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ASTRI sets up FinTech and ESG Alliance

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Signifies Hong Kong’s emergence as a green FinTech hub

HONG KONG, Feb. 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) has inaugurated a “FinTech and ESG Alliance” on 22 February to foster a dynamic platform for exchange and knowledge-sharing. This alliance aims to enhance engagement with regulators, policymakers, incubators and accelerators, FinTech start-ups and enterprises, as well as other stakeholders to promote technological collaboration and commercialisation, bolstering Hong Kong’s role as a world-leading green FinTech hub.

ASTRI was honoured to have the Hon Jeffrey Lam, Member, Executive Council and Legislative Council, HKSAR Government, as our Guest-of-Honour, together with over 400 experts and leaders from the academia, FinTech and the green sectors witness this special occasion.  Distinguished representatives from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, Invest Hong Kong and several financial institutions were invited to address the seminar. The discussion covered various topics such as the digital transformation of banking and insurance industries, digital asset, sustainable finance and related policy, heralding a new era of digital innovation in financial industry.

In the Policy Address 2023, the HKSAR Chief Executive highlighted the government’s commitment to driving green and sustainable finance in Hong Kong. In addition, Financial Secretary said earlier that building Hong Kong as an international green tech and green finance hub is one of the main goals in the coming year, as sustainability is a global agenda. “Alongside promoting the development of technological solutions and providing early-stage funding support for pre-commercialised green FinTech, we’re dedicated to expanding the green FinTech ecosystem and developing Hong Kong into a green FinTech hub,” said the Hon Jeffrey Lam, who also commended ASTRI for its significant contribution in this initiative.

“Our expertise in the financial sector spans a broad spectrum, providing diversified financial products and services in banking, investment, insurance and others, which exemplifies our role as Asia’s green FinTech hub,” he added.

Technology transforms financial services

The financial sector has long been a vital pillar of Hong Kong economy, contributing to over 20% of the city’s GDP. As Hong Kong continues to evolve into an international innovation and technology hub, there is an explosive expansion in the FinTech community.

Ir Sunny Lee, Chairman, ASTRI stressed that national policy supports Hong Kong’s journey to become a global innovation and technology (I&T) hub, with FinTech playing a crucial role in smart city development. “The Alliance serves as an effective communication platform for the industry to explore the utilisation of emerging technologies such as AI and blockchain to revolutionise financial services, enhance operational efficiency, and expedite the I&T adoption to benefit businesses and the public, cementing Hong Kong’s leading role as a financial hub,” he said.

Promote FinTech adoption for ESG

To foster the development of a knowledge-based economy and enhance accessibility to financial services for both the public and businesses, the HKSAR Government actively supports the growth of financial technology. This includes promoting more FinTech services and products to undergo proof-of-concept trials, alongside the enhancement of innovative FinTech infrastructure.

Mr Joseph Chan, Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, HKSAR Government said:”To better integrate Fintech with green finance and actively expand the green Fintech ecosystem, we will launch a dedicated proof-of-concept subsidy scheme for green Fintech in the first half of this year. This pioneering scheme is designed to stimulate the development of innovative technological solutions in the green sector and to offer early-stage funding support for pre-commercial green Fintech initiatives.”

Aligned with the HKSAR Government’s initiatives, ASTRI has commercialised several self-developed technologies in FinTech & ESG fields. Key projects include: (1) collaborating with Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and Hong Kong Monetary Authority to establish a proof-of-concept CBDC system focusing on safety, flexibility and privacy; (2) creating a privacy-preserving Federated Learning model to enable banks to utilise alternative data for developing new credit models and aiding SMEs in obtaining financing; (3) establishing a sandbox environment to offer private, controlled and quorum-based runtimes for assessing the performance and security of smart contracts.

With the escalation of global climate change, there is a growing demand for environmental, social and governance (ESG) information disclosure from listed companies worldwide. ASTRI’s “Artificial Intelligence ESG Report Analysis” technology leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and deep learning technologies to assist financial institutions in enhancing the efficiency of processing ESG report data. This innovative solution aids in meeting regulatory compliance requirements and information disclosure standard, while minimising compliance cost.

