LETHAM, Scotland, May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — MDJM LTD (OTC: UOKAF) (the “Company” or “MDJM”), an integrated global culture-driven asset management company, today announced that it will host a virtual investor meeting via Zoom on Friday, May 15, 2026, beginning at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
During the meeting, the Company’s management team is expected to present the Company’s vision for its current business stage and related challenges, recent business developments and milestones, ongoing strategic initiatives, and future development plans, including advancements in international animation intellectual property development and international collaboration initiatives, Scottish cultural project and animation museum development, as well as acquisition and commercialization initiatives.
The virtual investor meeting will be open to investors and interested parties.
MDJM LTD is a global culture-driven asset management company focused on transforming historical properties into cultural hubs that integrate modern digital technology with rich historical value. The Company has been expanding its operations in the UK, where it is developing projects such as Fernie Castle in Scotland and the Robin Hill Property in England. These properties are being remodeled into multi-functional cultural venues that will feature fine dining, hospitality services, art exhibitions, and cultural exchange events. Fernie Castle is undergoing comprehensive architectural and landscape renovation planning in design collaboration with renowned architectural firm Kengo Kuma and Associates. As part of its broader strategy, MDJM seeks to position itself as a hub for artisan exchanges, art shows, and sales, leveraging its historical properties as platforms for promoting Eastern and Western cultural exchanges. This initiative reflects the Company’s commitment to furthering its global market expansion and enhancing its cultural business footprint. For more information regarding the Company, please visit https://www.ir-uoka.com/.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy, and financial needs. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results and encourages investors to review other factors that may affect its future results in the Company’s annual report on Form 20-F and its other filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
As compliance pressure mounts in every major healthcare AI market, Corti launches its Startup Acceleration Program to help founders clear a €600,000 regulatory barrier and build on the vertical model that outscored OpenAI on its new healthcare benchmark
COPENHAGEN, Denmark, May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Corti, the frontier lab for clinical-grade AI, today announced that Symphony, its flagship clinical-grade model, has outscored OpenAI on HealthBench Professional, the company’s new healthcare benchmark.
To bridge the gap between benchmark performance and real-world deployment, Corti launched the Startup Acceleration Program, a no-equity initiative providing healthcare AI builders worldwide with access to the same clinical-grade models that power AI for highly regulated systems across Europe and the U.S. The grant-funded program aims to help founders ship and scale at a moment when the regulatory bar for healthcare AI has never been higher.
The launch comes at a structural inflection point for the sector. Healthcare AI builders now face tightening regulation in every major market – from the FDA’s expanded AI/ML guidance in the U.S. to new lifecycle accountability requirements in Canada and the UK. But Europe is the most acute case. In the past four weeks, OpenAI rolled out free clinical AI to every verified American physician. One week later, OpenEvidence – a clinical AI platform used daily by 40% of US physicians and valued at $12 billion – withdrew from the UK and European markets, citing regulatory uncertainty around the EU AI Act. The high-risk system requirements that drove that decision will come into force for medical AI on August 2, 2026.
Europe has emerged as the toughest proving ground for clinical-grade AI – and the asymmetry is sharpening. EU MDR certification alone now costs founders between €200,000 and €600,000 per device and takes 12 to 18 months. Capital is concentrating in larger, later-stage rounds, with investors increasingly favouring companies with proven clinical evidence and workflow integration. The structural difficulty is real enough to deter horizontal players – and the vertical products built on them – from competing in Europe, implying a narrower path for the next wave of healthcare AI builders to succeed there at exactly the moment they are needed most. But the reality is that the conditions making Europe hard for horizontal players are the same conditions that Corti was built for:
“The future of healthcare AI won’t be built by one company. It will be built by thousands of teams, each with deep knowledge of a specific care setting, workflow, or patient population,” said Andreas Cleve, co-founder and CEO of Corti. “Our job is to give those builders a head start: the leading clinical AI model, the evidence base behind it, and a path to production we’ve already navigated for regulated health systems. So they can focus on what only they can do – the workflow, the patient population, the problem they actually understand.”
