Japan – Honda Plans to Establish Comprehensive Electric Vehicle Value Chain in Ontario, Canada

Apr 30, 2024 | Business

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. today announced that it plans to build a comprehensive EV value chain in Canada with an approximate investment of CAD$15 billion, including investment by joint venture partners, to strengthen its EV supply system and capability to prepare for a future increase in EV demand in North America. Honda has begun evaluating the requirements to build an innovative and environmentally responsible Honda EV plant and a stand-alone Honda EV battery plant in Alliston, Ontario. The proposed Honda EV value chain will also include a cathode active material and precursor (CAM/pCAM) processing plant through a joint venture partnership with POSCO Future M Co., Ltd. and a separator plant through a joint venture partnership with Asahi Kasei Corporation, with announcements to follow in their respective Ontario communities.

Honda expects that electric vehicle production will begin in 2028. Once fully operational, the EV plant will have a production capacity of 240,000 EVs per year and the EV battery plant will have a capacity of 36 GWh per year. In addition to securing the current employment level of 4,200 associates at its two existing manufacturing facilities in Ontario, Honda estimates it will add a minimum of 1,000 new associates for the EV and EV battery manufacturing facilities. The investment in the new facilities will also create significant spinoff jobs across all sites, including in the construction sector.

Honda has begun the process of evaluating the scope of its investment and completing negotiations with its joint venture partners. This work is expected to be finalized during the next six months and more details will be shared at that time.

To support this project, Honda is collaborating with the governments of Canada and Ontario to drive innovation in low-emissions manufacturing by accessing performance-based initiatives available through the federal government’s new Investment Tax Credits and provincial direct and indirect incentives.

North American EV strategy

Striving to realize carbon neutrality for all its products and corporate activities by 2050, Honda has set a goal to make BEVs and FCEVs represent 100% of vehicle sales by 2040. To achieve this goal, Honda will continue offering attractive products in this electrified era globally, including its largest market of North America.

As the first step in achieving this electrification goal in North America, Honda positioned its existing auto production plants in the state of Ohio in the U.S. as its EV Hub for production, including the retooling of existing plants, an investment of USD$700 million, and the construction of a joint venture EV battery plant with LG Energy Solution, with an expected investment of USD$4.4 billion.

The Ohio EV hub will serve as the foundation for future EV and EV battery production, sharing knowledge and expertise with other Honda plants in North America, including the new EV assembly and battery plants in Ontario, Canada. Honda expects EV production to begin at the Marysville Auto Plant in late 2025.

As a second step in this initiative, Honda will strive to establish a comprehensive EV value chain that includes all aspects of EV production in Canada, from the procurement of raw materials mainly for batteries, to the production of finished EVs. Honda will leverage EV production knowledge learned at the Ohio EV Hub, combined with the abundant resources and clean energy available in Canada, to establish a stable supply system for batteries, the key component of EVs, and increase cost competitiveness of its EVs as a whole.

Furthermore, with an eye toward secondary use and the recycling of batteries, Honda will realize low-carbon value creation throughout the entire battery life cycle, through which Honda will establish a highly profitable business foundation and contribute to the realization of a carbon-neutral society.

For more information and future updates, please visit www.hondanews.ca.

Comments by Toshihiro Mibe, Global CEO of Honda: 

“Honda is making progress in our global initiatives toward the realization of our 2050 carbon neutrality goal. In North America, following the initiative to establish our EV production system capability in the U.S., we will now begin formal discussions toward the establishment of a comprehensive EV value chain here in Canada, with the support of the governments of Canada and Ontario. We will strengthen our EV supply system and capability with an eye toward a future increase in EV demand in North America.”

Comments by Jean Marc Leclerc, President and CEO of Honda Canada Inc.:

“Honda of Canada Manufacturing is one of the premier automotive manufacturing facilities in the world and for nearly forty years, our work has been guided by determination, innovation, and a relentless drive to evolve. Today’s announcement is a historic investment by a manufacturer in the Canadian auto industry. It proudly honours the highly skilled associates who have earned a global reputation for manufacturing excellence and represents Honda’s recognition of the long-term attractiveness of the Canadian electric vehicle manufacturing ecosystem.”

About Honda Motor Co., Ltd.