Encourage I&T collaboration

The “FinTech and ESG Alliance” marks ASTRI’s third alliance formation.  Dr Denis Yip, Chief Executive Officer of ASTRI said: “Building on our previous achievements, our goal is to engage with all stakeholders to develop a holistic ecosystem that paves the way for an innovative era of financial services and sustainability. ASTRI remains committed in advancing knowledge transfer and technological innovation, fostering collaboration among Alliance members and the global industry through a range of networking and matchmaking initiatives.”

ASTRI is dedicated to promoting collaboration among government, industry, universities and research sectors. This commitment aims to enhance cooperation across the I&T industry’s upstream, midstream, and downstream segments, while also nurturing Hong Kong’s financial talent pool. Over the past two years, ASTRI has entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with six local universities (HKU, CUHK, HKUST, City U, PolyU and BU) and formed two industry alliances: the “Microelectronics Technology Consortium” (November 2022) and “Smart Mobility Technology (C-V2X) Alliance” (April 2023).

The newly established “FinTech and ESG Alliance” is backed by banks, financial institutions and businesses. It aims to foster the convergence of emerging FinTech solutions and drive the digital transformation of conventional financial and insurance services to enhance operational efficiency. The Alliance is set to host a series of events for its members including talks, seminars, technology showcases, overseas missions, to facilitate collaboration among stakeholders and tap into fresh opportunities in the Mainland China and overseas, injecting new impetus into Hong Kong’s economy.

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About ASTRI

Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute (ASTRI) was founded by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2000 with the mission of enhancing Hong Kong’s competitiveness through applied r esearch. ASTRI’s core R&D competence in various areas is grouped under five Technology Divisions: Advanced Electronic Components and Systems; Artificial Intelligence and Trust Technologies; Communications Technologies; Innovative Mind, and IoT Sensing and AI Technologies. It is applied across six core areas which are Smart City, Financial Technologies, New-Industrialisation and Intelligent Manufacturing, Digital Health, Application Specific Integrated Circuits and Metaverse.

Over the years, ASTRI has nurtured a pool of research, I&T talents and received numerous international awards for its pioneering innovations as well as outstanding business and community contributions. ASTRI has transferred more than 1,400 technologies to the industry and has been granted over 1,050 patents in the Mainland, the United States, and other countries. For further information, please visit www.astri.org.

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SK hynix Announces 3Q26 Financial Results

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Reports revenues of 104.6155 trillion won, operating profit of 83.3338 trillion won, net profit of 39.7756 trillion won; Quarterly sales surpass 100 trillion won for the first timeSales of HBM4 and high-value-added server products expanded; HBM4 expected to be the mainstream product from the fourth quarterLong-term agreements secured for more than 50% of 2027~2028 production capacity; A structure that reflects market conditions and ensures stable profitabilityMost of the gains from the Kioxia investment to be shared with shareholders, with  approximately 100 trillion won in shareholder returns to be executed this year

SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 27, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — SK hynix Inc. (or “the company”, www.skhynix.com) announced today that it has recorded 104.6155 trillion won in revenues, 83.3338 trillion won in operating profit (with an operating margin of 80%), and 39.7756 trillion won in net profit (with a net margin of 38%) in the third quarter.

Record quarterly results in both revenue and operating profit and revenue surpasses 100 trillion won for the first time

In a market environment in which prices of key products have risen on the back of growing demand for AI memory, the company once again posted all-time-high quarterly results in both revenue and operating profit, underpinned by the competitiveness of its high-value-added products. In particular, revenue exceeded 100 trillion won for the first time in the company’s history. Revenue and operating profit increased by 32% and 38%, from the previous quarter, respectively.