Among the hundreds of development teams already building on Corti is Aisel Health, a European startup building AI for psychiatry:
“Psychiatrists are a scarce and highly specialized resource. They should be focused on one thing only: making clinical decisions – everything else needs to go. Yet today, the majority of a psychiatrist’s time is spent not on clinical decision-making, but on the administrative and repetitive workflows surrounding it. By using Corti, we at Aisel can focus on delivering specialized psychiatric workflows that help clinicians regain capacity, rather than rebuilding the clinical-grade foundation underneath,” said Augusta Klingsten Peytz, co-founder and CEO of Aisel Health.
The Startup Acceleration Program includes:
Up to $5,000 in credits across the full Symphony stack – Agents, Medical Coding, Speech-to-Text, and Text Generation – built on over 1.5 million hours of clinical audio
Support from Corti’s clinical and regulatory team to navigate EU AI Act, MDR, and data residency requirements
Dedicated time with Corti’s AI experts to scope product roadmaps and architect the right system before code is written
Founder-led webinars on industry developments and Corti’s own roadmap
Invitations to Corti events in New York, Copenhagen, London, and Berlin
Applications open today, reviewed on a rolling basis with a one-week turnaround. No pitching, no committee, no equity. Open to worldwide pre-seed through Series B companies building in healthcare, clinical workflows, or adjacent life sciences.
Corti is healthcare’s frontier lab for clinical-grade AI. Symphony, its flagship clinical-grade AI model, powers clinical and administrative applications for EHR vendors, virtual care platforms, practice management systems, and life sciences organizations worldwide. Corti serves over 100 million patients annually across health systems including the NHS. The company is headquartered in Copenhagen with offices in New York and London. For more information, visit corti.ai.
HOUSTON, May 14, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Elabscience® Bionovation Inc. (“Elabscience®” or “the Company”) today announced the launch of its self-developed PolyHRP-Streptavidin conjugate, a signal amplification reagent designed to improve enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) sensitivity for low-abundance biomarker detection. Using proprietary covalent polymerization technology, the reagent creates a one-to-many amplification structure that strengthens detection signals while maintaining low background interference.
Elabscience® developed its PolyHRP-Streptavidin conjugate to address a common ELISA challenge in which very low biomarker concentrations can make it difficult to increase signal output without also raising background noise. The product is built on a proprietary covalent coupling technique designed to create a more efficient amplification structure than traditional Streptavidin-HRP conjugates. In this process, a large number of highly active HRP enzymes are first polymerized to form a PolyHRP backbone, which is then conjugated to streptavidin. This one-to-many architecture increases the enzyme-to-protein ratio and enables cascade signal amplification which helps to improve assay sensitivity in low-abundance biomarker detection.
Dr. Yang Fei, General Manager of Elabscience®, commented: “Sensitivity and stability are critical requirements in ELISA reagent development, especially when researchers are working with low-abundance targets. With our self-developed PolyHRP-Streptavidin conjugate, we aim to provide researchers and assay developers with a reliable signal amplification tool that supports stronger detection performance, lower background interference and long-term reagent stability.”
Validation data showed strong performance across several key measures. SEC-HPLC analysis of three independent batches demonstrated an approximately 90% product recovery rate, with a peak area coefficient of variation of 2.9%, indicating high batch-to-batch consistency. Nanoparticle tracking analysis also showed a narrow particle size distribution centered at about 155 nm which supports the uniformity of the PolyHRP-Streptavidin polymer structure.
In internal performance testing, Elabscience® PolyHRP-Streptavidin delivered strong signal intensity while maintaining low background signal. Accelerated stability testing at 37°C showed over 90% remaining activity after 11 days, demonstrating strong reagent stability under accelerated conditions. The product is also designed for broad compatibility across standard ELISA, high-sensitivity ELISA and competitive ELISA workflows.
