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OPPORTUNITY ZONE HOME PRICES CONTINUE RIDING WAVE OF GAINS ACROSS U.S. DURING SECOND QUARTER OF 2024

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Median Home Values Increase in More Than Half of Opportunity Zones Targeted for Economic Redevelopment; Price Trends Inside Those Zones Continue to Closely Follow National Market Patterns; Some Measures in Opportunity Zones Again Outpace Nationwide Improvements

IRVINE, Calif., Aug. 8, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — ATTOM, a leading curator of land, property, and real estate data, today released its second-quarter 2024 report analyzing qualified low-income Opportunity Zones targeted by Congress for economic redevelopment in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (see full methodology below). In this report, ATTOM looked at 3,904 zones around the United States with sufficient data to analyze, meaning they had at least five home sales in the second quarter of 2024.

The report found that median single-family home and condo prices increased from the first quarter of 2024 to the second quarter of 2024 in 61 percent of Opportunity Zones around the country with enough data to measure. They were up annually in 62 percent of the zones analyzed.

Amid a nationwide price surge during the annual Springtime home buying season, median prices inside nearly half of the zones analyzed shot up more than 10 percent quarterly and annually.

Those trends, in and around low-income neighborhoods where the federal government offers tax breaks to spur economic revival, continued a long-term pattern of home values inside Opportunity Zones moving parallel to broader nationwide shifts for at least the last three years. That pattern has remained in place regardless of whether prices have surged, grown modestly or ticked downward.

The second-quarter price spikes were mixed, raising fortunes more so in higher-priced Opportunity Zones, while benefiting fewer of the very lowest-priced neighborhoods. Nevertheless, the broad picture remained one of ongoing economic strength, or limited weakness, inside some of the country’s most distressed communities compared to other markets around the country.

By a few measures, Opportunity Zones price trends even showed signs, yet again, of doing somewhat better than the nation as a whole during the second quarter of 2024. For example, increases in median home-values outpaced national gains in a slightly larger portion of zones than elsewhere.

“The trickle-down impact of the extended housing market boom across the U.S. continues to uplift many neighborhoods in need, revealing their economic potential,” said Rob Barber, CEO of ATTOM. “This pattern is especially evident in Opportunity Zones as house hunters priced out of more-expensive areas turn to places they can afford. While gains inside these zones vary, many are experiencing price increases, demonstrating the momentum necessary to attract the investments that the Opportunity Zone model is designed to generate.”

Opportunity Zones are defined in the Tax Act legislation as census tracts in or alongside low-income neighborhoods that meet various criteria for redevelopment in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and U.S. territories. Census tracts, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, cover areas that have 1,200 to 8,000 residents, with an average of about 4,000 people.

Amid economic limitations, most Opportunity Zones still had typical home values that fell well below those in other markets around the nation in the second quarter of 2024. Median second-quarter prices inside 80 percent of the zones were less the U.S. median of $365,000. That was about the same portion as in earlier periods over the past three years. In addition, median prices remained under $200,000 in almost half the zones.

High-level findings from the report:

Median prices of single-family homes and condos increased from the first to the second quarter of 2024 in 1,932 (61 percent) of the Opportunity Zones around the U.S. with sufficient data to analyze, while staying the same or decreasing in 39 percent. Measured annually, medians remained up from the second quarter of 2023 to the same period this year in 2,140 (62 percent) of those zones. (Among the 3,904 Opportunity Zones included in the report, 3,185 had enough data to generate usable median-price comparisons from the first to the second quarter of 2024; 3,456 had enough data to make comparisons between the second quarter of 2023 and the second quarter of 2024).Opportunity Zones did even better than the rest of the nation when comparing price changes to shifts in the national median home price. Median values in 45 percent of Opportunity Zones went up from the first to the second quarter of this year by more than the 9 percent annual gain nationwide. The same was true in slightly less – 41 percent – of local housing markets outside the zones. (A similar pattern emerged when comparing shifts in prices annually.)However, median prices were up quarterly and annually in only about 45 percent of Opportunity Zones where homes commonly sold for less than $125,000 during the second quarter of 2024. Prices climbed during that time frame in 60 percent to 66 percent of zones with higher home values.Among states that had at least 25 Opportunity Zones with enough data to analyze during the second quarter of 2024, the largest portions of zones where median prices increased quarterly were in Massachusetts (medians up from the first to the second quarter of 2024 in 73 percent of zones), Maryland (68 percent), Oregon (68 percent), New York (67 percent) and Virginia (65 percent). States where prices were up quarterly in the smallest portion of zones included Georgia (median prices up in 50 percent of zones), Louisiana (53 percent), Minnesota (56 percent), Kentucky (56 percent) and California (56 percent).States where median home values in Opportunity Zones remained up most often year over year included New Jersey (median prices up annually in 81 percent of zones), Nevada (79 percent), Ohio (73 percent), New Mexico (69 percent) and Virginia (69 percent).Of the 3,904 zones in the report, 1,148 (29 percent) had median prices below $150,000 in the second quarter of 2024. That was down from 34 percent of zones with sufficient data a year earlier and almost 60 percent five years ago. Another 647 zones (17 percent) had medians in the second quarter of this year ranging from $150,000 to $199,999.Median values in the second quarter of 2024 ranged from $200,000 to $299,999 in 23 percent of Opportunity Zones, while they topped the nationwide second-quarter median of $365,000 in just 20 percent.The Midwest continued in the second quarter of 2024 to have larger portions of the lowest-priced Opportunity Zone tracts. Median home prices were less than $175,000 in 61 percent of zones in the Midwest, followed by the Northeast (41 percent), the South (39 percent) and the West (5 percent).

