Significant work continues in the Auckland suburb of Papatoetoe, with no signs of any further Oriental fruit flies to date, says Mike Inglis, Biosecurity New Zealand commissioner north.
“We have placed more than 100 extra traps in the area, and checking of all of them has not found any signs of other fruit flies so far,” Mr Inglis says.
“Specialist staff in our mobile laboratory, which is set up at our response base in Auckland, have been hard at work examining fruit and vegetables collected from within Zones A and B. They’ve processed more than 100kg of fruit so far and we’ve found no larvae or eggs, which helps to provide assurance that we are not dealing with a breeding population.”
Mr Inglis thanked the community for its efforts and sector groups for their support.
“We’ve surveyed more than 500 local properties and the fruit grown on them, and we’ll continue to talk to residents, local businesses, and groups, including attending local markets over the weekend to provide information to people. The response from the community is greatly appreciated.
“We have more than 150 people working on the response and a good system in place for how to do things thanks to the 12 previous times we have found and successfully eradicated different fruit flies in New Zealand,” Mr Inglis says.
Household labour force survey estimated working-age population: December 2024 quarter– information release –9 January 2025 –The household labour force survey estimated working-age population table shows the population benchmarks used to produce household labour force survey estimates for the upcoming labour market statistics release.
Te Tai Tokerau Northland will move into a restricted fire season from 8am on Friday 10 January 2025 until further notice.
A restricted fire season means anyone who wants to light an outdoor fire will need a fire permit authorised by Fire and Emergency, which can be applied for atcheckitsalright.nz.
Northland District Manager Wipari Henwood says very little or no rain is predicted in the region for the next 10 days, with strong southwest winds continuing.
“Grass is drying out and forecast spike days – where fire risk rises sharply – increase the difficulty of controlling fires quickly once they have started,” he says.
“As we have seen with recent fires, it takes a large number of our fire brigades, many of them volunteers, with supporting resources and aircraft to contain and control wildfires in Northland.”
Large wildfires such as the Waiharara fire in 2021/22 and near Cape Reinga in 2023 required huge resources to combat and control.
“It took eight days to extinguish the Cape Reinga fire at a cost of more than $1.5m, while the Waiharara fire burnt for 50 days at a cost of more than $10m,” Wipari Henwood says.
“It’s these sorts of fires which we are trying to avoid by implementing a restricted fire season now.”
The restricted fire season covers all of Te Tai Tokerau Northland including Muriwhenua, where a restricted fire season is already in place.
All Department of Conservation land on islands in Northland remain in a prohibited fire season, which means all outdoor fires are banned.
Animal rights organisation SAFE is reinforcing its call for the immediate release of the revised rodeo code of welfare following the deaths of two animals over the new year period.
The first fatality was of a horse used in the Taupō rodeo. The horse was exhibiting lameness following the event in Taupō on 29 December and was killed the following day.
SAFE Campaign Manager Emily Hall says the 23-year-old horse had likely endured years of exploitation in rodeo.
“No animal should suffer and die for entertainment” says Hall. This horse’s tragic death is yet another example of the mistreatment deeply embedded in the rodeo industry”.
The second death on December 30 occurred at the Te Anau rodeo, where a three-year-old bull’s hind leg was dislocated during the bull riding event. He was killed on-site.
“This bull’s leg literally came out of its hip socket” says Hall. “The pain and torment these animals are subjected to is absolutely appalling.”
SAFE asserts these most recent injuries and deaths are indisputable examples of rodeo being in breach of New Zealand’s animal welfare laws and underscore the urgent need for Government action.
“Our Animal Welfare Act states that any physical handling of animals must be done in a way that minimises the likelihood of unnecessary pain or distress, and rodeo practices clearly violate this legislation” says Hall.
“Animals forced to participate in rodeo are subjected to extreme psychological and physical trauma and we should have seen these barbaric events outlawed a long time ago”.
SAFE understands the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) drafted a revised rodeo code of welfare two years ago, however no further steps have been taken either by the NAWAC or Andrew Hoggard, the Minister responsible for Animal Welfare.
“These delays are costing animals their lives”. says Hall. “While NAWAC and the Animal Welfare Minister hold up progress on the revised code of welfare, animals are enduring unnecessary suffering at these brutal events.”
SAFE highlights that the physical pain and distress rodeo practices inflict on animals not only breaches their legal rights, but also goes against Kiwis expectations of animal welfare, particularly as rodeo is promoted as a family-friendly event.
