Artience : Presentation Briefing transcript of FY2025 Results Briefing

• Date/time: Feb. 20, 2026, 10:00am - 11:00am (Japan time)

• Presenters:

  Satoru Takashima: President and Representative Director, and Group CEO

  Hiroyuki Hamada, Director Vice President, General Management, Corporate Division Takeshi Arimura, Operating Officer in charge of IR and GM of Finance & Accounting Department

• Presentation Material:

https://ssl4.eir-parts.net/doc/4634/tdnet/2765525/00.pdf

Incubation Canvas Tokyo opened its doors on October 30 last year. It is a global co-creation space that connects technologies and ideas specialized in the materials field. In the materials industry, technological development requires time and capital resources. Given that there are too few collaborations with other industries, this is causing a rift between our industry and market creation. Therefore, we have worked to produce a place where materials-industry start-ups, institutions,

business companies, investors, and many diverse players from industry, government, and academia can gather in one place.

We offer a variety of events and new business support programs leading to open innovation and exchange, as well as numerous programs for the members. The materials industry is a niche area; however, we intend to leverage the characteristics to offer the primary place when people come to talk about materials. We aim to shape this venue as a space to bring latest information, technology, and people from all over the world to discuss materials, enabling us to accelerate the

implementation of science in society.

That is a summary of Incubation Canvas Tokyo.

Now, Mr. Hamada will discuss the financial results for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2025.

Please see page six. Consolidated statements of profit for FY2025.

Net sales decreased by JPY1.1 billion from the previous year, operating profit increased, ordinary profit decreased slightly, and net profit decreased significantly.

The average exchange rate for the current fiscal period was slightly higher than that of the previous period due to the appreciation of Japanese yen, although there were differences among currencies, and this had a negative impact of JPY4.7 billion on net sales. Excluding this, the real increase was 1%, or JPY3.6 billion, compared to the previous year.

Overseas sales accounted for 55.1% of total sales, roughly unchanged from 55.4% in the previous year. I will discuss the details of operating profit by segment later, and for now, I will cover the items below the operating profit, such as non-operating income and loss.

Our results were significantly affected by inflation accounting in Turkey and several related items.

For example, gains and losses related to the net cash position, foreign exchange gains and losses, and interest expense were all heavily influenced. However, including timing differences, these items are expected to be largely offset on a net basis.

As for other non-operating profits and expenses, equity in earnings of affiliates improved from a loss of JPY74 million in the previous year to a surplus of JPY78 million this year, providing a positive

effect of about JPY150 million.

Foreign exchange losses amounted to JPY2.3 billion in the current period, compared to a gain of JPY380 million in the previous period. This was mostly due to the depreciation of the Turkish lira, and the rate at the end of the period, for the US dollar, remained almost unchanged at JPY156, compared to JPY158 in the previous period. As for the Turkish lira, it was JPY4.48 to JPY3.65, which means that this had a particularly significant impact.

Even so, a marginal loss of about JPY180 million was incurred due to the conversion of domestic US dollar-denominated bonds, resulting in a deterioration of about JPY800 million compared to the previous year, when there was a marginal gain. On the other hand, Brazilian debt improved by

JPY570 million due to the appreciation of the Brazilian real, reversing the previous period's

differential loss. It is safe to assume that, except the case of Turkey, we didn't incur a major impact.

As for extraordinary profit and loss, we recorded a JPY2.8 billion gain on sales of securities. It was

JPY4.2 billion in the previous fiscal year, so this is a decrease from the previous year. In addition, an extraordinary loss of JPY7.3 billion was incurred for the CNT dispersion materials business for EVs.

In addition, due to a change in the Turkish tax law on deferred income taxes, a decrease in deferred tax assets and other factors led to an increase in deferred income taxes of JPY850 million, resulting in an effective tax rate of 38.8% and profit taxes of JPY6.2 billion, a large increase from JPY4.2 billion in the previous year. That is one of the reasons why net profit fell sharply to JPY10.3 billion.

This is a complicated and confusing explanation due to various Turkey-related issues, but I hope you understand that the increase in corporate taxes, especially due to impairment and changes in the Turkish tax system, led to a decrease in net profit for the period.

Next, this is the list of impairment losses.

Regarding the new CNT dispersion plant in Kentucky, USA, an impairment loss was recorded as the plant is not expected to operate for the time being, given the significant slowdown in the EV market, as well as the decision made by our clients to reevaluate and postpone their business plans. This amounts to JPY4.95 billion.

