Category Archives: News

GpCC: New Operating Framework Enables Global Capability Centers to Extend Their Mandate into Global Payroll

Neeyamo introduces the Global Payroll Capability Center (GpCC) framework, with its Neeyamo Payroll platform as the technology layer that lets a GCC run payroll for 160+ countries as a single enterprise function

CHENNAI, India, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Global Capability Centers (GCCs) now have a defined operating framework for taking on global payroll, the function that has largely stayed outside their expanding mandate. Neeyamo, a technology-enabled provider of global payroll and Employer of Record (EOR) solutions, today introduced the Global Payroll Capability Center (GpCC), a framework that lets a GCC own and run payroll across every country where the enterprise operates.

A GpCC is a unit within a GCC that holds enterprise-wide ownership of payroll, combining global governance, a single payroll technology platform, and standardized processes with in-country execution and statutory compliance. It replaces the country-by-country structure through which most multinationals still run payroll with separate vendors, systems, and owners in each market with one accountable function, one platform, and one consolidated view of payroll data across the enterprise.

This is being released as an open industry framework, according to Neeyamo, and can be adopted by any GCC. It was first outlined at N’gene, Neeyamo’s GCC Conclave held in Hyderabad earlier this year.

India’s 2,117 GCCs have expanded their mandates well beyond their original technology and back-office scope, with an increasing number now holding global ownership of finance, HR, analytics, and transformation functions, according to the NASSCOM–Zinnov India GCC Landscape Report 2026. Global payroll has been a notable exception. Because payroll is governed by local statute in every country, it has typically remained outside GCC consolidation programs even as adjacent finance and HR processes have moved in, with the constraint being less about talent than about technology: no single system could run payroll natively across the full country footprint.

GpCC addresses that gap by defining what a GCC needs in place to take payroll on. The framework specifies four components:

• Ownership and Governance: a single global payroll owner within the GCC, with a defined operating cadence, service levels, and escalation path across all markets
• Technology and Data: One payroll platform and data model, native to every operating country and integrated with the enterprise HCM and finance systems
• Standardized Process: A common end-to-end payroll process framework, with variation permitted only where local statute requires it
• In-country execution and Compliance: Local statutory capability in every operating market, connected to the global framework rather than operating independently. 

These four components together enable GCCs to operate one global process, one data model, and one set of controls, while country-specific calculation, filing, and compliance are handled in-house rather than through separate local vendors. Integrations with leading HCM systems and Neeyamo’s own legal entities in 45 countries extend the framework to markets where the enterprise has no local presence.

“GCCs have already taken ownership of technology, data, and transformation. Payroll is the capability that hasn’t made that journey yet; it still sits across dozens of countries, dozens of vendors, and dozens of spreadsheets,” said Samuel Isaac, CMO & President, Neeyamo. “A GpCC gives the enterprise one owner, one standard, and one view of payroll, without pretending that payroll in Brazil works the way payroll in Japan does. The platform is what makes that possible; the GCC brings the ownership.”

For GCC leaders, the model defines a new function that fits the capability-center profile: high volume, compliance-intensive, and data-rich. For global HR and finance leaders, it provides a structured route to consolidating a function that has historically resisted consolidation, without trading local compliance for global consistency.

Neeyamo’s GpCC framework is available here.

About Neeyamo

Neeyamo is a technology-enabled provider of Global Payroll and Employer of Record solutions for multinational and micro-multinational organisations, processing payroll natively across 160+ countries with legal entities in 45. Learn more at www.neeyamo.com.

Media Contact

Irene Jones – irene.jones@neeyamo.com

Editor’s note: Global Payroll Capability Center is styled GpCC — capital G, lowercase p, capital C, capital C.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/gpcc-new-operating-framework-enables-global-capability-centers-to-extend-their-mandate-into-global-payroll-302881765.html

OCI N.V. statement regarding an open letter from shareholders

AMSTERDAM, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — OCI Global N.V. (“OCI” or the “Company”) (Euronext: OCI) confirms that on 16 September 2026 it received from Oceanwood Capital Management LLP the attached open letter, written on behalf of a group of three shareholders in the Company. OCI is publishing the letter for information purposes only, without comment or endorsement.