Report methodology
The ATTOM Opportunity Zones analysis is based on home sales price data derived from recorded sales deeds. Statistics for previous quarters are revised when each new report is issued as more deed data becomes available. ATTOM’s analysis compared median home prices in census tracts designated as Opportunity Zones by the Internal Revenue Service. Except where noted, tracts were used for the analysis if they had at least five sales in the second quarter of 2024. Median household income data for tracts and counties comes from surveys taken the U.S. Census Bureau (www.census.gov) from 2018 through 2022. The list of designated Qualified Opportunity Zones is located at U.S. Department of the Treasury. Regions are based on designations by the Census Bureau. Hawaii and Alaska, which the bureau designates as part of the Pacific region, were included in the West region for this report.

About ATTOM
ATTOM provides premium property data to power products that improve transparency, innovation, efficiency, and disruption in a data-driven economy. ATTOM multi-sources property tax, deed, mortgage, foreclosure, environmental risk, natural hazard, and neighborhood data for more than 155 million U.S. residential and commercial properties covering 99 percent of the nation’s population. A rigorous data management process involving more than 20 steps validates, standardizes, and enhances the real estate data collected by ATTOM, assigning each property record with a persistent, unique ID — the ATTOM ID. The 30TB ATTOM Data Warehouse fuels innovation in many industries including mortgage, real estate, insurance, marketing, government and more through flexible data delivery solutions that include ATTOM Cloud, bulk file licenses, property data APIs, real estate market trends, property navigator and more. Also, introducing our newest innovative solution, making property data more readily accessible and optimized for AI applications– AI-Ready Solutions.

Media Contact:
Megan Hunt
megan.hunt@attomdata.com

Data and Report Licensing:
datareports@attomdata.com

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SOURCE ATTOM

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RSPO Launches New Guidance to Leverage Sustainable Palm Oil Certification for IFRS® Sustainability Disclosure Standards

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KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) has released a guidance document, “Leveraging RSPO Principles and Criteria for IFRS® Sustainability Disclosure Standards”. This new resource supports certified sustainable palm oil producers to align their sustainability practices with the IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 disclosure standards that serve as the global framework for reporting sustainability-related financial information.

As more than 30 jurisdictions, representing around 60% of global GDP, move towards adoption of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS SDS), companies are increasingly required to disclose how sustainability-related risks and opportunities affect their financial position and prospects.1

This resource provides a practical pathway for palm oil producers to respond to these requirements by leveraging their existing compliance with the RSPO Principles and Criteria (P&C), without duplicating efforts or creating parallel systems.

Informing investor-relevant disclosures: A four-step approach

Certification and the IFRS SDS serve different purposes. This guidance, developed with support from PwC Malaysia, provides a practical bridge between operational sustainability practices and financial disclosure expectations by helping members translate certification-related topics, metrics, and evidence to inform investor-relevant disclosures.

It sets out a four-step approach to IFRS SDS-aligned reporting, guiding RSPO Members on applicability, reporting boundaries, identification of sustainability-related risks and opportunities, and links to financial performance. It also includes seven practical examples, illustrating how the RSPO P&C requirements and implementation evidence can inform disclosures across key sustainability topics, from ethical conduct and legal compliance to environmental protection and worker health and safety.