Honda Motor Co., Ltd. is responsible for the development, production and sales of automobiles, motorcycles, power products and aviation products worldwide. Honda now delivers over 28 million products annually through its three product lines. Honda and its partners build products in more than 60 manufacturing plants in 27 countries, employing about 197,000 associates globally. On a global basis by 2050, Honda is striving to achieve carbon neutrality for all products and corporate activities, as well as zero traffic collision fatalities involving Honda automobiles and motorcycles.

About Honda Canada Inc.

Honda Canada Inc. was founded in 1969 and is the parent company for both Honda and Acura vehicle brands in Canada. Since 1986, the company has produced Honda engines and more than 10 million cars and light trucks at its Alliston, Ontario manufacturing facilities, where Honda Civic and Honda CR-V are currently built. Honda has invested over $6.5 billion in Canadian operations, and each year sources over $3 billion in goods and services from Canadian suppliers. Since its inception, Honda Canada has sold over five million Honda and Acura passenger cars and light trucks in Canada through a dealer network of more than 280 dealerships across the country. For more information, please visit www.hondacanada.ca.

About Honda of Canada Manufacturing

Honda of Canada Manufacturing (HCM) began production in Alliston, Ontario in November 1986 and is Honda’s only manufacturing facility in Canada. HCM’s two plants sit on 890 acres, encompass approximately 4 million square feet, and employ 4,200 associates. The plants have the capacity to produce more than 400,000 vehicles each year combined. HCM manufactures two of Honda’s best-selling models, the Honda Civic and the CR-V, and produced its 10 millionth vehicle in 2023. For more information, please visit www.hondacanadamfg.ca.

DOL Finalizes Plans for Fiduciary-Only Regime

Apr 24, 2024 | Business

 Today, the U.S. Department of Labor released the final version of its “Retirement Security Rule.” After initial review of the fiduciary rulemaking package as detailed in the Fact Sheet, it appears that the Department failed to make any substantive or meaningful improvements to the proposed rule despite significant, specific and data-supported feedback from industry stakeholders. As a result, financial services professionals face a new regulatory regime that imposes a blanket fiduciary threshold for recommending an annuity in a rollover transaction. Moreover, the DOL has largely left intact a constrained and practically unworkable PTE 84-24, a prohibited transaction exemption that has served both retirement savers and those giving financial advice for decades.

“Though disappointing, the release of this final rule is unsurprising,” said Chuck DiVencenzo, NAFA’s president and CEO. “It has been obvious from the outset that the DOL was intent on continuing its quest to push the regulatory boundary of IRAs past the original Congressional intent of The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 under false pretenses supported by back-of-the-napkin calculations.

“The process has been marred by a paucity of meaningful engagement between the DOL and industry stakeholders. Instead, the Department has dangerously rushed to put into effect a rule that disregards the value of independent distribution, the desire for Main Street savers to work with the professional service providers of their choosing and the need for products that can provide predictable lifetime income. Ultimately, we anticipate more confusion, higher costs and less financial security for low- and middle-income savers who need it most.”

Recently, fixed annuity sales have experienced several quarters of record sales numbers, in part due to consumer concerns about ongoing market volatility and longevity risk. Annuities are the only financial product that allows retirement savers to protect a portion of their nest egg from market declines while providing the opportunity to earn interest and generate a predictable stream of income payments that last a lifetime. Meanwhile, according to the Investment Company Institute, approximately $6.9 trillion in assets are held in more than 710,000 401(k) plans, on behalf of about 70 million active participants and millions of former employees and retirees. The new rule is expected to significantly hinder the ability of independent annuity professionals to use annuity products to help Americans move some of their hard-earned retirement savings out of such defined contribution plans into a vehicle that can help augment their retirement security.

“This Administration has repeatedly cited its desire to institute commonsense policies that help protect consumers from financial harm. Yet here we are with new regulations that contradict robust, uniform consumer protections that have been implemented by the states to ensure financial professionals are providing recommendations in their clients’ best interests,” said DiVencenzo. “Currently, according to LIMRA data, more than 40 percent of annuity sales are conducted by those professionals in the independent channels, which will unquestionably be most negatively impacted by the burdensome compliance requirements of this rule. Instead of celebrating the hard work these professionals do to combat retirement savings challenges, the DOL is effectively threatening their livelihoods and the future of millions of Americans they diligently serve.”

