Industrial Conglomerates

AMTD Group, AMTD IDEA Group, AMTD Digital and The Generation Essentials Group, a subsidiary of AMTD Digital, announced they are in negotiations as a final stage bidder to acquire a second hotel in New York City, located in the Times Square area. The parties are in the final negotiation stage and are working toward a definitive purchase agreement with a target closing date before the end of 2026, though AMTD cautioned there is no certainty the transaction will be consummated. The move follows AMTD's March 2026 acquisition of a hotel at 39 6th Ave, New York, NY 10013, for a cash consideration of USD69 million, now rebranded as the AMTD IDEA Tribeca Hotel. AMTD currently holds a portfolio of six hotel properties across four continents, including Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, New York, London, Perth and Kuala Lumpur, totaling 919 rooms, and said completing this second New York City hotel acquisition would fulfil its commitment to grow the global portfolio to over 1,000 rooms and a global network of an independent hotels group under the AMTD brand. AMTD described the opportunity as a significant strategic move and said it believes the new hotel will become another profit catalyst for the Group.

Hitachi announced on October 5 that it began offering its Digital Asset AML Platform, a service that monitors money laundering risks in transactions involving crypto assets and stablecoins, on October 1. The service is intended for use by financial institutions and crypto asset-related businesses. In July, Hitachi published the results of a proof of concept conducted with 17 companies, including financial institutions and crypto asset-related businesses, and announced plans to offer the service starting in October. The new service combines information suspected of links to crime or sanctions targets with analysis powered by AI and machine learning to identify signs of suspicious transactions. It evaluates the counterparty's wallet before a transaction, continuously monitors after the transaction for newly emerging risks, and can also check the circulation status of stablecoins and other assets after issuance. Because crypto assets can be transferred across multiple wallets and exchanges, information held by a single company alone may make it difficult to grasp suspicious fund movements. The new service also uses risk information gathered by each business to help detect signs that would be hard for any one company to find on its own.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries announced on the 2nd that it will invest approximately 100 billion yen to expand the construction capacity of its Shimonoseki Shipyard. The company will acquire industrial land on Choshu Dejima, an artificial island being developed by the city of Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, and build a new factory there. The move is aimed at strengthening its shipbuilding business, which the government is seeking to promote, and at the Shimonoseki Shipyard, the company's subsidiary Mitsubishi Shipbuilding builds ferries and car carriers. In addition to transferring some of the shipyard's functions to the newly acquired land, the company will build a factory to manufacture hull blocks, the components that make up a ship, with operations targeted to begin in 2030.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries announced on the 2nd that it will invest about 100 billion yen to expand the construction capacity of its Shimonoseki Shipyard. It will acquire industrial land on the artificial island Choshu Dejima, being developed by Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, and build a new factory. At the Shimonoseki Shipyard, the company's subsidiary Mitsubishi Shipbuilding builds ferries and car carriers, and part of the shipyard's functions will be relocated to the newly acquired land, while a factory for manufacturing hull blocks that make up ships will be built, with operations targeted for 2030. The aim is to strengthen the shipbuilding business that the government is seeking to promote.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries announced on the 2nd that it has acquired an artificial island developed by Shimonoseki City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, as industrial promotion land. Amid rising global demand for ships and backing from the Japanese government from an economic security standpoint, its subsidiary Mitsubishi Shipbuilding will invest about 100 billion yen to expand shipbuilding capacity. It will transfer part of the functions of the Shimonoseki Shipyard's Enoura Plant and build a new hull block manufacturing plant to strengthen its production system. Of the investment, it will receive up to 40 billion yen in subsidies from the government. In September, the plan was certified by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as a supply assurance plan for specified critical materials, namely ship components, under the Economic Security Promotion Act.

