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Abu Dhabi, UAE – Feb 12: AD Ports Group (ADX: ADPORTS), a leading global enabler of trade, logistics, and industry solutions, has joined Africa Ports Development’s (APD) 30-year concession to design, build and operate a new dry bulk terminal at the Port of Douala in the Republic of Cameroon.

The agreement establishes an investment structure, in which AD Ports Group together with two other UAE investors own 60% of the operating company alongside Africa Ports Development LTD’s 40% ownership, implying an effective economic interest of 51% for AD Ports Group.

Based on the ownership of this investment structure AD Ports Group’s share of investment is expected to be around AED 320 million (EUR 73.4 million), for the development of phase 1 of the dry bulk terminal, which comprises 2 berths and approximately 450 metres of quay wall, with an annual handling capacity of around 4 million tonnes of dry bulk cargo, such as clinker, gypsum, fertiliser, and grain.

Construction is expected to take place between 2026 and 2028, in close collaboration with the Port Authority of Douala, to address strong and sustained demand at Cameroon’s principal maritime gateway. 

Mohamed Eidha Al Menhali, Regional CEO – AD Ports Group, said: “This agreement represents a strategically important expansion of AD Ports Group’s presence in Africa and reinforces our commitment to developing high-impact maritime infrastructure in high-growth markets, in line with the vision of our wise leadership. The Douala dry bulk terminal will enhance trade resilience, support industrial development, and strengthen Cameroon’s role as a gateway to Central Africa.”

Al Menhali added: “Through our partnership with Africa Ports Development, we are combining local market expertise with AD Ports Group’s global capabilities in port development and operations to support the Port Authority of Douala’s plans to modernise and enhance Douala Port, enabling regional trade and long-term economic growth. We commend the Port Authority for the significant progress achieved in recent years, which has driven strong growth in Cameroon’s maritime sector, and we look forward to contributing further to its long-term development ambitions.

 

Marc Tabchy, Managing Partner of Africa Ports Development, said: “We are honoured to bring this partnership to life with AD Ports Group, a global reference that shares our firm belief in this project, in Cameroon, and in the potential of the African continent. Building upon the opportunity provided by the Port Authority of Douala’s modernisation and specialisation initiatives, this collaboration establishes a strategic synergy combining our group’s ambition and regional depth with AD Ports Group’s operational excellence.”

 

Located at the Port of Douala, the largest maritime port in Cameroon, which handles the majority of the country’s bulk imports, and serves as a critical transit hub for landlocked Central African markets, the new terminal will strengthen regional supply chains and enhance the efficiency of key cargo flows. The new terminal will also benefit from strong hinterland connectivity, linking Douala with major industrial centres and regional trade corridors across Central Africa.

AD Ports Group continues to expand its footprint across Africa, building on established investments and operations in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Kenya, Tanzania, Angola, and the Republic of the Congo, reinforcing its position as a preferred partner for trade, logistics, and trade-enabling infrastructure across the continent.

Feb 12: Marriott International, Inc today announced that its Asia Pacific excluding China (APEC) region delivered another outstanding year of growth and strategic expansion in 2025, marking the region’s third consecutive year of record-breaking development activity. The performance reflects strong intra-region travel demand and continued confidence from owners and developers across diverse markets.

“Our record performance in 2025 underscores the strength of Marriott’s growth engine across the region and the enduring confidence our hotel owners place in our brands and operating platform. Sustained intra-regional and international travel demand and a diversified portfolio have enabled us to scale with purpose across markets, segments and development models”, said Rajeev Menon, President, Asia Pacific excluding China, Marriott International. “As we expand into emerging destinations and accelerate conversions and multi-unit agreements, we remain focused on delivering long-term value for owners while creating compelling experiences that resonate with today’s travelers.”

Record Development Activity and Pipeline Expansion

APEC delivered its third consecutive year of record development signings, with 187 organic deals representing more than 28,000 rooms signed in 2025, a 32% year-over-year increase. Underscoring strong owner confidence in Marriott’s diverse brand portfolio and operating platform, the region closed the year with more than 400 hotels and over 86,000 rooms in the development pipeline.

Conversions continued to be a key growth engine, accounting for 35% of total signed deals, reinforcing Marriott’s value proposition for owners seeking speed-to-market and access to a powerful global distribution ecosystem. Multi-unit agreements also contributed significantly, representing close to 30% of total signings, reflecting growing appetite for owners to scale portfolios across markets and brand segments with a single hospitality platform.

The top five growth markets in APEC with the highest number of signings in 2025 were India, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia and Japan. India saw the most signings with a record 99 deals representing over 12,000 rooms.

