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Two decades after its first projects broke ground on reclaimed industrial land and riverbank outside Hanoi, Vinhomes, anchored in the wider Vingroup ecosystem and its “ESG++” environmental standards, is positioning itself to help define what a good city looks like for the decades ahead.

Building Cities as Integrated Ecosystems, Not Just Developments

The first Vinhomes projects rose on difficult ground, but their premise was unusual for its time: that a residential development had to fold an entire urban life into a single, walkable proposition. Royal City and Times City were carved from former industrial land in Hanoi, while Vinhomes Riverside took shape on the far side of a river that once marked the edge of the city’s imagination. What set these projects apart was not their scale but their structural approach, schools, clinics, parks, transit, and commerce built in as foundations, not added on later.

That premise has held up. Vietnam’s cities have since become one of the region’s most closely watched growth stories. In 2025, the country drew more than $38 billion in registered foreign direct investment, with real estate the second-largest recipient sector after manufacturing. The capital is following the population, and the population is following the belief that Asian cities will decide what urban life looks like next. Research from the McKinsey Global Institute finds that roughly half of the world’s 600 largest cities by GDP are now in Asia, and that in most Asian countries, cities already generate more than 80 percent of national output.

Vinhomes’ answer to the challenge of urban sequencing has been structural rather than cosmetic, folding its projects into the wider Vingroup ecosystem. A housing development arrives already wired into education (Vinschool, VinUni), healthcare (Vinmec), retail (Vincom Retail), hospitality (Vinpearl, VinWonders), and green mobility (VinFast, V-Green, Green SM), with renewable energy and regional infrastructure now extending that network through VinEnergo and VinSpeed. The premise is that a city assembled this way behaves less like a real-estate product and more like an economy in miniature, one that generates its own demand for jobs, services, and further investment as residents move in.

From ESG++ Leadership to Global Expansion

The newer test for urban development is what a project is willing to leave alone. Vinhomes has framed its approach as “ESG++”, not merely limiting environmental damage, but actively restoring the ecosystems a project sits within. At Can Gio, Vinhomes Green Paradise is being built alongside one of Vietnam’s most significant mangrove systems, with construction is deliberately constrained to protect it. In Ha Long, Vinhomes Global Gate sits beside a UNESCO World Heritage Bay, built with the explicit aim of complementing rather than competing with the landscape.

This approach has drawn notice beyond Vietnam. Vinhomes Green Paradise became the first official global participant in New7Wonders’ “7 Wonders of Future Cities” initiative. Jean-Paul de la Fuente, the campaign’s director, described visiting the project as an encounter with a place where nature, people, and technology converge in ways he had not anticipated from the paperwork alone, adding that few developers anywhere have the execution capacity to build at this scale and speed while still managing that complexity.

The company’s ambitions now extend well beyond its home market. Vinhomes has projects and development plans in Congo, India, Australia, the Philippines, and Indonesia, less an export of a real-estate model than an attempt to carry two decades of Vietnamese urban experience into markets asking the same questions Vietnam once asked itself. For most of the modern era, Vietnamese cities absorbed standards and formats tested elsewhere; that posture is shifting, and not only inside Vietnam.

The data points to a single conclusion: the next several decades of urban growth will be decided in Asia, whether or not Asian developers are ready to define its terms. The United Nations’ World Urbanization Prospects 2025 puts the scale of that growth beyond dispute, cities are now home to 45 percent of the planet’s 8.2 billion people, more than double the share in 1950, with two-thirds of all future population growth through mid-century expected to land in urban areas. The number of megacities has quadrupled since 1975, from eight to 33, and more than half of them sit in Asia. Capital is already voting with its feet, and McKinsey’s research suggests the economic weight has shifted, even if global recognition has not yet caught up.

What Vinhomes is proposing, in effect, is that the second half of that shift, reputation, precedent, the standing to say what a good city looks like, is still being written. Twenty years on from a stretch of marshland and disused factory yards outside Hanoi, the argument is no longer really about towers. It is about whether a place built quickly can still be built to last, for the people living in it and for the land it stands on.

Hashtag: #Vinhomes

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Vinhomes

Vinhomes is Vietnam’s largest residential real estate and integrated township developer. The company pioneers the development of synchronized, modern large-scale townships, delivering premium living standards and unlocking sustainable investment opportunities for domestic and international clients.

