Blindfire - Official PlayStation Launch Trailer( MENAFN - JCN NewsWire) MHI Included in "World Index" of Dow Jones Sustainability index for Second Consecutive Year - Selection Based on Company's Excellent ESG investment Criteria - - Company scored high in terms of overall ESG performance - Placed in 97th percentile within its industry TOKYO, Dec 27, 2024 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has been selected for inclusion in the "World Index" of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), one of the world's leading investment indices for ESG (environmental, social and governance) performance. This is the second consecutive year that MHI has been included in the world index. The Company scored an overall ranking in the 97th percentile, in reflection of its strong initiatives in all ESG areas and the high quality of its disclosure reports. The DJSI was developed in 1999 by the U.S. firm S&P Dow Jones Indices and the Swiss investment advisory company RobecoSAM. Based on long-term shareholder value, listed companies around the world are assessed in terms of their overall economic, environmental, and social criteria, with those determined to have exceptional sustainability selected for inclusion in the index. MHI was one of 321 companies selected for the DJSI's 2024 World Index (of which 37 were Japanese companies). MHI Group proactively implements a diverse portfolio of ESG measures toward realizing a sustainable society. These include measures to reduce environmental loads from its own and its value chain, active promotion of diversity, and strengthening of the Company's corporate governance and disclosures. Going forward, MHI will continue robust pursuit of its dual aims of realizing a sustainable society and building up its enterprise value over the long term. About MHI Group Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI) Group is one of the world's leading industrial groups, spanning energy, smart infrastructure, industrial machinery, aerospace and defense. MHI Group combines cutting-edge technology with deep experience to deliver innovative, integrated solutions that help to realize a carbon neutral world, improve the quality of life and ensure a safer world. For more information, please visit or follow our insights and stories on . MENAFN26122024003415003250ID1109033799 Legal Disclaimer: MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.
First trans US congresswoman already in Republican crosshairsAs the Broncos’ offensive menu continues to expand, Devaughn Vele is becoming one of the foremost beneficiaries. The rookie wide receiver is lining up all over the field, playing different spots and making an impact in several different ways. The seventh-round draft pick already had three catches in the first half of when head coach Sean Payton put him alone on the backside of a unique, 4-by-1 formation. The Broncos had Courtland Sutton and Troy Franklin aligned into the boundary with running back Javonte Williams and jumbo tight end Matt Peart as an eligible receiver all to quarterback Bo Nix’s right. Vele pushed vertically up the field, gave a head-fake inside that kept cornerback Decamrion Richardson on his heels and then eventually snapped off his route to the inside. Nix pinned the ball on him for a 26-yard gain. Vele’s showed a knack for getting open and making plays since rookie minicamp in May. In recent weeks, though, his ascension has only accelerated. The 26-year-old has fortified himself as the No. 2 option at receiver behind Sutton and on Sunday he finished with six catches (nine targets) for 80 yards. Since he returned from being out four games — one due to a rib injury and three healthy scratches — Vele’s been on a 58-catch, 782-yard pace. In the three weeks since his playing time jumped to about two-thirds of Denver’s offensive snaps, he’s got 14 catches (18 targets) for 185 yards and a touchdown. Vele’s most recent game and his trajectory drew about as strong of praise as you’ll hear from Payton on Monday morning. “He’s been really good,” Payton said. “The strengths for him: Certainly, his hands. You guys saw it in camp — he’s got strong hands in traffic. He’s a guy that plays well over the middle. He reminds me a lot of Marques Colston, who I had in New Orleans for 10 or 11 years.” Colston, of course, was also a seventh-round pick in 2006, Payton’s first New Orleans draft class. He ended up catching 70 balls for 1,038 yards and eight touchdowns as a rookie, then going for 98 catches, 1,202 yards and 12 touchdowns in his second season. In his 10-year career, Colston racked up 711 catches, 9,759 yards and 72 touchdowns. Those are lofty marks, but Payton’s clearly been impressed with Vele. “Just in our staff meeting 20 minutes ago, I said, ‘We’ve got to continue to find touches for him,’” the coach said. They’ve already started putting him in more positions as the No. 1 target. The 26-yarder looked to be designed for him. So, too, was a late-game miss that came out of the same 4-by-1 set. Instead of breaking in, Vele went vertical — a wrinkle from the original look — and Nix just left the ball too far inside. Nix threw him two slants out of RPO looks