Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (hereafter, Mitsubishi Motors) has been added to the FTSE4Good Index Series(1) and FTSE Blossom Japan Index(2) for five consecutive years, and to the FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index(2) for three consecutive years in recognition of the company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives.
The FTSE4Good Index Series is a globally recognized index that measures the performance of companies in their ESG practices and adds superior companies to their index. It is regarded as one of the important criteria for investors to evaluate companies’ ESG initiatives when deciding where to invest.
The FTSE Blossom Japan Index was designed to reflect the performance of Japanese companies that demonstrate strong ESG practices.
In addition, the FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index, designed in 2022, tracks the performance of Japanese companies that, relative to their sector, demonstrate prominent approaches to ESG issues. As well, in order to promote the shift to a decarbonization economy, companies with high performance in reducing greenhouse gas emissions are included, where the company efforts are measured by the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) Management Quality Score(3).
The FTSE Blossom Japan Index and FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index have been selected as one of the ESG investment indexes adopted by the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the world’s largest public pension management and administration organization.
Mitsubishi Motors identifies material issues from various issues in each respective area of ESG, determines initiatives to implement as well as their goals and tracks the progress at the Sustainability Committee chaired by the president and chief executive officer. Mitsubishi Motors will continue its efforts to contribute to building a sustainable society and bolster its corporate value while enhancing communication among top management, employees, and stakeholders.
(1) FTSE4Good Index Series www.lseg.com/en/ftse-russell/indices/ftse4good (2) FTSE Blossom Japan Index/ FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index www.lseg.com/en/ftse-russell/indices/blossom-japan (3) TPI Management Quality score
Its goal is to assess the progress of companies in transitioning toward a decarbonization economy in terms of both Management Quality and Carbon Performance. The TPI Management Quality Score measures the quality of risk and opportunity management relating to a company’s greenhouse gas emissions and shift to decarbonization. https://transitionpathwayinitiative.org/
– Access below for other external assessment for Mitsubishi Motors www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/sustainability/strategy/evaluation/
About Mitsubishi Motors
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (TSE:7211) — a member of the Alliance with Renault and Nissan — is a global automobile company based in Tokyo, Japan, which has about 28,000 employees and a global footprint with production facilities in Japan and the ASEAN region. Mitsubishi Motors has a competitive edge in SUVs, pickup trucks and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and appeals to ambitious drivers willing to challenge convention and embrace innovation. Since the production of our first vehicle more than a century ago, Mitsubishi Motors has been a leader in electrification — launched the i-MiEV, the world’s first mass-produced electric vehicle in 2009, followed by the Outlander PHEV, the world’s first plug-in hybrid electric SUV in 2013. With a target of increasing the sales ratio of electrified vehicles to 100% by 2035, Mitsubishi Motors will deliver models that embody Mitsubishi Motors-ness and contribute to the realization of a carbon-neutral society.
For more information on Mitsubishi Motors, please visit the company’s website at www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/.
For IR related inquiries, please access the contact information below: Mitsubishi Motors Corporporation 1-21, Shibaura 3-chome, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8410 TEL: 03-3456-1111 (Reception)
Hitachi, Ltd. continued to be selected as a constituent of the FTSE4Good Index Series, the FTSE Blossom Japan Index and the FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index.
The FTSE4Good Index Series, the FTSE Blossom Japan Index and the FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index are ESG investment indices created by FTSE Russell and significant benchmarks used by investors for assessing corporate ESG practices. The FTSE Blossom Japan Index and the FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index are adopted by the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) as a benchmark for ESG passive funds.
Hitachi has been promoting sustainable management and working specifically to achieve the carbon neutrality of its business sites (factories and offices) by FY2030 and its entire value chain by FY2050 under Hitachi Environmental Innovation 2050, its long-term environmental targets. In addition, Hitachi has set a target of increasing the ratio of female and non-Japanese executive and corporate officers (the executive position next to executive officer) to 30% respectively by FY2030.To promote sustainable management, Hitachi also amended its executive compensation system*, expanding the ratio of sustainability evaluation in the compensation.
Hitachi will solve various challenges faced by our customers and society and contribute to the realization of a sustainable society where people live happily in prosperity through the Social Innovation Business leveraging data and technology.
