According to the Asahi Shimbun, Kanden Reality & Development (KRD), which is involved in housing and other businesses, will more than double its investment in overseas operations by 2035. Starting this month, the "Overseas Business Department" has been upgraded to a headquarters to strengthen its authority and enable quick decision-making.
President Kenichi Fujino said, "We will focus on overseas business where investment efficiency is high, even if we have to take risks. The reorganization is also an expression of our intention to move to the next phase.” The company launched its overseas business in 2017. The company has been involved in residential development and real estate investment in the United States, Australia, and Southeast Asia, where population expansion and economic growth are remarkable, and has been involved in about 40 projects to date. The company has recently decided to develop a project in the U.S, and it plans to increase its investments from approximately 59 billion yen (stock basis) at the end of fiscal 2023 to 130 billion yen, 2.2 times the current amount, by fiscal 2035. https://digital.asahi.com/articles/ASS4C2JWPS4CPLFA003M.html
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According to The Australian Financial Review, Australia will fall 90,000 homes short of this year’s national target of 240,000 new dwellings, affordable housing industry figures have said after new housing starts for 2023 came in at the lowest level in 11 years.
Dwelling commencements over the last calendar year undershot the national cabinet total by almost one-third, falling to 163,836, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed. This was the weakest since the 2012 total of 153,580. “Dwelling completions for 2024 are currently projected at approximately 150,000, which is approximately 90,000 dwellings short of the government’s target of 240,000 per year,” said Matt King, the director of economics and research at PowerHousing Australia, an industry grouping for affordable housing providers. https://www.afr.com/property/residential/new-housing-starts-sink-to-11-year-low-target-more-than-a-third-down-20240410-p5firq
According to The Asahi Shimbun, ahead of its official opening, tech trade show SusHi Tech Tokyo 2024 offered a glimpse of futuristic mobility, sustainable food and entertainment innovations in a preview event on 9 April.
The media preview featured a new compact tricycle, a water-sky versatile drone, beef-free hamburgers and other highlights from the show’s Showcase Program, which envisions “urban life in 2050.” “Experience a sustainable and high-tech Tokyo,” said Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, promoting the event that will be held in multiple venues across the capital from 27 April to 26 May. SusHi Tech Tokyo, which stands for the Sustainable High City Tech Tokyo, is organized by the Tokyo metropolitan government. https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15225540
According to The Jiji News, Kirin Holdings Co. aims to become a leading group in health food-related operations in Asia, President Takeshi Minakata has said.
"We are eager to become the No. 1 or No. 2 player in Asia" in the sector, he said in a recent interview, indicating that the major Japanese food and beverage group plans to further strengthen its health food operations by leveraging the brand power of Blackmores Ltd., an Australian health supplements firm it acquired in 2023. https://sp.m.jiji.com/english/show/32267
According to The Australian Financial Review, Greenbushes, the country’s largest and most lucrative lithium mine, recorded a profit of almost $6.3 billion in the 12 months to December 31, a significant increase from one year earlier even as the broader green metals sector struggles financially.
The mine, south of Perth, is jointly owned by North Carolina-headquartered giant Albemarle, China’s Tianqi and ASX-listed IGO Limited. Its holding company paid almost all the profit in 2023 – $6.27 billion of $6.28 billion – to shareholders, new accounts filed with the corporate regulator shows. The net profit compared to $3.26 billion in 2022, and came after a major expansion of the mine. https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/the-country-s-largest-lithium-mine-unveils-bumper-6-3b-profit-20240401-p5fgj8
According to The Australian Financial Review, in what is believed to be a world-first product for sale, Canberra-based start-up Samsara Eco has created clothing made with an enzymatically recycled product that can, in turn, be recycled infinitely.
