2024 Far Eastern Group Affiliated Enterprise Annual Strategy Meeting

        The 2024 Far Eastern Group Affiliated Enterprise Far Eastern Group Annual Strategy Meeting will be held in two stages at Far Eastern Group Shangri La in Tainan from December 3rd to December 5th and December 7th to December 9th. The organizer has established a special video link to the headquarters of Ya Tung Department Store and Baiyang Building Far EasTone Telecommunication 、 Xinpu Chemical Fiber Factory Asia Cement Corporation Hualien Factory Jiangxi Yadong Cement 、 Shanghai Spark Factory, Suzhou Administrative Management Department Nine major locations, including Far Eastern Polytex (Vietnam), have invited more elite Far Eastern Group members from both domestic and international markets to participate in the event. Once again, the AI translation system has been used to provide English subtitles simultaneously, in response to the conference theme of "Master the Changes, Secure the Future", demonstrating the group's determination to bravely face changes and move towards a sustainable and intelligent new future.

        The Far Eastern Group Annual Strategy Meeting kicked off with a grand performance by the Kaohsiung City Wind Band, encouraging the attending executives to identify opportunities and move forward steadily in the changing situation. A book titled "McKinsey teaches companies how to use AI" was also presented as a gift, hoping that everyone can use digital transformation and AI technology to create intelligent competitive advantages.

        Subsequently, under the leadership of Douglas Hsu, we will lead everyone to look ahead to the economic situation, review the group's operating results in 2024, and explore how enterprises can seize key opportunities and win future challenges in response to changes and challenges in the business environment.

                This year, the global economic growth momentum has been weak. Although inflation has stabilized and the eurozone is gradually recovering, the United States and the Asia Pacific region still face a slowdown in growth. Geopolitical conflicts and trade protectionism have added uncertainty to the economic future. In addition, climate change has prompted countries to promote carbon fee systems, which will inevitably increase costs for businesses and consumers, triggering the challenge of green inflation.

        Further observation of the Asian region: Chinese Mainland is facing geopolitical tensions and strict internal regulatory measures, with a large number of foreign capital withdrawn, domestic demand and the housing market not improving, and economic growth is slow; Japan ends its 17 year negative interest rate policy, but the depreciation of the yen affects import costs and consumption power, leading to a slowdown in economic growth; ASEAN benefits from global supply chain restructuring, attracts foreign investment, and maintains stable economic growth momentum through its advantages in labor and free trade; Taiwan, driven by the global economic and trade recovery and semiconductor demand, has seen its exports turn from negative to positive and investment gradually recover. However, due to uncertain factors such as interest rate hikes and inflation, the growth performance of private consumption and retail continues to slow down.

        Despite relatively stable global economic performance this year, the overall revenue, pre tax profit and loss, and total assets of the group have all grown. However, looking ahead to 2025, the global economic outlook remains fragile, with risks continuing to revolve around the four main axes of economy, environment, geopolitics, and digital technology. Among them, climate change is intensifying, and well-known brands are expanding their carbon reduction requirements from themselves to suppliers; The urgent need for AI transformation among global enterprises has stimulated the exponential growth of AI trends; Under the threat of geopolitical risks, multiple high-tech industries have to accelerate their planning and expansion of their global layout. Douglas Hsu reminds everyone to grasp the above trends and respond steadily. For this purpose, the conference specially arranged for the heads of each core business unit of the group to report on future development strategies and specific plans for building sustainable competitiveness of the enterprise, in order to facilitate communication and learning among the attending supervisors.

        Firstly, Johnny Shih, Vice Chairman of Far Eastern New Century Corporation, examines the global political and economic situation from a macro perspective. Due to the slowdown in global GDP growth, major economies are facing multiple internal and external pressures. The competition among the core regions of global GDP, namely the United States, Europe, China, Japan, and India, is deeply influenced by geopolitical and economic challenges, leading to a general decline in global economic growth. The management team of Far Eastern New Century Corporation plans a sustainability development strategy that combines new technologies and industry synergies to drive the future through innovation. Polyester Business's acting President, Fan Qinzhi, joined hands with Vice President Huang Quanyi and Senior Vice President Luo Yiwen to take over the company's leadership position in the industry and its outstanding performance in sustainability.

        Asia Cement Corporation is led by K. Y. Lee President, Zhang Zhipeng General Plant Manager (Senior Executive Vice President), Ya Tung Ready Mixed Concrete Corporation, and Kim Chong ren President Chiahui Power Corporation President Chen Guangtai shares how the group's cement, pre mixed, and power businesses are innovating and transforming, laying out a low-carbon future. Zhang Zhenkun, CEO of Asia Cement Corporation (China), conducted an in-depth analysis of the challenges and opportunities faced by the industry from the perspective of the cement industry environment in mainland China. Oriental Union Chemical Corporation Justin H.C.Tsai President Develop three major operational strategies: product innovation, low-carbon energy, and new generation development, leading the company to transform into a green technology materials and chemical company. U-Ming Marine Transport was introduced by Vice Chairman Xu Guoan and Chief Operating Officer Li Xirong on how to leverage digital technology to enhance operational capabilities and expand the transportation industry.