Compared with competitor products, Elabscience® PolyHRP-Streptavidin Conjugate demonstrates higher sensitivity and improved stability
The launch introduces Elabscience® PolyHRP-Streptavidin conjugate, Catalog No. E-ELIR-020, as a specialized ELISA accessory reagent within the Company’s signal amplification portfolio. It is available in a 50 μL trial size, a 250 μL catalog format, and custom volumes above 1 mL. The product is stored at -20°C and has a shelf life of two years. Elabscience® also plans to introduce a ready-to-use PolyHRP-Streptavidin detection reagent to further support routine and high-throughput ELISA applications.
About Elabscience® Bionovation Inc.
Elabscience® Bionovation Inc. is a biotechnology company focused on the design, development, manufacturing, and sale of research reagents and services for cell detection and life sciences applications. Its portfolio includes products for protein detection, immunoassays, metabolism analysis, and cell function research. Founded in 2011, Elabscience® serves customers in more than 150 countries and regions. For more information, please visit www.elabscience.com, and connect with us on LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.
CGTN published an article examining how China contributes to the global progress of girls’ and women’s education. The article highlights China’s efforts in improving education access at home and expanding cooperation abroad, showing how it supports equal opportunities for women and girls worldwide.
BEIJING, May 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Since China and UNESCO jointly established the Prize for Girls’ and Women’s Education in 2015, a total of 20 projects from 19 countries have received the award, bringing better education opportunities to more than 6 million girls.
As the first UNESCO prize dedicated to girls’ and women’s education, the award reflects China’s long-term commitment to advancing education for women and girls globally. Funded by the Chinese government, the Prize is conferred annually to two laureates and consists of an award of $50,000 each to further their work in this field.
China’s commitment was highlighted again on Tuesday, when Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, met with Khaled El-Enany, director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in Beijing.
Peng, a UNESCO special envoy for the advancement of girls’ and women’s education, said she is willing to continue fulfilling her duties as special envoy, strengthen cooperation with UNESCO and promote the continuous progress of girls’ and women’s education globally.
Building progress at home
In 1989, under the leadership of the All-China Women’s Federation, the China Children and Teenagers’ Foundation launched the Spring Bud Project to improve education opportunities for girls from impoverished families.
Since serving as the special envoy for the project in 2014, Peng has continued to promote its development. In 2019, she announced the Dream of the Future Action of the Spring Bud Project, an upgraded program aimed at helping more girls complete their education and pursue their dreams.
By the end of 2023, the project had raised 3.2 billion yuan ($451 million), supported 4.22 million girls across all 31 provincial-level regions and 56 ethnic groups, provided skills training for 527,000 girls, and offered one-to-one companionship and mental health services to 190,000 girls.
Its impact was recognized globally when it won the UNESCO Prize for Girls’ and Women’s Education in 2023.
The Spring Bud Project is also part of China’s broader progress in ensuring equal access to education.
Since 2018, the net enrollment rate of school-age children has remained close to 100%, with almost no gender gap between boys and girls. In 2024, women accounted for 50.76% of students in higher education, while female postgraduate students made up 50.01%.
These figures show how education has become a strong foundation for women’s development in China.
Sharing opportunities with the world
China is also helping more women and girls around the world gain access to education and training.
Through South-South cooperation, scholarships and technical exchanges, China has trained more than 200,000 female professionals from over 180 countries and regions. Since 2018, it has launched more than 100 training programs focused on women and children in developing countries.
Fajer Rabia Pasha, executive director of the Pakistan Alliance for Girls’ Education, whose organization won the UNESCO Prize in 2023, said China has helped women and girls in developing countries gain access to education, training and leadership opportunities.
She said China has proved through action that its development benefits not only Chinese women, but also women around the world.
