to the addition of flagship clients and solid expansion of their ever-growing partner network.
NEW YORK, July 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Shopware US, the leading global e-commerce platform, has reported triple-digit YoY growth for the first half of 2025, thanks to a series of major client wins, an expanding partner network, and product innovations that have kept Shopware at the forefront of Agentic Commerce AI innovation. The company’s success was recently recognized by B2B Paradigm in their latest report, receiving a medal in 11 out of 12 categories for commerce solutions tailored to mid-size merchants.
Shopware has added several marquee clients across a variety of verticals, including UPPAbaby, Good360, Eagle Crusher, BlueAlly, Noble, and Dynamic Team Sports. The platform has also broadened its partnerships network across the region with new partners in the areas of payments, functionality, and hosting with these new partner integrations: PayTrace, BlueSnap, Klaviyo, Vouched.id, Dopple, Zamp, Hawksearch, Sitevibes, Ibexa, iPaaS, Webscale, and Liquid Web.
The release of Shopware AI has proven pivotal toward automating workflows and simplifying operations, embedded with AI functionally which gives merchants much-needed tools to succeed in an AI-driven world. Enhanced B2B components further empower merchants to manage complex business models, ultimately leading to greater success and scalability. Earlier this year, Shopware announced their Agentic Commerce Alliance, an initiative which aims to protect merchant independence and preserve diversity across the globe as AI monopolization by large players like Google, Amazon and OpenAI increasingly becomes a threat to merchants.
To further capitalize on this growth, Shopware has appointed Ryan Mercier as Vice President of Sales for North America, responsible for scaling marketing efforts and strengthening client relationships as Shopware deepens its presence across the US and Canada.
“Shopware North America had an exceptional first half of 2025, surpassing all our targets and achieving 300% year-over-year growth in this market. To build on our momentum and continue gaining market share, we’re deepening our investment by bringing on Ryan to help lead the next phase of our growth,” said Jason Nyhus, President and General Manager, Shopware North America.
Later this year, on September 16, Shopware will spotlight their success at their annual community events: Shoptoberfest and Shopware Community Day. These annual events bring together industry leaders to celebrate progress in e-commerce, highlight merchant success and explore what the future has in store.
BEIJING, July 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — A news report from China.org.cn on photography works of Xizang:
Photography Works Reflecting the Timeless Grace of the Potala Palace
“Tashi Delek!” The 5th China Xizang Internet Photography & Video Festival has successfully concluded, and we’re deeply grateful for the enthusiastic global participation. With over 140,000 submissions from around the world, this year’s festival has captured breathtaking views, heartfelt stories, and diverse perspectives on Xizang’s landscapes, culture, and people—offering new angles on its majestic mountains, vibrant traditions, and everyday life.
This featured series turns its lens toward one of Xizang’s most iconic symbols: the Potala Palace. While many may envision its towering white walls and crimson rooftops glowing under the plateau sun, these works go far beyond the postcard image. Through the eyes of different photographers, the Potala Palace reveals countless facets—quiet, solemn, vibrant, even playful—each frame uncovering a new layer of its timeless soul. The collection reminds us that for every admirer, there is a unique Potala Palace waiting to be discovered. A thousand hearts, a thousand visions—this is the living spirit of Xizang.
We are thrilled to announce that the awards ceremony will take place on July 26th in Lhasa, and we warmly invite friends from across the globe to join us. Come celebrate the stories, talents, and perspectives behind these powerful visual narratives, and experience the enduring beauty and spirit of Xizang firsthand. We look forward to welcoming you in Lhasa!
DXC is ranked a Leader in ISG’s Provider Lens™ Snowflake Ecosystem Partners 2025 study across all categories in the US and Europe.
The study evaluates providers’ ability to advise clients on Snowflake ecosystem strategy, modernize data landscapes, enable advanced analytics, and manage the Snowflake environment.
