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MOONTON Games Shines at Hong Kong FILMART, Unveiling Three Original Film-Game IPs and Forging a New Film-Game Integration Ecosystem For The Future

MIL OSI — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 11:18:09 +0000

Source: Media Outreach

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – On the opening day of Hong Kong FILMART, global leading game enterprise, MOONTON Games, hosted a film-game intellectual property (IP) launch conference under the theme From Spark to Spotlight, officially announcing its cross-border upgrade from the game industry to full ecological incubation of film-game IPs. At the event, MOONTON Games unveiled three flagship original IPs—You Ming Zhi, Cetus, and Project: Lovania—spanning Eastern fantasy, sci-fi adventure, and cozy genres, with diversified formats including feature films, animated series, and video games. An industry forum was held to explore the new-era development of film-game integration.

Distinguished guests attended the conference, including Cloud Zhang, Head of ByteDance’s Game Business and CEO of MOONTON Games; Yaguang Ma, also known as Link Ma, Head of MOONTON Games’ Lighthouse Studio; renowned screenwriter Ran Ping; celebrated author Jiang Nan; acclaimed animation director Shen Youbafang; Wang Shanshan (Film and Television Director of Science Fiction World); as well as leaders from the National Radio and Television Administration; the Hong Kong Trade Development Council; numerous media representatives; and industry peers.

Founded in 2014, MOONTON Games has crafted a portfolio of classic game IPs loved by gamers worldwide. Its debut at Hong Kong FILMART marks the launch of MOONTON Games’ global incubation journey for premium IPs with a brand-new vision, completing a cross-dimensional creative leap from a digital game kingdom to a cinematic light and shadow realm, and empowering Chinese culture-rooted original content to shine on the international stage. MOONTON Games’ Lighthouse Studio, the core vehicle for its film-game IP development, made its official debut at the conference, and its unwavering commitment to long-termist creative philosophy has become the cornerstone of Moonton’s film-game integration layout. The three distinctive original IPs form MOONTON Games’ first film-game IP matrix; all anchored in high-quality content, they pose profound emotional inquiries around What it means to be human, what it means to live, with unique themes and expressive formats.

You Ming Zhi: Rooted in Chinese Folk Customs, Forging a Benchmark for Eastern Fantasy Theatrical Animated Films

As MOONTON Games’ maiden cross-border film and television project, the Eastern fantasy IP You Ming Zhi—deeply rooted in Chinese folk culture—officially kicked off at the conference. The IP builds a distinctive worldview where the world is governed by animal Spirits of Light, and humans embark on a quest to uncover their own history and the meaning of survival. Breaking free from the clichés of traditional immortal and chivalric fantasy, it returns to a narrative core rooted in mortal life and journey experiences. The growth story of protagonist Zhou Chu mirrors the self-discovery and identity exploration of contemporary young people, embodying both profound Chinese cultural heritage and universal emotional resonance.

The IP’s first concept short film made a stunning debut at the conference. Wanzhou Yu, the IP producer, shared that creative inspiration stemmed from personal emotional resonance, aiming to create a humanistic Eastern fantasy work where the protagonist achieves inner growth through witnessing rather than conquering. Cloud stated that this IP was chosen as the starting point of MOONTON Games’ cross-border endeavor for its compelling narrative rooted in Chinese folk customs that transcends media boundaries; it reflectsand MOONTON Games’ aspirations to set an aesthetic and narrative benchmark for it with the ceremonial essence of film. Yaguang Ma highlighted the IP’s pure creative team, original worldview and systematic aesthetic system, believing it to be an IP seed with sustainable growth potential for a decade. A landmark announcement was made: national first-class screenwriter Ran Ping officially joined the project as the animated film’s screenwriter. Ran Ping noted that the IP’s allure lies in exploring profound propositions of civilization, loneliness and coexistence through a fantasy lens, integrating the traditional heritage of ancient supernatural tales with modern narrative consciousness, and a great fantasy work ultimately reflects reality. The MOONTON Games team presented Ran Ping with a framed original art poster of the IP, marking his official joining in a highly ceremonial way.

Cetus: Debut of a Dieselpunk Sci-Fi IP, Launching a Global Co-creation Plan

Following You Ming Zhi, MOONTON Games released the high-concept sci-fi IP Cetus, with the first concept short film of its dieselpunk post-apocalyptic adventure animated series also unveiled at the event. The IP constructs a post-apocalyptic world shrouded in a sea of clouds, where humans have built a unique civilization based on whaling in an isolated island setting, and cling to hope and resolve amid ruins and steel.

Cetus boasts celebrated author, Jiang Nan, as co-creator and acclaimed sci-fi animation director, Shen Youbafang, as director—two core creative forces with profound expertise in building grand worldviews and crafting sci-fi animations. Yaguang Ma commented that Jiang Nan has endowed Cetus with a profound textual foundation and epic grandeur, while Shen Youbafang masterfully captures and presents the distinctive texture of this sea of clouds world to audiences. Jiang Nan explained that the core of Cetus is to depict the essence of humanity in desperate situations: even if only one tower remains in the world, there will still be stories, warmth, and dignity. Shen Youbafang frankly shared that the challenge and joy of creation both lie in building a dieselpunk visual system that blends industrial ruggedness with the warmth of life, making every gear and rust mark an integral part of the narrative. Moonton also announced the official launch of the Cetus Global Co-creation Plan at the conference, opening up the IP’s worldview setting to global sci-fi writers, illustrators, animators and game designers, and inviting creators worldwide to jointly build this magnificent sea of clouds universe. The plan is jointly promoted by MOONTON Games and Science Fiction World, the benchmark platform for Chinese sci-fi literature. Cloud, Wang Shanshan and three other distinguished guests launched the plan with a jigsaw puzzle ceremony, marking Cetus as the first Chinese dieselpunk sci-fi IP nurtured by global creators.

Project: Lovania: A Cozy Game Surprise Debuts, Creating a Spiritual Haven

As a delightful surprise at the conference, MOONTON Games launched the original cozy game, Project: Lovania, whose promotional short film brought a warm and heartfelt experience to the audience. The game builds a fairy-tale wonderland named the Hometown Never Forgotten, where players take on the role of a little puppet and embark on a magical adventure following a long-eared star. In the game, players can build exclusive homes, customize their avatars, and pursue the starlight and the moon hidden in fascinating stories. In an era driven by efficiency, Project: Lovaniacenters on the core of healing, serving as a warm emotional complement to MOONTON Games’ IP matrix and adding greater diversity to the company’s film-game IP layout.

For The Future: MOONTON Games Releases the Core Strategy for Film-Game Integration

At the conference, MOONTON Games showcased the creative aspirations and team spirit of Lighthouse Studio through a corporate short film, with original aspiration and unwavering faith as the studio’s core tenets. On behalf of the studio, Yaguang Ma released MOONTON Games’ core strategy for film-game integration, stating that the establishment of Lighthouse Studio stems from MOONTON Games’s persistent commitment to long-termist content creation. The studio rejects rushed content production, focuses on returning to the essence of creation itself, and builds a tailored creative ecosystem for the sustainable growth of premium IPs.

MOONTON Games’ film-game integration layout is not a simple cross-media expansion, but is centered on building a living, evolving world. Each IP is enabled to naturally evolve into diverse formats including games, films and animations, based on a complete worldview and a profound emotional core. Cloud emphasized that MOONTON Games has always believed that a good story transcends media and time, and the core of film-game integration is to take high-quality original content as the foundation, allowing IPs to realize value amplification and enduring vitality across different media. The three IPs released at the event represent the first implementation of this core strategy, and Moonton will continue to deepen its focus on original content creation, fueling the incubation and growth of more film-game IPs in the future.

Industry Elites Gather at the Forum to Explore the Key to Success for the Future of Film-Game Integration

After the IP release session, MOONTON Games hosted an industry forum themed What is the Decisive Factor for the Future of IP-Based Film-Game Integration, moderated by Li Xingwen, a famous cultural critic and Chief Editor of Film and Television Critic. Cloud, Ran Ping, Jiang Nan, and Huang Haibo, Director of Phoenix TV Movie Channel, engaged in an in-depth discussion from diverse professional perspectives.

The forum delved into core topics including the key factors for translating film-game integration concepts into practical execution, the essential traits of IPs with sustainable cross-media vitality, the creative differences between animation and traditional film and television production, the creative adaptation of literary IPs for film and game cross-border development, the new forces urgently needed in the film and television industry, as well as the opportunities and challenges for game enterprises venturing into the film and television sector. Combining their rich practical experience and insightful industry observations, the guests offered multi-dimensional insights and ideas for the industrial development of film-game integration, helping the on-site audience gain a clearer and more in-depth understanding of its future development trends.

MOONTON Games’ film-game IP launch conference at Hong Kong FILMART marks the official launch of the company’s global film-game IP layout, emerging as a pivotal practice for game enterprises in cross-border film-game integration. From deepening its roots in the game industry to incubating film-game IPs, MOONTON Games takes these three original IPs as its starting point, integrating the essence of Chinese culture with modern creative expression. With its long-termist creative philosophy and open co-creation operation model, Moonton sets a new paradigm for the development of the global film-game integration industry. As the conference theme From Spark to Spotlight implies, this launch is not the end of MOONTON Games’ cross-border film and game journey, but the beginning of a new chapter. In the future, Moonton’s Lighthouse Studio will continue to polish high-quality original content, drive the in-depth integration and global development of film-game IPs, and let Chinese original film-game IPs shine brightly on the world stage.

Hashtag: #MOONTONGames

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– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

HKSTP Brings Together Life and Health Tech Leaders at CTC Marketplace Proving Ecosystem’s Success in Driving Fundraising and Research Commercialisation

MIL OSI — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 11:03:22 +0000

Source: Media Outreach

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) today hosted the CTC Marketplace Showcase Event: From Clinical Trials to Fundraising, Licensing Deals and Acquisitions, reinforcing its commitment to accelerating the city’s life and health tech sector. The event brought together 110 industry pioneers, investors, and corporate partners for a deep dive into the critical pillars shaping biotech success—from Hong Kong’s unique policy advantages for innovation and the evolving IPO landscape, to the city’s emergence as a global clinical trial hub.

The event featured a compelling lineup of company founders and executives who have leveraged HKSTP’s ecosystem to reach critical milestones, including Health Hope Pharma, Arthrosi Therapeutics Inc, Nuance Pharma and InxMed (Hong Kong) Limited.

With over 300 life and health tech companies in its ecosystem and strong policy support from the nation and the HKSAR Government, HKSTP is uniquely positioned to drive the next generation of medical breakthroughs. Through its end-to-end translational ecosystem, HKSTP accelerates biotech commercialisation by bridging the critical gap from lab discovery to global market access—delivering world-class infrastructure, strategic funding, and expert regulatory guidance.

As a strategic catalyst, HKSTP actively connects innovators with top-tier Principal Investigators (PIs), leading clinical centres, and institutional investors, helping to de-risk development pathways, streamline regulatory approvals, and fast-track clinical trials for transformative growth.

“At HKSTP, we recognise that a great idea is only the beginning. The real challenge is navigating the long and complex journey from lab to clinic, from concept to cure,” said Terry Wong, CEO of HKSTP, in his opening remarks. “Today’s CTC Marketplace represents the physical embodiment of our execution strategy. Our mission is to connect, collaborate, and accelerate, because every step forward brings us closer to the patients and communities who depend on our innovations.”

Health Hope Pharma is a Hong Kong-headquartered late-stage clinical oncology biopharma, specialising in novel oral anti-cancer drugs towards a safer and more convenient alternative to conventional intravenous therapy. Prof Dennis Lam, Founder of Health Hope Pharma, shared his experience in securing a major licensing agreement with global biopharmaceutical leader Gilead Sciences, with a potential value of up to USD 82.5 million for HHP, including milestone payments.

Arthrosi Therapeutics Inc. is a US-based clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing treatment option aimed at lowering uric acid levels and reducing joint damage for people living with gout. Dr Shunqi Yan, Co-founder and COO of Arthrosi Therapeutics, joined virtually and shared the company’s remarkable success in achieving USD 153 million in Series E funding and a subsequent acquisition valued at USD 1.5 billion.

