AM BEST ASSIGNS RATINGS TO STRONGHOLD INSURANCE IN PHILIPPINES

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) -- Global credit rating agency, AM Best has assigned a financial strength rating of B (Fair), a long-term issuer credit rating of “bb” (Fair) and a Philippines National Scale Rating of a.PH (Excellent) to Stronghold Insurance Company Inc (Stronghold).

In a statement, AM Best said the outlook assigned to these credit ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect Stronghold’s strong balance sheet strength, adequate operating performance, limited business profile and marginal enterprise risk management.

The company’s risk-adjusted capitalisation, measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio, is expected to remain at least strong over the medium term. Stronghold’s investment portfolio is low-to-moderate risk, with the majority allocated to cash, deposits, and Philippine government bonds, supported by a reinsurance programme of generally good credit quality.

Operating performance remains adequate, with a five-year average return on equity of 5.7 per cent (fiscal years 2020 to 2024). The company has shown marginal improvement in combined ratios, supported by steady business growth and generally benign loss experience.

In addition, investment income, primarily from interest and rental returns, remains stable and contributes positively to overall earnings, with 2025 operating results staying in positive territory due to consistent underwriting and investment performance.

Stronghold is among the top 10 non-life insurers in the Philippines, with approximately four per cent market share. Key business lines include fire, surety and motor insurance, with premium growth driven in part by large fire policies.

AM Best notes that certain risk exposures, particularly to natural catastrophes such as typhoons and floods, exceed current risk management capabilities, though improvements are expected over time.

-- BERNAMA

OXFORD NANOPORE PARTNERS A.D.A.M. INNOVATIONS TO ADVANCE GENOMIC SEQUENCING IN JAPAN

 

From left to right: Dr. Iri Sato Baran, Genesis Healthcare (A.D.A.M Innovations), Vice Chair of the Board Ambassador Julia Longbottom, British Embassy Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office Michel Mommejat, Genesis Healthcare (A.D.A.M Innovations), CEO and Executive Director Gretchen Weightman, Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Senior Vice President Commercial and General Manager APAC, Dr. Toshiharu Furukawa, LDP, Chair of Medical Information Policy and Genomic Medicine, House of Councillors, Hirokazu Shimoda, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, Senior Director

KUALA LUMPUR, March 18 (Bernama) -- Oxford Nanopore Technologies and A.D.A.M. Innovations (Japanese corporate name Genesis Healthcare Co) announced an international collaboration to accelerate advanced genomic sequencing and medicine applications in Japan.

The partnership aims to develop and deploy comprehensive nanopore sequencing technology across the Japanese genetic testing market, according to Oxford Nanopore in a statement.

Oxford Nanopore Technologies, Vice President Commercial and General Manager APAC, Gretchen Weightman commented that the joint force will help bring rapid, scalable sequencing directly into clinical pathways and strengthen scientific ties between the United Kingdom (UK) and Japan.

Meanwhile, A.D.A.M. Innovations President, Michel Mommejat noted that Oxford Nanopore’s innovative platform opens new possibilities for clinical genomics in Japan and is intended to enhance diagnostic capability and advance the nation’s genomic precision medicine.

The initial phase will establish Oxford Nanopore’s information-rich, real-time sequencing technology within A.D.A.M. Innovations’ advanced genetic testing portfolio. This integration is expected to enable rapid and precise genomic testing across multiple disease areas.

The long-term goal is to introduce new clinical workflows validated under Japan-specific standards, supporting scalable sequencing of DNA fragments of any length. Sequencing that captures complete genomic information is poised to expand testing accuracy beyond existing technologies.

A memorandum of understanding was signed at the British Embassy in Tokyo, in an event supported by His Majesty’s Ambassador to Japan, Julia Longbottom.

The initiative aligns with the UK-Japan Health Memorandum of Cooperation and reflects a broader increase in bilateral life sciences collaboration, strengthening industrial cooperation and accelerating translational research for patient benefit.

