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Asia Cement Wins 2026 AREA Social Empowerment Award and Silver Emblem of Sustainability

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TAIPEI, July 1, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Asia Cement Corporation (ACC) has been honored with the 2026 Asia Responsible Enterprise Awards (AREA) in the Social Empowerment category for its long-term commitment to fostering resilient communities through collaborative engagement with Indigenous tribes and residents in its operating regions.

The company also received the Silver Emblem of Sustainability at the AREA Awards ceremony in recognition of its sustained commitment to sustainable development and positive social impact. Since first participating in the AREA Awards in 2018, ACC has earned AREA recognition for eight consecutive years across multiple sustainability categories.

Chen Zhi-xian, Plant Manager of ACC, traveled to Malaysia to accept the award and the Silver Emblem of Sustainability on behalf of the company.

“Receiving the Silver Emblem of Sustainability in Malaysia on behalf of ACC reinforced the importance that the international community places on sustainable development and community engagement,” Chen said. “ACC will continue strengthening partnerships with Indigenous tribes and local communities through co-governance, dialogue, and participation. Together, we aim to enhance local resilience and create shared value where the environment, industry, and society can thrive side by side.”

The 2026 winning initiative, “Co-Governance Plan with Tribes and Communities: Long-term Actions to Build Local Social Resilience,” highlights ACC’s ongoing efforts to foster meaningful partnerships with Indigenous communities and residents in Hualien County, eastern Taiwan.

Through multi-stakeholder dialogue mechanisms, the company has upheld Indigenous peoples’ rights to consultation and Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) while supporting cultural preservation, ecological education, disaster preparedness, post-disaster recovery, and community development. These efforts have helped establish a model of mutual trust, shared benefits, and long-term collaboration.

In 2025, ACC invested NT$15.52 million (US$480,000) through its “10+11” benefit-sharing mechanism to support local education, cultural initiatives, emergency assistance, and community revitalization programs. The initiative supported five after-school tutoring programs serving 409 children and promoted Truku-language education alongside AI-assisted cultural innovation and creative learning programs.

To further strengthen long-term community resilience, ACC has invested in talent development and educational initiatives that help build local capacity and support sustainable community growth.

ACC also highlighted the success of the Taroko Mountain Market, which was initiated by the company as a platform to support Indigenous culture and local economic development. Through years of collaboration and community participation, the market has gradually evolved from an ACC-organized event into an initiative that is independently managed by tribal residents, demonstrating the growing capacity and resilience of local communities.

To date, the market has generated cumulative sales exceeding NT$1.1 million (US$34,000), with all proceeds directly benefiting Indigenous vendors and community participants while promoting local cultural products and traditions.

In alignment with Article 21 of Taiwan’s Indigenous Peoples Basic Act, ACC continues to support government efforts to facilitate the restoration of land rights on Indigenous reserved lands. As of 2026, approximately 15% of the relevant land-rights restoration agreements have been completed. The company plans to continue engaging with tribal communities through dialogue platforms and community meetings, supporting follow-up procedures, and fostering mutual trust and long-term prosperity.

Beyond Hualien, ACC has incorporated the principles of co-governance and community engagement across all its operating locations. Through dedicated community liaison offices and communication platforms, the company maintains ongoing dialogue with local stakeholders. In 2025, ACC and its subsidiaries allocated NT$355 million (US$11 million) toward community development and related initiatives, representing 4.22% of the company’s operating profit and reflecting its long-term commitment to creating shared value with local communities.

Since first participating in the AREA Awards in 2018, ACC has been recognized every year across a broad range of sustainability categories, including Green Leadership, Corporate Governance, Circular Economy, Sustainability Reporting, Health and Sanitation, and Social Empowerment. The company’s eight consecutive years of recognition reflect its long-term commitment to sustainable development, responsible governance, environmental stewardship, and positive social impact.

About Asia Cement Corporation

Asia Cement Corporation (ACC) is one of Taiwan’s leading cement and building materials companies and a pioneer in the development of low-carbon cement solutions. The company is committed to advancing low-carbon transformation, circular economy practices, and sustainable development. Through low-carbon product innovation, resource recycling, energy-efficiency improvements, and community engagement initiatives, ACC continues to reduce environmental impact while creating shared value for society. Guided by its commitment to environmental stewardship and social responsibility, the company collaborates closely with stakeholders to promote sustainable industrial transformation and contributes to a more resilient and sustainable future.