* News Release on April 25, 2023 “Hitachi Amends Executive Compensation System, Further Strengthening Links Between Corporate Value and Compensation” www.hitachi.com/New/cnews/month/2023/04/230425b.html
FTSE4Good Index Series www.ftserussell.com/products/indices/ftse4good
FTSE Blossom Japan Index and FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index www.ftserussell.com/products/indices/blossom-japan
Hitachi drives Social Innovation Business, creating a sustainable society through the use of data and technology. We solve customers’ and society’s challenges with Lumada solutions leveraging IT, OT (Operational Technology) and products. Hitachi operates under the business structure of “Digital Systems & Services” – supporting our customers” digital transformation; “Green Energy & Mobility” – contributing to a decarbonized society through energy and railway systems, and “Connective Industries” – connecting products through digital technology to provide solutions in various industries. Driven by Digital, Green, and Innovation, we aim for growth through co-creation with our customers. The company’s consolidated revenues for fiscal year 2022 (ended March 31, 2023) totaled 10,881.1 billion yen, with 696 consolidated subsidiaries and approximately 320,000 employees worldwide. For more information on Hitachi, please visit the company’s website at www.hitachi.com.
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation has been added to the FTSE4Good Index Series(1) and FTSE Blossom Japan Index(2) for four consecutive years, and to the FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index(2) for two consecutive years in recognition of the company’s environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives.
The FTSE4Good Index Series is a globally recognized index that measures the performance of companies in their ESG practices and adds superior companies to their index. It is regarded as one of the important criteria for investors to evaluate companies’ ESG initiatives when deciding where to invest.
The FTSE Blossom Japan Index was designed to reflect the performance of Japanese companies that demonstrate strong ESG practices.
In addition, the FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index, designed in 2022, tracks the performance of Japanese companies that, relative to their sector, demonstrate prominent approaches to ESG issues. As well, in order to promote the shift to a decarbonization economy, only companies with high performance in reducing greenhouse gas emissions are included, where the company efforts are measured by the Transition Pathway Initiative (TPI) Management Quality Score(3).
The FTSE Blossom Japan Index and FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index have been selected as one of the ESG investment indexes adopted by the Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the world’s largest public pension management and administration organization.
Mitsubishi Motors identifies material issues from various issues in each respective area of ESG, determines initiatives to implement as well as their goals and tracks the progress at the Sustainability Committee chaired by the president and chief executive officer. Mitsubishi Motors will continue its efforts to contribute to building a sustainable society and bolster its corporate value while enhancing communication among top management, employees, and stakeholders.
(1) FTSE4Good Index Series www.ftserussell.com/products/indices/ftse4good (2) FTSE Blossom Japan Index/ FTSE Blossom Japan Sector Relative Index www.ftserussell.com/products/indices/blossom-japan (3) TPI Management Quality score Its goal is to assess the progress of companies in transitioning toward a decarbonization economy in terms of both Management Quality and Carbon Performance. The TPI Management Quality Score measures the quality of risk and opportunity management relating to a company’s greenhouse gas emissions and shift to decarbonization. https://transitionpathwayinitiative.org/
Access below for other external assessment for Mitsubishi Motors: www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/sustainability/evaluation/
About Mitsubishi Motors
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (TSE:7211) –a member of the Alliance with Renault and Nissan–, is a global automobile company based in Tokyo, Japan, which has about 30,000 employees and a global footprint with production facilities around the world. Mitsubishi Motors has a competitive edge in SUVs, pickup trucks and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and appeals to ambitious drivers willing to challenge convention and embrace innovation. Since the production of our first vehicle more than a century ago, Mitsubishi Motors has been a leader in electrification – launched the i-MiEV – the world’s first mass-produced electric vehicle in 2009, followed by the Outlander PHEV – the world’s first plug-in hybrid electric SUV in 2013.
For more information on Mitsubishi Motors, please visit the company’s website at www.mitsubishi-motors.com/en/.
The HKTDC Export Index grew 9.3 points to 39.0 in January-March this year, indicating a significant improvement in business sentiment among Hong Kong exporters after borders between Hong Kong and Mainland China reopened in early February. Full benefits are expected to materialise in coming months.
HKTDC Director of Research Ms Irina Fan [R] and Senior Economist (Greater China) Ms Cherry Yeung [L] announced the HKTDC Export Index for the first quarter of 2023 at a press conference today.
The first-quarter export survey by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) showed that almost all respondents (98%) reported positive impacts from the gradual resumption of normal cross-border travel since early January, especially from the more flexible and frequent business travel and cross-border engagements.
More than one-third of the exporters (36.5%) would increase shipments through Hong Kong, after cross-boundary land cargo transport was normalised, driven primarily by end-user requests and a preference for storage, sub-packaging and processing to be done in the city.
Business revives
Releasing the survey today, HKTDC Director of Research Ms Irina Fan said: “As normal travel between Hong Kong and the rest of the world resumes, hundreds of thousands of high-spending mainland and overseas business travellers have been coming back to Hong Kong in recent months, creating impetus for the city’s economic recovery.”