-- BERNAMA

Cushman & Wakefield Appoints Victoria Lake As CFO For APAC, EMEA

KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 (Bernama) -- Cushman & Wakefield, a global real estate services firm, has appointed Victoria Lake as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Asia Pacific (APAC) and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA).

Based in London, Lake will oversee all finance functions across both regions, working closely with regional leadership and global teams to drive growth and profitability.

Cushman & Wakefield Global CFO, Neil Johnston said Lake’s appointment would support the continued evolution of the firm’s finance capabilities.

In a statement, he highlighted her track record in leading finance transformation initiatives that enhance decision-making and deliver profitable growth.

Meanwhile, its Chief Executive for APAC & EMEA, Matthew Bouw said Lake’s expertise would accelerate the company’s transition into a more integrated and digitally enabled platform, including the use of artificial intelligence and advanced analytics to boost productivity and expand client solutions.

Lake joins from Accenture, where she served as Deputy CFO for its EMEA business. During her tenure, she held several leadership roles, including Managing Director in corporate development, overseeing mergers and acquisitions, including deals involving sustainability-focused companies.

She began her career at Deloitte and has extensive experience across audit, advisory, financial reporting, strategic planning and client transactions.

Commenting on her appointment, Lake said the company aligns with her focus on leveraging data to drive innovation and improved outcomes, adding that she looks forward to contributing to its next phase of growth.

-- BERNAMA

HELICAL FUSION ANNOUNCES HELIX HARUKA PHASE 1 SITE

KUALA LUMPUR, March 17 (Bernama) -- Helical Fusion Co Ltd, a Japanese fusion energy company, has announced the construction site for Phase 1 of Helix HARUKA, its Integrated Demonstration Device.

Phase 1, focused on magnet demonstration, will be built in a dedicated workspace for the joint research group formed by Helical Fusion and the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS), located on the NIFS campus. The company has already begun manufacturing preparations and site development.

The initiative underscores Helical Fusion’s role in leading a “Japan-style public–private partnership (PPP)” for fusion commercialisation, combining NIFS’s research capabilities with private-sector system integration and industrial manufacturing expertise to accelerate development, according to a statement.

In Phase 1, the company will assemble a non-planar helical high-temperature superconducting (HTS) magnet and conduct current tests to validate its performance under expected operating conditions. The magnet is considered a critical component in magnetic-confinement fusion, influencing system performance, reliability and cost.

Meanwhile, in Phase 2, Helical Fusion plans to carry out an integrated demonstration of key enabling technologies, including the HTS magnet and blanket/divertor systems. The phase will also aim to demonstrate sustained high-temperature plasma operation, a milestone required to support future steady-state power plant operations.

The programme is intended to establish technical confidence for the company’s first power-generating unit, Helix KANATA, which is designed to achieve practical power generation, including steady-state and net-electric operation.

Since 2024, Helical Fusion and NIFS have operated under a formal joint research framework, collaborating on key technologies including HTS magnet systems and blanket/divertor systems.

By locating Phase 1 at the dedicated joint workspace on the NIFS campus, Helical Fusion will more tightly connect research and hardware buildout to accelerate engineering integration.

-- BERNAMA

OXMIQ Labs and AM Intelligence Labs Partner to Architect One of the World’s Largest Renewable-Powered AI Compute Platforms

^{OXMIQ and AM Intelligence Labs are building one of the world's largest renewable-powered AI compute platforms - 2 Gigawatts by 2030, Phase 1 online in Noida, India by 2027.} 


Optimizing from photons to outcomes. Powered by 100% renewable energy.

CAMPBELL, Calif. and HYDERABAD, India, March 16 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- OXMIQ Labs (“OXMIQ”), the GPU architecture and AI technology company founded by Raja Koduri, today announced a strategic technology partnership with AM Intelligence Labs, a business division of AM Group, to provide data center and system infrastructure advisory for AM Intelligence Labs' 2 GW AI Compute Capability by 2030 with initial 1 GW AI Compute Hub in Uttar Pradesh, India. 