At the Global Leaders’ Meeting on Women held in Beijing last year, China announced it would donate another $10 million to UN Women over the next five years and invite 50,000 women to China for exchange and training programs.
El-Enany Tuesday said UNESCO is grateful for China’s valuable support and is ready to deepen cooperation with China to promote further development of girls’ and women’s education worldwide.
DUBAI, UAE, May 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Bybit, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has continued the quiet expansion of Bybit TradFi in recent months. In the latest figures disclosed by Bybit TradFi, the platform now enables access to over 400 global assets with USDT, including forex, commodities, global indices, and U.S. stock CFDs, with the option to trade at zero fees.
New data from Bybit TradFi also revealed heightened interest among professional traders in semiconductor and AI-adjacent assets. The trend unfolds amidst major tech earnings season, and as market volatility reshapes investor portfolios. Through Bybit TradFi, professional and institutional traders are capitalizing on the broader opportunity by diversifying across the semiconductor and AI infrastructure ecosystem.
Comprehensive AI & Semiconductor Stock CFD Coverage
With balanced listings across sectors, Bybit TradFi encompasses the entire supply chain behind the current wave of AI boom, including CFDs for ten of the most sought-after tickers:
Among Bybit TradFi’s variety of instruments, more than 300 stock CFDs are available to ensure investors are able to build diversified portfolios. In addition to equities, Bybit TradFi offers a broad range of CFDs covering +20 global indices, +6 forex categories, 8 precious metals, and 13 commodities.
Democratizing Access to Global Opportunities
While institutional capital flows propel market directions, Bybit TradFi unlocks trading freedom for all of its users. The mature platform delivers the tools and liquidity retail users need to capitalize on the macro dynamics, offering a cost-effective and dependable solution for trading global markets.
For traders familiar with Bybit’s ecosystem, traditional asset trading on Bybit TradFi requires no account switching or friction. The platform features flexible fee modes (Zero Spread or Tight Spread) for seamless transitions from crypto holdings, one unified account across all asset classes, and extended access to TradFi assets using crypto-native infrastructure. In addition:
USDT margin trading: Users can trade Bybit TradFi assets using existing crypto holdings without the hassle of fiat conversion.
Competitive pricing: Attractive rates and similarly tight spreads across stocks, commodities, and indices – trading fees per $1 million traded start at about $6 for gold pairs, about $16.5 for oil related pairs, about $3 per lot for global indices, and as little as around $0.02 per share for stock CFDs.
Terms and conditions apply. Users may be subject to restrictions or eligibility requirements. To find out more about trading TradFi perpetual contracts, users may visit: Bybit TradFi Trading
Bybit TradFi is powered by Infra Capital (Mauritius FSC licensed). The service is now available to eligible users through the official Bybit app and website. Bybit TradFi is not available to residents of the European Economic Area, among other restrictions. For details of regional limitations, terms and conditions, and user eligibility, users may visit Bybit TradFi. Trading comes with risk.
#Bybit / #CryptoArk / #NewFinancialPlatform
About Bybit
Bybit is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, serving a global community of over 80 million users. Founded in 2018, Bybit is redefining openness in the decentralized world by creating a simpler, open and equal ecosystem for everyone. With a strong focus on Web3, Bybit partners strategically with leading blockchain protocols to provide robust infrastructure and drive on-chain innovation. Renowned for its secure custody, diverse marketplaces, intuitive user experience, and advanced blockchain tools, Bybit bridges the gap between TradFi and DeFi, empowering builders, creators, and enthusiasts to unlock the full potential of Web3. Discover the future of decentralized finance at Bybit.com.
XI’AN, China, May 13, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — At Vitafoods Europe 2026, Natural Field drew significant industry attention with the presentation of its NFco-Loading® liposomal technology platform and a science-backed healthy aging solution designed for next-generation nutraceutical formulations.
As global demand for healthy aging products continues to accelerate, Natural Field emphasized a key industry challenge during the exhibition: many active ingredients face limitations in stability, absorption efficiency, and formulation compatibility when used in conventional delivery formats.