DXC’s data-centric strategy, Gen AI-led transformations, streamlining and automating migrations, cost-optimized data ingestion, and workforce training and development were highlighted by ISG.
ASHBURN, Va., July 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ –DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC), a leading Fortune 500 global technology services provider, today was recognized as a Leader by ISG, a leading global technology research and advisory firm, in its Provider Lens™ Snowflake Ecosystem Partners 2025 study across all categories in the US and Europe. The recognition highlights DXC’s strengths in data-centric strategy, Gen AI-led transformations, streamlining and automating migrations, cost-optimized data ingestion, and workforce training and development.
DXC Ranked a Leader in ISG Provider Lens™ Snowflake Ecosystem Partners 2025 Study
“DXC brings a robust, well-rounded, and end to-end Snowflake capability suite, combining deep advisory expertise, industry-specific implementations, GenAI integration, and strong managed services including MLOps integration,” said Santhosh Alby, Lead ISG Analyst. “The company’s work is reinforced by a culture of innovation and continuous learning to deliver scalable, secure, and future-ready data platforms.”
Snowflake is a leading cloud data platform that enables more than 11,000 companies worldwide to build, use, and share data, applications, and AI. DXC and Snowflake have collaborated to deliver advanced data-driven and AI solutions, including a connected mobility analytics solution for automotive. The 2025 Snowflake Ecosystem Partners study evaluates providers’ ability to advise clients on Snowflake ecosystem strategy, modernize data landscapes, enable advanced analytics, and manage the Snowflake environment. The report highlights DXC’s strengths across three categories:
Consulting and Advisory Services – DXC’s strength in legacy migrations, designing data strategies to minimize risk, and implementation and change management helps enterprises maximize ROI from Snowflake investments.
Implementation Services – DXC’s comprehensive Snowflake implementation services enable enterprises to accelerate migrations, optimize costs, and efficiently manage security and compliance across data.
Managed and Support Services – DXC supports Snowflake ecosystems with security and governance compliance, automated resource scaling, metadata-driven data ingestion, and anomaly detection.
“Snowflake plays a pivotal role in modern data management and analytics, allowing us to deliver faster, smarter solutions for our customers by combining data, AI, and governance in one platform,” said Pete McEvoy, Managing Director and Global Data AI Head at DXC. “Our investment in the Snowflake ecosystem underscores our commitment to delivering AI-led and data-driven efficiencies that move our customers forward. This recognition from ISG reinforces the impact of our strategy and the value we’re creating for our customers.”
The study also showcases DXC’s emphasis on training and development, providing 24/7 access to over two million learning assets via the DXC Learning Platform. Additionally, DXC Academies offer robust upskilling and reskilling programs to help employees obtain certifications from providers like Snowflake.
DXC’s Data & AI offerings help customers benchmark, prioritize, select, and deploy the right infrastructure to leverage data as an asset and differentiator. DXC Consulting & Engineering Services’ more than 50,000 engineers and specialized consultants build cloud environments tailored to each customer, resulting in accelerated migration, secured data, and maintenance optimization.
The full 2025 ISG’s Provider Lens™ Snowflake Ecosystem Partners 2025 study can be viewed here. For more information on DXC’s Data & AI offerings, click here.
About DXC Technology DXC Technology (NYSE: DXC) is a leading global provider of information technology services. We’re a trusted operating partner to many of the world’s most innovative organizations, building solutions that move industries and companies forward. Our engineering, consulting and technology experts help clients simplify, optimize and modernize their systems and processes, manage their most critical workloads, integrate AI-powered intelligence into their operations, and put security and trust at the forefront. Learn more on dxc.com.
About ISG ISG (Information Services Group) is a leading global technology research and advisory firm. A trusted business partner to more than 900 clients, including more than 75 of the world’s top 100 enterprises, ISG is committed to helping corporations, public sector organizations, and service and technology providers achieve operational excellence and faster growth. For more information, please visit: www.isg-one.com.