In the days ahead, NAFA will work in close partnership with its membership, industry trade association colleagues and legal counsel to conduct a comprehensive analysis of the final rule and will now pivot to all necessary and available avenues to fight this regulatory overreach.

About NAFA
NAFA, the National Association for Fixed Annuities, is the premier trade association exclusively dedicated to fixed annuities. Our mission is to promote the awareness and understanding of fixed annuities. We educate annuity salespeople, regulators, legislators, journalists, and industry personnel about the value of fixed annuities and their benefits to consumers. NAFA’s membership represents every aspect of the fixed annuity marketplace covering fixed annuities sold by independent agents, advisors and brokers. NAFA was founded in 1998. For more information, visit www.nafa.com.

NAFA
Chuck DiVencenzo – President & CEO
414-332-9306
nafa.com

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BH Properties Plans $1 Billion Investment into Affordable Housing

Jul 7, 2023 | Books, Business

Bill Stoll, BH Properties

Bill Stoll, BH Properties

LOS ANGELES – July 5, 2023 – PRLog — BH Properties (“BH”) has launched a new investment initiative into affordable housing  with a  goal of ultimately building a $1 billion portfolio of assets.  The new initiative will be led by veteran affordable housing executive William “Bill” Stoll who joins the firm as Managing Director, announced company President Jim Brooks.

An adjunct to the firm’s value-add multifamily platform, the new platform will focus on low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC), Section 8 and age-restricted housing throughout the United States.  For the Los Angeles-based real estate investment firm, which manages a 10 million-square-foot  portfolio of commercial real estate assets and more than 2,000 multifamily units, investment in affordable housing is complementary to its other business lines including value add acquisitions, bankruptcy solutions, and investment in real estate debt instruments across the capital stack.

“As long-term investors, our affordable housing strategy is driven by the annuity-like nature of the income stream and not the assumption of tax credits where most investors play,” said Brooks.    “We will be looking at assets with 100 or more units, typically following the expiration of the 15-year compliance period, where we can then hold them for as long as a decade.  We believe we can benefit from the durable and consistent cash flow that a professionally managed asset can generate.”

“Our goal is to build scale relatively quickly,” added Andy Van Tuyle, Senior Managing Director Investments. “The addition of Bill, his contacts, reputation and experience will help expedite this effort.”

Stoll, who will work closely with Van Tuyle, brings to BH more than $6 billion dollars in transaction experience over his nearly 14-year career at Steadfast Companies. Stoll, a graduate of San Diego State University, joined the Public Non-Traded REIT in 2009 as manager of a Southern California portfolio of 10 LIHTC properties, eventually rising to Executive Vice President of Acquisitions.  In addition to completing the acquisition and disposition of nearly 150 multifamily, LIHTC and Section 8 properties, Stoll played an integral role in construction, financing and property management during his tenure at Steadfast.

“It’s bittersweet to be leaving Steadfast, but Jim and Andy offered me an opportunity to lead and grow their new affordable housing platform,” said Stoll.  “I was impressed with BH Properties’ well capitalized balance sheet, and their track record of making investment decisions quickly.    This has allowed me to hit the ground running and we are already looking at potential investments in Texas, California, Arizona and Colorado.”

About BH Properties
Founded 30 years ago, privately held BH Properties (http://www.bhproperties.com) is a vertically integrated real estate investment company focusing on the acquisition and management of a geographically and product diverse portfolio of assets. The Los Angeles-based company, with regional offices in Phoenix, Dallas, Houston and Seattle, continues to focus on value-add transactions, distressed debt, gap financing, and ground leases. Today the company owns and operates nearly 10 million square feet across 16 states.

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Japan – NEC announces plans for transition to a Company with a Nominating Committee, etc. and implementation of organizational reforms

Jan 31, 2023 | Business

NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) today announced that a decision to transition its structure from a Company with the Audit and Supervisory Board to a Company with a Nominating Committee, etc. was made at the meeting of the Board of Directors held on January 30, 2023. This decision is subject to approval at the Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders scheduled to be convened in June 2023. The Board of Directors also decided to begin implementing organizational reforms prior to this transition, effective April 1, 2023, with the aim of establishing a business structure based on the strategic pillars of the Mid-term Management Plan 2025.