To address these challenges, the company introduced its proprietary NFco-Loading® technology — an advanced co-loading liposomal delivery platform engineered to encapsulate multiple active ingredients within a single liposomal system. The platform is designed to support enhanced bioavailability, improved ingredient stability, and synergistic formulation performance for complex wellness applications.
A major highlight at the exhibition was NF TriSolve®, Natural Field’s advanced healthy aging formulation developed using NFco-Loading® technology. The formulation strategically combines multiple active compounds through co-loading liposomal systems, with a focus on co-loaded Coenzyme Q10 liposomes and co-loaded NMN liposomes — two key components designed to support cellular energy metabolism and combat age-related functional decline. Complemented by ergothioneine and sialic acid, NF TriSolve® demonstrated remarkable effects in zebrafish studies, showing significant improvements in anti-aging markers, enhanced skin radiance, and superior hydration performance. This data underscores the capability of NFco-Loading® technology to deliver multiple actives simultaneously, enabling synergistic benefits for advanced wellness, beauty-from-within, and healthy aging applications.
Rather than focusing solely on individual ingredients, Natural Field’s strategy centers on building technology-driven delivery systems capable of improving the functional performance of nutraceutical formulations.
“Consumers are no longer only looking for ingredients — they are looking for efficient delivery, synergistic functionality, and science-backed solutions,” said the Natural Field team during Vitafoods Europe 2026. “We believe NFco-Loading® technology represents an important direction for the future of healthy aging innovation.”
About Natural Field Natural Field is a technology-focused ingredient company specializing in liposomal delivery systems and functional nutraceutical ingredients. The company provides one-stop formulation and delivery solutions for global nutraceutical brands, with ongoing research focused on bioavailability enhancement, healthy aging innovation, and advanced lipid-based delivery technologies. For more data, please visit www.natural-field.com.
HKUST Led Project Marks Hong Kong’s First Scientific Payload on the National Space Station
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 13 May 2026 – The world’s first lightweight, high‑resolution, high‑precision synergistic observatory for carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) emission point sources – named “MUSICO”, Multi‑Spectral Imaging Carbon Observatory, led by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) – was successfully launched aboard the Tianzhou‑10 cargo spacecraft on May 11 and has arrived at China’s Tiangong Space Station. This is not only Hong Kong’s first scientific payload deployed on the national space station, but also a historic breakthrough for the city in the development of high‑end aerospace instruments. The project fully demonstrates Hong Kong’s strong capability to build national‑level cutting-edge scientific payloads, to participate in long‑term space station missions, and to play a key role in addressing global climate change while serving the nation’s strategic “carbon peak and carbon neutrality” goals.
The project is led by an interdisciplinary research team from HKUST, comprising experts from the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Division of Emerging Interdisciplinary Areas, the Division of Environment and Sustainability, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, and the Division of Public Policy. In late 2024, the project received formal approval from the Technology and Engineering Center for Space Utilization of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CSU.CAS), the general research center for the Space Utilization System. It is jointly developed with the CAS Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics, and funded by the Special Call (Aerospace Technology) of the Innovation and Technology Support Program under the Innovation and Technology Commission of the HKSAR Government.
MUSICO is a lightweight, high‑resolution, high‑precision greenhouse gas point‑source detection payload capable of accurately measuring CO₂ and CH₄ — two major greenhouse gases — from space. Smaller than a domestic washing machine, the instrument maintains extra-high spectral resolution and one hundred‑meter spatial resolution. By analyzing intensity changes of sunlight over specific spectral bands as it passes through the atmosphere and reflects off the Earth’s surface, MUSICO identifies gas‑specific absorption features to determine gas concentrations and pinpoint individual emission sources, enabling effective monitoring of key facilities such as power plants and landfills.