Recognized for technology leadership in unified interconnect architecture, customer success, and its ability to meet emerging needs across AI and HPC markets
SAN ANTONIO, July 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Frost & Sullivan is pleased to announce that Baya Systems has been recognized with the 2025 Global Technology Innovation Leadership Recognition in the semiconductor IP interconnect solutions industry for its outstanding achievements in product innovation, strategic execution, and customer impact. This recognition highlights Baya Systems’ consistent leadership in driving measurable outcomes, strengthening its brand equity, and delivering customer-centric innovation in an evolving global landscape.
Frost & Sullivan evaluates companies through a rigorous benchmarking process across two core dimensions: strategy effectiveness and strategy execution. Baya Systems excelled in both, demonstrating its ability to align strategic initiatives with market demand while executing them with efficiency, consistency, and scale.
“Baya Systems is quickly becoming a recognized player in the semiconductor IP interconnect solutions industry. The company partners with leaders across various industries, designing solutions fitting their specific and emerging projects. It focuses on solving high-end problems, helping industry leaders successfully expand their technological capabilities to meet emerging needs,” said Varun Babu, Industry Principal, GOA, Frost & Sullivan.
Guided by a long-term growth strategy focused on empowering flexibility, scalability, and significant performance through technology leadership, Baya Systems has demonstrated its ability to adapt and lead in a highly competitive landscape. Its continued investment in data movement, chiplet interconnects, and AI/HPC optimization has enabled it to scale globally and meet the needs of established players and next-generation innovators.
Innovation remains central to Baya Systems’ approach. Its unified interconnect fabric features a software-driven, algorithm-based design with modular, scalable IP that adapts across chiplet and SoC architectures. Optimized for AI and HPC environments, the architecture supports multiple protocols and coherency requirements while reducing design risk and cost. “When we founded Baya Systems two years ago our mission was clear: lead the shift towards software-driven, systems-level thinking in semiconductor interconnects. This recognition by Frost & Sullivan’s validates our vision and strategy to execute this goal,” said Dr. Sailesh Kumar, CEO and founder of Baya Systems. “Our unified fabric is enabling customers to meet the growing demand of AI and HPC, delivering scalable, flexible performance where it matters most. This achievement belongs to the entire Baya team and our innovative partners; with our collective expertise and future-focused approach, I anticipate that this recognition will be only the first of many.”
Baya Systems’ unwavering commitment to customer success further strengthens its competitive position. The company integrates customer feedback into its innovation roadmap, ensuring that each deployment enhances not only the client’s outcomes but also future product capabilities. With its royalty-based pricing model tied to customer project success, Baya Systems aligns technology performance with business value—enhancing trust, transparency, and long-term partnerships.
Frost & Sullivan commends Baya Systems for setting a high standard in competitive strategy, execution, and market responsiveness. The company’s vision, modular technology framework, and customer-first culture are shaping the future of the semiconductor IP interconnect landscape and driving tangible results at scale.
Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents the Technology Innovation Leadership Recognition to a company that demonstrates outstanding strategy development and implementation, resulting in measurable improvements in market share, customer satisfaction, and competitive positioning. This recognizes forward-thinking organizations that are reshaping their industries through innovation and growth excellence.
Frost & Sullivan Best Practices awards recognize companies in various regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.
About Frost & Sullivan
For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for its role in helping investors, corporate leaders, and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success.Contact us: Start the discussion.
Baya Systems is leading the next wave of foundational, high-performance, and modular semiconductor systems technologies that are chiplet-ready and accelerate intelligent compute everywhere. Inspired by the baya bird’s nest-weaving ability, Baya integrates best-in-class compute, communication, and I/O components into seamless, energy-efficient solutions. Its software-based design and exploration platform enhances performance, yield and reusability, enabling cutting-edge, cost-effective innovation across multiple industries. Baya is backed by leading investors including Matrix Partners, Maverick Silicon, Synopsys Inc., and Intel Capital. For more information, visit https://bayasystems.com or follow us on LinkedIn.
