-- Count (ASX:CUP) finalized terms to acquire a cornerstone shareholding in Tailored Lifetime Solutions, a Count Financial-licensed financial planning firm, according to a Monday filing with the Australian bourse.
Tailored will acquire the financial planning clients of another Count Financial-licensed firm as part of the deal, the filing said.
The combined business is expected to have revenue of about AU$6 million, per the filing.
The Asian Development Bank is committing $70 billion to support new energy and digital infrastructure initiatives across the Asia-Pacific region by 2035.ADB President Masato Kanda announced the pledge on Sunday during the lender's annual meeting in Uzbekistan."Energy and digital access will define the region's future," said Kanda. "These two initiatives build the systems Asia and the Pacific need to grow, compete, and connect. By linking power grids and digital networks across borders, we can lower costs, expand opportunity, and bring reliable power and digital access to hundreds of millions of people."The pledge comes as the ADB sharply downgraded its forecast for the APAC region, citing energy disruptions from the ongoing Middle East conflict.On Wednesday, the ADB slashed its GDP growth outlook for developing Asia and the Pacific to 4.7% in 2026 from the previous 5.1% forecast.Inflation for 2026 is projected to accelerate to 5.2% in 2026 from 3% in 2025, before easing to 4.1% in 2027."Our revised outlook is a significant downward revision for growth and a sharp increase in inflation following a special update to reflect the deepening crisis," Kanda said at the time.The bank's new outlook assumes that oil prices average around $96 a barrel in 2026, well above the $69 per barrel average in January and February before the Middle East conflict. The bank expects oil prices to ease to around $80 per barrel in 2027."We are confronting systemic, long-lasting disruptions to global energy and trade networks, not just temporary volatility. ADB will remain an agile partner in protecting the region's economy; tracking fast-moving risks, and moving with urgency to scale up our support," Kanda added.Diesel prices across several Southeast Asian countries have increased by more than 100% since late February, the ADB said in its updated outlook report.The ADB also noted in its Wednesday report that the energy shock is also affecting fertilizer prices, which it said could add to food inflation, particularly for economies most dependent on Middle East imports.Against that backdrop, the ADB is committing $70 billion to build new energy and digital infrastructure in Asia and the Pacific by 2035.The largest investment, worth $50 billion, will be allocated towards cross-border power infrastructure to unlock renewable energy at scale, the ADB said.The project will focus on transmission and grid integration, including cross-border lines, substations, storage, and grid digitalization, according to the lender.By 2035, the bank aims to integrate about 20 gigawatts of renewable energy across borders, connect 22,000 circuit-kilometers of transmission lines, and cut regional power sector emissions by 15%, while improving energy access for around 200 million people.The remaining $20 billion will fund the Asia-Pacific Digital Highway, targeting digital corridors, data infrastructure, and AI-ready economies.The project aims to bring first-time broadband access to 200 million people and cut connectivity costs in remote and landlocked areas by about 40%.The South Korean government will back a new Center for AI Innovation and Development in Seoul with a $20 million contribution. The center will aim to train about 3 million people in digital and AI-related skills by 2035.Separately on Sunday, the ADB also unveiled a Critical Minerals-to-Manufacturing Financing Partnership Facility designed to help the region move beyond mining into higher-value industries such as processing, manufacturing, and recycling.Japan committed $20 million to the grant window, the UK contributed $1.6 million, and the Korea Eximbank and the Korean Trade Insurance Corporation each signed $500 million memorandums as the facility's first partners.
South Korean shares opened at a new high on Monday as investor tensions appeared to ease after US President Donald Trump said Sunday that the US would help countries with ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, naming it Project Freedom.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index, or Kospi, rose by 184.06 points to open at 6,782.93. The Kosdaq marginally gained to open at 1,212.28.The blockade of Iranian ports continues and does not represent a continuation of the US-Iran conflict, Trump said.The US military support under Project Freedom will comprise guided-missile destroyers, over 100 land and sea-based aircraft, multi-domain unmanned platforms, and 15,000 service members.However, the naval mission is being seen as a violation of the ceasefire by Iran, top Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Azizi said.
Weebit Nano (ASX:WBT) said two product customers have successfully taped out chip designs integrating its resistive random-access memory (ReRAM) technology, marking a key step toward commercial-scale production, according to a Monday Australian bourse filing.Overlord Labs has incorporated the company's ReRAM into a next-generation smart battery management system, taped out at DB HiTek, aiming to enhance power efficiency, reduce costs, and improve performance for high-volume production, per the filing.A second customer has already received initial silicon of its prototype, which is working as expected, including the ReRAM component, the filing said.Both projects are now moving into extended testing, characterization, and qualification stages, which are expected to last 12 to 18 months before potential mass production, the filing added.The company's shares rose around 7% in recent Monday trade.