– Q2 2026: Revenue of 79.3187 trillion won, Operating Profit of 60.5426 trillion won

By product, DRAM results were driven by a significant increase in sales of server DDR5 while HBM4 shipments began in earnest. In NAND, sales of 321-layer TLC eSSD expanded, and high-value-added products for data centers continued to grow across the board.

The company’s financial structure has also become significantly concrete. At the end of the third quarter, cash and cash equivalents stood at 114.5 trillion won, up 26.5 trillion won from the end of the previous quarter, while borrowings decreased by 2.8 trillion won to 15.8 trillion won. As a result, net cash increased to 98.7 trillion won.

Memory supply shortage to persist through 2030

SK hynix analyzed that a virtuous cycle has taken hold in which AI-driven productivity gains and new revenue generation in areas such as software development, customer service, and search lead to greater AI adoption, which in turn drives increased investment in infrastructure. It also projected that, as the drivers of AI investment move beyond the early stage, when a small number of companies accounted for most of it, and broaden to include general enterprises and nation-level initiatives, the global AI data center infrastructure market will continue to grow steadily.

The company likewise expects the memory market to sustain its growth, led in the short term by enterprise and personal AI and, over the mid-to-long term, by physical AI such as autonomous driving and robotics.

The company assessed that supply, on the other hand, is not keeping pace with the growth of the market. Given technical difficulty of leading-edge processes and the long lead time required to build new production facilities, it expects the structure in which demand exceeds supply to persist through 2030.

Expanding production capacity and strengthening product competitiveness to achieve a further step up in growth next year

Building on these favorable conditions, the company plans to accelerate the expansion of production capacity and the strengthening of product competitiveness in order to sustain the current growth momentum, and to scale up revenue and profit one step further next year.

First, the company plans to rapidly increase the portion of its 10nm-class 6th generation (1c) process technology and expand sales of DDR5 and LPDDR5 SOCAMM for AI servers, thereby further strengthening its DRAM portfolio centered on high-value-added products.

To respond to surging HBM demand, the company will ramp up M15X to maximum capacity by the end of the year to increase HBM4 production. Accordingly, the company expects HBM4 to surpass HBM3E in both shipment volume and revenue in the fourth quarter and to establish itself as a mainstream product.

In NAND, the company will raise the ratio of its 321-layer process to more than half of its domestic production capacity in the fourth quarter, and thereby increase the supply of high-performance, high-capacity eSSD. Over the mid-to-long term, the company intends to develop NAND into a core solution that enhances the throughput and economic efficiency of AI services, based on HBF and system optimization technologies.

Long-term agreements secured for more than 50% of 2027~2028 production capacity and the company to drastically expand investment next year

To improve mid-to-long term demand visibility and solidify its growth foundation, SK hynix is expanding long-term agreements (LTAs) with customers. The company has currently signed LTAs with 14 major customers, including leading global cloud service providers (CSPs), and is also proactively discussing with a number of customers the possibility of extending the contract terms, which are typically five years.

The LTA volume secured to date corresponds to more than 50% of total production capacity for 2027 and 2028. In particular, by introducing a mechanism that reflects market conditions within a price range agreed upon with customers, the company has established a structure that secures stable profitability while allowing flexible responses to market changes.

Backed by the demand visibility, the company is also moving to expand its production capabilities. Next year, with the Yongin Phase 1 entering full-scale operation and domestic and overseas infrastructure investment gaining momentum, investment is expected to increase significantly. The company nevertheless plans to adjust the scale and timing of its investment flexibly, after carefully weighing customer demand, product competitiveness, profitability and investment efficiency.

Most of the gains from the Kioxia investment to be shared with shareholders, with approximately 100 trillion won in shareholder returns to be executed this year

As previously indicated in August, SK hynix announced its additional shareholder return plan. For fiscal year 2026, the company will pursue shareholder returns totaling approximately 100 trillion won, comprising cash dividends of 30 trillion won or more and share repurchases and cancellations of 60 trillion won or more in total, including the 40 trillion won announced in August. Through this, the company intends to fulfill its commitment to return 50% or more of free cash flow (FCF). Of this, the 40 trillion won share repurchase announced in August was completed last week, and the shares will be cancelled shortly.