        In terms of the service industry, Far EasTone Telecommunications Chee Ching President presented the transformation achievements of expanding from the traditional telecommunications industry to the new economy over the past six years under the theme of "Far EasTone Telecommunications Big Data+AI+IoT Continuous Transformation". Nancy Hsu, President of Far Eastern Department Stores, led Manager Chen Cihui, Manager Xu Junming, and Manager Lai Xianzhu to share Far Eastern Department Stores' strategies for winning the future from the perspectives of innovation, digitalization, and net zero. FE SOGO Department stores are led by Sophia C.W. Huang Chairman, along with Vice President Li Aijia and Senior Vice President Chen Yunlong, to reveal the company's innovative transformation path and how to leverage social impact through sustainable actions. Thomas Chou, President of Far Eastern Group Bank, leads the AI digital finance business group. Dai Songzhi, Vice President, and Liu Zihao, Senior Vice President, introduce how Far Eastern International Bank is moving towards the goal of becoming a leader in banking services on the Web3.0 track.

        The public welfare organizations of the group also continue to innovate, President Liao Qingrong of Yuan Ze University shared that the university has accumulated rich honors in the field of sustainability, and the 2024 World University Influence Ranking has also made significant progress. Vice President Xu Zezhi took over and explained that the university will focus on local care and industrial chain connection in the future, cultivating future sustainable talents. President Huang Maoquan of Asia Eastern University of Science and Technology elaborated on the school's sustainability development and digital transformation from the perspectives of talent cultivation and digital applications. Dr. Chiu, Dean Kuanming of Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, proposed a solution centered on technological innovation and process optimization to meet the challenge of human resource shortage and create an efficient health service system.

                In addition to internal exchange and learning, the organizer also plans a visit itinerary for the "Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City". Dr. Zhang Tingyuan, Executive Secretary of the Shalun Smart Green Energy Science City Office, will introduce the origin and vision of the Science City, and invite experts and scholars from different fields to give speeches. The first round was led by Wang Hanying, a specially appointed expert from the Industrial Technology Research Institute Lin Zhixun, Director of Energy Strategy at the Industrial Technology Research Institute, explores green business opportunities for energy transformation from the perspective of net zero sustainability; The second round was led by Wan Haopeng, Deputy Director of the Green Energy and Environmental R&D Center at the Industrial Technology Research Institute, and Zhang Liquan, Executive Director of the Asia branch of Jujie Clean Energy International. They introduced the development trend of hydrogen energy, as well as the technology and application opportunities of nuclear fusion. In addition, two rounds of meetings were arranged to visit application sites such as the Information Security Building, Green Energy Technology Demonstration Site, and Shalun Smart Green Energy Circular Residential Park in the Science City, to assist everyone in gaining a deeper understanding of future energy development and multiple innovative technologies.

                Given the rapidly changing geopolitical landscape and its profound impact on economic and industrial development, the conference, in collaboration with Far East Magazine, held the "Mastering Geopolitical Challenges and Planning for Future Opportunities" forum at the first level. Rana Mitter, Chair Professor of US Asia Relations at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Professor Kishore Mahbubani, Outstanding Researcher at the Asian R&D Center at the National University of Singapore, and Section Chief Liu Danian of the Chung Hua Institution for Economic Research, were invited to deeply analyze the challenges of geopolitics and seize future opportunities; The second round will collaborate with Today Magazine to hold a forum on "Reshaping Perspectives to Drive the Global New Economy", inviting Mark Zandi, Chief Economist of Moody's, Wu Zaiyi, Dean of the Taiwan Institute of Comprehensive Research, and Su Jianrong, Dean of the School of International Finance at National Chengchi University, to examine the pulse of the global economy and the situation in Asia, and examine Taiwan's competitive advantages from the new perspective of global supply chain restructuring, in order to drive revenue growth.

                In addition to enriching knowledge, this Far Eastern Group Annual Strategy Meeting is also preparing a unique evening program to thank the attending supervisors for their hard work. The "Golden Melody Festival Gala" invites the top international saxophone band, the "Husheng Band," to bring a wonderful music feast accompanied by delicious food. There is also a heavyweight guest, the well-known Dutch bel canto singer Martin Hurkens, who sings many popular songs to inspire people; The "Agitation Mythology Evening Party" leads the congregation to the Ten Drum Cultural and Creative Park to enjoy the Ten Drum Strike Orchestra's fusion of dance, martial arts and other elements, vividly interpreting the traditional mythological atmosphere; The 'Jazz Swinging Party' has specially moved to the new resort secret 'One Water Green Boat' estate, where everyone swings and sings happily to classic melodies such as' Give Me a Kiss' and 'I Want Your Love'. We hope that the elites of Far Eastern Group will gain inspiration from rich learning and communication, and apply it to enterprise operation and management, working together to create a new future for the group.

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