“We continue to call attention to the significant disconnect between what the rodeo industry considers a sport, and the harm inflicted upon the animals in their care”.
“We were deeply concerned to discover that horse trainer Kurtis Pertab, who received a disqualification last year for abusing horses, has been participating in recent rodeo events across the country.” says Hall. “This is yet another indicator that rodeo clubs simply do not take animal welfare seriously enough”.
Following the Government’s 10 December announcement confirming a ban on greyhound racing, SAFE emphasises the similarities with animals being used and abused for the entertainment of a very small minority.
“Rodeo, like greyhound racing, has no place in a society that values compassion for animals” says Hall.
“No animal should have to endure extreme trauma or catastrophic injuries in the name of entertainment, and we are calling on NAWAC and Minister Hoggard to release the revised rodeo code of welfare as a matter of urgency.”
Changing airflows mean changing weather from here till March and, to quote our principal forecaster Chris Brandolino, “La Nina hasn’t gone away”. In short, it’s going to be mixed.
– There is an increased likelihood of more westerly quarter (SW to NW) winds than previously indicated. However, this pattern is expected to be interspersed with easterly quarter (SE to NE) air flows, especially during periods of La Niña-like weather.
– There is enhanced potential for rain events linked to the tropics and sub-tropics to impact the country from mid-January through to March. Apart from the west and east of the South Island, the rest of New Zealand has about equal chances for near normal or above normal rainfall for the coming three months.
– Air temperatures are likely to be above average for the North Island, with about equal chances for near average or above average seasonal temperatures for the South Island. The change in air flow patterns, as noted above, increases the odds for spells of cooler than usual summertime temperatures.
The juvenile/subadult dolphin, which was travelling with a fully grown dolphin, was first reported to DOC’s hotline on 29 December.
DOC Operations Manager, Kirsty Prior, says the team located the dolphin and its companion at 12:50 pm yesterday.
“The disentanglement team were able to get a working line with grapnel and floats on the animal. This allowed the team to bring the dolphin close to the boat and work carefully with specialist knives to cut it free by 1:54 pm.
“We monitored the area for several hours and can confirm the dolphin is free of the entanglement and swimming strongly.
“It will now likely take time to heal and rest after before moving out of the area. Please give the dolphins space during this time.
“We would like to thank everyone who called the hotline, the public were vital in helping our team do their job successfully”, says Kirsty.
Jocelin Friend from Te Kawerau ā Maki welcomed the invitation to be on the vessel and see the disentanglement take place.
“Te Wai Roa ō Kahu and Rangitōpuni awa are our ancestral waterways. Our duty as kaitiaki is to ensure our taonga species are treated with utmost care.
“I was impressed with how the team worked together swiftly, carefully and in respect of tikanga Māori to safely free the dolphin”, says Jocelin.
A reminder to everyone to stay vigilant on the water and keep their distance from marine mammals and to report any sightings to 0800 DOC HOT (0800 36 24 68).
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach Newswire – 8 January 2025 – Gateway Development Alliance Sdn Bhd (“GDA“) and its shareholders (collectively, the “Consortium“) announced that as at 5:00 p.m. today, it has received valid offer acceptances of 1,385.5 million shares and a further 18.2 million shares have accepted the offer pending verification, together representing 84.1% of the total number of issued shares in Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (“MAHB“).
The encouraging level of acceptances by the First Closing Date, despite the intervening holiday period, moves the Consortium decisively towards satisfying the 90% acceptance condition and thus the threshold required to de-list MAHB pursuant to the Offer.
For shareholders who have yet to submit their acceptances, the Consortium wishes to highlight that the offer period has been extended from 8 January 2025 to 17 January 2025. Save for the extension, all other terms including the offer price of RM11.00 and the 90% acceptance condition remain unchanged.
RM11.00 offer price higher than any price MAHB has traded
GDA remains firm that its offer price of RM11.00 per share is highly compelling and attractive to shareholders (see Chart #11). RM11.00 is higher than any price MAHB has ever traded at and represents a 49.5% premium YTD2 and implies a Price-to-Earnings ratio of 37.7x3.
All 14 licensed equity research analysts that currently cover MAHB4 have target prices that are either lower than or equal to RM11.00, and most also explicitly recommend that shareholders accept the offer.