In 2025, Marriott introduced Series by Marriott™ through a founding multi-unit deal in India. The deal resulted in the conversion of 26 hotels to the brand in a single day, adding approximately 1,900 rooms to its portfolio overnight. As of end-2025, the brand has 37 open properties (approximately 2,600 rooms) in 23 cities across India. Operating as Fern Hotels & Resorts, Series by Marriott, the portfolio marks the brand’s inaugural global debut, showcasing a collection of eco-sensitive hotels rooted in sustainability and regional charm, and underscoring Marriott’s ability to scale locally resonant brands at speed.

Brand Momentum Across Segments

Luxury remained a strategic focus in 2025 and accounted for approximately 19% of 2025 organic rooms signings, with JW Marriott, The Ritz-Carlton and Luxury Collection seeing the highest number of signed deals. Insights from Marriott’s Intentional Traveler research continue to point to sustained long-term demand among affluent travelers, who increasingly prioritize wellness, personalization and purpose-driven experiences.

The company strengthened its luxury pipeline in urban and resort destinations, with key luxury signings in 2025, including:

• JW Marriott Hotel Johor Bahru (est. 2027 opening) – this signing marks the brand’s anticipated arrival in Malaysia’s southern state. The property is set to play a pivotal role in Johor Bahru’s emergence as a dynamic destination for discerning global travellers.
• Pottuvil, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve (est. 2032 opening) – expected to debut in Sri Lanka along its pristine eastern coast, this highly exclusive property underscores the company’s focus on untapped destinations, offering deeply immersive experiences rooted in nature, culture, and place.
• The Ritz-Carlton, Fiji, Namuka Bay (est. 2032 opening) – a brand debut in Fiji, anticipated to expand Marriott’s presence in the destination and mark the company’s entry into the Coral Coast.
• Fraser’s House, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Singapore (opened in January 2026) –, this marks the second Luxury Collection hotel in Singapore, enriching the brand’s footprint in the city with a distinctive blend of heritage, design, and modern luxury.

Marriott’s diversified brand portfolio also fueled growth across midscale and lifestyle segments. The successful introduction of Series by Marriott in India and continued momentum for Four Points Flex by Sheraton underscore Marriott’s strategy of scaling flexible, design-forward brands across the region to meet evolving traveler needs.

Milestone Portfolio Expansion and Emerging Destinations

In 2025, Marriott opened 109 properties across the region and marked a major portfolio milestone with the opening of its 700th APEC property, Legacy Mekong, Can Tho, Autograph Collection. Set on a private islet in Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, the opening underscores Marriott’s strategy of expanding beyond traditional gateway cities into culturally rich, high-growth emerging destinations. By the close of 2025, Marriott had more than 730 open properties across 22 countries in APEC, spanning 27 brands. Several notable openings during the year marked brand debuts in both established and emerging markets, reinforcing Marriott’s commitment to diversifying its portfolio, capturing new demand drivers, and delivering distinctive, locally inspired experiences across the region. Some key openings include:

• The Laurus, a Luxury Collection Resort (Oct 2025) – marked the brand’s entry into Singapore, strengthening Marriott’s presence in one of Asia’s premier travel and business hubs.
• The Halcyon Private Isles Maldives, Autograph Collection (Oct 2025) – debuted in the Maldives, a world-renowned resort destination, offering two private islands to capture demand for seclusion and experiential stays.
• The Farm at San Benito, Autograph Collection (Dec 2025) – a wellness-oriented resort that represents the brand’s debut in the Philippines, aligning with the rising demand for experiential and wellness tourism.
• Moxy Kathmandu (Dec 2025)- a lifestyle brand debut in Nepal, tapping into the growing demographic of younger travelers drawn by cultural and adventure travel in emerging destinations.

With a robust development pipeline, strong intra-region demand trends and a diversified portfolio spanning luxury, premium, select service, and midscale segments, Marriott’s APEC region enters 2026 well positioned to continue delivering growth and long-term value for owners and guests.

NEW DELHI|Feb 12: Rolls-Royce (LSE: RR., ADR: RYCEY) today announced its intention to scale-up its business in India to support future programmes and partnerships across defence, civil aviation and energy. The company’s ambition is to make India a strategic home market, supporting the country’s Viksit Bharat vision for national security and deterrence, energy resilience, infrastructure development and air connectivity.

Rolls-Royce is currently exploring opportunities in India that include the potential co-development of a next-generation combat jet engine; as well as partnerships to localise and manufacture engines for the Indian Army, Navy and Coast Guard and potentially power solutions for critical infrastructure and industry. These initiatives could more than double the size of the workforce that supports Rolls-Royce and its partners, to approximately 10,000 people in India.