As for Toyo Ink Hungary, which operates CNT dispersion, the discount rate of 14.6% was applied for the impairment assessment, which was extremely high, although the operation was stable.

Coinciding with a partial withdrawal of the development plan led by one of our clients, we recorded a difference between the book value of fixed assets and the recoverable amount as an impairment

loss.

In addition to CNT business, Zhuhai Toyo Color Co., Ltd. in China posted an impairment loss on all related fixed assets due to continued operating losses from capital investment. Zhuhai Toyo initially expected that the water-based adhesive business would eventually shift from solvent-based to water-based adhesives.

The addition of other items resulted in an impairment loss of JPY7.27 billion. Of these, no tax effect was recognized for Hungary.

Now let's look at the quarterly trends.

For FY2025, from Q1 to Q4, both sales and operating profit continued to improve each quarter.

The packaging-related products in Turkey got off to a slow start; however, we regained the momentum, and sales increased toward the end of the fiscal term. The optical adhesives and other products were favorable. The sales of liquid inks and pigments in the Japanese market improved. All these factors contributed to the increase in operating profit.

Q4 typically dipped in our business; however, this time, Q4 of FY2025 saw an increase in profit compared to Q3.

Now, let's look at the analysis of changes in operating profit.

First, fixed costs increased by JPY3.9 billion. Of that amount, JPY2.1 billion was for personnel expenses, of which JPY700 million was increased in Japan, and the rest was overseas. For Turkey in particular, inflation and economic turmoil forced the Company to implement significant wage

increases, and labor cost increases were robust. Roughly JPY270 million was spent on increased labor costs in Turkey alone.

Depreciation increased by JPY1.2 billion due to the operation of the new plant in Turkey and LiB-related expenses. The raw material prices increased by JPY600 million in Japan, with significant increases in titanium dioxide, silver, UV monomers, and soybean oil. On the other hand, overseas, the price of naphtha-based products, mainly naphtha, decreased by JPY600 million, offsetting the cost increase in Japan.

The change in the sales mix had the effect of increasing profits by an additional JPY500 million, with growth in overseas adhesives, overseas can coatings, and gravure inks contributing to this

increase. On the other hand, sales of display materials for color filters for LCDs and UV inks were weak.

As for the cost reduction of JPY1.8 billion, we focused on procurement and substitution of raw materials in particular during the current fiscal period, while improved efficiency in production processes also contributed to the cost reduction. The price revision had a positive effect of JPY3.5 billion in Japan and a negative effect of JPY1.4 billion overseas, which resulted in a net effect of

JPY2.1 billion.

As we always say, this does not mean that all prices were raised in the current fiscal year, as some of the mid-term implementation in the previous fiscal year contributed to the current fiscal year.

Overseas sales were negative due to some price reductions, which were caused by a drop in naphtha-based raw materials and a switch to less expensive products. Additionally, profits from overseas markets decreased by approximately JPY100 million due to the foreign currency

fluctuations in the Japanese yen.

The operating profit for FY2024 was JPY20.4 billion, and it amounted to JPY20.8 billion this fiscal year.

Next, I will provide an overview by segment. Profit decreased significantly for the colorants and functional materials segment, while profit surged for the polymers and coatings segment on higher

sales, especially overseas profit growth. For packaging, both sales and profit increased domestically and overseas, with a particularly strong push in the Japanese market. In the printing and information segment, sales and profits declined due to weak sales of general inks and functional inks, such as UV and so on, especially overseas.

Let's look at it segment by segment. Colorants and functional materials faced an extremely tough situation. The profit pillars of this segment are colorants for plastics and color filter materials for LCDs.

As for colorants in Japan, profits improved due to the effect of price revisions to cover soaring raw material prices for titanium dioxide and pigments. In the overseas market, with some differences in bases and markets, the overall situation was solid. We have some promising projects in the future, including ones featuring functional additions.

On the other hand, the decrease in profit from solar cell applications in China, where colorants made a large profit contribution in the previous fiscal year, was a factor in the overall decrease in profit. We believe that it will be tough to improve this segment in the short term due to the stiff

competition among customers in this area.