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260315355703/en/

AM Intelligence Labs is a strategic business division of AM Group, parent of Greenko, India's largest green energy producer with 50 GW of renewable capacity across solar, wind, and hydro, backed by 100 GWh of intelligent energy storage and supplying approximately 2% of India's total power. Energy is owned, operated, and carbon-free priced at 50–70% below conventional data center power costs.

India is a rapidly changing center of demand in the global AI economy. Driven by its massive developer ecosystem, digital economy, and rapidly expanding enterprise adoption of AI, the country is emerging as the world's second-largest market for AI usage and token consumption.

AM Group has commenced development of its flagship AI infrastructure initiative, with Phase 1 of the Noida Compute Hub now in active execution. Bringing the initial compute capacity online by the end of 2027 will be a key milestone as the Group builds one of the world’s largest renewable-powered AI compute platforms. OXMIQ is working closely with AM Group to optimize system architecture, infrastructure design, and modular execution delivery to ensure the platform is deployed at speed while achieving best-in-class efficiency and scale.

Under the partnership, OXMIQ will serve as the architecture and engineering partner for the compute platform, working with AM Intelligence Labs to design the systems architecture, hardware roadmap, and supply chain strategy that will underpin the facility. OXMIQ brings deep expertise spanning the entire compute stack, from transistor-level GPU architecture and advanced packaging through rack-scale systems, high-performance interconnects, and the orchestration software required to operate AI workloads at massive scale. Together, the partnership delivers end-to-end optimization from photons to outcomes, ultimately making zettascale economics accessible to everyone.

AM Group is developing the 1 GW AI High Performance Compute Hub in Noida as a fully vertically integrated platform spanning owned carbon-free power generation, advanced data center infrastructure, high-performance accelerators, a complete software stack, applications, and flexible consumption models ranging from AI Pods-as-a-Service to Tokens-as-a-Service.

OXMIQ's deep expertise across the compute stack enables the platform to be architected for end-to-end optimization from photons to tokens. Every layer, from renewable energy generation through data center architecture, liquid cooling, interconnect topology, accelerator selection, and workload orchestration, will be engineered as a unified system. This integrated approach unlocks industry-leading electrons-to-tokens economics, delivering dramatically lower-cost AI compute at gigawatt scale.

Leadership Perspectives

"AM Intelligence Labs is the ideal partner for OXMIQ. They have solved the hardest constraint in large-scale AI infrastructure: access to reliable, carbon-free power at global scale. Our team has spent decades building silicon, systems, and software that power the world’s most advanced computing platforms. Bringing that expertise into AM Intelligence Labs’ infrastructure from the first architectural decisions means every rack, every interconnect, every storage and cooling system is designed around the workloads and economics required for the AI era."

— Raja Koduri, Founder and CEO, OXMIQ Labs

“OXMIQ gives AM Intelligence Labs access to some of the deepest hardware and systems expertise in the industry. Their team’s experience across leading Silicon Valley companies is exactly what we need to architect infrastructure that can compete globally. Together we are laying the foundation for AM Intelligence Labs to become a full-stack AI compute platform.”

— Anil Chalamalasetty, Group Chairman, AM Group

About OXMIQ Labs

OXMIQ Labs, headquartered in Campbell, California, is a GPU architecture and AI technology company founded by Raja Koduri, whose career spans leadership at Apple, AMD, Intel, and ATI Technologies. OXMIQ delivers licensable chiplet-based AI hardware and software solutions built for the age of inference. OxCapsule and OxPython deliver immediate optimization across heterogeneous hardware, while OxCore and OxQuilt provide the chiplet-native roadmap to zettascale efficiency. For more information: www.oxmiq.ai

Forward Looking Statements: This press release contains forward looking statements subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially. Specific projects and deployments will be subject to definitive agreements.

View source version on businesswire.com: 
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Contact

Media Contacts:
OXMIQ Labs: press@oxmiq.ai 

Source : Oxmiq Labs Inc.