CEO Paul Riley said the project, in collaboration with Canadian athleisure giant Lululemon, marks a watershed moment in the future of textile recycling. “It’s a very exciting day for us,” Mr Riley said. “This is a first-of-its-kind piece of clothing that has been 18 months in the making.” Though clothing recycling is not new, Samsara’s technology is different. “What’s unique about this is that most recycled clothes are made from remnants of the packaging industry. Clear PET bottles are turned back into polyester fibre and mixed with other products like nylon or polyurethane, and then coloured.” This closed-loop process means the garments cannot be recycled again, and “are destined for landfill” Mr Riley said. Samsara’s proprietary technology, EosEco, uses a combination of biophysics, chemistry, biology and computer science (such as artificial intelligence) to create plastic-eating enzymes. The enzymes break down waste into raw materials, which are then combined with existing manufacturing processes to make new products – such as the Lululemon Packable Anorak jacket, on shelves this week. https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/fashion-and-style/the-aussie-company-making-leggings-last-a-lifetime-20240402-p5fgsy
According to The Australian Financial Review, investment manager Cedar Pacific has joined forces with Japanese timber, housing and building materials giant Sumitomo Forestry on plans to develop a $1.2 billion portfolio of build-to-rent apartments, where much of the focus will be on sustainability.
Under the deal, Japan’s Sumitomo will acquire just short of 50 per cent equity stakes in build-to-rent projects undertaken in the JV partnership, starting with a $375 million development already under construction in Brisbane. Cedar Pacific – best known as a developer of student accommodation towers, but which flagged a move into BTR in 2020. https://www.afr.com/property/residential/japanese-forestry-giant-to-partner-on-1-2b-build-to-rent-portfolio-20240402-p5fgr6
According to the Asahi Shimbun, JR (Japan railway) Tokai is trying to improve the hydrogen engine, which was originally used for automobiles, and to use it for railroads in order to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. If realized, it will be the first of its kind in the world. Why are they going down this difficult road when there are other environmental technologies that are being developed ahead of them?
In the development of environmental technologies using hydrogen, fuel cells are leading the way. Toyota Motor Corporation has installed them in its "Mirai" passenger car, and they are already on the market. In the railroad industry, JR East is also testing a train that uses batteries in combination. JR Tokai, however, has not concentrated on fuel cells, but has also branched out into hydrogen engines. The company wants to have a variety of options as a possibility in case fuel cell power increases come to a standstill. JR Tokai is also researching the use of vehicles that run solely on battery electricity and the use of biofuels, which are considered to emit virtually no CO2. The current situation, in which the company continues to expand its options, illustrates the difficulty of decarbonizing railroads. Hidemasa Tanaka, team manager in charge of the project, also says, "The cost is still very high for all of them, and we cannot make a decision yet”. https://digital.asahi.com/articles/ASS434DWBS43ULFA002M.html
According to The Asahi Shimbun, initiatives to have carbon dioxide (CO2) absorbed and captured in seaweed and seagrass are taking root across Japan, where the population is known for having a taste for a wide range of aquatic plants.
Those environmental efforts aim to not only combat climate change but also offer other benefits, including improving fisheries resources and seawater quality. A framework to trade blue carbon credits has already been adopted in the nation. A total of 26 programs were certified through fiscal 2022. Credits for a total of 3,800 tons of CO2 were issued. Credits are reportedly being traded this fiscal year for an average of 65,000 yen (US$438) per ton, six times higher than the approximately 10,000 yen per ton for forest-linked credits. https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/15191967
According to The Australian Financial Review, exploration spending in the resources sector in the last three months of 2023 was the best December quarter in 10 years, as prospecting for clean energy metals remained robust despite market jitters over lower EV demand from China.
The December-quarter figures, compiled by advisory firm BDO and spanning companies purely in the exploration phase not yet earning revenue, show the strongest December quarter since 2013, revealing a high appetite for risk in the market. The 23 per cent increase in companies spending between $100,000 and $300,000 on exploration compared with the previous quarter reflected encouraging signs for the mining sector, said Sherif Andrawes, BDO’s global natural resources boss. https://www.afr.com/companies/mining/mine-prospecting-booms-among-cashed-up-explorers-20240326-p5ffa3 |
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