The company also set out its principles: the dividend amount will be determined on the basis of operating results; if significant investment gains arise, they will be returned additionally through special dividends; and share repurchases will continue every quarter.

At today’s meeting, the Board of Directors resolved on a third-quarter cash dividend of 14 trillion won and a share repurchase of 20 trillion won. Of the shares to be repurchased, 10 trillion won, earmarked for shareholder returns, will be cancelled in full, while the remaining approximately 10 trillion won will be used for employee compensation and is not included in the shareholder return total.

The third-quarter dividend is 20,000 won per share, consisting of a 10,000-won dividend reflecting improved earnings and a 10,000 won special dividend that shares the gains from the Kioxia investment. The company has decided to return to shareholders most of the gains realized from its Kioxia investment this year.

SK hynix emphasized that it will deliver stable results based on robust memory demand growth and technological competitiveness and the company will consistently share financial achievements with our shareholders.

 3Q26 Financial Results (K-IFRS)

*Unit: Billion KRW

3Q26

QoQ

YoY

2Q26

Change

3Q25

Change

Revenues

104,615.5

79,318.7

32 %

24,448.9

328 %

Operating Profit

83,333.8

60,542.6

38 %

11,383.4

632 %

Operating Margin

80 %

76 %

3%p

47 %

33%p

Net Income

39,775.6

93,922.6

-58 %

12,597.5

216 %

* Financial information of the earnings is based on K-IFRS

* Please note that the financial results discussed herein are preliminary and speak only as of October 28, 2026. Readers should not assume that this information remains operative at a later time.

* Percentage changes are calculated on the basis of unrounded figures.

Disclaimer

This material has been prepared by the Company for informational purposes only, and the information contained herein has not undergone any separate, independent verification process. No representations or warranties are made regarding the fairness, accuracy, or completeness of the information contained in this material, and such information should not be relied upon. Neither the Company nor its employees bear any civil, criminal, or administrative liability for any damages arising from this material or from its use.

Review of the FY2026 Q3 financial results has not been finalized. Figures in this earnings release are subject to changes during the independent auditing process.

All financial information contained in this document is based on consolidated K-IFRS.

This material contains forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties. These statements are generally identified words such as “may,” “will,” “intend,” “should,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “estimate” and similar expressions, or the negative of such expressions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to inherent risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any of these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof. SK hynix undertakes no obligation to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news release or to reflect actual outcomes, unless required by law.

This material does not constitute a solicitation for the acquisition or purchase of securities, and no part of this material should serve as the basis for any contract, agreement, or investment decision, nor should it be relied upon in connection therewith.

About SK hynix Inc.

SK hynix Inc., headquartered in Korea, is the world’s top tier semiconductor supplier offering Dynamic Random Access Memory chips (“DRAM”) and flash memory chips (“NAND flash”) for a wide range of distinguished customers globally. The Company’s shares are traded on the Korea Exchange, and the Global Depository shares are listed on the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. Further information about SK hynix is available at www.skhynix.com, news.skhynix.com.

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DealLabs Builds Travel AI Data Layer with 280,000 Verified Local Records Across Seven Asian Cities

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SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Seoul-based travel data company DealLabs announced that it has built a database of verified local travel information for seven Asian cities: Seoul, Busan, Tokyo, Osaka, Bangkok, Taipei, and Singapore. As of October 13, the database contained more than 280,000 records, each accompanied by its source and verification date. It powers more than 23,000 guide pages and is published in formats AI systems can read directly.

It covers what travelers look for after arriving: subway station exits, timetables, first and last trains, fares, restaurants, tourist attractions, hospitals, closing days for Singapore’s hawker centers, and business hours for Taipei’s night markets. In Osaka alone, the database contains more than 114,000 records, including more than 42,000 medical institutions and pharmacies and more than 30,000 restaurant permits. In Taipei, it contains more than 63,000 records, including 7,200 station-to-station fares.