As for color filter materials for LCDs, the Taiwanese market is a source of earnings. Sales were weak due to intensifying competition with Chinese customers in Taiwan, which prevented an increase in capacity utilization rates. Although there was a slight increase in volume for China, we failed to capture the significant increase in demand for large TVs, although demand for large TVs grew considerably because China provides a considerable number of subsidies. There was growth in opto-semiconductors, which is a new domain in this field, but it was not significant enough to

offset the decline in LCD-related sales. Overall, we recorded a decline in profit.

Sales of pigments decreased given the shrinking offset printing market; however, profitability improved significantly due to price revision, as well as an increase in high-value-added products, and enhanced efficiency.

The dispersions for EV batteries are our high focus segment of sales growth. The project we expected to earn a large-lot adoption in China progressed albeit slowly, as noted last year. In the end, we recorded a loss that exceeded the loss in 2024. In addition, as mentioned earlier, we recorded an impairment loss on fixed assets.

Although an impairment loss was recorded in Hungary, operations are relatively smooth. We expect to increase the number of clients, and we anticipate sales growth. That said, the growth rate has slowed from the initial stage due to the delayed penetration of EVs in the EU market.

We were unable to execute the large-scale customer acquisition we had planned for China this fiscal year, and that event had a noticeable impact on our results. Addressing this will be one of our highest priorities going forward.

As for the US, unfortunately, we do not expect to see any significant improvement. I will discuss this in more detail in the latter part of the presentation.

Next, we will discuss the polymers and coatings segment.

In this segment, adhesives, both domestically and internationally, are the main drivers and growth engines, particularly in the overseas markets. Domestic laminating adhesives also make a significant contribution to profits. In addition, functional films, including smartphone materials and paints for cans, which are largely overseas, contribute to profits. Sales of functional films for mobile terminals and sales expansion in China increased, and although demand for smartphones in this field usually fluctuates considerably every year, sales in FY2025 were solid throughout the year.

However, the main material, silver, has risen abnormally high, and I think it has more than doubled, but this rise in price has caused a decrease in profits. We have been suffering especially in the latter half of the year due to the rising cost of silver, and we plan to implement a price revision starting in Q1 of the current fiscal year, FY2026.

Sales of adhesives grew significantly in China, especially for optical applications. In order to further expand sales, we have decided to increase capacity in China by expanding our facilities and have already begun to do so. India is also expanding to meet domestic demand.

Sales of laminating adhesives, mainly for packaging materials, remained strong in Japan but were slightly sluggish overseas. It means that, except for packaging applications, domestic consumer lithium-ion applications were strong.

Next is the package segment. Most of the revenue is composed of domestic and foreign liquid inks. In Japan, we were aware that we had the top share of the domestic market. Although there was some reluctance to buy high-priced packaging materials, overall, our business was solid. We managed to secure increases in revenue and profit, due in part to the growth of clients with whom we have a particularly strong pipeline.

Overseas, there were delays at the start of operations in Turkey and other countries, but overall, profits increased on higher volume of goods. Thailand, Malaysia, Southeast Asia, and India performed well.

Next is the printing and information segment.

We plan to discuss the details of the business and its future development, along with the package segment, at the information session later in the meeting. The main products in this segment are domestic and overseas offset inks and functional inks such as UV inks.

As for offset inks, while the domestic market continued to shrink, we finally achieved profitability by improving efficiency and revising prices from the previous year. As for overseas, there were signs of contraction in the information paper market in some markets, such as China as well as Japan, and both sales and profits of mainstay sheet-fed inks fell below the previous year's levels. This trend was observed across the entire overseas market.

In the UV and other functional ink business, domestic sales increased due to demand for cards,

stickers, and labels, but profits were lower than the previous year due to higher prices for pigments and UV monomers. Overseas sales of functional inks are quite large in Europe and the US, but in the US, where the market is big, we were affected by the bankruptcy of a major client and the absence of special election demand that existed in the previous fiscal year.

In Europe, sales and profits both fell below the previous year's levels due to intensified competition amid stagnant demand for ink itself, although overall volume grew due to growth in coating materials and other products.

Overall sales and profits declined, as the decline in overseas profits exceeded the increase in domestic profits.

I will now discuss our plans for the fiscal year ending December 2026.

In FY2026, we do not expect a major setback in the business environment for both our growth businesses, mainly overseas, and our domestic profit base businesses, so we expect them to remain strong.

Since we do not expect any major impairment losses as we recorded in 2025 and will continue to sell securities, we expect net sales of JPY360 billion, operating profit of JPY23 billion, and net profit

of JPY21 billion, and hope to achieve our target ROE of over 8%.