Contact:

Sun Lena
lena.sun@acc.com.tw 
+886-975593188
+886-227338000

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SOURCE Asia Cement Corporation

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Fastest Growing Global Finance Super App Abound chooses Monad to Power its Next Phase of Growth

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Riding record growth after crossing $500 Million in remittances, the super-app built for global Indians announces its next chapter – including a brand-new wallet product, with the waitlist opening soon

SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Abound, the super-app for Indians in the US backed by Times Internet (Times of India Group), grew past $500 Million in remittance volumes served in the last year, with US and India markets accounting for the bulk of volumes. Abound is excited to announce the next phase of products being built to serve the global Indian diaspora better. The next chapter will be built on Monad, the next-generation Layer 1 blockchain enabling open access to fair financial markets. With Monad’s technology, it is the best option for Abound’s use cases.

What began as a smarter way to send money home has evolved into a comprehensive super app for NRI life spanning cross-border payments, savings, and everyday benefits designed around the needs of Indians living in the US. Abound has become one of the platforms Indians in the US trust to move and manage money across two countries, with over $500 million in volume served. Abound now plans to serve Indians across the world and expand support with newer products better suited to their changing needs.

A New Roadmap for the global Indian

Building on this momentum, Abound today unveiled the next chapter of its product vision:

A new wallet product: a single home for Indians overseas to hold, move, and manage money across both countries’ multi-currency balances, and instant transfers between US and India accounts, with support for more countries coming soon. Waitlist opens soon; the product launches in Q3 2026.New ways to earn and save: interest-bearing savings and investment accounts, giving NRIs more ways to put their money to work.AI agent-led workflows, including the agentic payment protocol x402 to power the next chapter of Abound’s upcoming product suite. Monad Foundation is a premier member of the x402 Foundation.

“Abound has become the platform Indians in the US trust to move money home; we have moved $500 million since launch” said Nishkaam Mehta, CEO, Abound. “This roadmap is about building agents to seamlessly manage the NRIs entire financial life, with the trust of our community at the center of everything we do.”

“Abound is embarking on an ambitious journey to build a full set of agentic financial services and cross border platform for NRIs along its distribution via Times of India. We’re excited to see Abound leverage Monad’s technology to help accelerate at their efforts into the next chapter,” said Raj Parekh, Head of Payments & Stablecoins.

Powered by Next-Generation Technology

Abound’s upcoming product suite will be built on Monad. Monad is a high-performance, institutional-grade Layer 1 blockchain enabling open access to rewards, AI agents, and fair financial markets on neutral ground. The integration gives Abound the technology foundation to serve the Indian diaspora at scale – with the performance and reliability a community of global earners expects. Monad’s technology underpins Abound’s expanded capabilities as the platform scales into its next chapter.

 

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SOURCE Abound

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Xinhua Silk Road: Seven marine test “labs” put in place in offshore waters near Yuanyao port in Weihai, E China

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BEIJING, Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In waters north of Yuanyao fishery port in east China’s Weihai City, a recent round of drone marine testings by a local marine equipment institute pooled firsthand data for references to its product R&D.

Such testings that move corporate “laboratories” into the sea are increasingly favored by businesses in Weihai as seven marine testing platforms have been completed in the port area, also the Yuanyao shallow sea sci-tech bay area.

In details, the seven platforms include an offshore self-elevating wharf, a semi-submersible platform, a testing wharf, etc., all of which provide vital support to the technological R&D of related businesses.

Currently, 44 companies have been attracted to settle in the sci-tech bay area, which serves as a key carrier for emerging marine-related industries such as marine electronic information, marine intelligent equipment, and modern maritime services to thrive there.

Near the Yuanyao fishery port now stands the semi-submersible marine test platform, which is the first one of the type in Shandong Province where Weihai sits and also a core part of the national marine comprehensive test site project in Weihai.

As a staff of the sci-tech bay area’s service center introduced, the 44-meter-long and 32.4-meter-wide platform can operate at a maximum water depth of 70 meters and is equipped with multiple supporting systems.

For instance, the power system, test facilities, marine environment observing and monitoring system, and security system of the platform are capable of catering to diverse needs of scientific researchers including short-term on-site operations, instrument lifting and retrieval, and real-time transmission of offshore data.

Apart from these marine testing platforms, the sci-tech bay area is also crafting another seven scientific research platforms to offer all-around intellectual support for the national marine comprehensive test site in Weihai.

While marine testings are ongoing on the testing platforms, onshore zones in the sci-tech bay area are busy with building more innovative infrastructure including the marine data management and application center.