DomainTools’ Real-Time Threat Feeds usher in a new way to mitigate risk, supported by seamless integrations and comprehensive DNS coverage.
SEATTLE, July 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — DomainTools, the global leader in domain and DNS threat intelligence, today announced the release of Real-Time Feeds, which will transform users’ security posture from reactive analysis to proactive detection and mitigation. Supported by coverage of 97% of the Internet and seamless integrations with leading security platforms, Real-Time Feeds grant visibility into potentially risky infrastructure faster than anyone. Security teams will discover new, high-risk domains and hostnames as they’re created, enabling them to mitigate these threats before they can be weaponized.
How DomainTools has been a valued strategic partner for years.
“Centripetal leads the industry in operationalizing global threat intelligence to proactively protect our CleanINTERNET customers from all known cyber threats. DomainTools has been a valued strategic partner for years, and in 2024, we leveraged over 99.9% of their feed data to prevent domain-related incidents—contributing to our exceptionally low false positive rate across 1.2 trillion indicators,” said Dave Ahn, Chief Architect and VP at Centripetal. “Through close collaboration this year, we were among the first to adopt DomainTools’ Real Time Feeds and API, reducing the time from threat discovery to active prevention to under one minute. This level of speed and accuracy effectively closes the window for domain-based attacks. DomainTools has set a new standard for real-time, high-fidelity intelligence—critical to any modern, proactive defense strategy.”
In addition to proactive defense through blocking, Real-Time Feeds also accelerate incident response and threat detection. Security Operations Center (SOC), Network Operations Centers, and Incident Response (IR) teams can leverage feeds to spot and respond to devices connecting to new or high-risk domains, all within the context of their Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), Threat Intelligence Platform (TIP), or Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) solution. And with the DomainTools Risk Score powering feeds such as Real-Time Domain Hotlist, teams can confidently prioritize threats based on their risk level, reducing alert fatigue.
“We are confident that Real-Time Feeds will transform our customers’ ability to achieve a proactive security posture,” said Dan White, Principal Product Manager at DomainTools. “Any security team can benefit from the speed and coverage our feeds now provide, putting them in a position of proactive defense, and enabling them to get even more value out of their existing investments in security tooling like TIPs and SIEMs. Our new feeds and real-time delivery enable significantly faster visibility into emerging threats compared to traditional threat intelligence.”
Moreover, Real-Time Feeds offer powerful support for critical security operations, including fraud prevention and brand protection. With instant visibility into rapidly-changing online threats such as domains that mimic an organization, its supply chain, or partners, security teams can swiftly detect and respond to impersonation attempts, safeguarding brand integrity and reducing risk.
General Availability for Real-Time Feeds in September:
Domain Risk
Domain Hotlist
Domain Discovery
Newly Observed Domains
Newly Active Domains
Newly Observed Hostnames
Visit our product page to learn more about DomainTools Feeds and request a demo today.
About DomainTools
DomainTools is the global leader for Internet intelligence and the first place security practitioners go when they need to know. The world’s most advanced security use our solutions to identify external risks, investigate threats, and proactively protect their organizations in a constantly evolving threat landscape. For more information, visit https://www.domaintools.com.
Increased contributions from associates, Health & Beauty and Food
Health & Beauty delivered strong like-for-like (LFL) sales growth of 4%
Portfolio simplification continues with the announced divestment of Singapore Food business and sale of minority stake in Robinsons Retail
Proceeds from Yonghui and Robinsons Retail divestments strengthen balance sheet to a net cash position of US$442 million
Raised full-year underlying profit guidance to be between US$250 million and US$270 million
Declared special dividend of US¢44.30 per share in addition to interim dividend of US¢3.50
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 22 July 2025 – “We are pleased to report strong first-half underlying profit growth to US$105 million, supported by improved Health & Beauty and Food profitability, higher contribution from associates, and a stabilising revenue growth trend. Our ongoing portfolio evolution enables us to prioritise capital on high-margin businesses and growth initiatives, while providing strategic flexibility for inorganic opportunities. As a result of our strategic progress, we are pleased to announce a special dividend of US¢44.30 per share – the first in 18 years – returning a total of US$647 million to shareholders, including the regular interim dividend. These decisions underscore our confidence in DFI’s long-term growth strategy and commitment to shareholder returns.”