Prof. SUN Dong, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry of the HKSAR Government, remarked, “This HKUST led project represents Hong Kong’s first scientific payload aboard the Tiangong Space Station, a major milestone for Hong Kong in the nation’s space missions. The national 15th Five Year Plan identifies accelerating green and low carbon transition, building a space powerhouse, and achieving carbon peak as key priorities. The successful deployment of a payload autonomously developed by a Hong Kong research team on Tiangong powerfully demonstrates that Hong Kong scientists possess top tier research and technology translation capabilities in frontier fields such as aerospace technology and green low carbon science, providing the nation with high quality, verifiable scientific data to accelerate the realization of the dual carbon goals.”
Prof. Nancy IP, President of HKUST, said, “We are deeply honored that our HKUST research team can participate in scientific missions on the national space station, and we sincerely thank the nation and the HKSAR Government for their long‑standing trust and support. This project not only highlights HKUST’s accumulated strengths in aerospace engineering, satellite remote sensing, and environmental engineering, but also proves that Hong Kong’s research capabilities can make substantial contributions on the nation’s highest‑level aerospace platforms. As the world’s first lightweight high‑precision greenhouse gas point‑source detection payload, MUSICO will continue to operate on the national space station, providing autonomous, controllable, high‑reliability CO₂ and CH₄ emission monitoring data that directly support the nation’s dual‑carbon goals and provide scientific backing for the ‘Beautiful China’ initiative and global climate governance.”
President Ip added, “In recent years, HKUST has been deepening its efforts in deep‑space exploration and low‑orbit satellite technology — following the successful launch of Hong Kong’s first higher‑education satellite in 2023, we are now actively participating in the nation’s Chang’e‑8 lunar exploration mission. Looking ahead, HKUST will continue to leverage its strengths in artificial intelligence, robotics, and materials science to accelerate the translation of space‑related technologies and nurture high‑end talent, contributing to the nation’s accelerated drive to build a space powerhouse and achieve green, low‑carbon, high‑quality development.”
Prof. SU Hui, Project Lead, Chair Professor of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Global STEM Professor at HKUST, said, “The development of MUSICO involved overcoming multiple critical technical challenges — namely, how to achieve high spectral resolution, fine spatial resolution, and synergistic multi‑gas observation under strict size and weight constraints. The team conducted extensive testing and optimization in optical design, precision manufacturing, and system integration to ensure the instrument can deliver reliable, accurate greenhouse gas data over long periods under high‑speed operation and extreme space environments. Successfully integrating these key technologies into a lightweight payload represents a landmark engineering and scientific achievement, demonstrating that the technology has reached internationally advanced standards.”
Prof. ZHANG Limin, Co‑Project Lead, National Engineer Awardee and Head of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at HKUST, emphasized, “MUSICO’s observational coverage spans most land and ocean areas across low‑to‑mid‑latitude regions, providing consistent and comparable greenhouse gas monitoring data for different regions. The project’s results will be shared with government agencies and research institutions, supporting scientific research and practical applications in the Guangdong‑Hong Kong‑Macao Greater Bay Area and in other parts of China. They will also provide a scientific basis for cross‑regional climate research and emission reduction efforts along the Belt and Road, contributing to the global response to climate change. This is both a vivid example of HKUST’s research strength serving national strategy and a concrete practice of Hong Kong’s research capabilities contributing to global climate governance.”
The research project is co‑led by Prof. SU Hui, Chair Professor of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Global STEM Professor at HKUST, and Prof. ZHANG Limin, Chair Professor and Head of the same department. Prof. ZHAI Chengxing, Associate Professor of the Division of Emerging Interdisciplinary Areas serves as the mission system engineer. Other team members include: Senior Scientific Officer Dr. RONG Pingping, Prof. ZHANG Jize, and Prof. WANG Zhe from HKUST’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Prof. NING Zhi, Prof. SHI Xiaoming, and Prof. GU Dasa from the Division of Environment and Sustainability; Prof. MA Xiaojuan from the Department of Computer Science and Engineering; Prof. ZHU Pengyu from the Division of Public Policy; Prof. GAO Meng from Hong Kong Baptist University; and Prof. LI Jia from Lingnan University.