Nuance Pharma is an innovation focused biopharma company, with late-stage clinical pipeline and commercial stage asset portfolio across respiratory, emergency care, iron deficiency anemia and pain management. Dr Charlie Chen, COO of Nuance Pharma, discussed how the company leveraged the “1+” mechanism to expedite commercialisation in Hong Kong. The Department of Health approved Ohtuvayre in March 2026, marking it as the first drug targeting chronic obstructive pulmonary disease to gain approval under this scheme.

InxMed (Hong Kong) Limited is focused on addressing a key challenge in cancer therapy: drug resistance stemming from tumor defense mechanisms. The company officially submitted its IPO application to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in August 2025. Mr Francis Cao, Co-founder and COO of InxMed, emphasised the critical role of fundraising in advancing their research, having completed five rounds of financing that total over USD 130 million.

Hashtag: #HKSTP

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– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

TrendAI™ to Secure Enterprise Adoption of Agentic AI with NVIDIA

MIL OSI — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 07:32:43 +0000

Source: Media Outreach

TrendAI to support NVIDIA OpenShell open source runtime to add security for autonomous AI agents

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – TrendAI , the enterprise AI security leader, today announced expanded collaboration with NVIDIA to support NVIDIA OpenShell, a new open source runtime for agentic AI introduced at NVIDIA GTC. The solution enables organizations to deploy autonomous AI agents with built-in governance, continuous risk visibility, and runtime enforcement, addressing key barriers to production adoption of agentic AI.

TrendAI is teaming with NVIDIA to add security for the open source NVIDIA OpenShell runtime as the ecosystem evolves. Learn more: https://resources.trendmicro.com/2026-nvidia-gtc.html

Rachel Jin, Chief Platform and Business Officer, Head of TrendAI : “Agentic AI changes the security equation. When AI systems can plan, take action, and interact with other tools on their own, the risk profile looks very different from traditional AI. Our collaboration with NVIDIA allows us to bring security directly into the architecture so organizations can adopt agentic AI with the visibility and control they expect.”

Traditional AI security models were built for short-lived interactions between users and models. Agentic AI changes that dynamic by operating continuously and taking action across environments.

NVIDIA OpenShell is an open source runtime for long-lived, self-evolving agents capable of planning, memory, and tool execution. While these capabilities unlock significant productivity gains, they also introduce risks related to unauthorized skills, hidden behaviors, prompt injection, and unintended system access.

Pat Lee, vice president, Strategic Enterprise Partnerships at NVIDIA: “Agentic AI opens the door for a new class of applications that can plan, reason, and take action. By working with TrendAI , we’re helping developers add visibility and controls to make it safer to run autonomous AI.”

TrendAI can transform agentic AI from a high-risk experiment into an enterprise-ready architecture. Organizations gain the ability to define trust boundaries, enforce policy at runtime, and maintain continuous visibility into autonomous AI behavior, all while preserving the flexibility and power that make agentic systems valuable.

TrendAI adds an enterprise-grade security layer that governs how agents behave, what tools they can access, and how risk is detected and enforced, before, during, and after execution.

The collaboration extends across the NVIDIA AI-Q blueprint and the NVIDIA NeMo Agent Toolkit, enabling consistent security, governance, and observability as agentic systems scale across enterprise environments.

TrendAI Vision One ’s layered security architecture for OpenShell provides:

Centralized AI governance and compliance enforced directly in the agent runtime
Skill and tool risk visibility, including continuous scanning of agent skills and MCP integrations
Dynamic behavioral analysis to detect hidden or malicious actions
Inline policy enforcement that blocks untrusted skills and actions at runtime
AI specific threat protection, including prompt injection and sensitive data exposure detection
Continuous monitoring and auditability through agentic telemetry and SIEM integration. These capabilities allow organizations to define trust boundaries, enforce policy, and maintain visibility across autonomous AI agents without limiting innovation.

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Hashtag: #trendai #trendmicro #trendvisionone #trendaivisionone #visionone #cybersecurity #nvidia

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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XTransfer’s CSO Speaks at Inclusive FinTech Forum 2026 in Rwanda

MIL OSI — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 07:18:30 +0000

Source: Media Outreach

KIGALI, RWANDA – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – XTransfer, the world’s leading B2B cross-border financial platform, was honoured to have its Chief Strategy Officer, Neil Ni, speak at the Inclusive FinTech Forum 2026 in Rwanda, underscoring the company’s growing expansion across Africa to deliver more inclusive financial services for SMEs engaged in international trade across the continent.

XTransfer’s CSO, Neil Ni (Left), speaks at the Inclusive FinTech Forum 2026 in Rwanda.

Neil joined the panel discussion, “Securing the Global Payments Highway: Cybersecurity for Real-Time Cross-Border Transactions” during the forum to share perspectives on how the industry can strengthen cybersecurity, anti-money laundering (AML) controls, and operational resilience as cross-border payments scale in speed and volume.

Drawing on XTransfer’s experience supporting SMEs in international trade, Neil noted that traditional B2B cross-border payments often pass through multiple correspondent banks, creating complex procedures, settlement delays and high costs that can strain SME cash flow. He shared that transfers can take several days to settle, and fees can materially impact businesses operating on tight margins, sometimes pushing SMEs toward unlicensed channels that raise compliance and transparency risks.

“As the industry scales, the challenge isn’t only transaction volume, it’s speed and trust,” Neil said. “To keep legitimate trade moving safely, risk and compliance must become more intelligent, consistent, and scalable.”

Neil shared that AI is now foundational to XTransfer’s risk and compliance capability. He highlighted TradePilot, XTransfer’s self-developed large language model (LLM) tailored for the global foreign trade financial sector, which helps identify suspicious patterns earlier, prioritise alerts, reduce false positives, and support more consistent decisions across markets, strengthening AML and compliance at speed.

Neil also discussed XTransfer’s accelerating expansion in Africa, noting more than 300% growth in the region in 2025 as SMEs seek faster and lower-cost ways to manage cross-border trade payments. He added that XTransfer is focused on working with ecosystem partners and regulators to support safer, more standardised cross-border information flows, one reason XTransfer is building X-Net, the industry’s first Unified Global B2B Trade Settlement Network and Risk Control Platform, to enhance interoperability and shared security standards across payment rails.

“Building resilience requires collective effort,” Neil added.

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Hashtag: #XTransfer #Africa #IFF2026 #Crossborder #Payment #SMEs

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

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HealthMutual Group and Hong Kong Data Ltd. Sign Cooperation Agreement to Streamline Cross-Border Healthcare with AI-Driven eTPA Platform

MIL OSI — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 07:02:51 +0000

Source: Media Outreach

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 18 March 2026 – HealthMutual Group (HMG) and Hong Kong Data Ltd. (HK Data) (formerly known as CU Datahub) signed a Cooperation Agreement today to integrate and scale a pioneering electronic Third-Party Administrator (eTPA) system. This collaboration marks a definitive shift toward a data-driven insurance ecosystem, integrating advanced AI to bridge the gap in, and thus enhance cross-border healthcare administration.

The partnership centers on HMG adopting HK Data’s proprietary Trusted Cross-border Data Space (TCDS). For HMG, this technology is the engine that will help turn its long-term strategic vision into a functional reality. By leveraging TCDS, HMG will provide its 700,000+ members with a seamless, secure, and legally compliant framework for data transmission, ensuring that high-quality medical care is never hindered by administrative borders.

The new eTPA system streamlines the insurance lifecycle by digitizing the “medical concierge” experience through a secure, automated framework. By connecting Grade 3A hospitals in the Greater Bay Area directly with Hong Kong insurers, the platform provides an end-to-end solution—integrating underwriting, network management, and one-tap mobile claims. This secure data flow reduces operational overhead while ensuring high standards of data integrity and patient privacy.

Beyond individual memberships, the two companies will co-develop specialized eTPA solutions tailored for the Hong Kong Employee Benefits market. This initiative aims to transform how corporate schemes handle cross-border medical activity. By utilizing AI-powered automation, the platform will offer employees a “cashless” experience with zero upfront payments, making healthcare within the Greater Bay Area more accessible and simpler to navigate than ever before.

Mr. KC Chan, Founder of HealthMutual Group, noted the significance of the partnership. He said, “this cooperation is a natural progression of the vision we held when establishing HMG: to ensure that medical insurance remains a sustainable funding source for Hong Kong healthcare. Facilitating smooth cross-border medical activity is essential to achieving that goal. By teaming up with a leader in AI and data security, we are leveraging our deep experience in medical concierge services to better serve the broader insurance industry.”

Mr. Aldous Ng, Founder and CEO of Hong Kong Data Ltd., added: “We are proud to partner with HMG to deploy world-leading technologies for the public good. Our TCDS platform connects key stakeholders—from Grade 3A hospitals to financial institutions—ensuring that patients seeking treatment in the Chinese Mainland can enjoy ‘one-tap access’ with total peace of mind. We provide a trusted space where innovation directly benefits the people of Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area.

Hashtag: #HealthMutualGroup #HMG

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

China Tower (788.HK) Announces 2025 Annual Results

MIL OSI — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 06:02:58 +0000

Source: Media Outreach

– 18 March 2026 – The world’s largest telecommunications infrastructure service provider

(“China Tower”, or the “Company”) (Stock Code: 0788.HK) is pleased to announce its annual results for the year ended 31 December 2025.

In 2025, the Company’s operating revenue maintained stable growth and profitability remained strong. Operating revenue for the year reached RMB100,411 million, an increase of 2.7% year-on-year. EBITDA reached RMB65,814 million, a decrease of 1.1% year-on-year, with an EBITDA margin

of 65.5%. Profit attributable to the owners of the Company reached RMB11,630 million, an increase of 8.4% year-on-year, with a net profit margin of 11.6%.

The Company maintained a strong and stable cash flow. Net cash generated from operating activities for the year amounted to RMB56,116 million, an increase of RMB6,648 million year-on-year. Capital expenditures stood at RMB29,486 million while free cash flow^{^[3]} reached RMB26,630 million, up by RMB9,103 million year-on-year.

As at 31 December 2025, our total assets amounted to RMB336,579 million, with interest-bearing liabilities of RMB90,460 million and a gearing ratio^{^[4]} of 27.7%, representing a decrease of 3.3 percentage points from the end of 2024. Our financial position remains healthy and stable.

The Company has always attached great importance to shareholder returns. After considering our profitability, cash flow and future development needs, the board of directors of the Company has recommended a final dividend of RMB0.32539 per share (pre-tax) for the year ended 31 December 2025. Together with the interim dividend distributed, the total full-year dividend amounted to RMB0.45789 per share (pre-tax), equivalent to a payout ratio of 77% of our annual distributable net profit.

Refined operations enabled steady progress in TSP business

The Company continued to play a leading role in new 5G infrastructure construction, further deployed the Dual-Gigabit network joint-entry implementation, and made solid progress in supporting special projects such as upgrading signal strength, extending broadband coverage to all border areas, forests and grasslands. Capturing the strategic opportunities arising from the wide-area 5G network coverage expansion and enhancement of in-depth coverage, we focused on enhancing intensive sharing of network resources and fully satisfying customers’ demands for network construction. As a result, our TSP business maintained stable growth in 2025, recording revenue of RMB84,725 million, an increase of 0.7% year-on-year.

Tower business. The Company seized opportunities arising from customers’ ongoing network expansion requirements and leveraged our competitiveness as a service provider by offering efficient delivery, superior maintenance and optimal cost structure, while minimizing management risks. We deepened the embedded service mechanism, precisely captured customers’ network planning needs, and comprehensively secured construction demands in key scenarios and key regions. Leveraging our site resources and base station data, we proactively conducted coverage analysis to enhance network optimization capabilities. We also enhanced our collaborations with TSPs to provide customers with better services. By adhering to a customer-oriented philosophy, we continued to optimize end-to-end business processes and management standards to enhance service capabilities across the board. In 2025, revenue from our Tower business amounted to RMB75,498 million, a decrease of 0.3% year-on-year. As at the end of 2025, the Company managed a total of 2.149 million tower sites, an increase of 55,000 from the end of 2024. We have gained 23,000 new TSP tenants since the end of 2024, bringing the total number of TSP tenants to 3.567 million at the end of 2025. Our TSP tenancy ratio was 1.70.