Under its Purpose-driven management, NEC is promoting initiatives that combine strategy and culture in order to achieve the Mid-term Management Plan 2025 as a milestone toward the realization of the NEC 2030VISION. In this globally intensifying competitive environment, through the reform of organizations, management, people and culture, which are the foundations that support NEC’s culture, NEC aims to further strengthen corporate governance and boost management speed to accelerate the growth of its global business pillars, thereby helping to achieve the Mid-term Management Plan 2025 and to increase NEC’s medium- to long-term corporate value as a global technology company.

1. Transition to a Company with a Nominating Committee, etc.

(1) Transition objectives and overview

NEC will separate the oversight function from execution by management in order to strengthen the oversight function of the Board of Directors. The Board of Directors is responsible for overseeing the execution of duties by executive officers as well as guiding the direction of management through deliberation of important matters related to NEC’s basic management policy. In addition, the majority of the Board of Directors shall be comprised of independent outside directors (5 inside directors, 7 outside directors), and the Nominating Committee, Compensation Committee, and Audit Committee shall each be chaired by an independent outside director to promote the transparency and objectivity of management.

By delegating substantial authority to executive officers with respect to business execution, NEC will accelerate timely decision-making and implementation. In line with this, in addition to strengthening the internal audit function and establishing the position of Chief Risk Officer (CRO), by reorganizing the executive meeting bodies centered on the Executive Committee, NEC will conduct swift business operations while overseeing the risks surrounding NEC.

(2) Timing of transition

Plans are slated for NEC to make its transition to a Company with a Nominating Committee, etc. once the necessary amendments to the Articles of Incorporation, etc. have been approved at the 185th Ordinary General Meeting of Shareholders of NEC scheduled to be convened in June 2023.

2. Organizational reforms

(1) Clarifying the organizations driving growth business in the Mid-term Management Plan 2025

NEC will establish an organizational structure that allows it to concentrate on the execution of strategies for growth businesses in the Mid-term Management Plan 2025, and accelerate the execution of these strategies. Specifically, the Digital Government/Digital Finance Business will become a newly established DGDF Business Unit. In addition, NEC will integrate the business for domestic and international telecommunications carriers, including the Global 5G Business, into the “Telecom Service Business Unit,” which will be newly established from renaming the “Network Service Business Unit.” Moreover, NEC will unify the organizations responsible for the Healthcare and Life Science-related Businesses, such as AI Drug discovery and solutions for medical institutions, and work to expand this business, which is positioned to become one of the next pillars of growth.

(2) Unify product and service functions to accelerate DX business

The Digital Platform Business Unit will be newly established to centralize the planning, development, and provision of products and services necessary for DX business development across the NEC Group. NEC will promote the standardization of common functions and assets from a global perspective, as well as expand and strengthen its end-to-end DX offerings by leveraging all of its strengths from strategic consulting to platform (NEC Digital Platform) and delivery. By providing these offerings in combination with its know-how for each industry, NEC will contribute to resolving management agenda-related issues for customers and expanding the DX business.

(3) Strengthen the support of government digitalization and national security areas

NEC will implement organizational reform from the market and business model perspective. Specifically, NEC will create a new Public Business Unit, which will be responsible for projects targeting central ministries and local governments, and build a system that can centrally support the digitalization of government in Japan. In addition, NEC will newly establish the Aerospace and National Security Business Unit, which will be placed in charge of the aerospace and defense business as an organization that supports the national security field.

About NEC Corporation

NEC Corporation has established itself as a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies while promoting the brand statement of “Orchestrating a brighter world.” NEC enables businesses and communities to adapt to rapid changes taking place in both society and the market as it provides for the social values of safety, security, fairness and efficiency to promote a more sustainable world where everyone has the chance to reach their full potential. For more information, visit NEC at www.nec.com.

Copyright ©2023 JCN Newswire. All rights reserved. A division of Japan Corporate News Network.

MPAI Outlines Plans for the MPAI Store Foundation

Feb 28, 2022 | Business

 The Moving Picture, Audio and Data Coding by Artificial Intelligence (MPAI) standards developing organisation has concluded its 17th General Assembly. Among the outcomes are: progress towards the establishment of a patent pool for its published standards and a roadmap to establish the MPAI Store Foundation.