Rolls-Royce believes the opportunities it is looking to secure could lead to a ten-fold increase in the company’s supply chain sourcing from India, a move which would nurture and benefit many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).

Tufan Erginbilgic, Rolls-Royce Chief Executive Officer, met the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, in New Delhi today to discuss the company’s desire to be part of Viksit Bharat and how its advanced technologies can support India’s growth plans and Atmanirbhar journey in critical sectors of the economy.

 

Speaking about the company’s plans, Tufan Erginbilgic, CEO, Rolls-Royce plc, said:

“Our ambitions for India are built on the strong foundations of our decades-long presence in the country, our growing footprint, our deep industry partnerships, and our competitively advantaged technologies. As we grow our participation in programmes across India’s defence, aviation and energy sectors, we will expand our ecosystem in India, as we have done successfully in other countries.

We are determined to partner India on its Atmanirbhar journey, by developing indigenous propulsion capabilities, providing sustained power to critical infrastructure and industry, and expanding local manufacturing for global supply chains. We believe our unique portfolio of advanced capabilities can help us grow our presence and partnerships further, to power, protect and connect India for decades to come.”

Today’s announcement builds on a pivotal year for India–UK strategic cooperation and the India-UK Vision 2035 roadmap for deeper bilateral industrial and defence collaboration. As India advances its next generation military capabilities, Rolls-Royce with the UK Government, has offered to co-develop a 120 kN class combat jet engine core that could be India’s fastest route to an indigenous next-generation engine. The co-development will provide full technology transfer with IP ownership for India, supported by a dedicated design complex and manufacturing capabilities that will unlock significant job creation.

Rolls-Royce in India

• More than 1,400 Rolls-Royce engines are currently powering various defence platforms such as the Jaguar combat aircraft and Hawk trainers of the Indian Air Force and Navy; the Arjun Main
• Battle Tanks of the Army, and a variety of vessels and submarines of the Indian Navy and Coast Guard including the prestigious Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Watercrafts and the P17 Alpha frigates
• The company also provides mission-readiness support and service capabilities for its MTU engines and gensets, and works in close partnership with HAL to support in-service aero engines.
• Today, more than 4,000 people work across the Rolls-Royce ecosystem in India, including 2,800 engineers who contribute to global programmes across its businesses. The company’s long-standing industrial footprint includes its manufacturing joint ventures with HAL and Force Motors as well as sourcing partnerships with over 100 different vendors including Tata, Bharat Forge, Godrej, Azad Engineering and many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs)
• Rolls-Royce recently inaugurated its newly expanded Global Capability and Innovation Centre in Bengalaru, which houses digital capabilities, enterprise services, and engineering teams supporting its Civil Aerospace and Defence divisions. Positioned to become the company’s largest capability hub, the centre serves global corporate functions while advancing digital and engineering expertise
• Engineering talent in India is already supporting the drive for a self-reliant India, having helped design parts of the Trent XWB engines that power Airbus A350 aircraft, which were recently ordered by Air India and IndiGo. Teams in Pune have also done significant work to make Rolls-Royce’s portfolio of MTU marine engines compatible with alternate fuels
• The company’s International Aerospace Manufacturing Private Limited (IAMPL) joint venture, meanwhile, is supporting the Government’s ‘Make in India for India and the world’ project with factories in Bengaluru and Hosur having developed the capability and competence necessary to manufacture 160 high precision aero-engine parts for the global market. IAMPL is likely to play a key role as Rolls-Royce scales up its supply chain requirements.

Gurugram, Feb 12: Gurugram-based Startup Stairs Private Limited, AITMC Ventures Limited (AVPL) and Victory Electric Vehicles International Limited today announced a strategic partnership to build a nationwide, franchise-led ecosystem focused on electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, skilling, manufacturing and entrepreneurship.

The collaboration establishes a structured and exploratory framework to evaluate large-scale EV skilling, infrastructure deployment and employment-linked entrepreneurship initiatives across India. The partnership brings together Startup Stairs’ incubation and ecosystem-building platform, AVPL’s skilling and infrastructure footprint, and Victory International’s EV technology and manufacturing expertise.

Strengthening EV Skilling Through ITIs and Centres of Excellence

As part of the initiative, the partners will evaluate the establishment of EV-focused training centres across approximately 70 Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs) and allied facilities nationwide. The objective is to equip youth and technicians with industry-aligned EV service, maintenance and charging infrastructure skills.

AVPL will provide access to its existing and upcoming Centres of Excellence across states to support large-scale skilling delivery, while aligning training programmes with practical industry requirements. Pilot and proof-of-concept programmes will be rolled out in phases to assess scalability and regional demand.