DAS business. We continued to focus on high-value and livelihood-critical scenarios, systematically enhancing resource coordination and sharing, and collaborative construction capabilities, as well as accelerating 5G network upgrades on high-speed railways. At the same time, we deployed shared repeaters at scale in everyday scenarios such as elevators, underground parking lots, tunnels, and residential communities, helping TSPs achieve efficient and low-cost network coverage extension. We continued to optimize the integrated active and passive DAS sharing solutions and promoted the implementation of innovative solutions such as shared frequency shifting in existing DAS 5G upgrades. By doing so, we enhanced product and service competitiveness to efficiently meet customer needs. In 2025, our DAS business achieved relatively high growth, with revenue reaching RMB9,227 million, an increase of 9.5% year-on-year. By the end of 2025, we had covered buildings with a cumulative area of 15.15 billion square meters, up by 19.5% year-on-year, while the coverage in railway tunnels and subways reached a cumulative length of 33,661 kilometers, an increase of 14.8% year-on-year.

Vertical advancement supported strong growth in Two Wings business

In the Two Wings business, we seized market opportunities while continuing to strengthen product competitiveness and drive rapid growth of the business. In 2025, revenue of the Two Wings business reached RMB14,985 million and accounted for 14.9% of our overall operating revenue, an increase of 1.2 percentage points over the same period last year.

Smart Tower business. Focusing on spatial digital intelligence governance and leveraging ourrich resources and capabilities, we continued to enhance our Smart Tower business, achievingrevenue in excess of RMB10 billion. We continued to deepen our presence in key industries andscenarios, steadily increasing market share in key areas such as straw burning prohibition, farmlandprotection, and disaster alert. We advanced our nationwide distributed platform, optimizingalgorithm service capabilities for mid-to-high point scenarios, with further improvements inplatform response speed, algorithm accuracy, and application availability. We maintained our focuson implementing the “AI+” special project, promoting the application of large models for spatialdigital intelligence governance, which were included in the first batch of strategic high-value AIscenarios for central state-owned enterprises. Customers are always at the center of everything wedo. Therefore, we strengthened the development of product iterations, construction delivery,and operation and maintenance support, as well as expanding our integrated technical support teams,with an aim to respond actively and promptly to customers’ needs. In 2025, our Smart Tower business generated revenue of RMB10,172 million, up by 14.2% year-on-year, among which, revenue from our Tower Monitoring business reached RMB6,327 million, accounting for 62.2% of the Smart Tower business revenue.

Energy business. We focused on key business segments such as battery exchange and powerbackup. By improving refined operations and strengthening core capabilities and competitiveadvantages in products, services, and platforms, we continued to develop our specialty in theEnergy business. For the battery exchange business, we continued to expand our share in the fooddelivery mass market while accelerating the expansion of our corporate customer base, resulting instable user growth. As at 31 December 2025, we had approximately 1.477 million battery exchangeusers, an increase of 173,000 since the end of 2024, further solidifying our leading position inthe low-speed electric vehicle battery exchange market. We accelerated the construction of acommunity-based low-speed electric vehicle charging facility network while optimizing operationalefficiency, resulting in expanded service coverage and user scale. For the power backup business,we continued to focus on pivotal industries and our premium customer base, creating the ChinaTower “energy butler” integrated industry solutions and enhancing the value of our “energy butler”brand. In 2025, our Energy business achieved revenue of RMB4,813 million, a year-on-year increase of 7.5%, of which the battery exchange business accounted for RMB3,029 million, an increase of21.2% year-on-year, and with its contribution to the Energy business reaching 62.9%.

Innovation strategy resulted in remarkable technology empowerment

We made concrete progress in developing the “four lists” working mechanism of competencies and capabilities, task and project planning, resource allocation, and the commercialization of research outcomes. Focusing on the “One Core and Two Wings” businesses, we continued to intensify our efforts to address the challenges in key and core technologies, and accelerated the transformation of technological achievements to inject new momentum into high-quality business development. In 2025, our R&D investment and the number of R&D personnel increased by 82% and 22% respectively, compared to 2024. The number of patent applications and the cumulative number of patent authorizations increased by 77% and 54%, respectively, compared to the year before. We participated in the formulation of multiple international standards. A range of innovative products were commercialized and deployed at scale such as shared micro repeaters, monitoring platforms, and “one code for all”. Our technological innovation system continued to strengthen, as shown in the high-quality construction and development of six regional technological innovation centers, the expansion and quality improvement of joint innovation platforms, and the steady enhancement of innovation efficiency and performance.

Mr. Zhang Zhiyong, Chairman of China Tower said, “In 2025, we remained focused on high-quality development, promoting stability through progress while improving quality and efficiency. As a result, throughout the year our business maintained healthy, steady growth and demonstrated a positive outlook. Looking ahead, we will continue to uphold the philosophy of resource sharing and adhere to the “One Core and Two Wings” strategy to further enhance our core competitiveness, promote high-quality development, and create value for shareholders, customers, and society.”

[1] EBITDA is calculated by operating profit plus depreciation and amortization.

[2] EBITDA margin is calculated by dividing EBITDA by operating revenue, and multiplying the resulting value by 100%.

[3] Free cash flow is the net cash generated from operating activities minus the capital expenditures.

[4] Gearing ratio is calculated as net debts divided by the sum of total equity and net debt, then multiplying the result by 100%. Net debt is calculated as the amount of interest-bearing liabilities minus the amount of cash and cash equivalents.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

AEON Bank Champions Community Impact Financial Inclusion and Rewarding Raya Campaign Anchored on “Niat di Hati, Budi Terpateri”

MIL OSI — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 03:47:48 +0000

Source: Media Outreach

As part of its Shared Value Creation (SVC) commitment, AEON Bank continues to drive its flagship community impact initiative, Salam Prihatin.

Targeted Support and Value Added Impact This year, Salam Prihatin 4.0 engaged 100 households, amounting to more than 400 beneficiaries from the community Perumahan Pantai Permai, Kuala Lumpur. The engagement was held on 3 March 2026, in collaboration with AEON BiG Wangsa Maju and a local NGO, Pertubuhan Kebajikan Masyarakat Penyayang Lembah Pantai (PERKEMP) Lembah Pantai.

Fostering Financial Inclusion and Enabling Budget Savvy Autonomy Among the Beneficiaries

Fostering financial inclusion among the community, the beneficiary families were guided by AEON Bank team to plan for purposeful purchase of grocery and essential items, giving them the autonomy to optimise their budget, based on the needs of their respective families – be it multigenerational households, or families with small children or those caring for persons with disabilities (PWD).

Each beneficiary family received a RM300 grocery budget, which rounded up AEON Bank’s contribution this year to RM30,000 in total. In order to assist the families with their grocery shopping on the event day, more than 50 of AEON Bank employees, including the Bank’s senior leadership, were paired up with the families during the engagement. To date, AEON Bank has engaged almost 2,000 beneficiaries throughout 4 years, under its Salam Prihatin community impact initiative.

Now in its fourth year, AEON Bank has engaged almost 2,000 beneficiaries throughout 4 years, under its Salam Prihatin community impact initiative.

NIAT TO BE MORE RINGGIT SAVVY : SMART SAVINGS AND VALUE ADDED REWARDS

In the effort to help Malaysians manage the rising cost of living, AEON Bank has introduced several financial tools in its digital banking app and meaningful rewards for its customers, including :

(i) Neko Sensei : AEON Bank’s very own in-app financial coach designed to empower customers to track and manage their finances wisely.

(ii) RM30 Raya Cashback : Customers can earn RM30 cashback when paying with their AEON Bank Debit Card-i at stores participating in the MyDebit campaign, valid from 1 February to 15 April 2026.

(iii) Competitive Rate for Savings Pot : Enjoy a high 3.00% p.a. profit rate for the Savings Pot to help keep your financial goals on track, valid until 31 May 2026.

(iv) Personal Financing-i (PF-i) : Financing options from RM1,000 to RM100,000 with a profit rate starting at 3.88% p.a. and flexible tenures from 3 to 84 months. PF-i application process fully takes place online via the app, available to Malaysians with a minimum monthly gross income of RM2,500 including salaried employees, self-employed individuals, freelancers and gig economy workers.

(v) Neko Missions : A gamified digital banking experience that offers RM5 cashback for DuitNow QR transactions via AEON Bank app, valid until 15 May 2026.

(vi) JomPay : Customers can also make their JomPay transactions, including telco and utility bills via the AEON Bank app. providing a centralised platform for all essential online payments.

(vii) Inclusivity and Flexibility : Effective 17 March 2026, AEON Bank has removed the minimum balance requirement, ensuring Shariah-compliant digital banking is more inclusive and accessible for Malaysians.

NIAT TO FULFILL RELIGIOUS OBLIGATIONS : SAH AND SEAMLESS ZAKAT PAYMENT VIA AEON BANK APP Starting from the month of Ramadan this year, Zakat payment feature has been made available on the AEON Bank app. With just a few easy steps, customers can fulfill the contribution for 11 types of Zakat with a sah Aqad, including Zakat Fitrah, Zakat Pendapatan (Income), Zakat Perniagaan (Business), Zakat Emas (Gold) and more.

Made possible through the strategic partnership with Tulus Digital, the Zakat payment feature currently facilitates payments to Lembaga Zakat Selangor and PPZ-MAIWP, with more states and Zakat authority to be added in the near future.

NIAT TO BRING DIGITAL BANKING TO THE MASSES : O2O WONDERS

Beyond the digital screens, throughout four weeks of Ramadan, AEON Bank brought the O2O (online to offline) wonders to the crowd at the Bazaar Ramadan Seksyen 2 and 23, Shah Alam, in partnership with Persatuan Penjaja & Peniaga Kecil Melayu Negeri Selangor (PPPKMNS). On 16 March 2026, from 4.00 pm onwards, come on over to the Bazaar Ramadan Seksyen 23 and stand a chance to win AEON Bank merchandise and surprise goodies.

Better Banking – The Digital Way, Better Banking – The Shariah Way

As a cloud-native AI-powered digital bank, AEON Bank remains dedicated in its commitment to provide accessible financial solutions for Malaysians, while empowering communities to pursue their financial aspirations and achieve economic independence. Striving to foster a more inclusive financial future for all, AEON Bank will continue to offer a better banking experience for the larger demographic and contribute towards the development of Islamic banking in the region and the nation’s digital economy.

Click HERE to visit AEON Bank’s website and download the AEON Bank app. Don’t forget to view AEON Bank’s Ramadan Aidilfitri 2026 video, available on the Bank’s official YouTube channel.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

Universities – Traffic silently killing Aucklanders – UoA

LiveNews Publisher — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 02:53:15 +0000

Source: University of Auckland – UoA

Pollution from cars in Auckland is killing around 700 people a year and hospitalising 4,000 more, with health researchers calling for policy changes.

More than 700 Aucklanders die every year from air pollution from traffic, similar to the number who die from smoking cigarettes, with almost 4,000 more ending up in hospital, according to a new report.

Almost all Aucklanders, 90 percent, are exposed to dangerous levels of air pollution higher than international standards.

Nationally, 2,000 people die per year from traffic pollution.

“Because the particles are so small, they are not easy to see, so we often don’t even think about them being there,” says Dr Jamie Hosking, a public health researcher at Waipapa Taumata Rau, University of Auckland.

“Sometimes, when we’re close to traffic, we can smell the exhaust, and that’s when we really notice it. But even when we can’t smell it, it’s still there, putting our health at great risk.”

Petrol and diesel burn to produce noxious gases, chiefly nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and minute particles of soot, smoke, dust and chemicals (PM2.5).

“Because they’re so small, these particles can get right into our lungs and then cross into the bloodstream. They cause health effects through their impact on the lungs, but also on our cardiovascular system – the heart – and can contribute to strokes,” Hosking says.