Ms Fan anticipated that more global buyers would visit trade fairs in Hong Kong during the peak sourcing season to replenish inventory and meet pent-up demand. “All these developments are the pull factors for the city’s trade outlook, and we expect a gradual pick-up in the second half of 2023,” she said. “Taking into account the external challenges and uncertainties, our export forecast for this year remains unchanged at a 5% growth year-on-year.”
Versatility in business strategy
More than half the respondents (55.7%) expected production and operating costs to increase, mainly because of higher raw material, logistics and labour costs.
Against this backdrop, local exporters have adopted a versatile approach. In addition to cash-flow management (39.9%, up 5.3 percentage points), more exporters have focused on e-commerce development (36.3%, up 7.5 percentage points), value-added service provision (31.6%, up 6.6 percentage points) and overseas market expansion (30.5%, up 7.5 percentage points) in the first quarter of 2023.
Clothing sector most optimistic in 12 years
The HKTDC conducts the Export Index survey every quarter, interviewing 500 exporters from six major industries – machinery, electronics, jewellery, watches and clocks, toys and clothing – to gauge business confidence in near-term export prospects. The Index indicates an optimistic or pessimistic outlook, with 50 as the dividing line.
HKTDC Senior Economist (Greater China) Ms Cherry Yeung said all industry sectors saw an upturn in exporter confidence, indicating improving sentiment. “Clothing is the most promising sector, which swings back to the expansionary territory (51.5, up 27.7 points) since the third quarter of 2011, followed by toys (47.9, up 19.0 points) and timepieces (47.5, up 10.7 points),” she said. Ms Yeung attributed the leap to the high penetration of fashion e-commerce during the pandemic and surging demand for new clothes as the world returned to normal.
She added: “Mainland China (47.9) overtook Japan (46.9) as the most upbeat market, followed by ASEAN (44.8). Improving sentiment was also seen towards the United States and European Union markets.”
Sub-indexes, including the Trade Value Index (48.0, up 8.8 points), Employment Index (47.6, up 7.3 points) and Offshore Trade Index (28.0, up 8.3 points), also moved up. The Procurement Index remained subdued at 28.4 (down 0.5 point), but momentum varied across sectors – clothing, jewellery and toys improved, while timepieces and electronics slightly declined.
References – HKTDC Research website: http://research.hktdc.com/ – HKTDC Export Index 1Q23: Sharp rebound in export confidence as China re-opens https://bit.ly/3YZJoKe – Photo download: https://bit.ly/3Jrhbq4
About HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 to promote, assist and develop Hong Kong’s trade. With 50 offices globally, including 13 in Mainland China, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a two-way global investment and business hub. The HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to create business opportunities for companies, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in the mainland and international markets. The HKTDC also provides up-to-date market insights and product information via research reports and digital news channels. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus. Follow us on Twitter @hktdc and LinkedIn
Media enquiries Please contact the HKTDC’s Communication and Public Affairs Department: Beatrice Lam, Tel: +852 2584 4049, Email: beatrice.hy.lam@hktdc.org
Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister has issued a working paper by Sanjeev Sanyal Member EAC-PM and Akanksha Arora . The Paper analyses three perception-based indices: Freedom in the World Index, V-DEM indices, and EIU Democracy Index .
The EAC-PM tweeted the following thread which finds serious problems with the methodology used in these perception-based indices. And says ‘questions used by these indices are not an appropriate measure of democracy across all countries’.
“In recent years, India’s rankings and scores have declined on a number of global opinion-based indices that deal with subjective issues such as democracy, freedom and so on.
@sanjeevsanyal & @AakankshaArora5 write.
This working paper analyses three perception-based indices: Freedom in the World Index, V-DEM indices, and EIU Democracy Index.
Freedom in the World Index and V-DEM indices have placed India at the same level as during the Emergency of the 1970s. Moreover, India has been placed below countries like Northern Cyprus. Surely, this is not credible.
There are serious problems with the methodology used in these perception-based indices. First, these indices are primarily based on the opinions of a tiny group of unknown “experts”
Second, the questions that are used are subjective and are worded in a way that is impossible to answer objectively even for a country, let alone compare across countries. Third, there are questions that should be asked but are excluded.
Fourth, certain questions used by these indices are not an appropriate measure of democracy across all countries.
Since these indices are inputs into the World Governance Indicators, the World Bank should ensure greater transparency and accountability from these institutions.
Meanwhile, independent Indian think tanks should be encouraged to do similar perception-based indices for the world in order to break the monopoly of a handful of western institutions.”