The move comes as the National Payments Corporation of India develops protocols for identifying and authorising AI agents on the Unified Payments Interface, creating infrastructure that could let software complete selected payments under rules and limits set by customers.

Super. money founder and chief executive Prakash Sikaria has said the emerging architecture could allow agents representing merchants and consumers to interact directly, reducing the number of steps between product discovery and payment. The company is seeking to use that shift to extend its role beyond routine UPI transfers into commerce, credit and investment-related transactions.

Agentic payments differ from conventional chatbots because the software can act after interpreting an instruction rather than merely provide information. A user could, for example, ask an agent to find an eligible product within a budget or execute a purchase when specified conditions are met, subject to the permissions built into the payment framework.

NPCI is working on a registry to verify and monitor AI agents conducting transactions through UPI. Its proposed Unified Agent Protocol is expected to support controls including spending limits, identity checks and audit trails. The initial focus is on small, frequent purchases, while more complex conditional transactions could follow as safeguards and liability rules develop.

The payments body has already extended UPI Circle, its delegated-payments framework, to software profiles including AI profiles for limited users. Under the broader system, account holders can delegate payment authority within predefined limits while retaining visibility over transactions. Reserve Pay, another UPI mechanism, can block funds for authorised payments that may be debited later.

Super. money’s push builds on products added this year as it tries to broaden engagement beyond person-to-person and merchant payments. Its splitStore service, introduced in July, lets eligible customers browse products listed on Flipkart and either pay in full or use a pay-later facility provided by regulated lending partners.

The company’s terms state that Flipkart and its sellers remain responsible for the underlying sale, fulfilment, invoicing, cancellations and returns, while Super. money provides the shopping and credit interface. The platform does not hold inventory or set product prices.

Super. money has also added digital gold. Its customer-support documentation describes purchases, sales and reconciliation procedures involving a vault partner, while the app has promoted cashback on gold purchases. The service includes a post-purchase selling lock-in and applies the tax and market spread associated with digital-gold transactions.

Those products give the company potential use cases for agents that can move from a customer instruction to a transaction without requiring the user to navigate several separate screens. The central challenge is ensuring that delegated authority remains narrow enough to prevent unwanted or mistaken purchases.

That concern is shaping the wider industry’s approach. Razorpay, NPCI and OpenAI have been testing agentic payments using UPI Reserve Pay, with an earlier pilot allowing users to shop through a conversational AI interface and complete purchases from participating merchants after confirmation. Razorpay says its system is designed to support pre-authorised transactions within customer-approved spending limits.

Competition is intensifying as payments companies decide how extensively to integrate AI. PhonePe co-founder Rahul Chari has cautioned that not every existing payments experience becomes better merely by adding artificial intelligence, signalling a more selective approach than platforms seeking to make autonomous agents central to commerce.

Super. money remains smaller than the dominant UPI applications, giving it an incentive to pursue newer transaction categories rather than compete solely on basic payments. Its app combines UPI with credit, deposits, bill payments, shopping and other financial products, while the company has used cashback and embedded credit to encourage repeat usage.

The offer will now comprise up to 126.44 million shares, down from about 148.91 million in the draft prospectus, according to the red herring prospectus dated September 10. The price band has been fixed at Rs 1,700 to Rs 1,785 a share, valuing NSE at as much as roughly Rs 4.42 trillion.

At the top of the band, the offer could raise about Rs 22,568 crore, compared with roughly Rs 26,580 crore had the original number of shares been sold at the same price. The transaction is entirely an offer for sale, meaning NSE will not receive proceeds and no fresh shares will be issued.

The revised structure follows concern among prospective investors about whether the exchange could sustain the growth rates that supported higher valuation expectations before tighter rules cooled activity in its lucrative derivatives business. An earlier marketed range of about Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,100 a share would have implied a valuation of as much as Rs 5.26 trillion.

Several large shareholders have reduced the number of shares they plan to sell. State Bank of India cut its proposed sale to about 15.97 million shares from 24.75 million, while Bank of Baroda, Indian Bank and other institutional holders also lowered their offers. SBI Capital Markets was added as a selling shareholder with nearly 8.8 million shares.

Other investors, including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and ICICI Lombard General Insurance, retained their proposed sale quantities. The changes reduce the stake being offered to about 5.2 per cent of NSE’s equity from the 6 per cent envisaged in the draft prospectus.