Scott Price Group Chief Executive
OVERVIEW
The Group continued to demonstrate strong business resilience by effectively executing its strategic and margin expansion initiatives. Despite the continued shift towards value by consumers, LFL subsidiary sales for the first half of 2025 remained largely stable compared to the same period last year, excluding the impact of a significant cigarette tax increase in Hong Kong and the divestment of Hero Supermarket business in Indonesia in 2024. LFL subsidiary sales have demonstrated a steady recovery with a return to moderate growth in the second quarter of 2025.
Significant progress has been made in the Group’s strategic pivot from a portfolio investor to an operating company centred on five key deliverables:
Retail excellence: Delivering a best-in-class customer proposition
Customer access: Strategically expanding store network
Omnichannel and data ecosystem: Powering e-commerce and retail media with data-driven insights
Lean and agile operations: Streamlining business for more efficient decision making
Evolving portfolio: Prioritising capital returns and shareholder value
The Group continues to reinvest in pricing to deliver a stronger customer value proposition while resetting our sourcing strategy to expand gross profit. Reduction in financing costs and higher underlying profit from associates contributed to a 39% increase in underlying profit attributable to shareholders for the first half of 2025.
The Group continues to evolve its portfolio to enhance operational focus and enable more efficient capital allocation, supporting subsidiary business growth both organically and inorganically should shareholder accretive opportunities arise. During the reporting period, the Group completed the divestment of minority stakes in both Yonghui and Robinsons Retail, generating total gross proceeds of approximately US$900 million. Additionally, the Group announced the divestment of its Singapore Food business for approximately US$93 million in cash consideration.
As a result of this strategic progress, the Board has approved a special dividend of US¢44.30 per share, equivalent to US$600 million in total payment. Concurrently, the Group declared an interim dividend of US¢3.50 per share, in line with the prior comparable period. These decisions underscore the Group’s confidence in its long-term growth strategy and its commitment to creating value for its shareholders.
OPERATING PERFORMANCE
Overall
Total revenue from subsidiaries for the first half of 2025 was US$4.4 billion, up 0.3% year-on-year on a LFL basis, excluding the impact of a significant cigarette tax increase in Hong Kong and the divestment of the Hero Supermarket business in Indonesia in 2024. Strong sales growth in the Health & Beauty division was offset by lower contributions from other segments. Total revenue, which includes 100% of associates and joint ventures, was US$8.2 billion. Excluding the impact of the minority stake divestment in Yonghui completed at the end of February 2025, as well as the additional two months of sales contribution from Robinsons Retail following the stake disposal at the end of May 2025, total revenue increased by approximately 1%.
Total underlying profit attributable to shareholders for the first half of 2025 reached US$105 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 39%, primarily driven by improved performance in associates. Underlying profit from subsidiaries was US$75 million, reflecting a 3% year-on-year increase. Strong performance in the Health & Beauty and Food divisions was partially offset by lower profitability in Convenience as a result of the cigarette tax impact, and higher selling, general and administrative expenses[1] primarily due to a one-time reversal of long-term incentive accruals in 2024 related to executive departures. After accounting for the divestment of Yonghui, underlying profit from associates was US$30 million, an improvement from US$3 million from the prior comparable period, supported by higher contributions from both Maxim’s and Robinsons Retail.
Free cash flow for the period was a net inflow of US$89 million, compared with US$61 million in the first half of 2024. As at 30 June 2025, the Group’s net cash was US$442 million, compared to US$468 million net debt at 31 December 2024.