A report, Our Air, has just been published on Auckland’s air pollution by Healthy Auckland Together a collective of public health researchers and agencies working in the area. (ref. https://static1.squarespace.com/static/687d6be85b66bd72af52a027/t/69b9b755bab9e5730d58c9b8/1773778792896/Healthy+Auckland+Together+-+Our+Air.pdf )

Hosking and fellow public health researcher at the University of Auckland Professor Alistair Woodward will present the report to Auckland Council’s Transport Committee and call for urgent action on Auckland’s air pollution.

Auckland’s air pollution comes partly from household heating but pollution from traffic is by far the biggest cause of illness.

It is estimated traffic pollution causes 6,100 cases and 424 hospitalisations for childhood asthma every year in Auckland.

People in cheaper housing near motorways and busy roads are at extra risk, so there are equity issues.

“It’s often people on lower incomes who end up being more exposed to this dirty air and then having the health impacts as a result,” Hosking says.

What Auckland Council needs to do

The report outlines solutions. The 20 agencies comprising Healthy Auckland Together would like to see Auckland Council:

Invest in affordable, clean and frequent public transport services
Introduce equitable congestion charges
Build and maintain attractive footpaths and pedestrian crossings, and protected cycle lanes
Improve air quality monitoring
Provide more parks and street trees

What central government needs to do
Nationally, the government needs to:

Raise vehicle emission standards to ensure cleaner vehicles enter the country
Update New Zealand’s air quality standards to reflect the latest health evidence
Set transport charges – such as fuel excise, road user charges and registration fees – so they properly reflect the health and social costs caused by vehicle emissions.

Air pollution in Auckland results in a significant number of deaths and serious illnesses with unacceptable healthcare and social costs – urgent action is needed.

MIL OSI

New Zealand writer gets shoutout by Meghan Markle

MIL OSI — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 01:23:14 +0000

Source: Radio New Zealand

A book of poems about motherhood has been dog-eared and shared by Meghan Markle on her social media.

They Bloom Because of You was published two weeks ago by Christchurch-based mother of three, Jessica Urlichs.

“I was just completely stunned, I didn’t believe that it would be real,” Urlichs told RNZ.

“I was just incredibly grateful that she would share something like that on her platform. I think it was a really big moment of women supporting women as well.”

On Tuesday, the Duchess of Sussex posted a video to her Instagram stories to 4.5 million followers showing her sitting in a garden appearing to flip through the book, saying “so good”.

A number of pages had been turned down, including poems titled The Mental Load, Hands We Hold Close, More Than a Body, Unraveled, Texts Between Friends and A Mother’s Love.

Urlichs learned of the post when a number of followers shared it with her. At first she thought it was a fan account.

When Urlichs posted her “shock” at the “huge moment” Markle replied with the message: “My mom friend, Christina, shared it with me. My current bedside book”.

Overseas interest in the book has spiked since Markle, who lives in California with husband Prince Harry and their two children, posted about it.

Urlichs’ first book of poetry, Beautiful Chaos, became a Sunday Times bestseller. Her work, inspired by her own postpartum experience, has been previously mentioned by Blake Lively and endorsed by Hilary Duff and Jennifer Love Hewitt.

Urlichs said her latest book focused on “the seasons of growth and blooming alongside our children”.

“There are a lot of poems in there for babies and older kids, but a lot of it speaks to the seasons after and finding ourselves as well.

“I’m not really sure what she took from them but I know that a lot of them would speak to a mother – that two things can be true – that we can feel elated and overjoyed in motherhood, but still find some seasons really difficult.

“I guess she would appreciate the vulnerability in those poems.”

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

GlobalData reveals most-exposed countries and key damage channels as recession risk rises from Hormuz disruption

LiveNews Publisher — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 00:48:10 +0000

Source: GlobalData

The US–Israel–Iran war is severely disrupting global energy and logistics markets, heightening recession and inflation risks. With the Strait of Hormuz heavily constrained and commercial shipping facing elevated threats, markets are extremely sensitive to supply losses, delays, and shifting geopolitical risk premiums.

Oil and refined product prices remain volatile, while LNG, freight rates, and war-risk insurance are rising across major trade routes. These pressures increase the likelihood of renewed inflation and weaker growth in the Middle East and beyond, according to GlobalData, a leading intelligence and productivity platform.

The conflict’s operational scope is expanding beyond military targets, increasingly disrupting commercial infrastructure and trade. Ongoing threats to tankers and ports, plus periodic Gulf airspace restrictions, are altering shipping and aviation routes. These disruptions are constraining energy and container flows, lengthening delivery times, and increasing input costs across supply chains.

Ramnivas Mundada, Director of Economic Research and Companies at GlobalData, comments: “The first-order macro shock remains supply-led: energy availability, shipping capacity, and risk premia. Even if oil prices stabilize, the persistence of higher freight costs, longer shipping routes, and insurance costs can keep delivered prices elevated for fuel and intermediate goods. That combination increases the likelihood that inflation proves stickier than expected, complicating monetary policy while weakening real incomes and consumption.”

Conflict-driven cost shocks hit advanced and emerging economies

War-risk insurance premiums for vessels and cargo—as well as aviation insurance and reinsurance—remain elevated, raising the delivered cost of energy and container trade. Higher premiums can render some voyages uneconomic, reduce effective shipping capacity, and accelerate rerouting, further tightening logistics. GlobalData also highlights that financial-market volatility can tighten credit availability, particularly for emerging markets with large external financing needs and high fuel import dependence.

In advanced economies, the key risk is that an energy-and-shipping-driven inflation impulse delays disinflation and complicates the pace of monetary easing. In emerging markets, especially energy importers, the combination of higher import bills and weaker currencies can generate a second-round inflation shock through imported goods and food distribution, while increasing fiscal strain where subsidies absorb part of the shock.

Highly impacted countries: growth and inflation overlays (next 12 months)

Exposure differs sharply by energy balance, supply-chain integration, and sensitivity to shipping and tourism. Hydrocarbon exporters in the Gulf can see partial offsets through higher hydrocarbon receipts, but remain vulnerable to security costs, disruption to trade and aviation, and softer regional tourism. Energy importers in the Middle East and Asia face more direct deterioration in trade balances and higher pass-through inflation.

Where the risk is acute

Iran and Israel remain at the epicenter of downside growth risk. Iran faces the most severe contraction risk under sustained disruption and infrastructure stress, with heightened exposure across energy logistics, insurance and financing channels. Israel continues to face a confidence-led slowdown via weaker investment and tourism, alongside higher defense-related spending that can crowd out private activity.

Energy importers face the sharpest inflation pass-through. Egypt stands out for imported inflation and FX pressures, with fiscal strain likely to rise where subsidies buffer fuel and food costs. In Asia, India, Japan, and South Korea are exposed via higher energy bills and persistent pass-through into transport-heavy components of inflation, raising the risk that headline relief proves temporary.

The Gulf’s offsets are real, but non-oil fragilities are rising. Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain can see partial macro offsets from hydrocarbon receipts. However, hub economies, especially the UAE, are more exposed to aviation restrictions, shipping/insurance costs and sentiment-driven effects on tourism, trade and services.

Europe’s risk is margin compression and delayed easing. Higher import costs and shipping-linked delivered inflation squeeze industrial profitability, particularly in energy-intensive sectors, increasing the probability that monetary easing is delayed if inflation re-accelerates.

Stagflation risk rises if disruption persists

GlobalData’s base case remains that the longer the disruption persists, the more likely the shock will propagate from headline inflation into broader pricing and activity. If elevated shipping and energy constraints continue beyond a few months, the probability of a global growth downshift increases—particularly for economies already operating with tight real incomes and fragile demand. Under that scenario, the balance of risks shifts toward stagflation-like outcomes: weaker growth alongside inflation that falls more slowly than expected.

Mundada concludes: “While energy and logistics constraints persist, the balance of risks remain titled to the downside. Under sustained disruption and infrastructure stress, Iran’s near-term output risk remains extreme. In Israel, the growth outlook continues to face downside pressure as investment and tourism absorb the confidence shock. For major energy importers, including India, Japan, and South Korea, the risk is a prolonged deterioration in trade balances alongside stickier inflation, especially beyond a few months.”

About GlobalData

GlobalData Plc (LSE:DATA) operates an intelligence platform that empowers leaders to act decisively in a world of complexity and change. By uniting proprietary data, human expertise, and purpose-built AI into a single, connected platform, we help organizations see what is coming, move faster, and lead with confidence. Our solutions are used by over 5,000 organizations across the world’s largest industries, providing tailored intelligence that supports strategic planning, innovation, risk management, and sustainable growth.

MIL OSI

Culture and Heritage – New Zealand creatives embrace digital tools

LiveNews Publisher — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 23:58:04 +0000

Source: Ministry for Culture and Heritage

New research shows that seven out of 10 creators use digital tools for creative or cultural practices. Secretary for Culture and Heritage Leauanae Laulu Mac Leauanae says the research shows that creatives are already well on their way to exploring these technologies.

“The main benefits they noted were improved efficiency and helping to generate new ideas,” he says. The 2025 survey is the first time questions have been asked about creatives use of digital tools.

Manatū Taonga Ministry for Culture and Heritage’s latest Cultural Participation Survey also shows that 65 percent of New Zealand creatives are now using generative artificial intelligence (AI). Nearly half use these tools to support or refine their ideas, one in three to produce art and creative work, and 14 percent to share their creations with a wider audience.

However, for creators who do not use digital tools in their practice, more than a third reported a lack of technological skills or knowledge was a barrier.

“This shows that creatives may need support to further develop their technical skills,” Leauanae says.

Manatū Taonga is working with MBIE to support the creative and cultural sectors’ uptake of new technology, including responsible use and development of AI and accessibility technology.

The work is part of Amplify, a national strategy that shows how government will help create an environment in which New Zealand’s creative and cultural sectors can flourish over the next five years.

The findings reflect the Ministry’s recent Long-Term Insights Briefing Culture in the Digital Age, which highlights the innovative ways creatives are using digital technology, along with future risks and opportunities for the cultural and creative workforce.

View the report here: https://www.mch.govt.nz/publications/new-zealanders-cultural-participation-2025

About the survey

The Cultural Participation Survey, which began in 2020 and is undertaken by Verian, surveyed 2,000 adults aged 18-years-old and over from around the country in September and October 2025.

The survey monitors cultural participation rates in arts, heritage, and media activities over time.

Manatū Taonga will use the findings to better understand cultural participation to inform its priorities, investments, and strategies.

MIL OSI

Speargrass surprise revealed after Tongariro fires

LiveNews Publisher — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 20:18:54 +0000

Source: NZ Department of Conservation

Date: 18 March 2026

Normally hidden amongst dense tussock, flax and mānuka scrub, the Volcanic Plateau speargrass has been exposed by the fire-cleared landscape, following extensive fires in late 2025.

DOC Technical Advisor and botanist Paul Cashmore says although the plant was known in the area, its abundance wouldn’t have been understood without the fires.

“It’s a welcome side-effect of these fires, discovering a new stronghold for this Threatened – Nationally Vulnerable species.

“It clearly can survive a fire, and we expect to see it increase even more over the next few years while there is less competition for light from taller growing vegetation.”

The speargrass is just one of the surprises ecologists came across in their post-fire assessments.

Wetlands were only partially impacted by the fire with many wetter areas remaining unburnt.

Paul says the fires burned very quickly with varying levels of impact on the different habitats present across the approximately 3,000-hectare burn zone.

“One of our memorable experiences in the field was walking into a completely intact stand of Hall’s tōtara, with a chorus of native birds including toutouwai/robin!

“Remnant patches of vegetation like this act as refuges where flora and fauna have survived, which can assist with natural recolonising of the burnt area.”

Paul says despite the optimistic outlook, there’s still plenty of work to be done.

“We’ll continue working closely with Ngāti Hikairo ki Tongariro to monitor and act, particularly where it comes to weeds and deer.”

Visitors can help by staying on the tracks, says Paul.

“Walking on the burnt area can introduce new threats like weeds and can directly affect the recovery of slow growing alpine plants.

“So, if you’re keen on naturing in this World Heritage listed landscape, we ask you to respect the 10-year rāhui by keeping off the firegrounds and sticking to the marked tracks.”