The downsizing comes as investors scrutinise the exchange’s dependence on derivatives activity. NSE derives a substantial share of its revenue from options trading, where volumes have weakened after the Securities and Exchange Board of India introduced measures aimed at curbing excessive speculation and reducing risks for retail participants.

Options trading volumes on the exchange fell more than 12 per cent from a year earlier in August, adding to questions about the pace of future transaction-related revenue growth. Those concerns have been balanced by NSE’s strong profitability and dominant position in cash equities and derivatives.

For the quarter ended June, NSE reported a 6.7 per cent increase in net profit to about Rs 3,120 crore, while revenue rose roughly 13 per cent to Rs 4,560 crore. The figures give prospective investors a clearer view of the exchange’s earnings power as they assess the lower offer price.

The public offer is scheduled to open on September 17 and close on September 21, with anchor investors expected to bid a day earlier. A listing is expected around September 24, subject to completion of the offer process and final regulatory requirements.

The timetable follows regulatory clearance that removed a key obstacle to the listing. The Securities and Exchange Board of India approved the IPO prospectus on September 4 after NSE moved to settle long-running disputes linked to allegations of unfair access to its trading systems.

The Supreme Court also dismissed the market regulator’s appeal in the co-location matter after the parties indicated that a settlement had been reached. NSE had agreed to pay about Rs 1,491 crore to resolve the case, allowing the listing process to advance without that litigation hanging over the issue.

The reduced transaction will no longer challenge Hyundai Motor India’s 2024 flotation for the record as the country’s largest IPO by proceeds. Hyundai raised about Rs 27,870 crore, while NSE’s offer is expected to be worth about Rs 22,500 crore at the top of its announced price band.

According to the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), entry-level professional, managerial, executive and technician (PMET) openings increased from 32,500 in December 2025 to 32,800 in March 2026, despite an overall decline in job vacancies. MOM also reported that around nine in 10 university graduates from the 2025 cohort found employment within 12 months of graduation, suggesting that fresh graduate employment has remained relatively resilient.

Financial services, professional services and technology remain active hiring sectors

Financial and Insurance Services, Professional Services, and Information and Communications were among sectors identified by MOM as experiencing active PMET hiring and wage growth. Together, these sectors recorded approximately 14,200 PMET vacancies as of September 2025, compared with 12,600 a year earlier, including roles suitable for fresh graduates.

Opportunities span finance, risk, compliance, accounting, consulting, software, systems and data functions. Increasing digitalisation also means these boundaries are becoming less distinct, with banks and professional services firms increasingly recruiting technology and data talent.

Information and communications continue to require digital capabilities

Singapore’s technology workforce reached 214,000 in 2024, according to the Infocomm Media Development Authority’s Singapore Digital Economy Report 2025, with AI and Data and Cybersecurity among the fastest-growing technology occupations. The latest MOM data also shows concrete entry-level demand. As at March 2026, Information and Communications recorded 200 vacancies for software developers, 130 for IT support technicians and 80 for computer engineers among its entry-level jobs with higher vacancy counts.

Technology graduates are therefore finding opportunities not only within technology companies but also across finance, manufacturing, professional services and other industries.

Financial and professional services are evolving with technology

Singapore’s financial sector continues to provide opportunities across banking, insurance, investment, risk and compliance. As at March 2026, MOM identified financial compliance officer or risk analyst, insurance sales agent or broker, and financial or investment adviser among the entry-level Financial and Insurance Services roles with higher vacancy counts, with 30 vacancies recorded for each occupation. Technology is also changing the nature of financial services, with institutions applying analytics, automation and AI across areas such as fraud detection, customer service and risk management.

Professional Services provides opportunities across both corporate and technical functions. MOM’s March 2026 data identified 100 vacancies for resident technical officers, 60 for auditors and 50 for IT support technicians among the sector’s entry-level jobs with higher vacancy counts. As AI increasingly assists with research, analysis and routine processes, graduates who combine professional knowledge with digital capabilities, communication and judgement may be better positioned for changing roles.

Healthcare and social services continue to offer graduate pathways

Health and Social Services continues to provide entry-level opportunities for graduates. As at March 2026, MOM identified 210 vacancies for social workers, 190 for registered nurses and other nursing professionals, and 80 for social work associates among the sector’s entry-level jobs with higher vacancy counts. These roles demonstrate that graduate demand extends beyond digital careers. Specialised professional knowledge and interpersonal skills remain important in sectors where human interaction and service delivery are central.