Subsidiaries
Sales for the Health & Beauty division were US$1.3 billion, up 4% year-on-year on a LFL basis, underscoring the strengthening brand equity of Mannings and Guardian as trusted advisors in health and wellness. Mannings Hong Kong delivered strong LFL sales growth of 6%, driven by growing basket size as the team continued to enhance assortment in key wellness categories, including supplements and derma skin care. Solid LFL sales performance of Guardian was supported by basket size increases across key Southeast Asian markets and improved promotional efficiency, particularly in Indonesia. Integrating the Own Brand team across Food and Health & Beauty drove stronger product relevance and cost efficiency, resulting in improved sales and profit productivity per SKU. Overall, divisional profit grew 8% to US$109 million on a LFL basis1.
Total Convenience sales were US$1.1 billion, down 4% year-on-year on a LFL basis, primarily due to reduced volumes of lower-margin cigarette following tax increases in Hong Kong at the end of February 2024. Excluding cigarettes, overall LFL sales were down 1%. Hong Kong performance recovered in the second quarter, following the annualisation of the tax effect and continued growth in higher-margin ready-to-eat (RTE) categories. Excluding cigarettes, LFL sales for the first half were in line with the prior comparable period. 7-Eleven Singapore reported LFL sales below the same period last year. South China reported robust sales growth due to network expansion but lower LFL sales given intensified subsidy initiatives from food delivery platforms. The team remains focused on driving footfall and sales by expanding the RTE offering, including a larger rollout of the Food Bar format to 375 stores by the end of this year. Despite a favourable sales mix shift towards higher-margin RTE products, profit for the division dropped by 18% year-on-year to US$38 million due to tough comparables in the first half of 2024 as a result of a one-off windfall gain from cigarette inventory purchased before tax increase. Excluding which, profit for the division was up 9% year-on-year.
Revenue for the Food division reduced marginally to US$1.5 billion, after excluding the impact of the divestment of the Hero Supermarket business last year. Sales resumed growth in the second quarter, supported by the Group’s focus on enhancing the value of consumers’ food baskets. In Hong Kong, investment in reduced pricing has resulted in a 2.5% increase in footfall in May and 3.4% in June, in addition to a consistent rise in items per basket. To further enhance its fresh and value proposition, the Wellcome team launched a partnership with Dingdong Limited (DDL), a leading Chinese online grocery platform, during the second quarter of 2025. The collaboration offers consumers a wider selection of fresh produce at more competitive prices. The team’s effort to strategically source the core basket will support both price reinvestment and continued net margin expansion in the coming years. Overall Food profit grew 14% year-on-year to US$24 million on a LFL basis1.
Sales performance of the Home Furnishings division remained challenged due to intense competition and shifts in basket mix, mainly in Hong Kong and Indonesia while Taiwan demonstrated relative resilience. Effective cost control measures across markets supported a recovery in underlying profit for the first half of the year. The IKEA Hong Kong business is strengthening its value-driven omnichannel proposition by reinvesting in core product pricing, evolving seasonal food range and leveraging yuu data for more precise customer targeting. In Indonesia, the IKEA team remains focused on driving sales through an expanded digital presence and intensified marketing efforts.
Digital
During the first half of 2025, the Group continued to strengthen its digital presence with the launch of new online channels, including a 7-Eleven app in Singapore. Our expanded digital assets, quick commerce service with third-party platforms and data-driven personalised offerings create a seamless omnichannel shopping experience across physical and digital touchpoints, contributing to a growing e-commerce penetration of approximately 5%. Daily e-commerce order volume surpassed 96,000, reflecting an 85% year-on-year increase and a substantial improvement in profit contribution.