Annex – Open letter to the Board of OCI Global N.V., 16 September 2026

ABOUT OCI GLOBAL

Learn more about OCI at www.oci-global.com. You can also follow OCI on LinkedIn.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/oci-nv-statement-regarding-an-open-letter-from-shareholders-302881611.html

NeoGreens Unveils ‘Daily Greens’: World’s First Microgreens Blend™ Redefining Daily Nutrition

Daily Greens is designed to address critical micronutrient deficiencies in India through a science-backed, high impact solution.

HYDERABAD, India, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Keystone NeoGreens, a wellness company focused on daily nutrition products, announced the launch of Daily Greens, World’s First Microgreens Blend^TM, as its first multi microgreens nutrition product designed to provide a convenient way to add potent microgreens to a daily diet.

Following three years of intensive formulation, Daily Greens, a one scoop nutritional blend is engineered to support focus, sustained energy, gut health, immunity, and detox, built on a core matrix of five microgreens – alfalfa, kale, broccoli, coriander, and sunflower. The new offering targets the growing consumer demand for efficient and convenient nutrition in an easy to consume format.

“Daily nutrition products should be straightforward to understand and practical to use,” said Amarnath J, CEO, Keystone NeoGreens. “With Daily Greens, our focus has been to provide  convenient nutrition while making the relevant product and serving information accessible to consumers.”

In addition to the five microgreens, Daily Greens contains superfoods, pre and probiotics, digestive enzymes, antioxidants, adaptogens, berries, minerals, and vitamins. According to the company, the formulation contains no artificial flavours, or unnecessary additives.  

“The product development process included decisions around the ingredient formulation, serving format, processing and quality controls,” said Dinesh Chanchala, Co-founder and COO, Keystone NeoGreens. “We are making the relevant information available so that consumers and other stakeholders can examine the product on the basis of its formulation and testing details.”

Each batch of Daily Greens is tested by third-party laboratories for parameters including heavy metals and microbial safety, in accordance with the company’s quality programme. The applicable report information, including batch number, report date, laboratory name and test scope, will be available on the company’s website, subject to the company’s publication policy.

Daily Greens is available through the NeoGreens website (www.neogreens.com) and Amazon. The product is offered in a 10-day travel pack priced at ₹999 and a 30-day pouch priced at ₹2,499, with a subscription option that offers 10% savings on recurring purchases.

About Keystone NeoGreens

Keystone NeoGreens is a wellness company focused on daily nutrition products. The company’s stated mission is to offer the best nutrition and make it simpler, more transparent and more consistent for consumers.

NeoGreens’ product-development approach brings together nutrition, food science and agri-technology expertise. The company is developing a portfolio of daily nutrition products and is working to make relevant formulation, serving, label and testing information accessible to consumers and other stakeholders.

With a portfolio of daily nutrition products in development, NeoGreens is building a future where being healthy is normal, accessible, and effortless.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/neogreens-unveils-daily-greens-worlds-first-microgreens-blend-redefining-daily-nutrition-302880861.html

Global Beverage Brand ‘MALAYALI’ Achieves Rare 100% Award-Winning Portfolio Recognition

MUMBAI, India, WARSAW, Poland, and DUBAI, UAE, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Polish-origin beverage brand MALAYALI Beer has received World Beer Award recognition for every product in its portfolio. At the 2026 World Beer Awards, MALAYALI Power received Silver in the Strong Beer category, while MALAYALI Habibi 0.0% received Silver in the No & Low Alcohol category and an additional Silver for packaging design.

The 2026 recognition follows Gold for MALAYALI Lager and Bronze for MALAYALI Non-Alcoholic at the 2025 World Beer Awards. This makes Malayali the youngest beer brand to ever achieve this feat, having all the products in their portfolio recognised with a World Beer Award in just 4 years since inception.