Contact

For media enquiries contact:

Email: media@doc.govt.nz

MIL OSI

Anxious, desensitised: How teens learn about news now

MIL OSI — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 18:23:30 +0000

Source: Radio New Zealand

When 18-year-old Wellington student Estella wants a different take on the latest war in the Middle East – or the conflict in Palestine or the Ukraine invasion – she has a quick scroll through her boyfriend’s social media feeds.

Even though they share similar political views, his feed tends to skew to the political right, whereas her feed leans to the left. This aligns with an emerging political pattern: young women, including those in New Zealand, are significantly more likely to identify as left-wing than their male peers.

His feed has more “action” footage like bombs exploding and fighter jets screeching through the sky. The videos on Estella’s feeds pull at the heartstrings with victims, including children, being pulled from bombed-out buildings.

An example of content from the current Middle East war on the social media feed of a New Zealand teenager.

supplied

. He gets propaganda videos from the White House that pair football touchdowns with bombs hitting their targets (he does like football).

“It’s just that we have different interests and they funnel those interests into kind of categories and political ways, I guess,” says Estella. “They” refers to social media companies and their algorithms that determine each user’s unique feed.

“It’s just interesting looking at his phone versus mine.”

It’s an example of how New Zealand’s young people are experiencing conflict in today’s world, in isolated spaces that pander to certain views and stereotypes. It can lead to feelings of isolation and hopelessness while desensitising them to the suffering of others, according to young people and researchers.

It’s a marked difference from how their parents’ and grandparents viewed earlier wars, which was historically a shared experience through radio and TV broadcasts, or a newspaper on the kitchen table, according to Dr Mona Krewel, who specialises in politics at Victoria University of Wellington.

“Earlier generations often encountered news collectively, through television news or newspapers mediated by adults, while today’s children increasingly encounter information alone in fragmented, algorithmically curated social media feeds.”

A substantial body of research shows that today’s young people are inundated with real-world violence and war footage even if they are not actively seeking it on social media, according to Krewel. The result is widespread anxiety and desensitisation for those who frequently view violence and other disturbing content, she says.

Estella’s feed is currently full of memes (images or video often meshed with humour) inspired by the Middle East conflict.

“It’s like kind of softening the blow of what’s going on. It’s putting memes on it to soften it and to normalise what is going on, make it funny rather than something we should be concerned about.”

However, in general, Estella’s social media feed, when it comes to all the current conflicts, “has made me really sad a lot recently”, she says.

“Not very positive feelings.”

Thomas, a 17-year-old student from Wellington, remembers being mesmerised by a 90-minute video, shot on a camera attached to a soldier on the front lines in Ukraine. It wasn’t particularly violent, but it gamified the conflict.

“I think it does dehumanise it slightly,” says Thomas, describing a lack of any emotional response to witnessing conflict and human tragedy up close through social media.

The extreme violence that Thomas has witnessed on social media includes the assassination of Charlie Kirk. The American right-wing political activist was shot in the neck during a university campus debate in Utah in front of about 3000 people. Many were live-streaming the event online when the deadly shot came, accidentally capturing and broadcasting an alleged murder in real time.

Thomas viewed the gruesome footage on a friend’s phone hours after it happened and before social media companies could scrub it from users’ feeds.

“It was just before I went into a maths test and I felt quite sick for a while.”

The close-up imagery of Kirk’s assassination stayed in his head.

“I mean, I mentioned it to my parents and remembered it pretty well for a while, but I [don’t] know. I think I’ve got a lot more desensitised and it’s now just like a meme.”

Other gruesome footage can be random and not political. For instance, last year Thomas saw numerous car crash videos doing the rounds on social media including some with a bloody aftermath.

Dr Rachel Billington from the University of Otago.

supplied

Dr Rachel Billington from the University of Otago studies how social media shapes the political identities of New Zealand’s young people. In 2022, she surveyed almost 500 young people about politics and social media use. It was during the early stages of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which also played out as a propaganda battle on social media. Drone footage of tank battles and videos documenting life on the frontlines uploaded by soldiers with smartphones were easy to come by.

“One of the things that they really struggled with was the sense of impotence, the sense that people were suffering on the other side of the world and they could bear witness to it, but there was nothing they could really do with that witnessing.”

The young people surveyed felt the same about other social issues, such as climate change, Billington says.

There was also a sense of confusion with conflict content that was interdispersed with other subjects, ranging from the silly to the mundane, says Billington, describing it as an “emotional rollercoaster”.

Violent, pornographic and other disturbing content is difficult for children and teenagers to process because of the stages of brain development, according to Dr Samantha Marsh, who researches social media use and mental health in young people. Parents and other caregivers might confuse intelligence for brain maturation, she says.

“You could have the smartest 15-year-old or 13-year-old in the world, but it doesn’t mean that they are prepared to see this content.”

Marsh is part of a group of researchers and tech industry insiders who are advocating for a minimum age of 16 for social media in New Zealand. Last year, Australia enacted a ban on social media for those under 16, a move that more countries are considering.

Before the age of 16, many young people lack logical reasoning, preventing them from turning away from content that they know is harming them, says Marsh.

Billington isn’t in favour of an Australian-style social media ban here, citing the social and connectivity benefits of platforms, especially for marginalised young people. Instead, she says that the algorithms within social media platforms should be critically examined.

A number of the young people she surveyed in 2022 recognised social media’s harmful effects and took measures to police their own use. One young man decided to access social media only from a desktop computer rather than have it at his finger tips on a phone. Another young person interviewed expressed regret for signing up to social media so young, at age 11.

“They spoke a lot about the sense of trying to break through addiction and… defy the logics of these algorithmic technologies, which are really designed to keep them engaged and to keep them scrolling and scrolling and scrolling no matter the cost.”

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

‘We feel abandoned’: Kiwi in Dubai describes fear, chaos and lack of consular support

MIL OSI — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 18:23:21 +0000

Source: Radio New Zealand

A smoke plume rises from an ongoing fire near Dubai International Airport. AFP

A New Zealand citizen living in Dubai says they feel abandoned by the government as conflict intensifies, describing constant missile activity, shortages and a lack of clear evacuation support.

Speaking anonymously, the expat told RNZ that conditions on the ground were far worse than portrayed publicly.

“Everything is not normal. It’s absolutely not business as usual,” they said.

“We’re getting constant alerts on our phones to take shelter. You can hear missiles being fired and intercepted. From my balcony I can see drones and fighter jets.”

The New Zealander described waking to “waves of bombs” and ongoing air defence activity in residential areas.

They said essential services were under strain, with supermarkets facing shortages and rising prices and hospitals unable to admit patients for non-critical care.

“I took a friend to the emergency department and they needed surgery, but they were turned away because hospitals are saving beds due to the conflict.”

The resident also described a crackdown on documenting events, saying authorities had warned people not to take photos or videos under any circumstances.

“Even if it’s your own apartment, even if a drone flies into it, you can be arrested for taking a photo.”

They alleged spot checks were being carried out, with officials reportedly searching phones and detaining people found with images of incidents.

“There’s no real explanation anymore. It’s just: don’t do it, or you’ll be arrested.”

‘I feel abandoned’

The expat said they had been monitoring the SafeTravel website prior to the conflict affecting Dubai, but no timely warning was issued.

“There was no early indication this was coming. The communication has been really patchy,” they said.

The resident described repeated failed attempts to contact New Zealand consular services during an emergency.

“I called the emergency number and it went to voicemail. I didn’t hear back for two days.”

Compounding the situation, the New Zealander said they lost access to their finances after a cyberattack coincided with a web service outage.

“My account was being drained and I couldn’t stop it. The banking systems were down. Even my bank manager said he couldn’t do anything.”

Despite reporting the cyberattack and theft, they said no assistance was provided.

“I contacted the consulate and got nothing. I’m sitting here with a drained account, waiting for my next payday.”

Confusion over evacuation flights

The resident also raised concerns about the lack of clarity around evacuation efforts.

They said New Zealanders were asked to register interest in evacuation but were not given details about timing, destinations, or costs.

“At one point we were told the flights would just drop us somewhere and we’d have to make our own way home,” they said.

“There was never a clear plan.”

They also questioned reports that evacuation flights were under-utilised.

“The next thing we heard was that planes were flying home empty because there wasn’t enough interest. But people here are saying they were never properly offered a seat.”

Commercial flights remained an option, but the expat said prices were prohibitively high and conditions unpredictable.

“People are paying thousands for tickets, but then the airport shuts, or roads are blocked, and they can’t get there… and they don’t get refunds.”

Others were attempting to leave by road, despite legal and logistical barriers.

“People are buying cars just to try and drive across borders. But the advice we’re getting doesn’t match reality. In some cases you can’t even legally do what’s being suggested.”

The New Zealander said what many expatriates wanted most was clear, direct guidance.

“I asked them: should we leave? And they wouldn’t say yes.

“If they had said, ‘leave now, here’s the plan,’ I would have gone immediately.”

Instead, they said many feel left to make life-or-death decisions with limited information.

The New Zealander said they felt others lacked sympathy for expats as they believed that those living in Dubai were wealthy or insulated from hardship.

“I’m not an influencer. I’m just trying to support my kids through university,” they said.

They said other New Zealanders in the region had shared similar concerns.

“Everyone feels the same. We feel like we haven’t been given enough information or support.”

“It’s really scary and I’m definitely not the only one who feels abandoned.”

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade was approached for comment.

Its Safe Travel website continues to warn against travel to the United Arab Emirates, due to the deteriorating security situation in the Middle East and the current risk posed by military strikes and armed conflict.

“We encourage you to monitor local media for updates and follow the advice of local authorities.”

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

AI boom creating shortage of key elements for consumer technology

MIL OSI — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 17:27:48 +0000

Source: Radio New Zealand

The AI boom is creating a shortage of key elements for phones, computers, even cars and dishwashers. 123RF

New Zealand consumers are being warned laptops, smart phones and even fridges are going to cost more as the price of key components jump by 400 percent.

Since the AI boom, manufacturers had pivoted away from making hardware like RAM and hard drives for general consumers – instead focusing on creating the more lucrative equipment for AI and data centers.

It was creating a shortage of key elements for phones, computers, even cars and dishwashers, prompting supply chain problems – driving up prices.

And according to experts, there was no signs of those prices slowing down for years.

In other words, if you need a new laptop or smartphone, do it now before the hikes continue.

Compulsion Tech’s managing director Ben Maxwell said the situation took a rapid turn late last year.

Compulsion Tech’s managing director Ben Maxwell. RNZ / Charlotte Cook

“The prices have just been crazy … I’ve never seen anything like it.

“Initially we sort of saw memory prices jump about 100 percent just within a few weeks and that was early Q4 last year. It almost continued with weekly price increases or sometimes even every few days.”

It became hard for Maxwell to get his hands on stock.

“There was no consideration of it even smoothing out or going down, it just kept creeping up for both RAM and solid-state drives.”

RAM was the flashy, fast memory that a computer processor accessed, while solid-state drives were the storage or hardrive for your technology. Both were two of the most important parts of computers.

“A 32 gig RAM kit used to sort of cost around $150. It’s now $750 for that same kit.

“It’s about 400 percent more expensive than it was in Q4 of last year.”

Maxwell said it was a similar increase for solid-state-drives.

“So just in those two parts alone and your standard computer, that’s 1000 bucks in extra price rise.”

But the increased price tag did not necessarily mean you were getting the best of the best either.

“You might have been able to buy a laptop last year for say $2000 … probably could have had two terabytes of storage, and 32 gigabytes of RAM.

“Now that same sort of model of laptop might cost two and a half grand or more, but it will actually also come with half the storage.”

Maxwell said it was a huge case of “shrinkflation”.

He said his business bulk bought components last year to try and slow the increases for its customers.

An alert on Compulsion Tech’s website warns customers of increasing prices. Screenshot / Compulsion Tech

Why is it happening?

Chief executive and futurist at Gorilla Technology Paul Spain had been keeping an eye on this for a while.

“What we’re seeing is a situation where there’s constraints on the amount of components available for the general public, and businesses, because there’s just been so much demand for technology to go into the new AI data centers.”

But it was not as simple as a supply and demand problem.

Chief executive at Gorilla Technology Paul Spain. Â© Jason Hosking

“What’s actually used in the AI data centres is different from what we tend to use in our smartphones and our computers.