Bernstein upgraded 3M Company from Underperform to Market Perform on September 26 and raised its price target from $145 to $171, sending the shares up 1.4%. Analyst Varun Govindaraj cited a refreshed view of 3M's transformation after a recent meeting with management, pointing to an R&D "factory" model, a short-cycle recovery fueled by AI capital spending, and lower PFAS legal risk, and he lifted his organic growth forecast to 3.5% to 4% from roughly 3%. Bernstein stopped short of a buy rating, however, suggesting the stock looks roughly fully valued after its recent run, with even the new $171 target implying limited upside. The legal overhang is paused rather than resolved: 3M still faces more than 15,000 personal injury cases, the October 2025 kidney-cancer bellwether trial has been vacated with no replacement date set as of August, and no verdict or settlement has established a valuation anchor. Much of the operational turnaround already appears priced in, with second-quarter adjusted organic growth of 5.4%, a forward price-to-sales ratio of 3.33x that sits about 27% above its 5-year average of 2.62x, and $13.16 billion in debt against $5.30 billion in cash before any future PFAS settlements.

Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE has selected Honeywell Technologies to provide process technologies, licensing, engineering services, proprietary catalysts, equipment and digital solutions for its planned 700,000 barrel-per-day refinery in Kenya, which is expected to become the world's largest single-train refinery once complete. The project builds on nearly a decade of collaboration between the two companies and leverages proven engineering designs Honeywell Technologies developed for Dangote's refinery in Lekki, Nigeria, which will help reduce the development schedule for the new facility by nearly two years, or nearly 30% sooner than typical newly constructed facilities. The Kenya facility will use Honeywell Technologies' refining and petrochemical processing solutions to produce gasoline, diesel, jet fuel and polypropylene, and will have the flexibility to process a wide variety of crude oils from light to heavy grades, reducing reliance on any single supply source. Honeywell Technologies' project scope for the Kenya refinery is expected to be approximately $300 million, similar to the refinery in Lekki, Nigeria. Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE, said the collaboration will enable the facility to come online faster and provide the flexibility to process a broad range of crude oils.

Smiths Group drew a cluster of new analyst price targets ranging from 2,675 GBp to 3,150 GBp, and Simply Wall St's fair value estimate for the company moved to about £29.35 per share from about £28.58. Goldman Sachs reinstated coverage with a Buy rating and a £31.50 price target, citing the company's simplified structure, higher margin potential and what it calls the largest buyback program in its coverage, while JPMorgan raised its target to £31.00 from £28.10 and kept an Overweight stance. On the bearish side, Citi cut Smiths Group to Neutral from Buy while keeping its £30.00 target, saying the post-results share move leaves less obvious valuation upside, and Jefferies lowered its target to £26.75 from £27.50 with a Hold rating, citing near-term challenges and messy consensus forecasts. Behind the revision, revenue growth assumptions shifted from a decline of about 8.97% to projected growth of about 5.76%, net profit margin assumptions moved from about 12.35% to about 16.45%, and the future P/E moved from about 42.2x to about 24.0x. The story also hinges on the plan to focus on high performance flow and heat management businesses, including a potential divestment or demerger of Smiths Interconnect and Smiths Detection, and on the £500m share buyback, with disposal proceeds earmarked for returns and the Future Smiths program targeting higher organic revenue, EPS and operating margins.

Smiths Group reported organic revenue growth and margin expansion for fiscal 2026 while completing a major portfolio reshaping that left the company focused on its John Crane and Flex-Tek businesses. The company completed the sales of Smiths Interconnect and Smiths Detection, realizing £3.3 billion of enterprise value, acquired DRC Heat Transfer in April for £165 million, and agreed sales of three non-core Flex-Tek industrial businesses for £40 million. Continuing-operations revenue rose 1.2% organically to £1.9 billion, headline operating profit increased 1.9% organically to £399 million, and headline operating margin rose 20 basis points to 20.6%. Headline earnings per share increased 6% to 86.8 pence, total group headline EPS rose 12% to 135.7 pence, and the board recommended a final dividend of 33.5 pence per share, bringing the full-year dividend to 48.5 pence, up 5.4%. For fiscal 2027, Smiths expects organic revenue growth of about 4% and headline operating margin of approximately 21%, and said a further £1.5 billion of buybacks related to the Detection sale remains to be executed and is expected to be substantially completed by the end of calendar 2027.