Key Achievements:

• MALAYALI Lager – Gold, World Beer Awards 2025
• MALAYALI Non-Alcoholic – Bronze, World Beer Awards 2025
• MALAYALI Power – Silver, World Beer Awards 2026
• MALAYALI Habibi 0.0% – Silver, World Beer Awards 2026
• MALAYALI Habibi 0.0% packaging design – Silver, World Beer Awards 2026

From Supply Chain Crisis to Global Shelves

Founded four years ago by Chandramohan Nallur and Sargheve Sukumaran, MALAYALI Beer originated from an unexpected supply-chain disruption in Europe that led the founders to experiment with brewing.

Combining European hops with Indian rice flakes, they developed a hybrid brew designed for smooth and accessible drinking.

“Three years ago, we could never have imagined that an idea starting almost accidentally would lead us here,” said Chandramohan Nallur. “This recognition validates our strategy to build a versatile portfolio catering to different lifestyle choices and drinking occasions.”

The MALAYALI name honours Kerala and its global diaspora, the team has built the products to compete internationally without compromising their roots.

Global Distribution and Travel Retail Expansion

MALAYALI Beer is now distributed across 25 countries worldwide, with a presence across Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The company has entered international travel retail, securing listings across three major airport duty-free locations, including availability in the Muscat International Airport business lounge. Competing in airport retail requires products to deliver immediate visual and taste appeal to diverse international audiences. The traction achieved by MALAYALI Beer demonstrates how a culturally rooted brand can maintain a distinctive identity while standing alongside established international names on global shelves.

In the Middle East, partnerships with regional retail entities such as LuLu Group have opened shelf space for MALAYALI Habibi 0.0%, the brand’s zero-alcohol malt beverage, and Adipoli, its tropical hydration drink.

Zero-Alcohol, Zero-Sugar Innovation

One of the most forward-looking products in the portfolio is MALAYALI Habibi 0.0%, a zero-alcohol, zero-sugar formulation developed for consumers seeking alternatives to traditional alcoholic beverages.

According to the company, Habibi is the second beer brand globally to launch a zero-sugar, zero-alcohol variant. Rather than treating zero-alcohol innovation as a short-term trend, MALAYALI Beer sees the category as an important part of the future of modern lifestyle drinking.

A Distinct Identity on the World Stage

At a time when many emerging brands attempt to make themselves universally international, MALAYALI Beer has taken the opposite approach by embracing its cultural story. From its bold visual identity to its ingredient choices, the brand continues to highlight its heritage while maintaining international brewing standards.

The result is a portfolio that combines an Indian-origin identity with products developed for increasingly diverse global consumers, from traditional beer drinkers to those seeking stronger beers and zero-alcohol alternatives.

Frequently Asked Questions

What awards has MALAYALI Beer won?

MALAYALI Beer has received World Beer Award recognition across its portfolio in 2025 and 2026, including Gold, Bronze and Silver awards.

What is MALAYALI Habibi 0.0%?

MALAYALI Habibi 0.0% is a zero-alcohol, zero-sugar malt beverage.

How many countries is MALAYALI Beer distributed across?

MALAYALI Beer is distributed across 25 countries worldwide.

Website: www.malayali.rocks

Instagram: @malayali.rocks

About Hexagon Spirits International

Headquartered in Warsaw, Poland, Hexagon Spirits International is a global alcobev and beverage company founded by Indian entrepreneurs Chandramohan Nallur and Sargheve Sukumaran.

The company manages a multi-category portfolio of alcoholic, non-alcoholic and functional beverages, including its award-winning MALAYALI Beer range and Adipoli. Operating across 25 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Asia, Hexagon Spirits International continues to expand across international travel retail, duty-free locations and global retail chains.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/global-beverage-brand-malayali-achieves-rare-100-award-winning-portfolio-recognition-302880726.html

The Maharashtra Impact and Innovation Hub: Complementing Government of Maharashtra’s Health for All Mission

MUMBAI, India, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Maharashtra is set to pioneer a new model for how health innovations are developed, tested and taken to scale—one that starts with the needs of communities and draws together the diverse strengths of the healthcare ecosystem. The Maharashtra Impact and Innovation Hub, a state-scale platform for health innovation and quality improvement, is being developed with this vision: a collaborative platform to identify local health priorities, co-create solutions with communities and test new approaches within real-world health systems.