Beyond growers, the guidance document also supports financial institutions by helping banks, insurers, and investors understand how palm oil sustainability issues, such as labour disputes and traceability gaps, can translate into financial risks, impacts, and opportunities, enabling clearer risk profiling and more informed financing decisions.

Joseph D’ Cruz, RSPO Chief Executive Officer, said: “As sustainability reporting becomes an integral pillar of financial performance, this guidance bridges certification and disclosure, providing RSPO members with a practical framework to demonstrate sustainability performance in ways that resonate with global capital markets. In line with the growing importance of sustainability disclosures in financing and investment decision-making processes, this guidance illustrates how RSPO Principles and Criteria practices can complement an organisation’s strategy and risk assessment processes.”

Andrew Chan, Partner, Sustainability Leader at PwC Malaysia, said: “This guidance responds to the broader shift towards measuring sustainability through a financial lens, with the adoption of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS S1 and IFRS S2). For RSPO growers, this creates an opportunity to demonstrate how sustainability practices contribute to business resilience as well as value creation — building investor confidence for the long term.”

Importantly, the guidance also reflects RSPO’s longer term interest in progressively strengthening linkages with sustainability disclosure frameworks. As disclosure expectations continue to evolve, RSPO intends to further explore how certification-related data metrics and assurance processes can support broader and more integrated sustainability disclosures in the future.

The Guidance Document can be downloaded here.

For more information, visit www.rspo.org 

About RSPO:
The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) is a global partnership to make palm oil sustainable. Formed in 2004, the RSPO is a multi-stakeholder non-profit organisation that unites members from across the palm oil value chain, including oil palm producers, palm oil processors and traders, consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, banks and investors, environmental or nature conservation non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and social or developmental NGOs.

As a partnership for progress and positive impact, the RSPO facilitates global change to make the production and consumption of palm oil sustainable. To inspire change, we communicate the environmental and social benefits. To make progress, we catalyse collaboration. To provide assurance, we set the standards of certification.

The RSPO is registered as an international association in Zurich, Switzerland, with main offices in Malaysia and Indonesia, and offices in China, Colombia, Netherlands, United Kingdom and the United States. 

About PwC:
At PwC, we help clients build trust and reinvent so they can turn complexity into competitive advantage. We’re a tech-forward, people-empowered network with more than 364,000 people in 136 countries and 137 territories. Across audit and assurance, tax and legal, deals and consulting, we help clients build, accelerate, and sustain momentum. Find out more at www.pwc.com

1

IFRS Foundation, ISSB Podcast February 2025

 

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SOURCE Roundtable On Sustainable Palm Oil

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Nordic Capital announces agreement to sell ArisGlobal to Dassault Systèmes, following its transformation into a scaled and AI-enabled life sciences platform

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WALTHAM, Mass., 23 July 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Nordic Capital today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell ArisGlobal, a leading provider of software to the life sciences industry, to Dassault Systèmes (Euronext Paris: FR0014003TT8) (Paris: DSY.PA). The transaction represents a full exit for Nordic Capital and marks the successful culmination of a partnership that has transformed ArisGlobal into a scaled, cloud-native and AI-enabled platform serving more than 200 life sciences companies, CROs and government health authorities worldwide.

Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, ArisGlobal develops and delivers regulatory, safety, and quality software to a global client base that includes many of the world’s largest pharmaceutical and biotech organisations, as well as regulatory authorities. Its flagship LifeSphere® platform is a fully integrated, cloud-native suite that enables life sciences organisations to manage complex regulatory submissions, pharmacovigilance workflows and clinical data on a single platform, improving compliance, speed and operational efficiency. The platform also embeds advanced AI-enabled automation across core pharmacovigilance workflows, reducing manual processing and accelerating safety case management.

“Nordic Capital invested in ArisGlobal because the business had strong fundamentals, a loyal blue-chip client base and significant potential to modernise its technology and scale its commercial reach. Working closely with Aman and his team, Nordic Capital has supported the company’s transformation into a leading cloud-native platform for the life sciences industry with differentiated AI-enabled capabilities and a strengthened market position. Nordic Capital is proud of what has been achieved together with management and looks forward to seeing the company continue to grow under Dassault Systèmes ownership,” said Daniel Berglund, Partner and Head of Healthcare, Nordic Capital Advisors.