MAHB needs to address shortcomings to compete regionally
The Consortium reiterates its view that MAHB’s shortcomings in maintaining its core assets and systems, and prolonged history of underperformance both operationally and financially, will only be properly addressed if it is not constrained by a public market listing and is able to take a fresh approach.
A case in point is the Aerotrain at KLIA Terminal 1 which has suffered multiple service failures over the last 10 years and continues to be challenged by ongoing and unresolved issues. As it nears the second anniversary of total service suspension, the re-opening date remains uncertain.
The Consortium believes one of the root causes of MAHB’s issues is its continuous underinvestment in critical operational infrastructure and in projects to drive growth and expansion.
Over the last 5 years, MAHB spent RM1.3bn in capex compared to RM18.9bn by Singapore’s Changi, RM8.1bn by Indonesia’s Angkasa Pura and RM6.8bn by Airports of Thailand (“AOT”)5(see Chart #2).
This prolonged underinvestment by MAHB has resulted in an ageing asset base and led to a number of high-profile operational failures. Meanwhile, the passenger experience has deteriorated markedly, as noted by Skytrax whose ranking of KLIA has plummeted from 2nd best airport in the world in 2001 to 71st in 2024. MAHB’s airports are in urgent need of significant remediation and expansion capex.
Unsurprisingly, MAHB has been losing ground in the ASEAN aviation market. Over the last 10 years, KLIA has lost passengers while key regional peers have grown significantly6 (see Chart #3). This has resulted in MAHB’s market share declining from 20% to 16%7 (see Chart #4). Throughout this time, KLIA’s regional peers, including Changi Airport in Singapore and Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, continue to make significant investments to increase their capacity and further distance themselves from KLIA.
Operational challenges have contributed to MAHB’s financial underperformance
Over a 10-year period8, MAHB has consistently underperformed listed APAC peers across a number of key financial metrics (see Charts #5 – #7):
Moreover, MAHB’s dividend has remained stagnant over the last 10 years and MAHB distributed only RM0.11 per share in 2024. This implies a 1.0% dividend yield9, which is four times lower than the KLCI Bursa Malaysia Index10 and three times lower than the DJ Airports index11 (see Chart #8). The RM11 per share offer price compares to RM0.82 of dividends MAHB has paid over the past 10 years (see Chart #9).
Consortium committed to turnaround MAHB
As highlighted in the offer document dated 6 December 2024, the Consortium intends to upgrade and modernise MAHB’s operations, enhance passenger service, improve airline connectivity and stimulate traffic growth. The Consortium believes that such objectives will be best achieved by MAHB as a private entity, taking a long-term approach to decision-making and capital investment, and benefitting from GIP’s airport expertise.
With its combined resources, control of the board and without the constraints of a public market listing, the Consortium together with management will be able to expedite necessary capital investments and provide the requisite technical expertise to realise MAHB’s full potential.
This offer presents a compelling opportunity for MAHB shareholders to achieve immediate and attractive returns and GDA therefore encourages all shareholders who have not yet accepted the offer to do so before the revised closing time and date of 5:00 p.m. (Malaysian time) on 17 January 2025.
1 15 May 2014 to 15 May 2024. Source: S&P Capital IQ.
2 Year-to-Date, relative to MAHB’s closing share price on 29 December 2023 of RM7.36.
3 Based on RM11.00 offer price and MAHB’s latest audited consolidated annual financial statements.
4 As of 1 December 2024. Excludes Hong Leong Investment Bank Berhad and UBS, who were appointed as MAHB’s independent advisers
5 Currency conversion at spot rate as at the end of each calendar year 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023.
6 Source: Company filings
7 Includes BKK and DMK.
8 Company filings, Bloomberg (excluding Covid period i.e. FY20-22)
9 Calculated based on RM 0.11 dividends per share in 2024 divided by the offer price of RM11.00.
10 KLCI Bursa Malaysia Index as of 13 December 2024.
11 Dow Jones Brookfield Airports Infrastructure Index – yield as per December 2024 fact sheet.
Hashtag: #GatewayDevelopmentAlliance
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
DENVER, Jan. 08, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — American Rare Earths (ASX: ARR | OTCQX: ARRNF | ADR: AMRRY) (“ARR” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that its wholly owned U.S. subsidiary Wyoming Rare (USA) Inc (“WRI”)., has been granted a License to Explore by Dozing at the Halleck Creek Rare Earths Project in Wyoming, USA (“Halleck Creek”).
Highlights
License enables WRI to conduct test mining, trenching, and exploratory excavation, including collecting bulk material samples at the Cowboy State Mine project area within Halleck Creek.