AI is changing entry-level roles rather than simply removing them

Generative AI has raised concerns among students and parents about its impact on graduate employment. MOM data presents a more nuanced picture. Among firms that had adopted AI, 6 per cent reported reducing headcount and 8 per cent lowering hiring activity, while 19 per cent redesigned roles and 14 per cent created AI-related jobs. The impact of AI has therefore been more visible in job redesign than broad-based hiring reductions. Fresh graduates may increasingly be expected to use AI tools, interpret data, assess AI-generated information and focus on areas requiring judgement, communication and problem-solving.

Skills-based hiring is changing how graduates compete

Employers are also looking increasingly beyond qualifications alone. MOM’s Job Vacancies 2025 report found that academic qualifications were not the main consideration for 79.6 per cent of vacancies.

This places greater emphasis on what graduates can demonstrate alongside their qualification, including internships, technical capabilities, communication, teamwork and analytical thinking. For students choosing a degree, employability is therefore not only about entering a growing industry but also about developing skills and experience that employers value.

SIM graduate outcomes reflect employment across diverse industries

Graduate employment data provides another way for students and parents to assess career outcomes. According to the Private Education Institution Graduate Employment Survey 2024/2025, 81.0 per cent of SIM fresh graduates surveyed secured employment, while 47.0 per cent were in full-time permanent employment. The median gross monthly salary was S$3,565. Across all private education institutions surveyed, 78.9 per cent of fresh graduates secured employment, with a median gross monthly salary of S$3,500.

SIM’s Graduate Employment Survey also shows graduates entering sectors including banking and financial services, ICT and cybersecurity, consulting and professional services, aviation and engineering, healthcare and social services, logistics and transportation, retail and manufacturing. Employment outcomes remain dependent on factors including programme choice, individual skills, work experience and labour-market conditions.

Parents can consider employability alongside programme fit

For parents supporting higher education decisions, current hiring trends provide useful context, but today’s strongest industry may not necessarily offer the greatest opportunities several years from now. A broader assessment can include a student’s interests and strengths, programme curriculum, awarding university, recognition, fees, career support and graduate employment outcomes.

The SIM Parent Resource Hub brings these considerations together, covering degree pathways, programme recognition, fees and financial support, student care and graduate employability. Its Graduate Outcomes & Employability resource provides information on SIM’s PEI Graduate Employment Survey results, industries and organisations where SIM graduates have worked, and career and internship support available to students.

These resources can help parents consider not only where jobs are available today, but how a higher education pathway can help their child develop relevant knowledge, experience and transferable capabilities.

Career resilience increasingly depends on transferable skills

Singapore’s labour-market data shows that opportunities for fresh graduates remain spread across multiple industries. Financial Services, Professional Services and Information and Communications continue to offer professional opportunities, while Healthcare and Social Services, also show meaningful entry-level demand.

For students entering higher education, career preparation may therefore be less about identifying one “future-proof” industry and more about developing disciplinary knowledge, practical experience and transferable skills that can remain valuable as employment needs change. Parents and students can refer to the SIM Parent Resource Hub, including its Graduate Outcomes & Employability resource, when evaluating degree pathways, employability, recognition, fees and student support.

References

1. Ministry of Manpower, Singapore. Fresh Graduate Employment – https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/parliament-questions-and-replies/2026/0804-written-answer-to-pq-on-fresh-graduate-employment
2. Ministry of Manpower, Singapore. Trends in Job Vacancies – https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/parliament-questions-and-replies/2026/0805-written-answer-to-pq-on-trends-in-job-vacancies
3. Ministry of Manpower, Singapore. Sectors with Active Hiring and Wage Growth – https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/parliament-questions-and-replies/2026/0113-written-answer-to-pq-on-sectors-with-active-hiring-and-wage-growth
4. Ministry of Manpower, Singapore. Job Vacancies 2025 – https://www.mom.gov.sg/newsroom/press-releases/2026/0320-job-vacancies-report-2025
5. Manpower Research and Statistics Department, Ministry of Manpower. List of Entry-Level PMET Job Opportunities for Fresh Graduates – https://stats.mom.gov.sg/iMAS_PdfLibrary/List-of-top-entry-level-PMET-job-opportunities-for-fresh-graduates-Q1-2026.pdf
6. Infocomm Media Development Authority. Singapore Digital Economy Report 2025 – https://www.imda.gov.sg/resources/press-releases-factsheets-and-speeches/factsheets/2025/ar-sgde-2025
7. Singapore Institute of Management. Parent Resource Hub: Helping Your Child Choose the Right Degree Pathway – https://www.sim.edu.sg/degrees-diplomas/parent-resource-hub
8. Singapore Institute of Management. Graduate Outcomes & Employability – https://www.sim.edu.sg/degrees-diplomas/parent-resource-hub/graduate-outcome-employability