The Maharashtra Impact and Innovation Hub advances Government of Maharashtra’s commitment to its “Health for All” goal by bringing together the expertise of government, healthcare providers, the private sector, academia, innovators and development partners. It will complement ongoing efforts by strengthening existing systems and care pathways, while exploring the potential of innovation and technology, including Artificial Intelligence (AI), digital health, data, and precision health.

A key opportunity for the Hub will be to connect the reach and capabilities of the private healthcare ecosystem with public health priorities. By bringing different stakeholders around a common platform, the model can help develop solutions that are practical, affordable, accessible, and responsive to local needs, with potential for replication across Maharashtra and beyond. Opportunities for local skilling, employment, and enterprise development linked to community health needs will be explored as the initiative matures.

As the Hub takes shape, Maharashtra has the opportunity to become a national leader in translating innovation into impact at population scale. The objective is not simply to introduce new technology, but to ensure that innovation reaches every citizen—particularly those who are hardest to reach. By bringing government, communities, innovators and partners together through the Hub, the State aims to test what works, learn rapidly and scale solutions that improve the quality and equity of health services across Maharashtra.

The Hub will evolve as a platform for evidence generation and collaboration, with the longer-term ambition of taking successful solutions to scale. It will place community needs and local ownership at the center while creating stronger linkages between innovation, health systems, and those delivering care. 

This approach is already being demonstrated through Manyata, The Federation of Obstetrics & Gynaecological Societies of India’s flagship initiative to complement the Government’s ongoing efforts to strengthen maternal healthcare, providing an early example of how a quality improvement model for the private sector can work alongside public health systems.

The initiative is being supported by MSD for Mothers, which is convening a consortium of grantees and collaborators to support the development of this collaborative model. The approach reflects the value of partnerships in translating innovation into practical, sustainable solutions that can strengthen health systems and contribute to Maharashtra’s Health for All vision.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/the-maharashtra-impact-and-innovation-hub-complementing-government-of-maharashtras-health-for-all-mission-302880972.html

VisualCamp Accelerates India Literacy Mission: Expands to Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, Scales Up Haryana Initiative

• Following an award-winning validation of its India strategy at Upstart 26, the company rapidly broadens its footprint across Indian government schools.
• The expanded Haryana initiative is scaled to 60 government schools this October, specifically targeting Grade 2 Hindi sentence-level reading in alignment with NIPUN Bharat.

SEOUL, South Korea, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — VisualCamp, a global leader in AI-based eye-tracking technology, today announced the accelerated expansion of its educational initiatives across India. Building on strong momentum, the company is actively expanding its footprint into Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, while significantly scaling its operations in the Nuh district of Haryana.  

Following the strategic groundwork laid with the Haryana state government, VisualCamp is officially launching its expanded reading intervention program in early October. The scaled-up initiative will be deployed across 60 government schools in the Nuh district, directly supporting India’s NIPUN Bharat national mission for foundational literacy and numeracy. The six-month program focuses specifically on Grade 2 students struggling with Hindi reading. Unlike conventional tests, the platform tracks how a student’s eyes move across text to evaluate reading progression, aiming to help students transition from word recognition to independent, sentence-level reading.  

As the operational blueprint scales in Haryana, VisualCamp is simultaneously advancing opportunities to expand its presence into other Indian states, including Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. This state-to-state expansion represents a major milestone in VisualCamp’s broader effort to bring evidence-based reading assessments to government schools across the country.  

The company’s ambitious expansion strategy was recently bolstered by its first-place finish at Upstart 26, a pitching competition connecting Indian and Korean companies held on September 10, 2026, in Seoul. VisualCamp’s CEO pitched the platform under the theme, “See the Unseen: The Cognitive X-ray for Learning Efficiency”. The entry was evaluated by a distinguished panel of India-Korea business leaders, who highly validated the product’s fit for the Indian market and the realism of its practical go-to-market plans.  

“Traditional assessments only show us the final test score, but our eye-tracking technology reveals the invisible cognitive struggles of a child’s learning to read,” said Yunchan Suk, CEO of VisualCamp. “The rapid expansion of our program across multiple states validates that Indian educators and leaders are ready for data-driven tools. We are scaling our technology not just to assess students, but to give teachers the exact insights they need to make every child a confident, independent reader.”  