We expect raw materials to settle down in general, with some exceptions, and in addition, we will reinforce procurement activities throughout the group companies. We aim to improve the profitability ratio by promoting production efficiency.

We estimate the exchange rate at JPY150 to USD1, but since we are heavily dependent on overseas profits, if the yen appreciates by JPY1, it can lead to a decrease in profits of approximately JPY100 million. Conversely, if the yen weakens, it leads to a loss of profit.

I will now examine the analysis of changes in the operating profit for the current period.

The fixed costs increased by JPY4.3 billion. We expect an unavoidable increase in labor costs both in Japan and overseas, as well as an increase in various other expenses, such as logistics costs.

We anticipate seeing an increase in the fixed costs of JPY4.3 billion, slightly higher than in 2025. As for raw materials, we expect that the downward trend in naphtha prices and increased use of overseas raw materials in Japan will contribute to an increase in profits of about JPY400 million.

The next factor is profiting growth, and we expect our sales to grow in package-related businesses in Asia. Regarding cost reduction, we will continue to reinforce our group procurement function, examine raw materials, substitutions, production efficiency improvement, and integration of product types, as we did last year.

We expect a full-year contribution from the price revision implemented in H1 of FY2025 and a transfer of some raw material price hikes, especially in the domestic market. That makes it JPY1.3 billion.

Next, I would like to provide some more details by business segment.

We have various challenges that differ by segment, by product, and by business. We expect earnings to generally grow steadily in our growth businesses and revenue-supporting businesses. Recovery of sales for the color filters for LCD, as well as the improvement of the CNT dispersion business, are some of the challenges we recognize, and how we manage them to drive positive results will impose a huge additional impact on our overall profit growth.

Regarding the color filter materials for LCDs, the key is to expand market share and increase profits in the Chinese market, and we believe it is imperative to promote a change in business scheme through a joint venture with Zhuhai Yongda in China. We have already begun shipping some new products. Additionally, we will proceed with the switchover of shipments from Taiwan.

We will also expand sales of paste, an intermediate for resist ink. The Chinese market has been positioned as a scheme to secure volume and to earn profits in the Taiwanese market, but we are now shifting to a business scheme that also emphasizes profits in the Chinese market.

Next, regarding CNT dispersion, we are aware that the US market will be difficult for the time being, and we are planning to expand our business in China and Europe. We are also eyeing acquisition of products for consumer applications other than EVs, to reduce our deficit to less than half that of the previous year and have them contribute to profits for the current fiscal year. We are now working to expand the scope to include anodes, LFPs, all-solid-state, and other applications after that.

For other businesses, we believe that we can achieve the plan by steadily continuing to implement what we have been promoting. As for UV inks, which stagnated last fiscal year, the market is expected to expand due to the conversion from general offset to UV inks in China and Asia, and we intend to steadily secure an increase in demand, including by promoting this trend.

That's all from me.

This chart shows the fundamental policies of the medium-term management plan, and this is what we have been aiming to achieve. This year marks the 130th anniversary of our company's founding, making us a notably long-established company.

Looking back, it has been exactly two years since we changed our corporate name, and I was often asked by customers and business partners how we took the plunge and what was the intention behind the decisive step.

My answer has always been that the decision was driven by a keen sense of urgency about our future, that if we continued on the same path with no change, we risked becoming like the proverbial "boiled frog." In my answer, I explained that the name change was a symbolic declaration of our commitment to transform the Company and take on corporate reform. We believed that the risk of not changing was far greater than the risk of change itself.

We believe that corporate transformation is a process of content change, or in other words, business portfolio transformation, or by increasing the value of the people, or in recent terms, human capital, who are the driving force of the Company itself, and as a result, the corporate culture will change.

The core concept of this medium-term management plan is growth, which I repeatedly emphasized whenever I have a chance. While we recognize a major impairment related to LiB business, we do not intend to change our aggressive approach in any way, because it leads to our policy of growth.

As for the results, the targets for this year, we are unable to meet the original targets outlined in the medium-term management plan. It is truly disappointing. Frankly, it is a great regret. However, at the very least, we remain firmly committed to achieving a ROE of 8%, which was one of our core objectives from the start.

The next page shows progress to date, with net sales on the left and operating profit on the right.

Please take a look at the right-hand side. The dark green represents a strategic focus area. The light green is a group of existing businesses that we identified as a high-revenue stream. We have not changed our initial target of JPY25 billion in 2026.