Kairos Power has selected engineering firm Samsung C&T to help build its 50 megawatt demonstration reactor for Google, a project the nuclear startup aims to complete by 2030. Under the deal announced Monday, Samsung C&T will make an equity investment in Kairos and provide in-kind engineering services, together worth up to $100 million, with the equity portion accounting for $70 million of the total, a Kairos spokesperson told TechCrunch. Samsung C&T has built or helped build about a dozen nuclear reactors around the world. Kairos is part of a wave of nuclear startups benefiting from surging power demand from AI data centers, and Google first signed a deal with the company in fall 2024 calling for reactors capable of generating about half a gigawatt of electricity by 2035. Kairos is currently building two reactors in Oak Ridge, Tennessee: Hermes 1, a low-power demonstrator to refine its commercial design, and Hermes 2, its first commercial-scale reactor, whose output will count as the first 50 megawatts of the Google deal. The startup received Nuclear Regulatory Commission approval to build the reactors in November 2024 and expects Hermes 2 to begin operating in 2030, in line with its original agreement with Google.

Hyperscale Data said it has invested more than $70M in Alliance Cloud Services and its Michigan AI data center, with operations under a previously announced master services agreement expected to begin in November 2026. The investment has funded a substantial portion of the capital needed to prepare the facility for an initial 20 MW AI compute deployment to a California-based neocloud provider, and the company said it has acquired a substantial amount of the equipment needed to bring the contracted capacity online. The agreement covers an initial 20 megawatts of critical AI compute capacity for 10 years, with two five-year extension options, and if maintained for the full 20-year term is expected to generate more than $1.2B in revenue. The customer can expand the deployment to 52 MW, which could generate more than $3B in revenue over 20 years, while the Michigan facility has about 340 MW of potential capacity, leaving about 270 MW for future customers after a full 52 MW deployment. The stock price scaled about 4.4% on Thursday during pre-market trade.

Hyperscale Data has invested more than $70 million into its Alliance Cloud Services subsidiary and the development of its Michigan AI data center as of September 15, 2026. The investment represents a substantial portion of the overall capital program needed to prepare the Michigan Facility for AI compute deployment to a California-based neocloud customer under a previously announced master services agreement. Operations under that MSA are expected to begin in November 2026, at which point the company expects to start generating revenue and cash flow. The MSA covers an initial 20 megawatts of critical AI compute capacity over an initial 10-year term with two five-year extension options, and if it runs the full 20 years the company expects more than approximately $1.2 billion in revenue. The customer may increase capacity up to a total of 52 megawatts, which if fully exercised and maintained for the entire 20-year term is expected to lift total contract revenue above $3.0 billion, a figure representing less than 20% of the Michigan Facility's approximately 340 megawatts of total potential capacity. Chief Executive Officer Will Horne said the capital is part of the overall investment required to prepare the facility and that the company has acquired a substantial amount of the equipment required for the planned deployment. Hyperscale Data said it continues to evaluate the optimal long-term strategy for ACS and the Michigan Facility, including continued development, strategic partnerships, additional customer deployments, a potential separation or initial public offering of ACS, or a potential sale of the Michigan Facility.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced that its MELSEC iQ-R Series safety programmable controller has obtained an EU type examination certificate from TÜV Rheinland, confirming conformity with the EU Machinery Regulation (Regulation (EU) 2023/1230). This is the first certification of its kind for Mitsubishi Electric's factory automation business, making the company one of the world's first to receive it, and it is also the first EU type examination certificate audited by TÜV Rheinland Japan Ltd. The EU Machinery Regulation becomes mandatory on January 20, 2027, replacing the current EU Machinery Directive (Directive 2006/42/EC), and adds new mandatory cybersecurity requirements covering software, network connectivity, and remote access on top of existing physical functional safety rules. The certificate positions Mitsubishi Electric to help manufacturers meet the new European legal framework for machinery safety.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced that two of its research and development projects have been selected through a public solicitation by Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization, or NEDO, for support under an initiative to advance quantum computing and other information technology in the post-5G era. The NEDO project is officially known as the Research and Development Project to Strengthen Post-5G Information and Communication System Infrastructure, Accelerating the Development and Demonstration of Next-Generation Quantum Computers to Solve Societal Issues. Following the selection, Mitsubishi Electric will launch its two projects aimed at scaling up quantum computers: Research and Development of Multi-Qubit-Control Laser Systems, and Development of Ultra-Compact, Multi-Channel, Low-Noise Amplifier Modules for Large-Scale Superconducting Quantum Computers. The company said quantum computers are expected to revolutionize computing infrastructure by enabling larger-scale simulations and optimization than conventional computers in fields including medicine and drug discovery, finance, logistics and energy. Because qubits are fragile and highly susceptible to noise, technologies that combine multiple qubits are needed to correct errors, making scaling to the level of one million qubits a key challenge.