The number of times generative AI search and answer services accessed DealLabs’ data increased from around 600 times per day on a seven-day average in late September to more than 11,000 times per day in mid-October, nearly 20-fold in less than a month.

Travel information changes rapidly. On the same day, public event listings and organizers’ own notices gave different end dates for three of 25 pop-up stores in Seoul, up to 10 days apart. Business hours, closing days, last train times, and fares are among the areas where AI travel answers are most frequently inaccurate. DealLabs continuously updates this information using official sources.

All seven cities have AI-ready guide files (llms.txt) and data APIs, while Seoul also provides a standard API specification (OpenAPI). The seven cities are run using a single common engine, allowing a new city to be added simply by incorporating that city’s data and sources.

DealLabs is also piloting “Visit Plan Check,” which checks travel AI itineraries against official sources daily.

Young Cho, founder and CEO of DealLabs, said, “When travelers ask AI a question, what matters is whether the answer is accurate for that city today. We will establish a standard for local data that travel AI can rely on.”

DealLabs plans to expand its coverage to 10 cities by the end of 2026 and to 30 cities, including New York and Paris, by 2028.

For more information, please visit https://deallabs.net.

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Teijin Selects Kharon to Strengthen Export Controls Compliance Across Global Operations

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Kharon ClearView will support Teijin teams in Japan, the United States, and Europe as they navigate Japanese and U.S. export controls requirements.

DENVER, Oct. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Kharon, a data and technology company that provides risk intelligence solutions to help organizations manage regulatory and business risk, announced that Teijin Limited has selected Kharon ClearView to support its export controls compliance program.

Headquartered in Japan, Teijin operates a global materials business that includes carbon fiber and other advanced materials used in aerospace and industrial applications. Its international operations require compliance teams to navigate export control requirements across multiple jurisdictions, including Japan and the United States.

“As a global company, we need an export controls approach that can support our teams across markets,” said Hitoshi Onodera, General Manager of the Quality Assurance and Security Export Control Department and Manager of the Security Export Control Group at Teijin. “We selected Kharon because of the depth of its risk intelligence, ease of use, and its ability to give our teams greater visibility into the entities and relationships that matter to our reviews. ClearView will help us bring that context consistently into our due diligence processes across our operations.”

Teijin will deploy ClearView across its operations globally. ClearView enables compliance teams to investigate complex entity relationships, including ownership and commercial connections to parties subject to export controls and other trade restrictions.

“Advanced materials companies operate in an increasingly complex export controls environment, where understanding the parties behind a transaction can be just as important as screening the names directly involved,” said Ethan Woolley, Global Director of Strategy at Kharon. “Teijin’s decision to deploy ClearView across its operations reflects the importance of having that level of insight. We are pleased to support its teams as they strengthen their approach to export controls compliance.”

About Teijin

Teijin Limited is a Japan-based global technology company providing products and solutions across advanced materials, healthcare, and other technology-driven fields. Founded in 1918, Teijin’s businesses include high-performance materials such as aramid fibers, carbon fibers, and composites, serving applications across mobility, infrastructure, industry, and other markets. The Teijin Group comprises 126 companies and approximately 15,700 employees worldwide.

For more information, visit https://www.teijin.co.jp/.

About Kharon

Kharon’s intelligence supports compliance, trade, risk, and national security programs at organizations around the world, including seven of the 10 largest U.S. banks, six of the 10 largest EU banks, and over 35 Fortune 100 companies. Kharon’s data can also be directly integrated with AI applications and agentic operations through Kharon’s API, MCP, and agent gateway infrastructure, enabling organizations to embed Kharon’s sourced, structured insights into automated workflows alongside their teams.

Visit kharon.com and follow Kharon on LinkedIn to stay connected.

Media contact

Kharon
media@kharon.com

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