However, as to the contents, for example, for dark green, two years ago we had a target of JPY11 billion, but last year we revised it and reduced it to JPY6 billion. As for light green, a growth

business, the initial target was JPY9 billion, and we changed it to JPY12 billion a year ago. We have revised that as our original goal.

This year, we have JPY5 billion for strategic priority businesses, JPY11.5 billion for growth businesses and revenue base, and JPY7 billion for business of restructuring/rebuilding strategy. As such, we are now confident that we can earn profits quite consistently. I will just mention a few points later, but this is the target value for which we are aiming .

Next, please see page 23. This chart shows the breakdown of our efforts to transform our portfolio by dividing the existing businesses into the three categories I mentioned earlier in Policy 1: growth, profit base, and structural reform/strategic restructuring.

The biggest challenge for FY2026 is to continue the trend of overseas liquid and adhesive products, which have been doing well so far. As Vice President Hamada mentioned earlier, we are now focusing on capturing the market in China and Southeast Asia, as well as in the US and Europe.

The next chart shows the three categories we defined earlier. Since I have already shared the relevant details in the last session, I will skip explanation.

Next, this graph shows the progress of portfolio transformation made over the two years, with the vertical axis representing the change in revenue level over the two-year period and the horizontal axis representing the scale of the business. Orange is a growth business, blue is a revenue-supporting business, and gray is structural reform. As you can see, overseas adhesives and overseas liquid inks contributed significantly to the growth in scale and profits.

In addition, as I discussed earlier, can coatings and pigments, which were part of our structural reforms, have greatly improved profits. As I mentioned earlier, UV inks, which represent this large circle, and laminate adhesives are the areas we are trying to focus on in order to further increase the stability of our existing business in the future.

The next objective is to capture global growth markets, which I think we shared last time. We have been operating new plants in Asia and Turkey, and have done M&A in Thailand. We have also decided to invest in increasing adhesive production in China, which we have already decided to do this year.

As shown in the previous presentation, we have decided to increase the production capacity of liquid ink in India, which is a fast-growing market and has been growing faster than the overall market growth, and we are now preparing for new construction to enhance production capacity.

Next, I would like to talk about the domestic market. Our aim here is not an investment in growth, but rather, we focus on labor-saving measures and automation. Lack of human resources is a challenge you see elsewhere in Japan, and we are not the exception.

We have run the numbers on economic feasibility, the returns and cash flows look solid, and we're confident enough to move forward with a sizable automation investment. We intend to invest more than JPY3 billion in labor-saving initiatives and automation.

Then, I would like to talk about mobility and battery-related businesses. As Vice President Hamada discussed earlier, we recognized the impairment amidst extremely significant changes in the environment. There are no major policy changes at this time, but we will make partial changes to our strategy.

In terms of regions, we see no change in the foundational trend of EVs in Europe, and the current situation is also relatively strong. We will potentially consider the expansion of the production

system if it is deemed appropriate, depending on the progress of the projects.

We will make significant changes for the US market. Additional investments in Kentucky will be

postponed for the time being. We will continue to ship from the plant in Georgia, as we had originally intended.

As for China, shipments for high-end vehicle applications are slightly behind schedule; nonetheless, we are planning to expand sales this year. We also aim to start mass production of anode materials by the end of this year.

In Japan, sales for hybrid vehicles continue to be strong. New projects, such as all-solid-state development, will proceed.

In terms of overall development, we are currently working on the development of high-function

LFPs, and also on the acquisition of business in the consumer market, in addition to the automotive market.

The next slide is the field of advanced electronics, which we are trying to make as another pillar of our business.

First, as for the display, I just got an update from an expatriate who has returned to their home country during the Chinese New Year. The market itself continues to expand geographically due to the increase in demand for larger sizes and for in-vehicle use. I think this trend will continue for some time to come.

LCDs are becoming mainstream in this context. However, OLEDs now account for about half of smartphone applications. In this environment, new OLED panel technologies are showing signs of spreading, and we are now in a situation where we can demonstrate our technological development capabilities, which is one of our strengths.

In addition, our competitors are local Chinese manufacturers who are increasing their production. Some Japanese and Taiwanese manufacturers remain. The made-in-China products started a little late but are about to begin operations smoothly. In the high-end and in-vehicle applications that I mentioned earlier, we will leverage our technological capabilities to differentiate ourselves from local manufacturers and importers.