Hitachi, Ltd. and Mission Critical Group announced they have signed a memorandum of understanding establishing a strategic partnership focused on joint development of solutions to expand Hitachi's HMAX Data Center portfolio, along with cross-selling of energy solutions and products. The partnership will pursue three main areas: delivery of end-to-end energy solutions spanning high-, medium-, and low-voltage systems, with Hitachi Energy and MCG combining their power infrastructure technologies for data center operators; joint development and deployment of solutions for HMAX Data Center portfolio expansion, integrating Hitachi's digital technologies including data collection and AI analytics into MCG's modular power equipment; and introduction of solutions to advance MCG's modular manufacturing expertise through Hitachi Group digital and automation solutions including HMAX Industry. The companies said the modular data center market is growing at an annual rate of about 20 percent, driven by AI adoption and extended lead times for electrical equipment. Jun Taniguchi, Senior Vice President and Executive Officer and CEO of the Strategic SIB Business Unit at Hitachi, said MCG is an ideal partner with a broad customer base ranging from hyperscalers to colocation providers. Jeff Drees, CEO of Mission Critical Group, said combining Hitachi's global energy and digital capabilities with MCG's modular power expertise can accelerate time-to-power. MCG operates more than 18 manufacturing facilities in the United States.

Hitachi Energy, a subsidiary of Hitachi, announced on the 16th that it will invest 528 million dollars, or about 82 billion yen, to build a new transformer manufacturing plant in the southern U.S. state of Mississippi. The move is aimed at strengthening production of power infrastructure to meet rapidly growing electricity demand in the United States driven by the spread of artificial intelligence. The investment is expected to be part of the 550 billion dollars, or roughly 85 trillion yen, in U.S.-bound investment and lending agreed in Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations. Construction is set to begin within the year, with transformer production scheduled to start in 2029, and production capacity is expected to more than double from current levels.

Hanwha Power announced on September 15 that it has obtained Approval in Principle from the American Bureau of Shipping for the concept design of a 22,000-cubic-meter LNG bunkering vessel at GASTECH 2026 in Bangkok, Thailand. With this AiP, Hanwha Power has completed its lineup of medium- and large-scale LNG bunkering vessels, ranging from 7,500 to 22,000 CBM. The design features LNG-ammonia multi-cargo capability, enabling transport of both LNG and ammonia, and incorporates high-manganese steel cargo containment technology, Mc-C, allowing adaptation to future alternative fuels with minimal modifications. Hanwha Power applied a hybrid electric propulsion system integrating Onshore Power Supply with an Energy Storage System, and incorporated Group core technologies including dual-fuel generator sets, ESS, Electrical Power System integration, Integrated Automation System, and Cargo Handling System to maximize competitiveness of its integrated Engineering and Procurement package. The certificate presentation ceremony was attended by Hanwha Power Marine Solution Business Division Head Hoon-min Kim, Vice President Jong-kyu Hwang, who oversees Technical Solutions, and key ABS representatives.