Test mining will allow the company to procure the necessary volumes of ore to be processed at a pilot processing facility, a critical step in refining processing pathways and advancing toward commercial development.
Further demonstrates the State of Wyoming’s reputation as a mining-friendly jurisdiction.
Marks a key step forward in ARR’s strategy to establish Halleck Creek as a cornerstone rare earths project.
Strategic Importance
The ability to collect bulk samples is a pivotal step in advancing Cowboy State Mine at Halleck Creek’s development. Bulk samples are expected to provide feedstock for future pilot plant test work at the company’s recently acquired facility in Laramie, WY.1 This enables ARR to refine processing techniques and optimize project design.
Chris Gibbs, Chief Executive Officer, commented: “This approval is a testament to our team’s hard work and the collaborative relationship we have built within the State of Wyoming. Bulk sampling can allow us to advance pilot plant testing and strengthen the technical foundation for the Cowboy State Mine at Halleck Creek. This is a critical step forward as we work to unlock the project’s full potential. We’re committed to continue our work responsibly while meeting the highest environmental and community standards.”
Next Steps
These activities will play a crucial role in proceeding with pilot plant testing, metallurgical analysis, and process optimization, laying the groundwork for future project development.
ARR will continue to provide updates to shareholders as key milestones are achieved.
This announcement is authorized for release by the CEO of American Rare Earths.
American Rare Earths(ASX: ARR | OTCQX: ARRNF | ADR: AMRRY) owns Wyoming Rare (USA) Inc. which is focused on the development of the Halleck Creek Project, WY. It also owns La Paz, AZ rare earth deposit. Both can potentially become the largest and most sustainable rare earth projects in North America. The Company is developing environmentally friendly and cost-effective extraction and processing methods to meet the rapidly increasing demand for resources essential to the clean energy transition and US national security. The Company continues to evaluate other exploration opportunities and is collaborating with US Government-supported R&D to develop efficient processing and separation techniques of (REEs) elements to help ensure a renewable future.
Growth strategy: medium-term sales potential of more than € 300 million
Growth drivers in the core business: packaging, digital printing Software and lifecycle business
Industrial business: focus on further expansion
175 years: the company has been shaping the printing industry for decades with technological innovations, quality and reliability
Numerous anniversary activities throughout the year
HEIDELBERG, GERMANY – Newsaktuell – 8 January 2025 – Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (HEIDELBERG) is entering its anniversary year 2025 with a growth strategy: March 11, 2025, marks the 175th anniversary of the company’s founding. What began over a century and a half ago as a bell foundry in Frankenthal in the Palatinate region of Germany, has since developed into a leading global technology company and total solutions provider for print shops and packaging applications. HEIDELBERG is tackling the challenges of the future with a clear growth strategy.
March 11, 2025 marks the 175th anniversary of the founding of HEIDELBERG. The automatic platen press introduced in 1921 is HEIDELBERG’s best and longest seller with a printing capacity of 3,000 sheets per hour and is the epitome of precision, performance and reliability.
“To expand our market position, we are increasingly tapping into growth potential in our core business in packaging and digital printing as well as in the software and lifecycle business,” says Jürgen Otto, CEO of HEIDELBERG. “We will also continue to expand our offering in the growing green technologies market. This includes key areas such as high-precision mechanical engineering, the automotive industry, charging infrastructure and software, and new hydrogen technologies.” In total, HEIDELBERG sees growth potential of more than € 300 million in sales for all strategic initiatives by the 2028/2029 financial year, while at the same time consolidating performance and increasing efficiency.
Packaging market has seen significant growth since 2014
HEIDELBERG is benefiting from the constantly growing global demand for packaging. The end customer market for packaging has grown by more than 6o percent worldwide over the past ten years. In cooperation with Solenis, HEIDELBERG is responding to the global trend away from plastic and foil towards paper-based packaging and will in future offer solutions for printing recyclable packaging, particularly for the food industry. The company already generates more than 50 percent of its turnover in the packaging segment. And the trend is clearly upward.
HEIDELBERG seizes opportunities in growing industrial digital printing
According to market estimates, the global digital printing market accessible to HEIDELBERG, including service and consumables, will grow from around EUR 5 billion today to EUR 7.5 billion by 2029. HEIDELBERG has significantly expanded its offering, including through its cooperation with Canon. This will significantly increase sales of digital printing solutions. Incoming orders already confirm this from the next financial year.