Nordic Capital first invested in ArisGlobal in 2019, partnering with the founding family and management team to pursue an ambitious development strategy. In 2021, Nordic Capital made a further investment in the company, reflecting its conviction in ArisGlobal’s growth potential and the progress achieved since the original partnership began. Throughout the ownership period, Nordic Capital worked closely with management to accelerate the SaaS transition, professionalise the go-to-market organisation, broaden the product offering and strengthen the leadership team.

The migration to a modern, cloud-native architecture created the foundation for ArisGlobal to become an early leader in the application of AI to drug safety. A key milestone was the development and launch of NavaX, ArisGlobal’s generative AI solution for safety case processing, which automates and accelerates core pharmacovigilance workflows and has been adopted by a number of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies. NavaX has further differentiated ArisGlobal’s offering and marked an important step in the Company’s evolution into a broader, AI-enabled safety and regulatory software platform.

“The life sciences industry is at an inflection point as regulatory complexity is increasing, data volumes are growing and our clients need software that can keep pace. The partnership with Nordic Capital gave us the resources and the runway to build exactly that. NavaX and our expanded platform are the result of that ambition, and I am confident we are well placed for what comes next,” said Aman Wasan, CEO, ArisGlobal.

Alongside its technology transformation, ArisGlobal strengthened its management team and commercial organisation, while two strategic acquisitions broadened the Company’s platform capabilities. Today, ArisGlobal serves more than 200 enterprise customers, including half of the world’s top 50 biopharma companies, processes more than 12 million safety cases annually and is expected to generate approximately USD 175 million in revenue in 2026. As rising regulatory complexity and increasing volumes of adverse event reporting continue to drive demand for advanced life sciences software, ArisGlobal is well positioned for future growth through solutions that automate compliance workflows, reduce manual processing and enable organisations to manage regulatory risk more effectively.

The transaction brings together ArisGlobal’s leadership in AI-enabled safety and regulatory software with Dassault Systèmes’ capabilities across research, clinical development and manufacturing. Nordic Capital believes the combination represents a highly compelling strategic fit, pairing complementary capabilities to create a broader, end-to-end offering across the life sciences value chain. ArisGlobal will also benefit from Dassault Systèmes’ global scale, customer reach and investment capacity, providing a strong platform for its next phase of innovation and growth.

The transaction is subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to close in the second half of 2026.

Evercore and Jefferies LLC acted as financial advisors to ArisGlobal and Kirkland & Ellis acted as legal advisor to ArisGlobal.

Media contacts:

Nordic Capital
Katarina Janerud
Communications Manager, Nordic Capital Advisors
+46 8 440 50 50
katarina.janerud@nordiccapital.com

ArisGlobal
Morgan Scott
Vice President, Marketing & Communications and Chief of Staff
mscott@arisglobal.com

About ArisGlobal

ArisGlobal is a leading provider of software to the life sciences industry. Its LifeSphere® platform delivers integrated regulatory, safety, and quality solutions to more than 200 life sciences companies, CROs and government health authorities worldwide. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, ArisGlobal combines deep domain expertise with advanced technology to help clients improve compliance, accelerate development cycles and manage regulatory complexity at global scale. For more information, visit www.arisglobal.com.

About Nordic Capital

Nordic Capital is a leading international private equity investor and subsector specialist dedicated to building stronger, more resilient businesses through transformative, long-term growth in partnership with management teams. With over 35 years of experience, Nordic Capital currently manages approximately EUR 39 billion in assets, investing in middle-market companies across Northern Europe and North America. Rooted in its Nordic heritage and values, it combines global reach with local presence through dedicated sector investment advisory teams, bringing deep expertise across its core sectors: Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services, and Services & Industrial Tech. Through active ownership, strong operational capabilities, a global network of experts and technology-enabled transformation, Nordic Capital helps companies scale, innovate and become sustainable leaders. For more information, visit www.nordiccapital.com or connect on LinkedIn.

“Nordic Capital” refers to, depending on the context, any, or all, Nordic Capital branded entities, vehicles, structures, and associated entities. The general partners and/or delegated portfolio managers of Nordic Capital’s entities and vehicles are advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities, any or all of which are referred to as “Nordic Capital Advisors”.