About VisualCamp  

VisualCamp is a global pioneer in eye tracking based AI literacy courseware. Recognized for its world-class technology, the company has won back-to-back CES Innovation Awards (2022, 2023), the GLOMO Award for Best Mobile Innovation at MWC (2021) and was named one of the Financial Times High-Growth Companies in Asia-Pacific (2024). Through its flagship READ courseware lineup, VisualCamp makes reading behaviors actionable, empowering educators and institutions worldwide to deliver personalized literacy education. For more information, visit www.visual.camp 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/visualcamp-accelerates-india-literacy-mission-expands-to-maharashtra-and-andhra-pradesh-scales-up-haryana-initiative-302880118.html

Zhou Jianjun from Huawei: Building a Grid-Interactive AIDC Solution to Maximize Tokens Per Watt

SHENZHEN, China, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Green Energy Development Conference & International Digital Energy Expo 2026, kicked off  in Shenzhen. Zhou Jianjun, Vice President of Huawei and President of Global Marketing, Sales and Services, Huawei Digital Power, attended the opening ceremony and unveiled Huawei’s grid-interactive AI data center (AIDC) solution during the key industry achievement release session. This solution aims to tackle the new challenges of power acquisition, high-density power supply, high-density heat dissipation, and complex delivery, operation, and maintenance in AIDC construction during the AI era, by leveraging system-level compute-electricity synergy to maximize tokens per watt.

The Token Factory Era: Compute and Power Deeply Coupled

The global AI industry is rapidly accelerating from R&D to large-scale deployment. The fast iteration of large models and the surging demand for AI applications are driving exponential growth in token consumption. As the basic unit for invoking, consuming, and billing AI services, tokens are becoming increasingly valuable. Major global tech companies, operators, cloud service providers, and energy enterprises are ramping up investments in AI infrastructure. AIDC campuses are scaling from traditional megawatts to hundreds of megawatts or even gigawatts. Power acquisition, power supply and cooling in high-density compute scenarios, delivery, operation, and maintenance capabilities, and construction speed have become new challenges for AIDC construction.

Zhou Jianjun stated: “Electricity is essential for computing. Today, in the AI era, the startup, shutdown, and load fluctuations of a large AIDC campus can all impact grid operations.” He emphasized that as the penetration of renewable energy continues to rise, the power grid itself is also evolving, with local grid strength declining and volatility and uncertainty increasing. Future AIDCs must not only adapt to weak grids and maintain stable operation during grid fluctuations, but also support the grid and become a key “grid-friendly” node. Therefore, the integration of generation, grid, load, and storage has become an inevitable choice for AIDC development.

“3+1” Redefining a System-Level Grid-Interactive AIDC Solution

Huawei proposes a “3+1” system redefinition across three domains—Watt (electricity), Bit (digital), and Heat (thermal)—along with the construction model, to build a grid-interactive AIDC solution.

The core of the redefinition is as follows:

Watt (electricity): Shifting from stable power consumption to supporting the power grid.

On the generation-grid-storage side, Huawei enhances the AIDC facility’s adaptability to weak power grids and large load fluctuations through grid-forming control and energy storage synergy. The industry’s first 1000 V grid-forming inverter FusionSolar series and the world’s first 1000 V Smart String Grid Forming ESS Platform LUTERRA, both launched by Huawei, have significantly boosted the grid-forming capability of renewable energy. On the load side, Huawei builds an integrated grid-forming energy router based on the solid-state transformer (SST) technology. Moreover, Huawei has become the first vendor in the industry to pass the wideband oscillation damping test conducted by Shanghai Electrical Apparatus Research Institute, driving UPS in the AIDC era to evolve from “reliable power supply” to “grid-friendly.”

Heat (thermal): from “reliability of individual components” to “reliability of the entire system.”

The key to AIDC liquid cooling is not just cooling, but controllability; not just the reliability of individual components, but the reliability of the entire system from chips to cooling sources. Huawei’s Thermal Management Unit (TMU) and AI-enabled MW-level liquid cooling system provide a paradigm for highly reliable cooling in the AIDC industry.