The project has also garnered strong industry support, including funding from HKUST-incubated startup Stellerus Technology Limited. Meanwhile, CLP Power Hong Kong Limited will collaborate with the project team to explore leveraging the data collected by MUSICO to complement its relevant assessments.
Hashtag: #HKUST
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Set opposite Ben Thanh Market, One Central Saigon is a landmark mixed-use destination where luxury living, hospitality, retail and business converge at the centre of Ho Chi Minh City. The project also marks The Ritz-Carlton hotel brand’s debut in Vietnam, alongside The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Saigon, Grade A+ offices, curated retail, services and fine dining.
HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM – Media OutReach Newswire – 13 May 2026 – Masterise Homes, a member of Masterise Group, has officially launched One Central Saigon, Vietnam’s first mixed-use landmark destination, marking the arrival of a new address where international standards of living, hospitality, retail, business and services come together in Ho Chi Minh City.
One Central Saigon brings together The Ritz-Carlton, Saigon, The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Saigon, Grade A+ offices, curated retail, dining and lifestyle experiences in central Ho Chi Minh City.
The launch event was attended by representatives of Ho Chi Minh City government authorities, senior leaders from Masterise Group, Masterise Homes and Marriott International, as well as leading experts in real estate, economics and tourism.
Over the past decade, the centre of gravity of the global economy has shifted decisively towards Asia, with Vietnam emerging as one of the region’s most compelling growth stories. Ho Chi Minh City, the country’s economic engine, is entering a new phase of development as a dynamic, deeply connected metropolis.
Around the world, certain developments have helped shape how cities are recognised internationally, from Hong Kong’s IFC and Singapore’s Marina Bay Sands to Kuala Lumpur’s Petronas Twin Towers and Dubai’s Burj Khalifa. These projects did more than create striking skylines. They helped shape how the world sees their cities and countries. One Central Saigon is positioned within this tradition of city-shaping developments, with a vision that combines international standards, Vietnamese identity and long-term urban value.
“We believe Vietnam has reached the moment where it is ready for a development of the calibre of One Central Saigon,” said Ms Nguyen Thi Minh Phuong, Managing Director, Southern Region, Masterise Group. “The project has been present in Ho Chi Minh City for some time and has passed through several phases of development. Today, it is being introduced with a clearer vision. With a sense of responsibility to contribute to the nation’s development journey in a new era, Masterise Group aspires to continue building an iconic landmark where the world’s highest experiential standards converge with the identity, energy and ambition of the city. This is also how we contribute to projecting the image of a modern, confident and culturally rich Vietnam onto the international stage.”
A rare address in the city’s historic core For more than a century, Ben Thanh Market has been one of Ho Chi Minh City’s great urban constants: a place of trade, arrival and encounter, and one of the few landmarks instantly recognised across Vietnam and beyond.
Its clock tower, market halls and surrounding streets are woven into the city’s daily rhythm and public memory, giving the area a significance that extends far beyond location. Set directly opposite the market, with four rare frontages along Pham Ngu Lao, Calmette, Le Thi Hong Gam and Pho Duc Chinh streets in the former District 1, One Central Saigon holds one of the city’s most strategic locations and shares a unique connection with Ho Chi Minh City’s historic urban core.
One Central Saigon will rise as two towers above a retail and commercial podium on an 8,537 sqm site, with 19,990 sqm of commercial space across seven above-ground levels and six basement floors. The retail centre is envisioned as a destination for luxury retail, curated services and fine dining, with brands and experiences selected for both international appeal and the evolving needs of Vietnamese customers. Its basement levels will connect directly to Ben Thanh Metro Station via an underground link, integrating the project with the city’s public transit network.