In Weihai, the integrated deployment of offshore, onshore and on-island marine-related platforms is unlocking strong potential for local industries to burgeon.

Original link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/351893.html

 

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SOURCE Xinhua Silk Road

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Antare launches AI physical security platform, transforming unwatched camera footage into intelligence

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Antare uses AI to automatically review footage from body-worn and fixed cameras to give organisations a complete picture across every shift and site

LONDON, Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Antare, a new agentic security platform for body-worn and fixed cameras, has launched. UK-based Antare uses artificial intelligence to automatically review security footage, detect incidents, alert teams and document every event, transforming everyday operations into actionable insight that helps improve performance and reduce operational risk. The platform is compatible with both Antare’s intelligent body-worn cameras and customers’ own existing fixed camera infrastructure.

Antare’s body-worn cameras capture the moments before, during and after every incident, preserving the context that helps organisations understand what really happened, protect their employees, and manage their liabilities. This matters because abuse and violence towards frontline staff is rising and incidents often do not have a defined beginning. Employees no longer have to remember to start a recording in the middle of a confrontation.

The Antare Console reviews all video and audio as it is recorded, and transcribes, indexes and scores each event automatically. Separate AI agents watch for specific signals, including physical and verbal assaults, suspicious behaviour, safety risks, medical events or weapons, and send in-the-moment alerts and live video to colleagues via the Antare App.

Antare also surfaces patterns that manual review is prone to miss, like repeat offenders, theft hotspots and recurring problems across sites. Free text search allows users to investigate further, while daily email summaries ensure key events are never missed.

Available today

Antare offers two models of body-worn cameras that work out of the box for US, UK, and EU customers. The Antare Body-worn Camera Pro is designed for frontline staff in demanding environments where extended battery life, GPS capabilities and rugged durability are important.

The Antare Body-worn Camera Compact is a lightweight alternative, intended for customer-facing teams who need discreet protection during their shifts. The Antare Dock charges four cameras at once between shifts.

Both models, including cellular connectivity and unlimited users for the Antare Console, are available through a simple, all-inclusive monthly subscription, with no minimum order quantity and no fixed term.

One platform, every camera

The Antare Cloud Gateway, coming soon, integrates the full range of Antare’s cloud capabilities with customers’ existing fixed cameras, so body-worn and fixed cameras live in a single console, with no separate systems to manage.

Customers can also choose from a range of pre-configured alarms, as well as configure their own alarms via free text description.

Antare’s own fixed camera range is set to follow in early 2027, supplied and installed by accredited partners. Partners can register interest now at www.antare.ai/partners.

Privacy and data protection

Footage is encrypted on Antare devices and in transit, then erased from the device once it reaches the secure cloud, where access is role-based. Data is stored in your local region – UK, EU or US – and deleted automatically after 30 days unless an authorized user marks it for retention. Antare is SOC 2 Type I certified and GDPR compliant, with SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001 certifications in progress.

Mark Michaelides, CEO of Antare:

“Antare was founded on the belief that today’s physical security platforms are failing to deal effectively with emerging safety and operational risks, leaving businesses with expensive legacy investments that do not fulfil their evolving needs.

“Traditional security solutions have focused on after-the-fact review, while more modern systems have enabled live alerts. Antare has built a different type of intelligence platform to deliver both, while shortening time from alert to triage and enabling quicker post-incident investigation.

“Following strong results in trials across private security, hospitality and retail customers, Antare is available on subscription for body-worn cameras from today, with the Antare Cloud Gateway coming soon. One console that turns disparate data into action, intelligence, and insights.”

For more information, visit www.antare.ai.

Accompanying photography:

Picture 1 – Antare CEO Mark Michaelides. Credit: Antare 
Picture 2 – Credit: Antare 
Picture 3 – Credit: Antare 
Picture 4 – Credit: Antare 
Picture 5 – Credit: Antare 
Picture 6 – Credit: Antare 
Picture 7 – Credit: Antare

About Antare

Antare is the physical security intelligence platform that turns every captured event into organisational insight. It continuously detects, reviews and interprets everything that happens across every site and operation – so nothing is missed, and every incident is clearly understood.

Starting with body-worn and fixed cameras, and expanding across every capture point, Antare gives organisations the confidence to report accurately, respond effectively, and build a complete picture of risk and performance over time. Antare is headquartered in the United Kingdom. For more information, visit www.antare.ai.

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SOURCE Antare

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