Bit (digital): from “passive operation and maintenance” to “proactive sensing.”

AI capabilities are leveraged to redefine operations, enabling AIDC to achieve proactive sensing, optimization, and protection.

Construction model: from “traditional engineering” to “productization and prefabrication.”

AIDC can no longer rely entirely on traditional engineering methods. Through productization, prefabrication, and modularization, Huawei shifts complexity to the factory, leave simplicity to customers, and speed up compute rollout.

System-Level Innovation for the Next-Generation AIDC

Huawei’s grid-interactive AIDC solution is not a single product-level innovation, but an end-to-end solution built on system-level innovation. Its core value is clear and compelling: ensuring stable operation of high-value computing power with high reliability, generating more tokens per watt with high energy efficiency, enabling faster rollout of computing power with fast delivery, and supporting the power grid with grid-friendly features despite being a large load.

Zhou Jianjun said, “AI is opening up a new era of industry. In response to the opportunities brought by the AIDC industry transformation, Huawei deeply integrates digital technology, power electronics, thermal management, and energy storage management, and focuses on the new power system and core fields of AIDC to build comprehensive capabilities in renewable energy generation, grid forming and grid connection, power supply for high-density compute, liquid cooling, and compute-electricity synergy. Huawei is willing to work with global customers and partners to drive the AIDC industry toward high-quality, sustainable, and innovative development, enabling each watt to produce more tokens and powering the AI era forward.”

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/zhou-jianjun-from-huawei-building-a-grid-interactive-aidc-solution-to-maximize-tokens-per-watt-302881315.html

HL Klemove and Lenovo Forge Partnership to Lead the Autonomous Driving Market

Joint development of high-performance AI computing (HPC) solutions to pursue global OEM opportunities and expand mass-production programs

SEOUL, South Korea, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — HL Klemove, HL Group’s autonomous driving solutions specialist, has entered into a strategic partnership with global IT company Lenovo to spearhead the autonomous driving market. On September 8, key executives from both companies attended the partnership signing ceremony at Lenovo’s R&D Center in Shanghai, China, including HL Klemove President Yun Haeng Lee, CTO Dae Gun Hong, and CMO Sung Kug Kim, as well as Lenovo Vice President Peter Xu and COO Nix Luo.

The partnership will be carried out in phases. The first phase will focus on jointly developing HPC solutions for vehicles, followed by a second phase to secure orders and a third phase for mass production. HL Klemove will lead global OEM business development and mass-production activities, leveraging its established customer network, local market expertise, and global manufacturing capabilities. Building on ADAS business experience dating back to 2012, the company has accumulated extensive mass-production expertise in sensing and control components for Level 2 and Level 2+ ADAS systems. These products are manufactured across its global production footprint in South Korea, China, India, and North America. Combined with its system integration capabilities and more than 2,700 patents, HL Klemove aims to further strengthen its position in the global automotive computing and ADAS market through its collaboration with Lenovo.

“By combining HL Klemove’s technological expertise, sales capabilities, and production capacity with Lenovo’s advanced autonomous driving controller design capabilities, we will sharpen our competitive edge in the global market,” said Yun Haeng Lee, President of HL Klemove. “Through this partnership, we will accelerate the development of differentiated automotive computing solutions that meet the evolving needs of global OEM customers.”

Meanwhile, Peter Xu, Vice President and head of Lenovo’s automotive computing business, stated, “Lenovo is expanding its AI computing business into automotive computing, with a focus on Level 4 autonomous driving and ADAS. By leveraging HL Klemove’s manufacturing capabilities and global supply network, we will accelerate our entry into newC markets.”

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/in/news-releases/hl-klemove-and-lenovo-forge-partnership-to-lead-the-autonomous-driving-market-302880459.html

Xinhua Silk Road: Two indices on rowing and hutong revitalization in Shenyang launched

BEIJING, Sept. 17, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Two indices reports on development of rowing sport and hutong revitalization in Shenyang, the capital city of northeast China’s Liaoning Province, have been officially launched by Xinhua Indices Institute.

The reports — China (Shenyang) rowing development index report and China (Shenyang) hutong revitalization index report — were released at the 2026 China (Shenyang) Exchange on Integrated Development of Culture, Tourism, Sports and Commerce held on Sept. 10 in Shenyang.