International business with high potential
HEIDELBERG sees a lever for more sales growth in its strong international presence in around 170 countries worldwide, with one of the largest global sales and service networks. The company will continue to expand this internationalization, particularly in growth markets such as Asia, the USA and emerging markets. HEIDELBERG has the best prerequisites for this, particularly in China, thanks to its local production and partnership with MK Masterwork. More than 85 percent of the company’s business is already conducted outside Germany.
Focus on expanding industrial business in the Technology segment
Another focus is on HEIDELBERG’s industrial business to open up new product areas, markets, and industries. To this end, the company has extensive skills, expertise and resources that are currently already being used outside the printing industry, particularly in the fields of high-precision mechanical engineering, the automotive industry, electromobility and hydrogen. The company is also increasingly offering its expertise and installed capacities to other companies in order to efficiently industrialize or manufacture their products.
175 years: the company has been shaping the printing industry for decades with technological innovations, quality and reliability HEIDELBERG has been shaping the printing industry for 175 years with innovations, top quality and maximum reliability. Throughout its history, the company has repeatedly set new standards with pioneering developments such as the “Original Heidelberger Tiegel” and the “Speedmaster” model series for sheetfed offset printing. “175 years of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen are a strong testimony to consistency, as well as innovative strength and thus future viability,” says Jürgen Otto. “Thanks to its impressive achievements over the past 175 years, the company is looking forward to further growth in the coming years with its current market position, the expertise of its employees and global customer relationships.”
Numerous anniversary activities throughout the year Together with customers, employees and partners, HEIDELBERG is celebrating its anniversary year with numerous events and activities. In the summer, for example, there will be a week of celebrations at the Wiesloch-Walldorf headquarters in the newly designed demonstration center – the Home of Print – including an anniversary ceremony with guests from all over the world, i.e. customers, suppliers, partners and representatives from politics and society. Family days are planned for employees at individual locations. In addition, there will be an anniversary magazine in which the history of the company will be presented, and the future will be directed.
With around 9,500 employees worldwide, production facilities in several countries and regions, including China and the USA, as well as the densest sales and service network in the industry, HEIDELBERG is now a true global player and world market leader from Germany. “Our history impressively demonstrates how entrepreneurship, technical expertise and the genuine creative power of our employees can have a lasting impact on a company over such a long period of time and, far beyond that, on an entire industry to this day,” Otto continues.
Images and further information about the company are available on the Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG press portal at www.heidelberg.com.
Important note: This press release contains forward-looking statements based on assumptions and estimates made by the management of Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft. Even if the company management is of the opinion that these assumptions and estimates are accurate, actual future developments and future actual results may deviate considerably from these assumptions and estimates due to a variety of factors. These factors may include, for example, changes in the overall economic situation, exchange rates and interest rates as well as changes within the graphic arts industry. Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft provides no guarantee and assumes no liability that future developments and the actual results achieved in the future will correspond to the assumptions and estimates made in this press release.
Hashtag: #HEIDELBERG
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) was established in 2001 to create a thriving I&T ecosystem grooming 13 unicorns, more than 15,000 research professionals and over 2,000 technology companies from 25 countries and regions focused on developing healthtech, AI and robotics, fintech and smart city technologies, etc.
Our growing innovation ecosystem offers comprehensive support to attract and nurture talent, accelerate and commercialise innovation for technology ventures, with the I&T journey built around our key locations of Hong Kong Science Park in Pak Shek Kok, InnoCentre in Kowloon Tong and three modern InnoParks in Tai Po, Tseung Kwan O and Yuen Long realising a vision of new industrialisation for Hong Kong, where sectors including advanced manufacturing, micro-electronics and biotechnology are being reimagined.
Hong Kong Science Park Shenzhen Branch in Futian, Shenzhen plays positive roles in connecting the world and the mainland with our proximity, strengthening cross-border exchange to bring advantages in attracting global talent and allowing possibilities for the development of technology companies in seven key areas: Medtech, big data and AI, robotics, new materials, microelectronics, fintech and sustainability, with both dry and wet laboratories, co-working space, conference and exhibition facilities, and more.
Through our R&D infrastructure, startup support and enterprise services, commercialisation and investment expertise, partnership networks and talent traction, HKSTP continues to contribute in establishing I&T as a pillar of growth for Hong Kong.
More information about HKSTP is available at www.hkstp.org.
