Fitch Ratings on Monday affirmed Haidilao International's (HKG:6862) long-term foreign-currency issuer default rating of BBB with a stable outlook.
The credit rating agency also affirmed the company's senior unsecured rating at BBB, reflecting the Chinese hot pot restaurant chain's "strong" market position and "resilient" operating performance amid weak consumer demand and intense competition, Fitch Ratings said.
More than half of Singapore real estate investment trusts, or S-REITs, have yet to plan for sustainability assurance readiness despite greater investor scrutiny and their role in the city's built-environment transition, PwC Singapore said in a report Monday.According to a survey of 20 S-REITs representing 48% of the sector's total assets under management, 60% had no plans to obtain external assurance over sustainability-related information.Meanwhile, only 25% of the S-REITs surveyed had made plans for sustainability assurance readiness, while another 15% had already done so.The sustainability assurance readiness ensures S-REITs' environmental, social, and governance data, internal controls, and reporting processes can pass an independent, third-party audit."Our study highlights that external assurance amongst S-REITs remains limited, alongside ongoing challenges in obtaining complete, audit-quality data, particularly where data relies on third parties such as tenants and service providers," PwC Singapore said in its report.
BHP Group (ASX:BHP) said Tuesday it is modifying blast furnaces for lower carbon intensity steelmaking, with efficiency improvements and incremental process optimization able to deliver up to about 20% reductions in carbon dioxide emissions intensity.The company said in a statement that a step change in abatement to about 80% reduction requires top gas recycling and carbon capture, with BHP having set a medium-term Scope 3 emissions goal to support the steel industry to decarbonize.BHP said it is pursuing this goal by supporting multiple technology pathways, including the blast furnace, partnering with steelmakers to trial, de-risk, and scale carbon capture, utilization, and storage processes, while supporting studies on carbon dioxide transport and storage infrastructure and policy enablers.The company's shares fell almost 1% in recent Tuesday trade.
Sanan Optoelectronics (SHA:600703) extended the usable date of its Hubei Mini/Micro LED industrialization project to June 2028 from June 2026, according to a Tuesday filing with the Shanghai bourse.The semiconductor and optoelectronics company cited macroeconomic volatility, sluggish markets and slower-than-expected progress in critical Micro LED processes for the extension.With only 51% of the 6.9 billion yuan invested so far, Sanan Optoelectronics aims to avoid premature capacity buildup amid market uncertainty.Shares of the company rose 1% in recent trade.