and the Broncos put him in motion and used Lil’Jordan Humphrey to create a pick to get him open on third-and-short for a conversion. He caught a scramble-drill ball for 23 yards and went up to catch it even knowing he was going to get hit hard when he landed. He sat down in a soft spot in zone coverage. He caught a pass as the safety valve and got upfield for a first down. “Sometimes, as a coach, you feel like you’re stopping the progress by not getting him touches,” Payton said Monday, likening Vele earlier in the season to where running back Audric Estime is now. “And now — I don’t want to say we’re guilty as coaches, but oftentimes (you’re) afraid to play the rookies. And very quickly we’ve seen his growth.” Nik Bonitto . The Broncos’ third-year pass-rusher has racked up 10 sacks in his past 10 games. He’s turned into a high-end pass-rusher and gives Denver a pairing between him and Jonathon Cooper, , that’s easy to imagine building around long-term. Outside of the highlight-reel, game-sealing strip-sack on Sunday, though, Bonitto made plays against Las Vegas that he simply would not have made earlier in his career. Most impressively: Bonitto recognized two different screens — one to a running back and one to a receiver — in the first eight minutes of the game and ruined them by playing smart, alert football and hustling. On the first, Bonitto didn’t get fooled by Vegas’ motioning and stayed locked on Ameer Abdullah. Minshew had to throw the ball into the ground. On the second, he started roaring up the field but saw left tackle Kolton Miller and other Vegas linemen start to break out to block down the field. Bonitto swung around quickly and hit a dead sprint out toward receiver D.J. Turner. He took such a good line that he ended up directly in the throwing lane and forced Minshew to again throw it in the dirt. Bonitto’s first step and his bend are upper-echelon traits and will be what gets him paid. But playing smart, consistent football on top of that is what can make him a great all-around player. Payton put together a questionable play-calling sequence late in the fourth quarter. After Raiders kicker Daniel Carlson cut Denver’s lead to 26-19 with 3:38 to go, the Broncos took over at their 30. Payton’s inclination to dial up an explosive play to start the drive was understandable. Get in heavy personnel on first down — Peart checked in as a jumbo tight end — and then play-fake and throw the ball down the field. Nix, though, left a throw too far inside for Vele, who could not come down with a contested catch. Las Vegas had all of its timeouts, which meant Denver needed to get a first down to really go to work on the clock. Instead, two more incompletions led to a three-and-out. Total time run off the clock: 26 seconds. Payton defended the sequence without prompting Monday, saying, “We’re trying to win the game at the end of the game there. The last thing I was going to do was hand the ball off three times. They’ll use their timeouts. Then they’ll drive down the field.” The first-down throw was an aggressive and understandable decision. But missing it set the Raiders for one more chance. The Broncos defense, as it has often this year, rose to the occasion when Bonitto logged his 10th sack and forced a fumble to set Denver up in the red zone. Payton dialed up another pass above the two-minute warning on that series, too. By then, Denver had the game in full control. Still, going 0 of 4 plus two runs for 2 yards and rolling just 57 seconds off the clock over two late possessions is far from ideal. The Broncos’ offense hasn’t just shown signs of life recently. It’s revved into a gear that, while not elite, has not been seen in Denver since Peyton Manning retired. Denver’s scored 28 or more points in five of its last eight outings and in that span is averaging 25.3 points per game. The Broncos haven’t had more than four games of 28-plus points in a season since 2014 (10). In fact, they’ve only hit four twice (2015 and 2020). The rest: three once (2023), two each in 2016, 2021 and 2022, and one in each 2017-19. The Broncos still have some volatility. Their other three totals in the recent eight-game set were 10 against Baltimore, 14 against Kansas City and 16 against the Los Angeles Chargers. For the first time in a long time, though, the Broncos have an offense capable of putting a big number on the scoreboard.Richards' 17 help Chattanooga beat Bryant 84-76NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma appears to have borrowed from the past to cure its recent offensive ills. The Sooners , best known this century for a passing prowess that has produced four Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks, took it back to the 20th century against then-No. 7 Alabama. Oklahoma ran 50 times for 257 yards while only throwing 12 times in a 24-3 win over the Crimson Tide that took coach Brent Venables off the hot seat. The Sooners more resembled Barry Switzer’s squads that dominated the old Big 8 with the wishbone offense in the 1970s and ’80s than the more recent Air Raid teams. Javascript is required for you to be able to read premium content. Please enable it in your browser settings.
Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100 ATLANTA (AP) — Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter has died. He was 100 years old and had spent roughly 22 months in hospice care. The Georgia peanut farmer served one turbulent term in the White House before building a reputation as a global humanitarian and champion of democracy. He defeated President Gerald Ford in 1976 promising to restore trust in government but lost to Ronald Reagan four years later amid soaring inflation, gas station lines and the Iran hostage crisis. He and his wife Rosalynn then formed The Carter Center, and he earned a Nobel Peace Prize while making himself the most internationally engaged of former presidents. The Carter Center said he died peacefully Sunday afternoon in Plains, Georgia, surrounded by his family. Jimmy Carter: Many evolutions for a centenarian ‘citizen of the world’ PLAINS, Ga. (AP) — The 39th and longest-lived U.S. president, James Earl Carter Jr., died Sunday at the age of 100. His life ended where it began, in Plains, Georgia. He left and returned to the tiny town many times as he climbed to the nation’s highest office and lost it after four tumultuous years. Carter spent the next 40 years setting new standards for what a former president can do. Carter wrote nearly a decade ago that he found all the phases of his life challenging but also successful and enjoyable. The Democrat's principled but pragmatic approach defied American political labels, especially the idea that one-term presidents are failures. The Latest: Former President Jimmy Carter is dead at age 100 Former President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100. The 39th president of the United States was a Georgia peanut farmer who sought to restore trust in government when he assumed the presidency in 1977 and then built a reputation for tireless work as a humanitarian. He earned a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He died Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care, at his home in Plains, Georgia. Carter was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, 1977, after defeating President Gerald R. Ford in the 1976 general election. He left office on Jan. 20, 1981, following his 1980 general election loss to Ronald Reagan. Jet crash disaster in South Korea marks another setback for Boeing WASHINGTON (AP) — A machinists strike. Another safety problem involving its troubled top-selling airliner. A plunging stock price. 2024 was already a dispiriting year for Boeing, the American aviation giant. But when one of the company’s jets crash-landed in South Korea on Sunday, killing all but two of the 181 people on board, it brought to a close an especially unfortunate year for Boeing. The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and aviation experts were quick to distinguish Sunday’s incident from the company’s earlier safety problems. Alan Price, an airline consultant, said it would be inappropriate to link the incident Sunday to two fatal crashes involving Boeing’s troubled 737 Max jetliner in 2018 and 2019. South Korean authorities seek warrant to detain impeached President Yoon in martial law probe SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korean law enforcement officials have requested a court warrant to detain impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol as they investigate whether his short-lived martial law decree this month amounted to rebellion. The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, which is leading a joint investigation with police and military authorities into the power grab that lasted only a few hours, confirmed it requested the warrant on Monday. Investigators plan to question Yoon on charges of abuse of authority and orchestrating a rebellion. Tornadoes in Texas and Mississippi kill 2 and injure 6 as severe weather system moves east HOUSTON (AP) — A strong storm system is threatening to whip up tornadoes in parts of the U.S. Southeast, a day after severe weather claimed at least two lives as twisters touched down in Texas and Mississippi. Strong storms moving eastward Sunday are expected to continue producing gusty, damaging winds, hail and tornadoes through Sunday. That is according to National Weather Service meteorologist Frank Pereira. So far, the line of severe weather has led to about 40 tornado reports from southeastern Texas to Alabama, Pereira said, but those reports remain unconfirmed until surveys of damage are completed. Israeli hospital says Netanyahu has undergone successful prostate surgery TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — An Israeli hospital says Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has undergone successful prostate surgery. Jerusalem’s Hadassah Medical Center said his prostate was removed late Sunday and that he was recovering. Netanyahu’s office had said Justice Minister Yariv Levin, a close ally, would serve as acting prime minister during the procedure. Doctors ordered the operation after detecting an infection last week. Netanyahu is expected to remain hospitalized for several days. With so much at stake, Netanyahu’s health in wartime is a concern for both Israelis and the wider world. Syria's de facto leader says it could take up to 4 years to hold elections BEIRUT (AP) — Syria’s de facto leader has said it could take up to four years to hold elections in Syria, and that he