​AM Best Affirms Credit Ratings of KBFG Insurance (China) Co., Ltd.

HONG KONG, March 16 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating of “a-” (Excellent) of KBFG Insurance (China) Co., Ltd. (KBFG China) (China). The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable.

The ratings reflect KBFG China’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management (ERM). The ratings also reflect the wide range of support that the company receives from its parent, KB Insurance Co., Ltd., in areas including underwriting and pricing, business development, reinsurance and risk management.

KBFG China’s balance sheet strength is underpinned by risk-adjusted capitalisation at the strongest level, as measured by Best’s Capital Adequacy Ratio (BCAR). The company’s consolidated capital and surplus have continued to increase, backed by positive operating performance with full profit retention. KBFG China maintains a low underwriting leverage, limited net exposure to large commercial accounts and a conservative investment appetite. The company has in place a comprehensive reinsurance programme with a panel of financially sound reinsurers. KBFG China’s statutory core solvency ratio improved from 501% in 2024 to 671% at year-end 2025, owing to the complete settlement of sizeable reinsurance recoverables as planned.

KBFG China has reported positive operating profit over the last five years (2021 to 2025), with low-to-mid-single digit return-on-equity ratios reported during that period. The company experienced a slight decline in top-line performance for a third consecutive year in 2025, primarily due to reduced client exposures and rate reductions driven by favourable loss experience. KBFG China has formulated a mitigation plan to regain business growth momentum, while maintaining a stable net exposure. The company’s underwriting profitability has remained stable, supported by low acquisition costs and positive reinsurance commission income. Stable investment returns are expected to remain a key contributor to KBFG China’s overall operating results.

As a foreign-owned insurer focusing on serving Korean interests abroad, KBFG China has a defensible competitive advantage in this niche market. However, the company has a limited market presence in China’s non-life segment with less than 1% of total market share. AM Best views KBFG China’s ERM as appropriate for its risk profile.

Negative rating actions could occur if there is a diminished level of support from KB Insurance Co., Ltd., such as a material reduction in explicit or implicit support extended to the subsidiary. Negative rating actions also may arise from a sustained deteriorating trend in the company’s operating performance. Positive rating actions may occur if there is a significant increase in KBFG China’s capital size with robust risk-adjusted capitalisation.

Ratings are communicated to rated entities prior to publication. Unless stated otherwise, the ratings were not amended subsequent to that communication.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Best’s Credit Ratings, Best’s Performance Assessments, Best’s Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Best’s Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright © 2026 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Contact

Madison Fan
Senior Financial Analyst
+852 2827 3416
madison.fan@ambest.com

Christopher Sharkey
Associate Director, Public Relations
+1 908 882 2310
christopher.sharkey@ambest.com

Stephanie Mi
Senior Financial Analyst
+852 2827 3402
stephanie.mi@ambest.com

Al Slavin
Senior Public Relations Specialist
+1 908 882 2318
al.slavin@ambest.com 

Source : AM Best

EIG’s MidOcean Energy to Acquire Additional Gorgon LNG Interest from JERA; Parties Explore Strategic Alliance

 

 

• Transaction increases MidOcean’s equity exposure to premier Australian LNG project
• Adds incremental uncontracted LNG volumes, enhancing portfolio optimization and marketing flexibility
• Planning future collaborations, exploring further transactions and opportunities with JERA across other assets globally with the aim of creating a future strategic alliance

WASHINGTON, March 12 (Bernama-BUSINESS WIRE) -- MidOcean Energy (“MidOcean”), a liquefied natural gas (LNG) company formed and managed by EIG, today announced it has entered into definitive agreements with JERA Co., Inc. (“JERA”) to acquire JERA Gorgon Pty Ltd, which holds JERA’s 0.417% interest in the Gorgon LNG project. MidOcean is an existing participant in the Gorgon LNG project, and this transaction increases MidOcean’s interest in Gorgon to 1.417%. The transaction perimeter also includes JERA’s 0.735% interest in the Ichthys LNG project. Subject to the satisfaction of relevant conditions precedent, the interests in Gorgon and Ichthys will be sold to MidOcean, and then the Ichthys interest shall be transferred, subject to the satisfaction of further conditions, to an existing joint venture participant in the Ichthys LNG project.