“They’ve allocated their production resource to be more focused on what’s needed in those AI data centres than what is needed in our everyday consumer and business devices.”

Spain said one of the biggest producers of tech for consumers, Micron, had withdrawn from the consumer market altogether to focus on production for AI data centres.

Which meant what RAM and SSDs were available for consumers came at a premium – giving the term ‘RAMageddon’ huge traction.

Spain said it was not a short term problem.

“We’re told it could be a number of years before this issue is resolved if the demand on AI data centres keeps up, because it takes quite some time to build or increase capacity at these manufacturing facilities.”

The shortages were moving into other components like gaming and graphics cards.

What should consumers do?

Consumer New Zealand’s product test journalist Nick Gelling said it was time to buy.

Consumer New Zealand’s product test journalist Nick Gelling. Supplied / Consumer NZ

“It’s kind of we’re at the stage now where if you think that you will need to buy some tech in the next year or so you should really consider replacing it now, before the prices rise further.

“We just don’t know where this is going to go.”

He said consumers were already facing a likelihood they would be forced to pay more money for products that were worse than older models.

Maxwell agreed.

“It’s going to be a pretty hard sell if a customer’s been saving up to buy a computer that, say, was three grand in November, and then they’re finally coming around to buy it in January and February, and now that same machine is four or four and a half grand … significantly more expensive with less specs.”

He said consumers were holding off purchasing because of the huge pricing leaps.

“It’s actually having a much wider effect than just the core computer market … you’re not buying a computer anymore, so less keyboards and mice and monitors and accessories to go with are being sold.”

Paul Spain said it would also impact businesses trying to manage the equipment they needed and families who were trying to get the right devices for school and study.

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

From Gloriavale to KiwiSaver: human rights abuses in plain sight – Mindful Money

LiveNews Publisher — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 12:03:36 +0000

Source: Mindful Money, Barry Coates

KiwiSaver investors increasingly exposed to companies linked to human rights abuses

New analysis shows KiwiSaver investments in companies linked to human rights concerns have surged, despite human rights violations remaining the top ethical priority for New Zealand investors.

KiwiSaver investments in companies identified as contributing to human rights harms have increased sharply. Over the past six months alone, investments in these companies rose 43 percent, reaching more than $3.5 billion. This has been fuelled by both an increase in the number of companies identified as violating human rights, as well as increased investment in those companies.

Yet public surveys conducted over the past six years consistently show that avoiding human rights abuses is the number one concern for KiwiSaver members in New Zealand when deciding where their retirement savings should be invested.

“These findings highlight a growing gap between what New Zealanders want from their investments in terms of human rights, and where their money is actually going,” said Barry Coates, founder of Mindful Money.

“New Zealanders consistently say they do not want their retirement savings linked to labour exploitation, abuses of children, gender discrimination, harm to vulnerable communities or companies contributing to conflict. Yet billions of dollars are still invested in companies connected to these risks.”

There is also increasing public awareness of the human impact of labour exploitation within New Zealand. A new podcast from Mindful Money interviews Pearl Valor, who speaks about her labour experiences growing up in the Gloriavale Christian Community. Together with Brian Henry, Barrister for Pearl Valor and Founder of Always-Ethical – AE KiwiSaver Plan.

“People need to understand that exploitation can be hidden in plain sight,” says Valor. “When communities or companies operate without accountability, the people inside them can lose their freedom, their wages and their voice.”

Greater awareness is the first step toward protecting human rights. The Modern Slavery Bill introduced to New Zealand Parliament in February 2026 marks significant progress towards more ethical supply chains, and addressing the issues of slave and forced labour in Aotearoa.

Coates says investors have a powerful role to play.

“KiwiSaver providers need stronger policies to screen out companies linked to serious human rights harms. New Zealanders deserve confidence that their retirement savings are not contributing to exploitation or conflict.”

Human rights concerns increasingly relate to harmful corporate practices rather than harmful products themselves. While fund providers screen out issues like tobacco and gambling, few have active screens to avoid investing in harmful behaviour like human rights violations.

“My aspiration is that current members of Gloriavale, now equipped with access to news and the internet, will be empowered to acquire financial literacy and independence, and become aware of beneficial resources such as KiwiSaver.” Says Pearl” says Pearl

“I will always be grateful to Brian for his commitment to justice for those leaving the Gloriavale Community. Through this work, I and many others have been able to step into a freer world that we were never allowed to see. Modern-day slavery is real and it exists in New Zealand today. Brian is helping expose this injustice and is standing up for those who were denied their freedom, their wages, and their voice.” Says Pearl

In recent years, attention has increasingly focused on the activities of major technology companies, particularly around surveillance, social media harms and their use in conflict situations. Companies identified as raising human rights concerns include Meta, Tesla, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Palantir Technologies.

Concerns have also grown over investments in companies linked to the ongoing conflict in Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine.

Despite concerns from members of the public, KiwiSaver investments in companies providing weapons, surveillance technology or other support linked to these conflicts increased 14 percent between March and September 2025, reaching $856 million.

Companies receiving increased investment during this period include IBM, Booking Holdings, Palantir Technologies, Motorola Solutions and Caterpillar.

“Where money flows, systems follow. Ethical investment redirects capital away from modern slavery and toward dignity, transparency, and fair work.” says Brian

“These are major global corporations, and New Zealand investors have only a small share of their capital,” Coates said. “It is unlikely that fund managers sending letters or voting a few shares will change their practices. If companies are linked to human rights violations, fund providers should respect the wishes of their clients and avoid investing in them.”

Mindful Money identifies companies associated with human rights concerns on its website, including those linked to Palestinian human rights issues, which are marked with an OPT symbol so KiwiSaver members can see whether their funds are invested in them.

Mindful Money is calling on KiwiSaver providers to strengthen their human rights screening and divest from companies associated with human rights violations.

People power

Members of the public can easily see what their fund is investing in by going to the Mindful Money website www.mindfulmoney.nz. Mindful Money is a charity and provides transparency to KiwiSaver and retail funds investors.

“All investment decisions for the AE KiwiSaver Plan are undertaken in-house, reflecting Brian Henry’s ethical management approach and his ongoing commitment to justice, which is currently demonstrated through his involvement in the Gloriavale case.” says Sandra Clark (CEO)

Members of the public can check what is in their fund using the free Fund Checker.

Notes:

Mindful Money publishes the methodology for companies that have a record of breaching internationally-agreed human rights norms. Methodology here.

https://mindfulmoney.nz/learn/how-does-mindful-money-identify-companies-who-have-breached-human-rights/

Human rights violations are shown in the categories of breaches of labour rights; war and conflict; corruption and breaches of business ethics; public health and safety; and other violations including privacy and indigenous peoples’ rights.

Link to YouTube Gloriavale interview

https://youtu.be/b12McipxAZA?si=7tVIaqY2lBfOaqcL

MIL OSI

Quality Building Award 2026 Finalists Announced

MIL OSI — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 09:33:28 +0000

Source: Media Outreach

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 17 March 2026 – The much-anticipated Quality Building Award 2026 (QBA 2026) today officially announces its finalist list! A total of 35 outstanding project teams have successfully advanced to the final presentation stage. They will present their remarkable achievements to the judging panel this Saturday (20 March and 21 March), competing for the highest honor of the “Oscar of the Construction Industry.”

Held biennially, the Quality Building Award is jointly organized by ten leading professional institutes and organizations representing Hong Kong’s architecture and construction sectors. It aims to recognize exceptional projects that demonstrate outstanding teamwork in the design and construction of quality buildings. This year’s theme, “Smartly We Build | Sustainably We Thrive | Inclusively We Lead,” encourages the industry to adopt smart, sustainable, and inclusive solutions, steering the sector towards innovation and green development.

Comprehensive Coverage Across Eight Categories Showcasing Hong Kong’s Diverse Excellence

This year’s Award features eight major categories, comprehensively covering different types of building projects. These span residential and non-residential, government and non-government, renovation and revitalization, and temporary building categories. The response from local Hong Kong projects has been enthusiastic, with the finalists fully demonstrating the industry’s diverse creativity and professional expertise, reflecting the vibrant and flourishing state of local architecture.

Breaking Geographical Boundaries with Strong International Participation

Another highlight of this edition is the inclusion of the “Building in GBA (Not include Hong Kong)” and “Building Outside GBA (include International)” categories. These are open to all eligible projects from within and outside the region, with teams not required to provide proof of a Hong Kong registered company to participate. This initiative has successfully attracted numerous high-quality non-local projects, including outstanding entries from as far as Egypt. This underscores the international vision and regional influence of the Quality Building Award, further cementing Hong Kong’s status as a regional architectural hub.

Ms CHANG Yuk Kam, Patricia, Chairlady, QBA 2026 Organizing Committeestated: “We are thrilled by the enthusiastic response to this year’s Award. The finalist projects are of exceptional quality and span a diverse range of categories. The 35 finalist teams will showcase their innovative practices in smart construction, sustainable development, and social inclusion during their final presentations, fully embodying the spirit of this year’s theme. On behalf of the Organizing Committee, I thank all participating teams for their dedication and wish the finalists every success in their upcoming presentations.”

Ir ZA Wai Gin,Tony, Chairman, QBA 2026 Jury sub-committee remarked: “Throughout the selection process, the judging panel has placed particular emphasis on how projects integrate smart technology, environmental concepts, and human-centric design. The active participation of projects from the Greater Bay Area and the international community this year has brought a broader perspective to the Award. We look forward to gaining deeper insights into the design philosophies and practical achievements of the finalist teams during the presentations, and to jointly witnessing new milestones in the architectural world.”

Award Ceremony to be Held in June to Celebrate Excellence

The final results of the Quality Building Award 2026 will be unveiled at the Awards Ceremony to be held on 26 June this year. The event will bring together industry leaders to collectively witness the glorious moment celebrating outstanding architectural projects.

For more details about the Quality Building Award, please visit:
Official Website: www.qba.com.hk
Facebook: QBAHK
LinkedIn: QBAHK
Weibo: 優質建築大獎
WeChat Official Account: 優質建築大獎

Finalists of QBA 2026 (The list is in alphabetical order)
Hong Kong Residential (Single Building)
1	Belgravia Place I
2	ECHO House
3	Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park – Batch 1A Development : Building 11
4	JARDINI
5	One Central Place
6	Parkwood
Hong Kong Residential (Multiple Buildings)
1	Baker Circle
2	Casa Sierra
3	NOVO LAND
4	THE PAVILIA FOREST
5	Victoria Voyage
Hong Kong Non-Residential (New Building – Government, Institution of Community)
1	Hospital Authority Supporting Services Centre
2	Kai Tak District Cooling Plant No. 3 (KTDCS-P3)
3	Kai Tak Sports Park
4	Kowloon Tsai Swimming Pool Complex
5	Kwai Chung Hospital
6	The Pentecostal Holiness Church Wing Kwong Junior School
Hong Kong Non-Residential (New Building – Non-Government, Institution of Community)
1	98 How Ming Street
2	Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park – Batch 1A Development : Building 8 & Building 9
3	One Causeway Bay
Hong Kong Building (Renovation / Revitalization)
1	Conversion of the Old Wan Chai Police Station into the Headquarters of the International Organization for Mediation
2	Expansion of the Legislative Council Complex
3	Lo Pan Spirit Inheritance: Conservation of Lo Pan Temple
4	Tai Po Civic Centre
Temporary Building
1	Dedicated Rehousing Estate at Kwu Tung North Area 24 MIC Site Office
2	Light Public Housing at Olympic Avenue, Kai Tak (Phase 1)
3	Light Public Housing – Choi Hing Road, Ngau Tau Kok
4	Light Public Housing – Yau Pok Road, Yuen Long
5	WISE COMPLEX
Building Outside GBA (include International)
1	Arbour
2	Iconic Tower of New CBD of New Administrative Capital of Egypt
Building in GBA (Not include Hong Kong)
1	China State Construction Science and Technology Innovation Building
2	China Overseas Headquarter
3	Guangzhou Respiratory Center
4	Marisfrolg Industrial Park

Hashtag: #QualityBuildingAward2026

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

CARSOME Raises Over USD 30 Million in a Strategic Fundraising Round

MIL OSI — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 03:33:24 +0000

Source: Media Outreach

PETALING JAYA, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 17 March 2026 – CARSOME Group Inc (CARSOME or the Group), Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform, today announced a strategic investment round of more than USD 30 million from a set of new and existing investors including the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC), Gobi Partners, and Asia Partners. This fundraise underscores the investors’ confidence in CARSOME’s journey to profitability and long-term vision across the region, as demonstrated by the recent record FY25 results. These funds will further accelerate its profitable growth in the region for the coming years.