plans on dissolving his Islamist group that led the country’s insurgency at an anticipated national dialogue summit for the country. Ahmad al-Sharaa, who leads Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, the group leading the new authority in Syria, made the remarks in an interview Sunday. That's according to the Saudi television network Al-Arabiyya. It comes almost a month after a lightning insurgency led by HTS overthrew President Bashar Assad’s decades-long rule, ending the country’s uprising-turned civil war that started back in 2011. A fourth infant dies of the winter cold in Gaza as families share blankets in seaside tents DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — A fourth infant has died of hypothermia in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by nearly 15 months of war are huddled in tents along the rainy, windswept coast as winter arrives. The baby's father says the 20-day-old child was found with his head as “cold as ice” Sunday morning in their tent. The baby’s twin brother was moved to the intensive care unit of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital. Their father says the twins were born one month premature and spent just a day in hospital, which like other Gaza health centers has been overwhelmed and only partially functions. Musk causes uproar for backing Germany's far-right party ahead of key elections BERLIN (AP) — Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk has caused uproar after backing Germany’s far-right party in a major newspaper ahead of key parliamentary elections in the Western European country, leading to the resignation of the paper’s opinion editor in protest. Germany is to vote in an early election on Feb. 23 after Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s three-party governing coalition collapsed last month in a dispute over how to revitalize the country’s stagnant economy. Musk’s guest opinion piece for Welt am Sonntag, published in German over the weekend, was the second time this month he supported the Alternative for Germany, or AfD.
SAN FRANCISCO — Draymond Green didn’t mind that microphones picked up him screaming at teammate Buddy Hield to lock in — “Wake the (expletive) up or go sit the (expletive) down!” — during the Warriors’ 109-105 win over Phoenix on Saturday night. The message was necessary in the moment, and when you say something with your chest, as Green often does, backtracking dulls your point. “Mics catch everything today, but I don’t care,” Green said at the postgame podium. “Because anything I’ll say, I’ll say it right into the mic. I don’t give a damn. It was needed.” Green’s plea came after a 24-second violation in which Green had to hoist up a grenade at the end of the possession. Hield missed a read on a post pass, which bungled Golden State’s set. In the game, Hield went scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting and appeared to let his shooting struggles seep into his defense at times. A new Warrior, Hield has been streaky. In games he scores at least 18 points, the Warriors are 8-0. They’re 3-10 when he finishes in single digits. Enter Green’s admonishment. “We need Buddy Hield to play great, we need Buddy Hield to make shots,” Green said. “And we have all the confidence in the world that Buddy’s going to make shots. But we’ve got a post feed, you’ve got a 6-foot guy on you? Get the ball here. It’s simple. We’re 16-15. We don’t love this. So do we just keep doing the same thing and sit back on our hands, ‘Oh, it’s going to change at some point.’ Or do we make a change? “I know what it looks like to win. I know what it takes to win. So as a leader, it’s on you to figure out what it takes to help this team. If that’s mixing it up with a guy every now and then, if that’s yelling, then you do that.” Green and Hield have only been teammates for 31 games. The four-time champion said he’s trying to find what makes Hield tick. That requires trialing different styles of leadership. On Saturday night, he broke out the “wake the (expletive) up” method. “You have to try different methods,” Green said. “Some guys — Jonathan Kuminga, I go to, and I say, ‘This is what I need you to do, look at this this way and go do it.’ If I yell at him, I don’t think he’s going to do it. He ain’t going to listen. He’s going to get out of here. Steph, sometimes I go to him, sometimes I yell at him. He reacts to both.” Green learned from Michigan State head coach Tom Izzo that leadership requires having a feel for every individual. By connecting with everyone on a one-on-one level, the sum of the parts add up. “If you think you’re going to lead a team, you’re an idiot — you have to lead guys that make up a team,” Green said. “Leading someone doesn’t look the same as leading the next guy. You’ve got to figure out what makes guys tick, what gets a guy going. I’m still figuring that out.” Green said he and Hield went back and forth after his profanities, which he welcomes. That type of conversation is normal on a basketball court. Healthy, even. It’s important to be someone who can receive a shouting message, Green said. He noted that he had no problem with Dennis Schroder — who just joined the team two weeks ago — going at him recently. Same with Kyle Anderson. Green has always been a vocal leader, and it hasn’t always worked out for him. His infamous argument with Kevin Durant on the bench in 2018 earned him a