Together with Grade A+ offices, The Ritz-Carlton, Saigon and The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Saigon, the development forms a seamless mixed-use ecosystem for luxury living, hospitality, retail, business, services and lifestyle experiences at the centre of Ho Chi Minh City.
Song Long Ngậm Ngọc: Vietnamese symbolism, global expertise The architecture of One Central Saigon is inspired by Song Long Ngậm Ngọc, or Twin Dragons Playing with a Pearl, a Vietnamese cultural motif associated with strength, prosperity and wisdom. The two towers rise and converge around a central point, creating a contemporary architectural expression of Vietnamese identity within the Ben Thanh district.
Among the tallest twin towers in Vietnam and the region, One Central Saigon is a structurally complex undertaking that requires significant investment, precision, and attention at every stage of execution. The project brings together an international design and construction team, including Arquitectonica as design architect, HBA for interior design, B+H, a member of Surbana Jurong Group, as executive architect, and Turner for project management.
International operational standards add another defining layer of value to One Central Saigon. With more than a century of heritage in luxury hospitality, The Ritz-Carlton brings refinement, attention to detail, privacy and highly personalised service to the project’s ultra-luxury positioning.
The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Saigon opens a new chapter in ultra-luxury living, while The Ritz-Carlton, Saigon marks the hotel brand’s debut in Vietnam, reflecting Ho Chi Minh City’s growing appeal to international travellers, investors, entrepreneurs and high-net-worth individuals.
The Grade A+ office component is designed for global corporations and forward-thinking business leaders seeking a workplace within a 5-star international ecosystem. Vietnam’s luxury momentum accelerates The launch comes as Vietnam continues to attract global capital, international brands and a rising generation of high-net-worth consumers. Official data showed real GDP growth of 8.02% in 2025, up from 7.09%, while foreign direct investment reached a record US$27.62 billion.
Tourism is adding further momentum. Vietnam welcomed nearly 21.2 million international visitors in 2025, its strongest year for inbound tourism, while Ho Chi Minh City received nearly 8.6 million international visitors, up 40.3% year on year.
Branded residences are following the same trajectory. Savills reports that branded residences in Asia Pacific increased by 55% over the past five years, while C9 Hotelworks’ Asia Branded Residences Market Review 2025 points to Vietnam as one of the region’s most important future supply markets.
For Masterise Group, One Central Saigon extends an international branded real estate portfolio that includes Grand Marina, Saigon, featuring Marriott and JW Marriott-branded residences, and The Ritz-Carlton Residences, Hanoi at The Grand. It also gives Vietnam’s ultra-luxury real estate growth story tangible form beside one of Ho Chi Minh City’s most prized historical sites.
As the city enters a new phase of development, expanding in both scale and quality, thoughtfully planned and professionally operated integrated developments such as One Central Saigon are expected to enrich the city’s tourism, services and urban experience ecosystem. The project is positioned to create lasting value for the community and elevate the standing of Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam on the international stage. Hashtag: #MasteriseGroup
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About Masterise Group
Masterise Group is an international real estate development group, pioneering a comprehensive ecosystem spanning residential and hospitality developments, as well as urban infrastructure and logistics. Founded in 2007 as Thao Dien Investment and officially rebranded as Masterise Group in 2019, Masterise Group sees real estate as more than buildings; it is the foundation for a nation’s future, providing infrastructure for connection, momentum for progress, elevated living and generational legacy. With a long-term vision, Masterise Group continuously pushes boundaries, creates sustainable value, elevates quality of life and contributes to strengthening Vietnam’s new era of growth and global ambition.
Masterise Homes is a member of Masterise Group and manages and develops all of the group’s residential real estate brands. As Vietnam’s pioneer in branded real estate development, Masterise Homes’ mission goes beyond delivering architectural landmarks with refined design and integrated amenities. Masterise Homes strives to craft comprehensive living spaces where residents experience a standard of living that goes beyond the basic function of a home.