CARSOME Group Inc (CARSOME or the Group), Southeast Asia’s largest integrated car e-commerce platform, today announced a strategic investment round of more than USD 30 million from a set of new and existing investors including the Hong Kong Investment Corporation Limited (HKIC), Gobi Partners, and Asia Partners.

This investment and partnership reflect a shared ambition to strengthen connections between Southeast Asia and Greater China, leveraging Hong Kong’s role as a regional gateway for advanced automotive capabilities, technology development, and global talent. With the support from the HKIC, CARSOME will drive initiatives across areas such as supply chain sourcing and technology collaboration, accelerating the application of data and artificial intelligence (AI) in the automotive sector, which further empowers CARSOME for its regional expansion.

“CARSOME has spent the last several years focused on building a resilient, profitable business with strong fundamentals,” said Eric Cheng, CARSOME Group Co-founder and CEO. “This strategic collaboration and fundraise is a vote of confidence in our continued momentum and long-term vision. This partnership gives us crucial access to innovation capabilities, cross-border networks, and world-class talent that will support our work in AI, data, and next-generation mobility services across Southeast Asia.”

Clara Chan, Chief Executive Officer of the HKIC, said, “We are pleased to support CARSOME as part of our continued effort to harness technology to drive industry transformation, contributing to Hong Kong’s long-term economic development and resilience. With Hong Kong’s unique position as a gateway connecting global innovation and investment opportunities, CARSOME exemplifies the type of high-conviction, technology-driven enterprise that aligns with the HKIC’s mandate to foster scalable innovation across our strategic sectors. We look forward to supporting forward-thinking companies like CARSOME in creating tangible value for the future of Hong Kong.”

Chibo Tang, Managing Partner of Gobi Partners, said, “CARSOME is a leading example of how Southeast Asian startups are well-positioned to create close ties with partners in Greater China, leveraging each region’s unique strengths. We are pleased to be a returning investor in CARSOME, having supported them for almost a decade. Gobi was an early believer in CARSOME’s ability to scale across international borders, and we are happy to see their early potential come to fruition as they reimagine the way consumers across Asia purchase vehicles.”

http://www.carsome.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/carsome/

Hashtag: #CARSOME

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

GMG Productions, David Ian For Crossroads Live and Work Light Productions Presents The Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre Production of Jesus Christ Superstar

MIL OSI — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 03:33:21 +0000

Source: Media Outreach

THE AWARD-WINNING PRODUCTIONOF THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR WILL VISIT THE GRAND THEATRE, HONG KONG CULTURAL CENTRE FROM 8 JULY AS PART OF ITS INTERNATIONAL TOUR

TIM RICE AND ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER’S ICONIC ROCK MUSICAL COMES TO HONG KONG FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME

PRIORITY BOOKING FROM25 -26 MARCH | PUBLIC SALE ON 27 MARCH

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 17 March 2026 – Following several acclaimed and sold-out runs in London as well as an extensive tour of North America, UK and Australia, the Olivier Award-winning reimagined production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s celebrated musical JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR will visit the Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre from 8 July as part of a major international tour, giving Hong Kong audiences their first opportunity to experience Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s legendary rock musical live on stage.

“A gorgeous, thrilling, heavenly musical.”

– The Guardian

“Hallelujah! An almighty revelation.”

– The Daily Telegraph

Featuring lyrics and music by Emmy, GRAMMY, Oscar and Tony winners Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, this production was reimagined by London’s Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre where it originated and is helmed by director Timothy Sheader and choreographer Drew McOnie. Completing the creative team is design by Tom Scutt, lighting design by Lee Curran, sound design by Nick Lidster and music supervision by Tom Deering.

A global phenomenon that has wowed audiences for decades, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is a timeless work that explores the biblical portrayal of the extraordinary events that led to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as seen through the eyes of his betrayer, Judas Iscariot. The story, told entirely through song, explores the personal relationships and struggles among Jesus, Judas, Mary Magdalene, Jesus’ disciples, his followers and the Roman Empire. Originally released as a concept album, the iconic 1970s rock score contains such well-known numbers as ‘Superstar’, ‘I Don’t Know How to Love Him’, and ‘Gethsemane’.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR opened on Broadway in 1971 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre. The original London production opened at the Palace Theatre on 9 August 1972 and ran for over eight years. By the time it closed, after 3,358 performances, it had become the longest-running musical in West End history at that time. JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR has been reproduced regularly around the world in the years since its first appearance, with performances including a Broadway revival in 2012, an ITV competition TV show called Superstar that led to casting Ben Forster as Jesus in an arena tour of the show, and a production at the Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre celebrating 45 years since the musical’s Broadway debut. JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR will also have a limited run at the iconic London Palladium in summer 2026, starring Sam Ryder as Jesus. Produced by Michael Harrison for Lloyd Webber Harrison Musicals, this production was originally created and produced at Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.

Producer David Ian said: “This Olivier Award-winning production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR has amazed audiences around the world, and we are thrilled to bring this phenomenon to the stage in Hong Kong. Marking the first Hong Kong season of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s iconic rock musical, this engagement promises a spectacular new chapter for local audiences.”

GMG Productions CEO Carlos Candal shares“GMG Productions is thrilled to be bringing this extraordinary show to Hong Kong. Building on our growing success across Asia, we are proud to present such a dynamic and high-calibre production as part of our long-term commitment to delivering world-class entertainment in the region.”

This production of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR won the 2017 Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival and the 2016 Evening Standard Award for Best Musical, selling out two consecutive engagements in 2016 and 2017. The production played a West End engagement at the Barbican in 2019 before returning to Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre in concert version during the summer of 2020, followed by a universally acclaimed UK tour in 2023/24.

Casting to be announced.

The 2026 Tour of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR is produced by David Ian for Crossroads Live and Work Light Productions. The original production was produced by London’s Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre.

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR will be performed in English with Chinese surtitles.

Tickets for the Hong Kong season will go on sale soon. Sign up to our online Priority List now at https://jesuschristsuperstar.hk to enjoy a 10% discount during Priority Booking from 25 March, 10am, for 48 hours. General Public Ticket Sales launch on 27 March; tickets are priced from HK$588 to $1,088.

For additional information about this production, please visit https://jesuschristsuperstar.hk

Facebook & Instagram: @GMGProductionsHK

SHOW AND TICKETING INFORMATION

DATES:
8 July – 1 August 2026

PERFORMANCE TIMES:
Tuesdays- Fridays: 8pm
Saturdays: 3pm and 8pm
Sundays: 2pm and 7pm

VENUE:
Grand Theatre, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, 10 Salisbury Rd, Tsim Sha Tsui

PERFORMANCE DURATION: 1 hour 50 mins including interval

TICKET PRICES:

VIP	HK$1,088
A Reserve	HK$988
B Reserve	HK$888
C Reserve	HK$688
D Reserve	HK$588
Concession VIP	HK$988
Concession A	HK$888
Concession B	HK$788

Concession tickets are available to full-time students, senior citizens aged 60 or above, persons with disabilities and CSSA recipients.

Performed in English, with Chinese surtitles

BOOKINGS
Website: https://jesuschristsuperstar.hk
Priority Booking from 25 March, 10am, for 48 hours; General Public Sales from 27 March.

Hashtag: #JesusChristSuperstar

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

App Store Accountability Bill Proposed To Strengthen Online Safety For Children

LiveNews Publisher — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 02:52:47 +0000

Source: Family First

MEDIA RELEASE

17 March 2026

App Store Accountability Bill Proposed To Strengthen Online Safety For Children

Family First is calling on the government, or individual Members of Parliament, to adopt its App Store Accountability Bill, designed to target an obvious ‘choke point’ for accessing digital content, to improve online safety for children and young people by placing new responsibilities on app store providers and app developers operating in New Zealand.

The draft Bill proposes that age verification or estimation is adopted by app store providers and developers, and for those underage, clear consent given by parents or caregivers. The proposed Bill responds to growing concerns about those under 16 accessing inappropriate digital content, making in‑app purchases without proper oversight, and being exposed to privacy risks. It establishes a clear and enforceable framework that ensures young New Zealanders can use mobile apps more safely while giving parents greater visibility and control.

“We believe the Bill is an achievable and realistic first solution, while also watching how Australia and other jurisdictions are attempting to implement their social media bans. Importantly, this Bill empowers parents to make decisions affecting their own children and places an appropriate level of accountability and responsibility on Big Tech,” says Simon O’Connor, Director of External Engagement with Family First NZ.

So-called App Store Accountability Bills are now law in Louisiana, and Utah, and Texas (with Texas’ law being challenged). Multiple other US state are considering similar laws including Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Mississippi, Ohio, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia, West Virginia, Kansas and New Hampshire. Federal legislation has also been introduced to Congress

In the New Zealand-based Bill, key protections for children and parents include requirements for app store providers to:

Verify the age category of all account holders, using accurate and commercially viable methods (note, this is age verification or estimation, and not digital ID)
Obtain verifiable parental consent before minors can download apps, make purchases, or access certain features.
Share limited age‑category data and consent status with developers so they can apply age‑appropriate restrictions.
Reconfirm parental consent when an app undergoes a “significant change,” such as introducing new data collection, monetisation features, or content.
Protect sensitive age‑related data through strict data minimisation and security requirements aligned with the Privacy Act 2020.

Similarly, developers will be required to:

Use the age‑category information provided by app stores to enforce age‑appropriate settings and comply with New Zealand law.
Request and use age‑category data only when necessary and in accordance with privacy standards.
Notify app stores of any significant changes that may impact on the safety or privacy of young users.

The Bill also prevents both app store providers and developers from enforcing financial contracts (such as in‑app purchases) against minors unless proper parental consent has been verified.

The draft Bill reinforces New Zealand’s commitment to protecting children’s privacy by ensuring that only the minimum necessary information is collected, that data is secured to industry standards, and that it cannot be repurposed beyond what the Act permits.

Emergency-only apps, such as 111 or crisis support applications, are explicitly exempt from parental consent requirements to preserve immediate access in urgent situations.

Family First calls on the government or individual MPs to take up this sensible and world-leading draft legislation. Drawing off developments overseas, New Zealand is well placed to be one of the first countries to establish a comprehensive regulatory framework requiring age verification / estimation, parental consent, and responsible data sharing across mobile app ecosystems.

Family First calls on the current parliament to make this App Store Accountability Bill a priority before the 2026 election.

READ THE BILL HERE

MIL OSI

AutoCount Unveils BIR-Accredited POS with Euronet QRPH Integration at Inaugural 2026 Philippines Partner Conference

MIL OSI — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 02:02:41 +0000

Source: Media Outreach

MANILA, PHILIPPINES – Media OutReach Newswire – 17 March 2026 – AutoCount, a leading provider of financial management software solutions, successfully held its first AutoCount Philippines Partner Conference 2026. Bringing together 60 partners to strengthen collaboration and showcase innovations.

AutoCount top management members and Euronet representative unveil the BIR-Accredited POS with Euronet QRPH Integration

The event was attended by an official delegation from the Embassy of Malaysia in the Philippines, Mr. Norjufri Nizar Edrus, Deputy Chief of Mission; Ms. Azlina Che Dir, Trade Commissioner; and Mr. Mohd Amsyari Yahya, Assistant Trade Commissioner from MATRADE Manila.

The conference highlighted AutoCount’s product developments, software localization for Philippines BIR compliance, and 2026 roadmap, reinforcing its commitment to helping SMEs thrive in the country’s digital economy and cashless payment ecosystem.

Driving the Cashless Revolution: Euronet QRPH Integration

The key highlight of the conference was the unveiling of AutoCount’ integrated Point of Sale (POS) solution. By partnering with Euronet Services Inc., AutoCount now enables merchants to accept standardized QRPH payments directly within their existing POS workflow.