Hashtag: #SIMGlobalEducation #SIMGE #GlobalEducation #InternationalDegree #CareerReady #FutureSkills

https://www.sim.edu.sg/

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About SIM Global Education

SIM Global Education (SIM GE) is a leading private education institution in Singapore and the region. We offer more than 140 academic programmes ranging from diplomas and graduate diploma programmes to bachelor’s and master’s degree programmes with some of the world’s most reputable universities from Australia, Canada, Europe, United Kingdom, and the United States. SIM GE’s cohort is made up of 17,000 full- and part-time students and adult learners, of which approximately 41% are international students hailing from over 50 countries.

SIM GE’s holistic learning approach and culturally diverse learning environment aim to equip students with knowledge, industry skills and employability competencies, as well as a global perspective to succeed as future leaders in a fast-changing, technologically driven world.

For more information on SIM Global Education, visit www.sim.edu.sg

Mr. Irwin founded Rosseau Asset Management Ltd. in 1998, following several successful years in proprietary investing at Deutsche Bank Canada. Rosseau’s flagship fund, Rosseau LP, was established on December 31, 1998 and has earned a strong reputation for investment performance and disciplined, research-driven decision-making. In his time at Rosseau, Mr. Irwin has had extensive experience investing in offshore oil projects off the coasts of South America and Africa, and onshore projects throughout the world.

Prior to founding Rosseau, Mr. Irwin’s experience also includes corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions at CIBC Wood Gundy, credit analysis and fixed-income management at Scotia Capital Markets, and proprietary trading at Deutsche Bank Canada. Mr. Irwin holds a Bachelor of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo, is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and holds a Masters of Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario.

“Warren’s extensive financial, investment and capital-markets background along with his passion for offshore oil exploration will be a significant asset to Colossal Energy Fields,” said Curtis Cohen, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Colossal Energy.

“His analytical mindset, discipline, governance and professionalism will greatly strengthen funding resource opportunities, as well as capital allocation and long-term shareholder value.”

Colossal Energy’s commitment to sustainable, inclusive growth shines brightest in nations where its investments in energy access, community empowerment, and equitable development directly advance energy equity for all.

Hashtag: #ColossalEnergyFieldsCorp.

The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

About Colossal Energy Fields Corp.

Colossal Energy Fields Corp is a Canadian oil and gas exploration company focused on exploration and production opportunities in Africa. Proven Upstream Pedigree. Colossal Energy has deep expertise in exploring offshore opportunities and developing near-to-producing field opportunities.

The caution comes after the Japanese currency surged to its strongest levels since February, helped by mounting conviction that the central bank will lift its policy rate at its September 17-18 meeting and by speculation that major domestic investors will shift more money out of overseas assets. The dollar fell below 153 yen this week before recovering some ground.

Barclays’ assessment challenges the increasingly bullish market view that the yen has entered a durable appreciation phase. The bank said the latest move has been driven by powerful expectations rather than a fully established change in capital flows or monetary policy, leaving the currency vulnerable if either catalyst disappoints.

Markets have moved close to fully pricing a quarter-point Bank of Japan increase to 1.25 per cent this month. Expectations strengthened after policymakers signalled greater concern over inflation and currency weakness. Board member Kazuyuki Masu said on Thursday that the central bank could be forced to raise rates more rapidly if underlying inflation accelerates, while stressing that decisions would depend on incoming data.

A survey of economists published this week also showed a broad expectation that the Bank of Japan will raise rates to 1.25 per cent in September, with further tightening projected during 2027. That outlook has encouraged investors to unwind positions built around Japan’s comparatively low borrowing costs and has increased demand for the yen.