suspension and sowed tension within the team. He recently called the Jordan Poole punch “one of my biggest failures as a vet.” But Green is generally regarded as an excellent teammate. He’s an X’s and O’s expert, competitive beast and organizational pillar. Coach Steve Kerr has raved about Green’s influence this year especially. In the third quarter against the Suns, he was just trying to get through to Hield. “To go at Buddy the way I did, we needed that in that moment,” Green said. “We’re flat, we’d just turned the ball over. Lock in.” The big-picture goal is to create a culture of accountability. Earlier this season, Kerr said the beauty of coaching Curry is that “he lets me yell at him.” During a timeout against Boston, Kerr lit into Curry for an ill-advised turnover. Curry later said he just wants to be coached like anyone else. When players like Green and Curry are fine with getting chewed out, the rest of the locker room notices. Including Hield. “I’ve happened to play in a lot of championship basketball, lot of meaningful basketball,” Green said. “Buddy hasn’t had the opportunity to play a lot of meaningful basketball in this league. Guess what? It’s our job to make sure he understands what that means. And if people don’t like it, so be it. That’s why they don’t have four championships and I do.” ©2024 MediaNews Group, Inc. Visit at mercurynews.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.Mexico president hails ‘excellent’ Trump talks after US tariff threat
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The Onion's bid for Alex Jones' Infowars hangs in the balance as judge orders new hearing
The Onion's bid for Alex Jones' Infowars hangs in the balance as judge orders new hearingA bankruptcy judge on Monday delayed a hearing in conspiracy theorist Alex Jones’ effort to stop the satirical news outlet The Onion from buying Infowars, keeping the auction sale up in the air for at least another few weeks. Jones alleges fraud and collusion marred the bankruptcy auction that resulted in The Onion being named the winning bidder over a company affiliated with him. A trustee overseeing the auction denies the allegations and accuses Jones of launching a smear campaign because he didn't like the outcome. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Lopez had been scheduled to hear an emergency motion to disqualify The Onion's bid on Monday, but put it off until either Dec. 9 or Dec. 17. That's also when the judge will hear arguments on the trustee's request to approve the sale of Infowars to The Onion. Lopez said it made sense to have one hearing on both requests. “I want a fair and transparent process and let’s just see where the process goes," Lopez said. Lopez could ultimately allow The Onion to move forward with its purchase, order a new auction or name the other bidder as the winner. At stake is whether Jones gets to stay at Infowars’ studio in Austin, Texas, under a new owner friendly to him, or whether he gets kicked out by The Onion. The other bidder, First United American Companies, runs a website in Jones’ name that sells nutritional supplements. Jones continues to broadcast his show from the Infowars studio, but he has set up a new location, websites and social media accounts as a precaution. The trustee shut down the Austin studio and Infowars' websites for about 24 hours last week after The Onion was announced as the winning bidder, but allowed them to resume the next day, drawing more complaints from Jones. Jones declared bankruptcy and liquidated his assets after he was ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion to relatives of victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. He was ordered to pay damages for defamation and emotional distress in lawsuits in Connecticut and Texas after he repeatedly said the 2012 shooting that killed 20 first graders and six educators was a hoax staged by actors to increase gun control. Proceeds from the liquidation are to go to Jones’ creditors, including the Sandy Hook families who sued him. Last year, Lopez ruled that $1.1 billion of the Sandy Hook judgments could not be discharged in the bankruptcy. On Monday, he denied a request from Sandy Hook families to make the full $1.5 billion not dischargeable, meaning the debt cannot be wiped clean. Also Monday, lawyers for the social media platform X objected to any sale of the accounts of both Jones and Infowars, saying X is the owner of the accounts and it has not given consent for them to be sold or transferred. Jones' personal X account, with 3.3 million followers, was not part of the auction, but Lopez will be deciding if it should be included in the liquidation. Jones has praised X owner Elon Musk on his show and suggested that Musk should buy Infowars. Musk has not responded publicly to that suggestion and was not among the bidders. Jones was permanently banned from Twitter in 2018 for abusive behavior, but Musk restored Jones’ account on the platform he has since renamed X in December last year. Jones alleges The Onion’s bid was the result of fraud and collusion involving many of the Sandy Hook families, the humor site and the court-appointed trustee. First United American Companies submitted a $3.5 million sealed bid, while The Onion offered $1.75 million in cash. But The Onion's bid also included a pledge by Sandy Hook families to forgo some or all of the auction proceeds due to them to