DFIQ, the Group’s retail media business, continues to gain strong momentum, completing over 160 targeted marketing campaigns in the first half of 2025, compared to 12 in the prior comparable period. The DFIQ team has successfully piloted in-store media in select Mannings stores in Hong Kong, as well as Guardian and 7-Eleven outlets in Singapore. This uniquely integrated online-to-offline retail media solution provides suppliers with an expanded reach, driving enhanced customer loyalty and conversion throughout the entire purchase journey.
Associates
The Group’s share of Maxim’s underlying profits was US$14 million for the first half of 2025, up from US$8 million in the same period last year, underpinned by continued cost optimisation and operational efficiency measures. Sales performance was largely stable year-on-year, with strong growth in Southeast Asia offset by weaker restaurant performance in Hong Kong and the Chinese mainland.
Underlying profit contribution from Robinsons Retail was US$18 million, an improvement of approximately US$9 million from the first half of 2024. This includes the impact of two additional months of contribution, amounting to approximately US$5 million, following the completion of the divestment at the end of May 2025.
The divestment of the Group’s stake in Yonghui was completed in February 2025.
RECENT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTS
On 24 March 2025, the Group announced that it had entered into a definitive agreement with Macrovalue, a leading Southeast Asian retail group, with respect to the divestment of its Singapore Food business, which includes the Cold Storage, CS Fresh, Jason’s Deli and Giant brands, for a total cash consideration of SGD125 million or approximately US$93 million, subject to adjustments. The transaction is subject to closing conditions and is expected to be completed by the end of 2025.
On 30 May 2025, the Group announced and completed the divestment of its 22.2% stake, in Robinsons Retail Holdings, Inc., for a total cash consideration of PHP15.8 billion or approximately US$283 million. Following the completion of the transaction, the Group ceases to hold any interest in Robinsons Retail.
The above transactions reflect the Group’s strategic pivot from a portfolio investor to a focused operating company, enabling the Group to redeploy capital to support the growth of its subsidiary businesses with higher accretive returns.
OUTLOOK
The Group remains confident in its ability to navigate the evolving market landscape, supported by strategic initiatives aimed at driving market share gain and profit growth across all businesses. These initiatives include strengthening the value proposition, optimising assortment through data-driven insights, expanding omnichannel presence and accelerating monetisation of digital assets. With a more focused business portfolio and enhanced operational efficiency, the Group is committed to delivering sustained, profitable growth by balancing ongoing investments in businesses and areas with long-term strategic value, while also increasing returns for shareholders.
The Group restates its full-year organic revenue growth outlook to a range of 0.5% to 1.0% (from approximately 2%), reflecting broader economic uncertainty and a sharper-than-expected decline in cigarette sales. Despite a more cautious revenue outlook, the Group expects to deliver stronger profitability through enhanced operational efficiency and disciplined cost management. The Group, therefore, revises its full-year guidance of underlying profit attributable to shareholders to be between US$250 million and US$270 million (up from previously between US$230 million and US$270 million).
Scott Price Group Chief Executive
[1] Own brand and e-commerce related costs are reclassified from selling, general and administrative expenses to the corresponding business segments beginning first half of 2024
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
DFI Retail Group
DFI Retail Group (the Group) is a leading Asian retailer, driven by its purpose to ‘Sustainably Serve Asia for Generations with Everyday Moments’.
At 30 June 2025, the Group and its associates operated over 7,500 outlets, of which over 5,500 stores were operated by subsidiaries. The Group, together with its associates, employed over 83,000 people, with over 45,000 employed by subsidiaries. The Group had total annual revenue in 2024 of US$24.9 billion and reported revenue of US$8.9 billion.
DFI is dedicated to delivering quality, value and service to Asian consumers through a compelling retail experience supported by an extensive store network and highly efficient supply chains.
The Group including its associates operates a portfolio of well-known brands across five key divisions: health and beauty, convenience, food, home furnishings and restaurants. The principal brands are:
Health and Beauty • Mannings on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau S.A.R.; Guardian in Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Vietnam.