Hitachi Energy, a subsidiary of Hitachi, announced on the 16th that it will invest 528 million dollars, approximately 82 billion yen, to build a new transformer manufacturing plant in the southern U.S. state of Mississippi. The move is aimed at strengthening power infrastructure production to meet rapidly growing electricity demand in the United States driven by the spread of artificial intelligence. The investment is expected to be part of the 550 billion dollars, roughly 85 trillion yen, in investment and financing in the United States agreed under Japan-U.S. tariff negotiations. Construction is scheduled to begin within the year, with transformer production to start in 2029, and production capacity is expected to more than double from current levels.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced that its ME Innovation Fund has invested in OptQC Corp., a Japanese startup developing optical quantum computer hardware, marking the fund's sixteenth investment to date. OptQC originated from the University of Tokyo and was established on technologies developed by the university's Furusawa Laboratory, a world leader in optical quantum computing. The startup's optical quantum computer uses a proprietary architecture designed to limit increases in system size as qubit counts grow, and it has already delivered its first commercial system to a public research institution as well as hardware modules to private-sector companies. Through the investment, Mitsubishi Electric expects to gain early insights into OptQC's hardware development technologies, related components, customers and market trends. The company aims to lead the field of quantum computing and create new business opportunities by applying those insights to its own quantum technologies, software implementation knowhow and application development in industrial fields.

In Hitachi's full-year results for the fiscal year ending March 2026, the Digital Systems & Services segment posted the highest operating profit at 450 billion yen, surpassing the Energy segment's 416 billion yen. By revenue, Energy was the largest at 3.2008 trillion yen, but Digital Systems & Services had the highest operating margin among the four businesses at 16.3 percent, followed by Energy at 13.0 percent, Connective Industries at 12.2 percent, and Mobility at 8.2 percent. Year on year, Energy's revenue surged 24.9 percent and its operating profit jumped 65.1 percent, far outpacing Digital Systems & Services' 3.9 percent revenue growth and 14.2 percent operating profit growth. The share price fell from the 5,300 yen range at the end of October 2025 to the 4,400 yen range by the end of March, then recovered to the 5,400 yen range by the end of August, and was trading in the 5,100 yen range as of September 2026.

Hyperscale Data has set $750M as the minimum valuation at which it would seriously consider selling its Michigan AI data center campus. Management estimates the Michigan Campus could be worth between $750M and $1.25B, based on its master services agreement, existing infrastructure and power access, expansion potential, and valuations of comparable AI infrastructure companies. The company is also weighing other options to maximize shareholder value, including a potential sale of the Michigan Campus, an IPO of wholly owned subsidiary Sentinum, selling a minority stake in Sentinum to fund expansion, or continuing to own and develop the campus. No definitive decision has been made on any transaction.

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation announced it has developed a plate heat exchanger for heat pump cooling and heating equipment with industry-leading heat transfer performance roughly three times that of conventional models. The new design reduces the number of plate layers, cutting the refrigerant charge to approximately one-third of conventional levels, which lowers environmental impact and improves safety. The company said the unit uses distribution channels at the fluid inlets and outlets to ensure uniform refrigerant flow across plates, including those fitted with micro-offset fins, producing an even distribution of gas-liquid two-phase flow. Channel placement was optimized using proprietary analysis technology that simulates the complex flow of two-phase refrigerants between fine fins. Mitsubishi Electric said the development responds to stricter refrigerant regulations tied to carbon neutrality goals, since next-generation refrigerants such as R32 have lower Global Warming Potential but are often flammable, making volume reduction essential to limit leak risks.