Co-hosted by the Shenyang Municipal People’s Government and the Brand Work Office of Xinhua News Agency, the event brought together guests from government, industry, academia and research institutions to explore new approaches and models for the integrated development of culture, tourism, sports and commerce.

The release of the two indices places the “outward-oriented sports event economy,” represented by rowing, and the “inward-oriented revitalization of existing urban assets,” represented by hutongs, within the same framework, establishing an annual benchmark for the integrated development of culture, tourism, sports and commerce.

Shenyang will look outward for breakthroughs through the rowing index, leverage sports events to activate its waterfront spaces and further develop itself as a rowing capital, said a municipal official. Meanwhile, the city will tap its internal potential through the hutong index, revitalizing local old hutongs via micro-renewal work.

The city is steadily advancing toward its duo goals of becoming a “rowing capital” and a “famous historical and cultural city.” To achieve these goals, Shenyang has hosted the Asian Rowing U19&U23 Championships consecutively along the Hunhe River, while the “rowing in schools” program has been rolled out across the city.

Deep in the hutongs, 67 old hutongs in the city’s Fangcheng area have been renovated. Laobeishi hosted more than 6,000 performances to the public throughout the year, while the Bajing coffee alley received more than 2 million visitors annually.

Guo Linwen, deputy director of the Cultural Industries Institute of Renmin University of China, suggested that Shenyang strengthen its cultural identity, break down boundaries between different business formats and apply cutting-edge technologies to enhance immersive experiences.

He recommended using length of stay, the proportion of secondary spending and the number of overnight visitors as key indicators to evaluate project performance.

The event also featured two parallel sessions — the “Sports +” session and the session on culture, tourism and sports empowering innovation in urban consumption scenarios. 

Original link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/352216.html

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/xinhua-silk-road-two-indices-on-rowing-and-hutong-revitalization-in-shenyang-launched-302881340.html

MP-14 ORIGIN BY JEFF KOONS – KOONS × HUBLOT: TWO UNIVERSES BUILT ON TRANSFORMATION

NEW YORK, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Hublot and Jeff Koons unveil a multi-faceted collaboration, simultaneously launching two exceptional timepieces: the Classic Fusion Balloon Dog and the MP-14 Origin by Jeff Koons. This partnership between Hublot and Koons, both renowned for transforming the ordinary into the iconic, delivers a fusion of high end watchmaking and contemporary art. The MP-14 Origin, featuring a sapphire, titanium and gem-set white gold architecture, fuses high jewellery and high watchmaking to express the creation of the cosmos on a micro scale – as if capturing the very origin of everything at the moment it begins to expand. This visionary piece marks a significant technical milestone for Hublot: the introduction of its first automatic central tourbillon. This limited edition of 30 pieces is more than a watch that represents the universe; it stages its very beginning.

MP-14 Origin by Jeff Koons joins Hublot’s Exceptional Timepieces collection, the brand’s experimental laboratory of high horology, dedicated to radical mechanical concepts, advanced materials and unconventional time architectures. Each Exceptional Timepiece pushes watchmaking beyond its known limits, turning technical innovation into a field of pure exploration. The designation MP-14 alludes to the number 14, a significant reference in Jeff Koons’s career. In 1980, his first solo exhibition was held at the New Museum in New York, then located at 65 Fifth Avenue at 14th Street, linking the number to a defining early milestone in his artistic journey.

“The MP-14 Origin by Jeff Koons is a horological interpretation of creation itself: the moment where energy becomes form and form becomes time. It is more than measuring time, it’s about returning to its source. Motion is generative. A central tourbillon becomes the first pulse and everything else unfolds around it like a controlled expansion. It’s the idea of a Big Bang translated through engineered motion, material tension, and the physics of light,” said Jeff Koons on the collaboration.

Julien Tornare, Hublot CEO, added “The MP-14 Origin by Jeff Koons sits at the intersection of two parallel visions: one artist deconstructing perception, one manufacture deconstructing matter, both since 1980. Jeff Koons has been transforming familiar forms into amplified symbols, where light, scale and reflection turn perception into participation. Hublot builds the Art of Fusion, where materials, techniques and disciplines collide. This piece is a true masterpiece: a testament to our mastery, elevated by Koons’ vision of transformation and amplified perception.”