Convenience • 7-Eleven in Hong Kong and Macau S.A.R., Singapore and Southern China.
Food • Wellcome and Market Place in Hong Kong S.A.R.; Cold Storage and Giant in Singapore; Lucky in Cambodia.
Home Furnishings • IKEA in Hong Kong and Macau S.A.R., Indonesia and Taiwan.
Restaurants • Hong Kong Maxim’s group on the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macau S.A.R., Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Group’s parent company, DFI Retail Group Holdings Limited, is incorporated in Bermuda and has a primary listing in the equity shares (transition) category of the London Stock Exchange, with secondary listings in Bermuda and Singapore. The Group’s businesses are managed from Hong Kong. DFI Retail Group is a member of the Jardine Matheson group.
XIAMEN, China, July 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ — Pop Culture Group Co., Ltd (“CPOP” or the “Company”) (Nasdaq: CPOP) today announced that it has officially signed an exclusive collaboration with renowned trend comics artist Li Guo. With his avant-garde comic style, Li Guo will fuse the Company’s classic aesthetics with contemporary youth culture to co-create a new IP series, further expanding the company’s strategic layout in the field of trendy culture.
The Company’s Street Dance Industry Layout
Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Xiamen, the Company is a pioneer and key integrator of China’s hip-hop culture industry. The company went public on NASDAQ on June 30, 2021, becoming the first listed company in China focused on hip-hop culture.
The Company has established a hip-hop ecosystem centered around three core business segments: POPSPORTS, POPIDEA, and POPFUN. POPSPORTS focuses on the standardization of street dance and the cultivation of Olympic talent. This new collaboration with Li Guo aligns closely with the vision of POPSPORTS, particularly in promoting the intersection of art, movement, and youth expression.
Cross-disciplinary Fusion: The Collision of Classic Art and Trendy Comics
Li Guo’s creations are acclaimed for their bold visual language, heavily influenced by trendy sports—characterized by striking color clashes, deconstruction of industrial symbols, and satirical expressions of subcultural themes. The first project following this signing will adopt a cross-media approach, combining “comics + trendy sports” to infuse visual and conceptual energy into trendy sports across different fields.
About CPOP (Pop Culture Group Co., Ltd):
Pop Culture Group Co., Ltd is a cultural industry operation enterprise focused on the industrialization of CPOP, incorporated in the Cayman Islands with its main operations located in China. The company offers a range of services including live performances, artist management, intellectual property rights, film and television production, MCN (Multi-Channel Network), and entertainment marketing. Originally focused on hip-hop culture, Pop Culture Group Co., Ltd has evolved into a diversified group specializing in CPOP. Its comprehensive business ecosystem spans both online and offline platforms, including: (1) live entertainment events (such as concerts, music festivals, street dance competitions, and other performances); (2) digital entertainment services; (3) artist management and agency services; and (4) investment in and production of film and television content featuring elements of CPOP.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains, “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These forward-looking statements are made under the “safe harbor” provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. CPOP’s actual results may differ from their expectations, estimates and projections and consequently, you should not rely on these forward-looking statements as predictions of future events. Words such as “expect,” “estimate,” “project,” “budget,” “forecast,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “plan,” “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “believes,” “predicts,” “potential,” “might” and “continues,” and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements about: CPOP’s goals and strategies; our ability to retain and increase the number of users, members, and expand its service offerings; CPOP’s future business development, financial condition and results of operations; expected changes in CPOP’s revenues, costs or expenditures; competition in the industry; relevant government policies and regulations relating to our industry; general economic and business conditions globally and in China; and assumptions underlying or related to any of the foregoing. CPOP cautions that the foregoing list of factors is not exclusive. CPOP cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. CPOP does not undertake or accept any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based, subject to applicable law. Additional information concerning these and other factors that may impact our expectations and projections can be found in CPOP’s periodic filings with the SEC, including CPOP’s Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2024. CPOP’s SEC filings are available publicly on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