The second pillar of the rally is the prospect that Japanese pension funds and other large institutions will direct more capital into domestic bonds and equities. Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said in July that the government wanted pension funds, including the Government Pension Investment Fund, to make substantially greater investments in Japanese financial assets.

That statement triggered speculation that the GPIF, one of the world’s largest pension managers, could reduce its foreign exposure. Its portfolio stood at about 320.4 trillion yen at the end of June, with 25.59 per cent in domestic bonds, 24.48 per cent in domestic equities, 24.60 per cent in foreign bonds and 25.33 per cent in foreign equities, official data show.

A major change in those allocations could generate significant yen buying because foreign assets would have to be sold or currency exposure reduced. Rising Japanese government bond yields have strengthened the argument for keeping more capital at home. The 10-year government bond yield has reached levels not seen for decades, increasing the relative attraction of domestic fixed-income holdings.

Fitch Ratings said this week that higher Japanese yields could encourage banks, insurers and other institutional investors to retain more funds domestically. It also expects Bank of Japan policy rates to rise faster than markets had previously assumed, though it has not projected a wholesale withdrawal from overseas markets.

Evidence of repatriation has nevertheless remained mixed. The GPIF’s June-quarter figures showed domestic bond holdings rising in value while their portfolio share remained close to the fund’s 25 per cent strategic target. Foreign assets still accounted for roughly half of the portfolio, underscoring the scale of adjustment that would be required for pension flows to become a sustained source of yen demand.

The currency’s rise has also been reinforced by the unwinding of yen-funded carry trades, in which investors borrow cheaply in Japan to purchase higher-yielding assets elsewhere. Cross-border yen borrowing reached about 360 trillion yen in March, making abrupt changes in exchange-rate expectations capable of producing sizeable market moves.

The yen had fallen to around 164 per dollar in July before authorities in Japan and the United States intervened jointly in the foreign-exchange market. Its subsequent recovery accelerated this month as traders attached greater weight to tighter monetary policy and domestic capital repatriation.

The Philippines AI+ Infrastructure Masterplan 2026-2033, launched by the Department of Information and Communications Technology on September 8, sets an initial goal of deploying about 400 megawatts by 2030 from a baseline of roughly 50 MW. The programme is designed to combine public infrastructure spending with substantially larger private investment in computing capacity, power, connectivity, water systems and workforce development.

Information and Communications Technology Secretary Henry Aguda said two unnamed US hyperscale cloud companies are conducting due diligence on locations within the Bataan-Clark and Batangas-Aurora corridors. Each is considering about 200 MW of capacity over five years, but officials have stressed that the figures represent projects under evaluation rather than committed investments.

Aguda said the corridor approach is intended to shorten a site-selection process that can take hyperscalers six to nine months by mapping available land, electricity, connectivity and other requirements before investors make final choices. He said the companies have so far focused on Luzon, and no timetable has been disclosed for investment decisions.

The masterplan estimates that $13.5 billion, or 39 per cent of total funding, would come from public sources and about $21 billion, or 61 per cent, from private capital. Government officials said roughly $18.2 billion is already linked to existing national programmes, mainly in connectivity and energy, leaving an additional requirement of about $16.3 billion. AI compute and data centres account for the largest component, estimated at about $14.6 billion. No project auction has started, and Aguda said the masterplan itself is not funded under the 2027 national budget, though enabling power and water infrastructure may already be covered by broader government programmes serving the grid.

Gemma Baysic, officer-in-charge director of the National ICT Planning, Policy and Standards Bureau, said the strategy is intended to enable the country to build, host, power and support a larger AI ecosystem rather than remain principally a consumer of the technology.

Energy supply is a central constraint. Department of Energy Undersecretary Maria Francesca Del Rosario said planners estimate the infrastructure could support about 152,000 graphics processing units. The department expects natural gas to meet immediate additional electricity needs while aiming for renewable sources, including solar and geothermal power, to provide 40 per cent of the energy used by AI infrastructure by 2033.

Officials said additional generation must be developed without diverting electricity from households. The government is also examining nuclear energy as a longer-term option under the Philippine National Nuclear Energy Safety Act, although no nuclear capacity has been committed specifically to the data centre programme.