This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com

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Cognizant and Gulf Edge Announce Strategic Partnership to Accelerate Enterprise AI Adoption in Southeast Asia

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Partnership combines Cognizant’s global AI engineering capabilities with Gulf Edge’s sovereign digital infrastructure to capture the region’s growing demand for secure, scalable AI solutions.

BANGKOK, July 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH), a leading AI builder and global technology services provider, and Gulf Edge Company Limited, the digital infrastructure arm of Thai energy and infrastructure conglomerate Gulf Development Public Company Limited (GULF) or Gulf Group, today announced a landmark strategic partnership. The alliance is designed to accelerate enterprise AI adoption and establish a resilient, AI-native digital economy in Thailand and the broader region.

As artificial intelligence (AI) rapidly reshapes industries, economies, and societies worldwide, the partnership aims to establish the foundational ecosystem needed to enable Thailand’s next phase of digital transformation. By combining trusted sovereign digital infrastructure with world-class AI engineering and enterprise transformation capabilities, Gulf Edge and Cognizant will help organizations deploy AI securely, responsibly, and at scale.

The collaboration brings together Gulf Edge’s leadership in digital infrastructure, energy, cloud, and strategic relationships across Thailand’s most important industries with Cognizant’s global expertise in AI, digital engineering, cloud modernization, data, and intelligent operations. Together, the two companies will deliver end-to-end AI capabilities spanning infrastructure, AI platforms, enterprise solutions, systems integration, and managed services.

The partnership will initially focus on accelerating AI adoption across key sectors including banking and financial services, energy and utilities, healthcare, telecommunications, manufacturing, and the public sector. Through industry-specific AI solutions, organizations will be able to improve operational efficiency, enhance customer experience, strengthen decision-making, automate complex business processes, and unlock new opportunities for innovation and growth.

Beyond enterprise transformation, Gulf Edge and Cognizant share a broader ambition of strengthening Thailand’s position as a regional AI hub. The partnership is expected to attract global technology expertise, stimulate investment in advanced digital capabilities, and create high-value employment opportunities across AI engineering, data science, cloud infrastructure, cybersecurity, and digital transformation. The two companies also plan to collaborate with universities, research institutions, technology partners, and public-sector organizations to develop AI talent, promote responsible AI adoption, and foster a sustainable innovation ecosystem for the country.

Mr. Sarath Ratanavadi, Chief Executive Officer, Gulf Development Public Company Limited, said, “Our partnership with Cognizant marks an important milestone in our vision of helping Thailand become an AI-native economy. By combining Gulf Edge’s strengths in digital infrastructure, energy, cloud, and deep understanding of the Thai market with Cognizant’s global expertise in enterprise AI, digital engineering, and transformation services, we are creating a comprehensive platform that enables organizations to adopt AI with confidence and generate measurable business outcomes. Together, we will develop secure, resilient, and future-ready sovereign digital infrastructure while delivering industry-specific AI solutions tailored to the needs of Thai enterprises and public institutions. We believe AI has the potential to transform every sector, creating new opportunities for productivity, innovation, and sustainable economic growth.”

Mr. Ganesh Ayyar, President of Asia Pacific & Japan (APJ), Cognizant, said, “As Thailand works toward its ambition of becoming an AI-native economy, we see this partnership as a meaningful way to help contribute to that vision, not just through the projects we deliver, but by building lasting AI and technology capability inside the country. With Gulf Edge’s market reach and Cognizant’s AI Builder strategy and global delivery capability, we are positioned to deliver transformative outcomes for Thai enterprises across every major sector.”

About Gulf Edge
Gulf Edge Company Limited is the digital infrastructure arm of Gulf Development Public Company Limited, Thailand’s leading energy and infrastructure conglomerate. Gulf Edge is building a robust digital ecosystem, spanning data centers, cloud services, satellite technology, and AI infrastructure, to accelerate Thailand’s digital transformation and position the country as a regional hub for the AI economy.

About Cognizant
Cognizant (NASDAQ: CTSH) is an AI Builder and technology services provider, building the bridge between AI investment and enterprise value by building full-stack AI solutions for clients. Its deep industry, process, and engineering expertise enables it to build an organization’s unique context into technology systems that amplify human potential, realize tangible returns, and keep global enterprises ahead in a fast-changing world. See how at www.cognizant.ai or @cognizant.

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SOURCE Gulf Development Public Company Limited (GULF)

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