A MECHANICAL UNIVERSE IN MOTION

The MP-14 Origin by Jeff Koons is a hypnotic fusion of high horology and visionary art. It embodies the very essence of Hublot as an experimental laboratory of watchmaking, driven by radical mechanical concepts, advanced materials and unconventional approaches to time. The MP-14 Origin by Jeff Koons reflects the manufacture’s constant drive to transform constraints into achievements, from its mastery of sapphire to the development of its first automatic central tourbillon capable of sustaining this multi-layered kinetic architecture and is supported by a peripheral oscillating mass system ensuring stability and energy efficiency.

At first glance, the MP-14 Origin by Jeff Koons looks futuristic. It features a 44 mm octagonal sapphire and titanium case where transparency and depth define the case as much as structure defines the movement. The case is an octagonal transparent sapphire box. It requires about 534 hours of machining. It is assembled with a titanium case back, screws and Hublot’s signature “ears” at 3 and 9 o’clock. Inside, the watch unfolds as a gravitational system. Concentric rings in white gold, set with baguette-cut diamonds and blue sapphires, form orbital layers. These layers converge toward a central core. Beneath a transparent sapphire dome inspired by Koons’ Gazing Ball works, hand-coated in translucent blue varnish by a micropainter, the concealed central tourbillon becomes the system’s origin. It’s the mechanical “first pulse” from which the entire structure appears to expand. 

Two suspended rotating rings display hours and minutes, each carrying a floating indicator cube – red polished stainless steel painted with a translucent red varnish for hours, grey polished stainless steel for minutes – appearing to orbit within the structure. Above concentric rings set with baguette-cut diamonds, these elements float in suspension, evoking celestial orbits in a hypnotic dance. The two additional rings are fixed and non-rotating: the minute ring is set with blue sapphires marking the quarters, while the hour ring is set with blue sapphires indicating the hours. Together, the four rings are set with a total of 202 stones, representing approximately 2.6 carats.

At the core, the HUB9014 manufacture movement drives the system: a central automatic tourbillon with peripheral oscillating weight, beating at 3 Hz (21,600 vph) and delivering a 60-hour power reserve, composed of 594 components. The peripheral mass replaces traditional central winding architecture, allowing the system to remain fully open, balanced and visually suspended. The tourbillon cage is positioned as a floating anti-gravity element beneath the sapphire dome, transforming mechanical regulation into visible cosmic motion. The case extends this system into full continuity: the bracelet is fully integrated in sapphire with titanium screws, creating a seamless transition from case to wrist. Two hidden functions (concealed crown systems) are integrated into the architecture, allowing winding and time-setting without disrupting the purity of the design. The winding system appears where “ENERGY PULSE” is engraved and time-setting is indicated by the mention: “COSMIC ALIGN”.

The watch does not display a universe, it behaves like one. It is a space in motion, built to contain time at the moment of its origin. The presentation case is conceived as an infinite mirror installation, using LED illumination and one-way mirror technique to create a sense of boundless depth and suspended perception. Inspired by the octagonal geometry of the watch, it is crowned with a transparent dome, extending the architectural language of the timepiece into an immersive spatial experience.

From its sapphire construction to its HUB9014 manufacture movement, the MP-14 Origin by Jeff Koons is a powerful expression of the innovation, mastery and boldness that define Hublot. It conveys the quality and reliability of every watch it creates. This confidence is demonstrated through Hublot’s 5+5 warranty program, extending coverage to up to ten years; a commitment rooted in the brand’s conviction in every manufacture-made watch and the expertise of the teams behind it.

Limited to 30 pieces, the MP-14 Origin by Jeff Koons is available at selected Hublot points of sale.

HUBLOT: www.hublot.com Email: press@hublot.com, Presslounge platform: presslounge.hublot.com/connection/

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/mp-14-origin-by-jeff-koons—koons-O-hublot-two-universes-built-on-transformation-302880824.html