give other creditors a total of $100,000 more than they would receive under other bids. The trustee, Christopher Murray, said that made The Onion's proposal better for creditors and he named it the winning bid. Jones and First United American Companies claimed that the bid violated Lopez’s rules for the auction by including multiple entities and lacking a valid dollar amount. Jones also alleged Murray improperly canceled an expected round of live bidding and only selected from among the two sealed bids that were submitted. Jones called the auction “rigged” and a “fraud” on his show, which airs on the Infowars website, radio stations and Jones' X account. He filed a counter lawsuit last week against Murray, The Onion's parent company and the Sandy Hook families in the bankruptcy court. In a court filing on Sunday, Murray called the allegations a “desperate attempt” to delay the sale of Infowars to The Onion and accused Jones, his lawyers and attorneys for First United American Companies of a “vicious smear campaign lobbing patently false accusations.” He also alleged Jones collaborated with First United American Companies to try to buy Infowars. Lopez’s September order on the auction procedures made a live bidding round optional. And it gave broad authority to Murray to conduct the sale, including the power to reject any bid, no matter how high, that was “contrary to the best interests” of Jones, his company and their creditors. The assets of Infowars' parent company, Free Speech Systems, that were up for sale included the Austin studio, Infowars' video archive, video production equipment, product trademarks, and Infowars' websites and social media accounts. Another auction of remaining assets is set for Dec. 10. Jones is appealing the $1.5 billion in judgments citing free speech rights, but has acknowledged that the school shooting happened . Many of Jones’ personal assets, including real estate, guns and other belongings, also are being sold as part of the bankruptcy. Documents filed in court this year say Jones had about $9 million in personal assets, while Free Speech Systems had about $6 million in cash and more than $1 million worth of inventory.
PASAY CITY, Philippines , Dec. 26, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- The SM Group is approaching the coming year with cautious optimism, encouraged by the continued growth of the Philippine economy. SM Investments President and Chief Executive Officer Frederic C. DyBuncio said that despite ongoing challenges of peso volatility and higher inflation, the business sector has adapted well. Consistent demand sustained household spending in the third quarter, with Household Final Consumption Expenditure posting a year-on-year growth of 5.1%, maintaining the same level in the same quarter last year, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority showed. "Any moderation in inflation should trigger a strong confidence rebound. This could create opportunities in consumer-focused sectors in the country and we are poised to cater to these evolving demands," Mr. DyBuncio said. To cater to growing demand, SM continues to expand into more underserved areas, contributing to sustainable economic development and collaborating with government stakeholders to enhance access to modern retail, financial services, and integrated property developments. "By investing and expanding to more areas nationwide, SM creates new markets and improves access to these essential sectors, serving more communities and helping stimulate sustained economic activities," he said. Mr. DyBuncio also said SM continues to invest in promising ventures such as renewable energy and logistics, that foster economic activity. SM has invested in the clean energy industry through Philippine Geothermal Production Company (PGPC) which produces 300 Megawatts of geothermal steam supply. SM aims to continue to develop geothermal concessions through PGPC in support of the Department of Energy's goal of reaching 50% renewable energy supply by 2040. To encourage circularity towards green energy production, SM's property arm, SM Prime Holdings partnered with GUUN Co. Ltd. ( GUUN ) to implement the Japanese technique of reducing landfill impact. The technology converts non-recyclable and hard-to-recycle packaging into alternative fuel. SM's banking arm, BDO Unibank is one of the largest funders of renewable energy projects. BDO has funded PHP898 billion in sustainable finance, including loans to 59 renewable energy projects as of December 2023. In logistics and tourism, the improvement of transport networks across the country's archipelago connects tourist and industrial areas that will help create inclusive growth. SM though its subsidiary 2GO launched MV Masigla and MV Masikap in 2024 to help better connect goods to 19 ports across the country including Iloilo, Bacolod, Cagayan de Oro and Manila , further supporting the government's push for medium term growth through an upgraded tourism infrastructure and ecosystem. "Our focus for 2025 will be to drive purposeful growth, empowering communities and partners through our investments towards a sustainable future," Mr. DyBuncio said. View original content to download multimedia: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sm-approaches-2025-with-cautious-optimism-302339448.html SOURCE SM Investments Corporation
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