This integration eliminates the need for additional external hardware and complex manual entry, addressing the growing consumer preference for contactless transactions in the Philippines. Key benefits for merchants include:

Faster Checkout: Reduced wait times through instant QR scanning.
Operational Efficiency: Automated reconciliation, reduced cash handling risks.
Future-Ready Tech: Aligned with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) direction towards a cashless ecosystem.

Full BIR Compliance for Philippine SMEs

Navigating tax regulations is a challenge for local businesses. Retailers can now operate with confidence that their system meets BIR requirements for official receipts, sales reporting, and proper record-keeping, eliminating compliance concerns and allowing them to focus on growing their business instead.

Speaking at the launch, AutoCount CEO, Mr. Choo Yan Tiee highlighted, “The retail landscape is changing fast. Customers expect convenience, cashless options, and faster checkout. QR payments are no longer optional. They are becoming the standard. With this integration, we are equipping our partners, and support merchants with a future-ready solution that aligns with the Philippines’ digital payment direction.”

Empowering a Growing Partner Ecosystem

The conference was attended by over 60 partners from the Philippines, and Malaysia, reflecting the growing strength of AutoCount’s regional network. A dedicated session showcased partner-developed plugins, proving the software’s flexibility and extensibility to support diverse industries and business requirements.

Strategic Vision for 2026

The event concluded with a roadmap focused on deeper localization and strengthening the Authorized Partner network in Philippines. As the digital economy accelerates, AutoCount remains committed to delivering compliant, scalable, BIR CAS-ready accounting and POS solutions for SMEs.

https://ph.autocountsoft.com
https://www.linkedin.com/company/autocount-my/
https://facebook.com/autocountphilippines

Hashtag: #BusinessSolutions #SMEGrowth #DigitalTransformation #DigitalEconomy #AccountingSoftware #POSSoftware #BIRAccredited #CashlessPayments #PhilippinesSMEs #EntrepreneursPH #PhilippinesBusiness #AutoCount #PartnerConference2026 #Euronet #MATRADE

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

– Published and distributed with permission of Media-Outreach.com.

Who is Khaby Lame – the world’s most followed TikToker?

MIL OSI — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:28:03 +0000

Source: Radio New Zealand

His name is Khabane Lame, but he is known worldwide as Khaby Lame. Born in Dakar, Senegal, he is the most followed content creator on TikTok.

He became famous for video clips in which he reacts to absurd “life hack” videos with a blank, slightly annoyed face, showing the hack wasn’t needed.

At the time of writing he has over 160 million followers: a world record achieved without uttering a single word. In January he sold his brand rights for nearly US$1 billion.

Khaby Lame attending the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating.

AFP/DIA DIPASUPIL

Review: Project Hail Mary is a Ryan Gosling-powered hope rocket

MIL OSI — Tue, 17 Mar 2026 00:28:00 +0000

Source: Radio New Zealand

As Project Hail Mary‘s amnesiac hero problem-solves his way around the spaceship he’s woken up on alone, he asks: “Am I smart?”

It’s a bold question to put in the air at the start of a film that fuses a silly, human-alien buddy comedy and a deeply earnest tale about how science and cooperation may yet save humanity.

And while the answer is that this sci-fi spectacular is perhaps a smidgen goofier than it is clever, it’s also charming, looks stellar, and is non-stop ride fuelled by a message of hope and powered by a star.

This video is hosted on Youtube.

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On paper this should be bleak, but directors Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (The Lego Movie, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse) play it for laughs the whole way, packing it densely (perhaps too densely) with slapstick and comedic dialogue that really take the edge off.

Its true shape comes into relief as Grace encounters Rocky, an extraterrestrial in the exact same predicament he’s in, and a friendship blossoms as the pair try to save their homeworlds together.

We spend the bulk of the film watching Gosling trading banter with a part-puppet, part-computer-generated rock creature with no face. It’s pretty compelling for the most part, darn-right heartwarming when it needs to be, and just occasionally a bit too close to saccharin. Fair warning to those with an aversion to quippy banter: you may find it cloying at points.

But Gosling, here, proves why he’s a star. It’s not a role that really stretches his skills and he’s unlikely to win awards. It’s more a demonstration that turning a camera at him more-or-less gets you half way to a film.

He’s utterly magnetic, even when he’s not doing a lot as the nerdy and panicky Grace, and manages to convey chemistry with a puppet for huge chunks of the runtime. He pulls off a solid cry or two when called upon.

Project Hail Mary is adapted from the 2021 novel by Andy Weir, best known for his Mars survival story The Martian. Weir’s books, at times, read like technical manuals on physics, chemistry and biology, as their scientist heroes science their way through seemingly impossible odds.

The adaptation, written by Drew Goddard (Cloverfield, Bad Times at the El Royale), deftly pares back the details, while still clinging onto that satisfying feeling of watching someone smart think their way through problems.

It also manages to get impressive clarity out of a story that throws a new idea in every few minutes. At longer than two-and-a-half hours, it should feel relentless, but mostly flies past.

It helps that from its opening frames, Project Hail Mary‘s reported $US248 million budget is evident on the screen.

Cinematographer Greig Fraser works the same magic he did on Dune, Rogue One and The Batman. The sets are impressively tactile, taking queues from some of the all-time sci-fi greats. Rocky is designed and shot with surprisingly effective simplicity. The action is tight and clear, even as it explodes into nebulas of CG effects.

None of this is particularly original, but it pulls off the trick of showing you the impossible and making you forget it’s not real.

Meanwhile, Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall, The Zone of Interest) – as the brutally pragmatic leader of Earth’s coordinated efforts to stop the apocalypse – is the other secret ingredient. Both devastatingly funny and terrifying in her dead-pan deliveries, she steals scenes from Gosling, and forms the film’s earnest, emotional spine.

And it’s this core that Project Hail Mary‘s jokey, family-friendly, big-budget hull is delivery mechanism for.

This is a blockbuster with no bad guys, no guns, no violence.

It’s a tale not of rugged individuals, but pretty ordinary people being a bit smart, a bit brave and, most importantly, recognising that cooperation and trust are the closest thing we have to hope.

Project Hail Mary asks us to believe; not in aliens, not in futuristic technology, and not in Ryan Gosling, but the idea that if we put our heads together, we might just be able to save ourselves.

Boris Jancic is a member of RNZ’s digital team and reviews films.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Kiribati ministerial delegation visits EIT to explore RSE training opportunities

LiveNews Publisher — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 23:17:36 +0000

Source: Eastern Institute of Technology

2 minutes ago

A ministerial delegation from Kiribati has visited EIT’s Hawke’s Bay campus to learn about the institute’s national training programme supporting workers in New Zealand’s Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.

The delegation, led by Kiribati’s Minister for Employment and Human Resources Hon Auria Kitina, met with EIT staff involved in the programme during a visit on Friday (March 13).

A ministerial delegation from Kiribati, led by Minister for Employment and Human Resources Hon Auria Kitina, visited EIT.

The visit, coordinated by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, focused on labour mobility and opportunities for Kiribati workers participating in the RSE scheme.

It was the first time a Kiribati ministerial delegation had visited EIT. Since the programme, known as NOA – Village of Learning, was launched in June last year, a ministerial delegation from Papua New Guinea has also visited, along with liaison officers from other Pacific countries.

EIT holds the national contract to deliver training to RSE workers across New Zealand, providing practical courses designed to build skills that workers can take back to their home countries.

EIT RSE National Operations Manager Meriama Taufale said it was a privilege to host the delegation and share how the programme supports both New Zealand’s horticulture and viticulture industries and Pacific communities.

“It was a privilege and an honour to host a ministerial delegation from one of our Pacific partners and for them to see first-hand the opportunities available through the NOA programme,” Meriama said.

“The RSE scheme is hugely important to New Zealand’s horticulture and viticulture industries, and it also creates real economic benefits for Pacific countries through the opportunities workers have while they are here, and the skills they take home with them.”

Secretary Terengaiti Awerika, on behalf of Kiribati’s Minister for Employment and Human Resources Hon Auria Kitina, said the visit provided a valuable opportunity to strengthen connections between EIT and the Kiribati Institute of Technology.

“It was a privilege for the Minister and the delegation to meet with EIT staff and learn more about the NOA training programme and how it is tailored to the needs of Kiribati workers.”

“The skills workers gain while in New Zealand are valuable not only for their jobs here but also when they return home, where they can create opportunities for themselves and their families.”

A cohort of Kiribati RSE workers have recently arrived in New Zealand ahead of the harvest season, and Meriama said they will have the opportunity to take part in the programme while they are in the country for nine months.

Since June last year, nearly 1,500 RSE workers have taken part in EIT training programmes delivered across key horticulture regions, from Central Otago to Northland.

Meriama said the programme is designed to ensure workers gain practical skills that can support them long after their time in New Zealand.

“It’s about setting workers up for long-term success when they return home. We are conscious of keeping it simple but doing it well.

“The biggest thing is being able to deliver the training within a country context, meaning it is delivered in the language workers can understand and use to contextualise the learning.”

Courses include practical skills such as concreting, small engine maintenance, financial literacy and small business training.

Meriama said feedback from both workers and employers had been very positive as the programme expanded across the country.

EIT Chief Executive Lucy Laitinen said Noa highlights the importance of partnerships between education, industry and Pacific nations.

“Hawke’s Bay and Tairāwhiti sit at the heart of New Zealand’s horticulture sector, and the RSE scheme plays a vital role in supporting growers in those regions, and around the country. At EIT, we’re proud to deliver training that supports the industry while helping workers

build skills they can take back to their families and communities.”

MIL OSI

EMA – Employers call for regulation of employment advocates as dispute resolution system falters

LiveNews Publisher — Mon, 16 Mar 2026 23:12:57 +0000

Source: EMA

The Employers and Manufacturers Association (EMA) is calling for a review of the employment disputes resolution system and especially the conduct and regulation of employment advocates, following a survey of more than 300 of its members.

Employers pointed to an escalating number of disputes, rising costs, longer case durations, and increasingly adversarial behaviour by employment advocates as growing issues within the system.

EMA Head of Advocacy and Strategy Alan McDonald says the findings show a system “under increasing strain”.

“Employers are telling us the process has become overly complex and burdensome,” he says.

“Disputes are taking longer to resolve and costing far more than they used to. Even when businesses do everything right, many feel pressured to settle early because the cost of defending a claim can be higher than the actual claim.”

Unregulated employment advocates labelled ‘ambulance chasers’

Respondents highlighted the growing influence of unregulated advocates, particularly those operating on ‘no-win, no-fee’ models, citing aggressive or unprofessional behaviour, process delays, inflated settlement demands, high fees for low-quality work, and advice that fuels unnecessary escalation.

“We heard employers describe some advocates as ‘cowboys’ or ‘ambulance chasers’ – strong language that reflects genuine frustration,” says McDonald.

“The common theme is a lack of professional standards. Anyone can call themselves an employment advocate, charge whatever they like, and face no consequences for unethical behaviour.”

Employers also reported that advocates’ fees increasingly become the driving factor in settlement negotiations, with some representatives pushing for their own costs to be covered before meaningfully representing the employee’s interests.

The emergence of AI-generated correspondence – described by some employers as lengthy, inaccurate, or contextually misleading – is also contributing to delays and rising expectations.

The survey drew more than 150 responses in the first few hours and 316 responses overall, indicating strong concern among employers about how the system is operating in practice.

“The speed and volume of the responses show we really hit a raw nerve for employers,” says McDonald.

The EMA is sharing the findings with MBIE, and joining a number of organisations urging the government to review the disputes mediation process and introduce appropriate regulation of employment advocates.

“We want to see accountability for advocates. Employees deserve competent, ethical support, and employers deserve a fair, efficient system they can have confidence in. This shouldn’t be the Wild West,” says McDonald.

The EMA is calling for clear standards that would help protect both employees and employers, reduce unnecessary escalation, and restore trust in a system that many believe is no longer working as intended.

“This survey shows the pressure points clearly. If we don’t act now, the costs, delays and adversarial behaviour will only get worse,” says McDonald. “Regulation of employment advocates is the logical place to start.”

MIL OSI

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