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced on the 11th that, as the second round of measures to revive the domestic shipbuilding industry, it has decided to provide up to 98 billion yen in support for capital investment plans by five companies: Oshima Shipbuilding, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Shin Kurushima Dockyard, Naikai Zosen, and Mitsubishi Shipbuilding. The aid will be disbursed through a 350 billion yen shipbuilding industry revival fund. The subsidies come to about 6.1 billion yen for Oshima Shipbuilding, about 15.6 billion yen for Kawasaki Heavy Industries, about 32 billion yen for the Shin Kurushima Dockyard group, about 4.3 billion yen for Naikai Zosen, and about 40 billion yen for Mitsubishi Shipbuilding. Combined with the first round of three projects, including support already decided for Imabari Shipbuilding, public and private investment over the next ten years will reach roughly 900 billion yen, of which up to about 311 billion yen will be provided as support.

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced on the 11th that, as the second round of measures to revive the domestic shipbuilding industry, it has decided to provide up to 98 billion yen in support for capital investment plans by five companies: Oshima Shipbuilding, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Shin Kurushima Dockyard, Naikai Zosen, and Mitsubishi Shipbuilding. The support will be granted through a 350 billion yen shipbuilding industry revival fund. The subsidies amount to about 6.1 billion yen for Oshima Shipbuilding, about 15.6 billion yen for Kawasaki Heavy Industries, about 32 billion yen for the Shin Kurushima Dockyard group, about 4.3 billion yen for Naikai Zosen, and about 40 billion yen for Mitsubishi Shipbuilding. This second round, together with the three first-round projects already decided, including support for Imabari Shipbuilding, forms part of a framework that will bring public and private investment over the next ten years to roughly 900 billion yen, of which up to about 311 billion yen will be provided as support.

Tris Rating has affirmed the corporate rating and the rating of the current senior unsecured debentures of Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited, or TTA, at BBB with a Stable outlook. At the same time, it has assigned a BBB rating to the company's new senior unsecured debentures, with a limit of up to 1.7 billion baht. The company will use the proceeds from this bond issuance to repay maturing debt. Tris Rating expects the company's average freight rate to be 16,800 US dollars per day per vessel in 2026, before declining to 14,500 US dollars in 2027 and 12,500 US dollars in 2028. It expects total revenue to be 25.4 billion baht in 2026 and 26 to 27 billion baht per year during 2027 to 2028, with an EBITDA margin of 13% to 14% during 2026 to 2027, before falling to about 11% in 2028. As for the offshore services business through Mermaid Maritime Public Company Limited, or MML, in which the company holds a 68.4% stake, the value of its service contract backlog as of June 2026 stood at 750 million US dollars, comprising 76% IRM work, 14% decommissioning, transportation and installation work, and 10% cable laying work. The credit rating is constrained by the volatility and cyclicality of the core business, as well as the company's high-risk financial policy, particularly investments in digital assets with no clear limits. As of June 30, 2026, the company held approximately 5.8 billion baht in digital assets, compared with cash and cash equivalents of 8.4 billion baht and total liabilities of 11.3 billion baht.

TRIS Rating has affirmed the corporate rating and the senior unsecured bond rating of Thoresen Thai Agencies Public Company Limited, or TTA, at BBB with a stable outlook, and has also assigned a BBB rating to a new tranche of senior unsecured bonds with a limit of up to 1.7 billion baht, which the company will use to repay maturing bonds. TRIS Rating stated that the affirmation reflects TTA's strength as one of the world's leading shipping operators and the continued growth of its offshore services business, the two core businesses that generate stable cash flow and operating results. In the first six months of 2026, Thoresen Shipping recorded an average time charter equivalent rate of 16,614 US dollars per vessel per day, 14 percent higher than the net market charter rate for Supramax vessels, while Mermaid Maritime had a backlog of service contracts worth approximately 750 million US dollars as of the end of June 2026, mostly subsea engineering work, and TRIS Rating expects Mermaid's revenue to increase by about 19 percent during 2027-2028 compared with 2026. On the financial side, as of the end of June 2026, TTA had cash and cash equivalents of approximately 8.4 billion baht and a net interest-bearing debt to equity ratio of only 0.07 times, below the covenant requirement of no more than 2.0 times.