The MPAI Statutes define a standard development process whereby holders of standard essential patents (SEP) select their preferred patent pool administrator. The General Assembly was informed that SEP holders in approved MPAI standards are currently engaged in this activity.

The Governance of the MPAI Ecosystem (MPAI-GME) standard envisions an “MPAI Store” tasked with receiving submissions of implementations, verifying their security and conformance, and making them available to other implementers and consumers. Because of the specific characteristics of AI technologies, the MPAI Store coordinates with MPAI-appointed performance assessors that guarantee that implementations are reliable, robust, replicable and fair. The MPAI Store will be a not-for-profit commercial entity where both MPAI members and associations representing the society at large are present.

The General Assembly approved a set of documents guiding the development of use cases and functional requirements for Neural Network Watermarking (https://mpai.community/standards/mpai-nnw/) and the publication of a series of short videos with the title “MPAI talks to industry” (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLt7pQybjzBbsF5tuvETdhogtJPvUu3pQv) illustrating the various aspects of MPAI activities.MPAI develops data coding standards for applications that have AI as the core enabling technology. Any legal entity supporting the MPAI mission may join MPAI (https://mpai.community/how-to-join/join/), if able to contribute to the development of standards for the efficient use of data.

MPAI is currently engaged in extending some of the already approved standards:

– AI Framework (MPAI-AIF https://mpai.community/standards/mpai-aif/): Specifies an infrastructure enabling execution of implementations and access to the MPAI Store.

– Context-based Audio Enhancement (MPAI-CAE https://mpai.community/standards/mpai-cae/): Improves the user experience of audio-related applications in a variety of contexts.

– Multimodal Conversation (MPAI-MMChttps://mpai.community/standards/mpai-mmc/): Enables human-machine conversation emulating human-human conversation.

– Compression and Understanding of Industrial Data (MPAI-CUI https://mpai.community/standards/mpai-cui/): Predicts the company performance from governance, financial and risk data.

– Governance of the MPAI Ecosystem (MPAI-GME https://mpai.community/standards/governance/) : Establishes the rules governing submission of and access to interoperable implementations.

MPAI is developing other 9 standards:

1) Server-based Predictive Multiplayer Gaming (MPAI-SPG https://mpai.community/standards/mpai-spg/): Trains a network to com¬pensate data losses and detects false data in online multiplayer gaming.

2) AI-Enhanced Video Coding (MPAI-EVC https://mpai.community/standards/mpai-evc/): Improves existing video coding with AI tools for short-to-medium term applications.

3) End-to-End Video Coding (MPAI-EEV https://mpai.community/standards/mpai-eev/): Explores the promising area of AI-based “end-to-end” video coding for longer-term applications.

4) Connected Autonomous Vehicles (MPAI-CAV https://mpai.community/standards/mpai-cav/): Specifies components for Environment Sensing, Autonomous Motion, and Motion Actuation.

5) Avatar Representation and Animation (https://mpai.community/standards/mpai-ara/): MPAI-ARA Specifies descriptors of avatar impersonating real humans.

6) Neural Network Watermarking (MPAI-NNW https://mpai.community/standards/mpai-nnw/): Measures the impact of adding ownership and licensing information in models and inferences.

7) Integrative Genomic/Sensor Analysis (MPAI-GSA https://mpai.community/standards/mpai-gsa/): Compresses high-throughput experiments data combining genomic/proteomic and other.

8) Mixed-reality Collaborative Spaces (MPAI-MCS http://mcs.mpai.community/): Supports collaboration of humans represented by avatars in virtual-reality spaces called Ambients

9) Visual Object and Scene Description (MPAI-OSD https://mpai.community/standards/mpai-osd/) : Describes objects and their attributes in a scene and the semantic description of the objects.

Visit the MPAI web site (https://mpai.community/), contact the MPAI secretariat (secretariat@mpai.community) for specific information, subscribe to the MPAI Newsletter and follow MPAI on social media:

– LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13949076/)

– Twitter (https://twitter.com/mpaicommunity)

– Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/mpaicommunity) ,

– Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/mpaicommunity/)

– YouTube (https://m.youtube.com/c/mpaistandards).

Most important: join MPAI (https://mpai.community/how-to-join/join/), share the fun, build the future.

MPAI

Leonardo Chiariglione

00390119350461

http://mpai.community

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