Next, I would like to discuss another pillar. I believe that over the next 10 years, AI and related businesses, the semiconductor field, and the infrastructure that supports it, will lead the world economy. Last year, we started a company-wide horizontal project, and we will actively invest resources in this area.

The entire group will work together to develop not only key materials, but also materials for production processes and new generation materials. Naturally, we will also consider alliances and M&A.

In addition, we have already begun to produce sensor materials and applied them to practical uses. Although we hear that customers are experiencing memory shortages in the short term, the number of development themes is steadily increasing, and we expect stable growth.

Regarding the reform of our management foundation, as shown on page 32, we are focusing on three key areas. The first is enhancing our human capital, as mentioned earlier. The second is improving monetary and capital efficiency. Lastly, how we, as a group, can fully leverage AI. Of course, one aspect is viewing AI as a growth market and supplying materials for that field. But beyond that, we are also focused on how to utilize AI.

In terms of people, we have been implementing a new HR system over the past three years. I visited multiple locations to discuss the policy and hold roundtable discussions at the same time. One session is held with 10 to 15 people. The total number of locations I visited exceeded 350, and I have talked with a total of 350 employees. I have found that it is greatly beneficial to listen to the voices of employees in the field rather than sending communications in a top-down format. I incorporated my findings into policy building.

We still have challenges to address on the financial side. Our cash conversion cycle has lengthened somewhat, and together with ROIC, these two indicators will continue to be managed closely at the divisional level this year as well.

We are also running a company-wide cross-functional project on AI. I recently visited several manufacturing facilities. Digitalization and data-driven management have progressed in manufacturing processes.

I validated that the pace of adoption is accelerating as I saw how far data is being applied in many other areas, such as improving R&D efficiency and enhancing demand and order forecasting.

Regarding cash flow, the plan we reviewed last February is displayed on the left. On the right is the projection under this medium-term management plan, and in the middle come the figures for the past two years and the percentage of progress in that. The shareholder returns, shown at the bottom, will be JPY28.1 billion over the next two years, as opposed to the JPY40 billion projected for the next three years.

Next is a description of the shareholder return process. We have announced that we will increase the dividend to JPY120 for FY2026, and JPY5.7 billion was applied, as shown in dark green.

Additionally, JPY2.1 billion from the remainder of the share buyback program will be carried over into this year. We will disclose further steps to be taken as appropriate, based on the appropriate

resolutions.

As for capital investment, as shown in the pie chart on the right, after the February 2026 review, LiB-related investment is undergoing a major review. This year, capital investment is JPY17.9 billion, and depreciation is JPY13 billion. Regarding investment, we will aggressively invest with the

mindset of growth yet, I don't think this is sufficient. However, we have already decided to make additional investments in liquid ink in India, liquid ink in Japan, and adhesives in China, as I mentioned earlier, and we will also consider other investments, including M&A.

The last one is the initiative to improve ROE and capital efficiency, which can be seen in the graph

here. We will aim to achieve 8% in FY2026.

As I mentioned earlier, I truly regret that we failed to achieve the sales and operating profit targets that we originally set in the medium-term management plan. However, we feel that our earning power in existing businesses, which has been our Policy 1 up to now, is steadily increasing. The LiB is now being reorganized, but there is another field, advanced electronics that focuses on semiconductors, and there are significant issues to be solved in the world, such as data centers and electric power.

As a chemical manufacturer, we would like to take advantage of these business opportunities while leveraging our strengths as a materials manufacturer and involving other companies in the process.

That's all from me. Regarding investment, the government has recently been using the term "responsible and aggressive finances," and I would like to continue to make responsible and aggressive investments.

Lastly, before the reference material section, we disclosed the news that we have opened a research and development center in Bengaluru, India.

We have three objectives. The first is to achieve sustainable growth through technological development originating in India.

Secondly, given the circumstance where many countries, including Japan, are preparing to establish businesses in the semiconductor industry in India all at once, we aim to take part in that move.

The third objective is human capital. Especially technical and engineering talents in India. There are two big engineering universities in India: Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT). This time, we opened a research and development center on the campus of the IISc. Several hundred students and PhD holders are members of the institution. Several of them have already visited our R&D in Japan. Through the cultural exchanges, I visited and confirmed this month that there are many technical personnel who want to work in Japan. It is my ardent wish to provide such a space.

That's all from me. Thank you.