The acquisition increases MidOcean’s equity exposure to a large-scale, long-life, integrated LNG project operated by Chevron, further strengthening its portfolio of high-quality producing assets.

In parallel, MidOcean and JERA plan future collaborations, exploring future transactions and opportunities on LNG and adjacent energy transactions globally with the aim of creating a strategic alliance. This reflects a shared objective to pursue disciplined growth and unlock additional sources of value across the LNG value chain.

Gorgon LNG is supplied by the Gorgon and Jansz-Io gas fields in the Carnarvon Basin offshore Western Australia and comprises three LNG trains with total nameplate capacity of approximately 15.6 Mtpa. The project includes domestic gas supply and condensate production, supported by extensive offshore and onshore infrastructure on Barrow Island.

R. Blair Thomas, MidOcean Chairman and EIG CEO, said:

“This transaction advances MidOcean’s strategy to build a scaled, globally diversified LNG company anchored by high-quality assets and counterparties. Increasing our position in Gorgon enhances the quality and durability of our portfolio while expanding our equity exposure to one of the industry’s benchmark LNG projects. Looking ahead, our collaboration with JERA including exploring the establishment of a strategic alliance positions us to pursue additional high-quality opportunities in a disciplined and repeatable way.”

De la Rey Venter, CEO of MidOcean, said:

“The acquisition adds incremental uncontracted equity volumes, increasing our ability to optimise across our portfolio and capture value through commodity cycles. Gorgon is a high-quality, cash-generative asset with long reserve life and strong operating performance. Deepening our relationship with JERA also strengthens our ability to originate and execute future transactions in the global LNG market.”

JERA Senior Managing Executive Officer and Chief Low Carbon Fuel Officer, Mr Ryosuke Tsugaru, said:

“Australia remains strategically important to JERA as a trusted and reliable LNG supplier, and we value the longstanding partnerships we have built there. Through our ongoing portfolio optimisation, we are strengthening our ability to support long-term energy security for Australia, Japan and the broader region. JERA looks forward to collaborating with MidOcean Energy across the LNG value chain.”

The parties aim to close the transaction during the first half of 2026, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approvals.

UBS acted as financial advisor to MidOcean, and White & Case acted as legal advisor.

About EIG

EIG is a leading institutional investor in the global energy and infrastructure sectors with $25.4 billion assets under management as of December 31, 2025. EIG specializes in private investments in energy and energy-related infrastructure on a global basis. During its 43-year history, EIG has committed over $53.4 billion to the energy sector through 425 projects or companies in 44 countries on six continents. EIG’s clients include many of the leading pension plans, insurance companies, endowments, foundations and sovereign wealth funds in the U.S., Asia and Europe. EIG is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with offices in Houston, London, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, Hong Kong and Seoul.

About MidOcean Energy

MidOcean Energy, an LNG company formed and managed by EIG, seeks to build a diversified, resilient, cost- and carbon-competitive global LNG portfolio. It reflects EIG’s belief in LNG as a critical element of a lower carbon, competitive and more secure global energy system. MidOcean Energy has diverse LNG interests, including in Gorgon LNG, Pluto LNG, QCLNG and Peru LNG. The company is headed by De la Rey Venter, a 27-year industry veteran who has held a variety of senior executive roles, including Global Head of LNG for Shell Plc.

For additional information, please visit MidOcean Energy’s website at www.midoceanenergy.com or EIG’s website at www.eigpartners.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: 
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Contact

EIG/MidOcean Contact Information
FGS Global
Kelly Kimberly / Brandon Messina
+1 212-687-8080
EIG@fgsglobal.com 

Source : EIG