KAP Ltd reported an 88% jump in headline earnings per share to ZAR0.452 for its 2026 fiscal year, even as impairments of ZAR1.568 billion pushed the group to a loss per share of ZAR0.048. Revenue held steady at ZAR29.6 billion, while EBITDA rose 13% to ZAR3.9 billion and operating profit before capital items climbed 28% to ZAR2.5 billion, lifting the operating margin by 190 basis points to 8.4%. Net interest-bearing debt fell 14% to ZAR7 billion, exceeding the company's ZAR500 million reduction target, and net debt-to-EBITDA improved to 1.8 times with EBITDA interest cover at 4.6 times. Among the group's units, PG Bison revenue rose 15% and operating profit 30% on a 13% increase in panel sales volumes, Unitrans operating profit rose 41% despite a 7% revenue decline, and Feltex operating profit jumped 63% to ZAR270 million at an 18% return on capital employed, while Sleep Group operating profit fell 26% and Optix revenue dropped 10%. The company said it targets a further ZAR500 million net debt reduction in FY27 and flagged ZAR1.3 billion to ZAR1.5 billion of catch-up capital expenditure required in Unitrans over the next few years.

EdgeCortix Inc. and Kawasaki Heavy Industries have signed a multi-year Teaming Agreement to advance next-generation AI-enabled aerial defense systems, with an initial program value of several million U.S. dollars across 2026 to 2028. The collaboration combines Kawasaki's aerospace and defense expertise with EdgeCortix's chiplet-based AI computing platform and MERA software to enhance the intelligence, adaptability, and energy efficiency of future mission systems. The companies will jointly conduct technology development, feasibility studies, system integration, and prototype development, with plans to expand scope as milestones are achieved. EdgeCortix CEO Dr. Sakyasingha Dasgupta called the agreement a significant commercial and strategic milestone, noting the need for substantial AI computing within tight power and thermal constraints in next-generation aerial defense platforms.

Jianfeng Group announced that its subsidiary Jianfeng Beika has received the Chemical API Marketing Application Approval Notice for methyldopa from the National Medical Products Administration, valid until August 24, 2031. Methyldopa was developed by Merck Sharp and Dohme and approved for marketing in the United States in 1962. It is the world's first-generation centrally acting antihypertensive drug and a classic first-choice medication for hypertension during pregnancy. Jianfeng Beika submitted its technical review application in March 2025, with cumulative research and development investment of approximately 3.36 million yuan. The company stated that this approval indicates the API meets relevant national technical review standards and can be sold in the domestic market, helping to expand the subsidiary's business areas.

Fosun International held its 2026 interim results presentation in Hong Kong on August 28, marking its first such event in the city in six years. The company reported total revenue of RMB86.96 billion for the first half, with profit attributable to owners of the parent surging 160.3% year-on-year to RMB1.72 billion. Overseas revenue reached RMB49.16 billion, accounting for 56.5% of total revenue. Chairman Guo Guangchang attributed the results to strategic adjustments, including "repairing the roof on a sunny day," and said the company will focus on industries where it holds competitive advantages. The four core companies—Fosun Pharma, Yuyuan, Fosun Insurance Portugal (Fidelidade), and the Tourism segment—contributed 73.5% of total revenue. Technology innovation investment rose 16.7% to RMB4.2 billion. The board maintains a medium-term target of restoring annual profit to the RMB10 billion level.