The roadmap identifies Clark-Bataan as the primary anchor for large-scale AI infrastructure, with Batangas-Aurora serving as a strategic international gateway. Subic and Calabarzon are designated supporting hubs, while Cebu, Iloilo, Davao and Cagayan de Oro are listed as future regional nodes as capacity expands beyond Luzon.

The plan also links infrastructure investment to labour-market objectives. It calls for reskilling 1.3 million workers in the information technology and business process management sector for AI-enabled services. Government projections envisage more than 500,000 AI-related jobs and a further 175,000 positions associated with AI infrastructure projects by 2033.

Those employment and economic estimates remain targets rather than assured outcomes. The masterplan projects that AI-linked productivity gains and new digital services could increase gross domestic product by 10 to 12 per cent by 2033, dependent on investment, infrastructure delivery, workforce adaptation and wider adoption.

The Asian Development Bank supported preparation of the masterplan. Winfried Wicklein, an ADB director general, described AI infrastructure as a national competitiveness and productivity priority, while emphasising that the launch marks the start of implementation rather than completion of the programme.

The company allotted 45 lakh equity shares to anchor investors on September 9 at ₹140 apiece, the top end of the IPO price band. The allocation represented 30 per cent of the total 1.5 crore shares offered in the issue.

Public subscription opened on September 10 and will close on September 15. The price band has been set at ₹130 to ₹140 a share, with investors required to bid for a minimum lot of 107 shares and in multiples of 107 thereafter. At the upper end of the band, the minimum retail application amounts to ₹14,980.

The IPO is entirely a fresh issue of shares, with no offer-for-sale component. At the ceiling price, the issue will raise up to ₹210 crore. The company’s shares are proposed to be listed on the BSE and NSE, with the listing scheduled for September 18, subject to completion of the allotment process.

EQ India Fund received the largest share of the anchor allocation, taking about 10.71 lakh shares worth nearly ₹15 crore. Swyom India Alpha Fund was allotted about 7.14 lakh shares valued at ₹10 crore, while Tiger Strategies Fund-I took roughly 5.72 lakh shares for about ₹8 crore.

Other anchor participants included Taurus Mutual Fund schemes, Innovative Vision Fund, Visionary Value Fund, VBCUBE Ventures Trust, CP Capital and Navbharat Investment Trust. The anchor book comprised nine institutional investors across 10 fund accounts, reflecting the participation of more than one scheme under a single fund house.

Veegaland plans to deploy ₹119.82 crore of the net proceeds towards part-financing expenditure on its ongoing real estate projects. The remaining proceeds are earmarked for unidentified land acquisitions and general corporate purposes, according to the offer documents.

For the year ended March 2026, Veegaland reported total income of ₹254.16 crore, up from ₹196.22 crore a year earlier, while profit after tax rose to ₹26.61 crore from ₹20.43 crore. Revenue from operations was ₹250.98 crore and EBITDA stood at ₹42.64 crore. The company reported, in its restated accounts, assets of ₹483.81 crore and borrowings of ₹85.59 crore at the end of the financial year.

The company had earlier proposed a larger fresh issue of up to ₹250 crore in its draft prospectus before reducing the size to ₹210 crore in the final offer structure. The Securities and Exchange Board of India issued its final observation on the proposed public issue on June 1, and the red herring prospectus was filed on August 31.

Veegaland develops residential apartment projects across Kerala under the Veegaland Homes brand. Its portfolio spans mid-premium, premium, ultra-premium, luxe and ultra-luxury residential categories, with projects concentrated in key urban markets in the state.

As of June 2026, the developer had completed 10 projects with an aggregate saleable area of about 11.05 lakh square feet. It also had 12 ongoing projects and three upcoming developments, according to information disclosed for the issue.

The IPO timetable provides for the basis of allotment to be finalised on September 16. Refunds for unsuccessful bidders are expected to be initiated on September 17, with shares scheduled to be credited to successful investors’ demat accounts the same day.

The offer reserves 30 per cent of the total issue for anchor investors. Of the remaining shares, 20 per cent is allocated to qualified institutional buyers, 15 per cent to non-institutional investors and 35 per cent to retail individual investors, under the stated reservation structure.

The company’s issue documents identify Cumulative Capital as the book-running lead manager, while MUFG Intime India is the registrar. The face value of each equity share is ₹10, making the floor price 13 times face value and the cap price 14 times face value.