Skill-to-Income Pathways Through Franchise Enablement

A core pillar of the partnership is to ensure that skilling translates into tangible livelihood outcomes. Upon successful completion of EV training programmes, candidates will be evaluated for participation in a structured franchise-led ecosystem designed to promote self-employment and first-generation entrepreneurship.

The proposed franchise formats are being evaluated at ₹5 lakh and ₹10 lakh investment levels, enabling trained individuals to establish:

●       EV charging centres

●       EV dealer service centres

●       EV dealerships

This integrated model is aimed at creating a clear pathway from training to income generation, addressing workforce readiness and unemployment within the rapidly expanding EV sector.

Domestic Manufacturing at AVPL Future Tech Park

Manufacturing of EV AC/DC chargers, batteries and allied components will be undertaken in phases at AVPL’s Future Tech Park in Sisai, Hisar. The facility will anchor domestic production capabilities aligned with the Government of India’s Aatmanirbhar Bharat vision while supporting the deployment of franchise-led EV infrastructure across multiple regions.

Victory International will lead the technical design, manufacturing setup, quality systems and franchise operations in line with applicable regulatory norms. Startup Stairs will support ecosystem structuring, institutional coordination and entrepreneur onboarding.

Dr Preet Sandhu, Founder and Managing Director, AITMC Ventures Limited (AVPL), reflecting on this partnership, said “At AVPL, we believe skilling must translate directly into employment and entrepreneurship aligned with real industry demand. Having built strong capabilities in drone skilling and infrastructure, we are now expanding this vision into the EV and battery sectors. Through Startup Stairs, we aim to create structured skill-to-income pathways that enable youth and innovators to build sustainable ventures in EV charging and allied infrastructure. This partnership strengthens our commitment to developing future-ready talent while supporting India’s clean energy and Aatmanirbhar Bharat goals.”

Phased Rollout and Implementation Framework

The collaboration will be implemented in phases, beginning with pilot programmes, institutional alignment and franchise onboarding in selected regions. All infrastructure deployment, commercial arrangements and operational activities will be subject to separate definitive agreements and regulatory approvals, in line with the structured MoU framework

Mr. Sanjay Poply, Managing Director, Victory Electric Vehicles International Limited, also added

“Skill development must lead to tangible economic outcomes. Through this collaboration, we are focused on building a job-ready EV workforce trained in service, maintenance and charging infrastructure, while also enabling entrepreneurship through structured franchise models. By integrating ITI-based training with real business opportunities, we aim to accelerate India’s electric mobility transition and create sustainable livelihood pathways at scale.” The collaboration will be rolled out in phases, with pilot programmes, franchise onboarding and manufacturing activities expected to commence in the coming months, subject to definitive agreements and regulatory approvals.

Feb 12: BASF advances the transformation of its Global Business Services organization, aiming to take the next step to secure long-term cost competitiveness, resilience, and consistent service delivery for its businesses worldwide.

To better meet the evolving needs of BASF’s businesses and significantly improve cost efficiency, Global Business Services intends to bundle Finance and HR services in a new global Hub in India. Supply Chain-related services are intended to be consolidated at the established Hub in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Activities that must remain close to operations will continue to be delivered regionally or locally. This initiative is part of a broader transformation aimed at creating a consolidated service portfolio, driving standardization and automation more effectively, and leveraging cost-efficient locations.

“With this step, we plan to systematically strengthen Global Business Services to support BASF’s strategy with the most competitive services structures,” says Dr. Dirk Elvermann, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Digital Officer, BASF SE. “Bundling services into scalable global Hubs is targeting to be a cornerstone for reliable internal service delivery while ensuring long term cost competitiveness.”

The existing regional Hubs in Berlin (Germany), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), and Montevideo (Uruguay) will continue to deliver services where bundled on a regional level. “Global Business Services has always thrived on an entrepreneurial spirit – finding smart solutions, adapting quickly, and supporting BASF with a strong service mindset. As we take this next step, early and transparent communication is essential to us,” says Tobias Dratt, President of Global Business Services, and adds: “The upcoming project gives us the opportunity to build a more agile, fit-for-purpose organization that continues to unlock value for BASF’s businesses.” Further details are being developed. The involvement of the respective employee representatives will be ensured timely in accordance with local laws and regulations.

BASF’s Global Business Services consists of around 8,500 employees and delivers services out of various legal entities and three regional Hubs (Berlin/Germany, Kuala Lumpur/Malaysia and Montevideo/Uruguay) to BASF’s businesses worldwide, including Finance, Logistics, Human Resources, Communication, Regulatory and Intellectual Property as well as EHSQ.