Latest Japan News

Victory Metals has set out a 20-year development case for North Stanmore, backed by a 47 million tonne Probable Ore Reserve and a pre-tax NPV8 of A$1.76 billion. The project remains pre-feasibility stage, while the company ended FY2026 with A$11.18 million in cash and no operating revenue.

Betashares’ newly launched FTSE Global Infrastructure Shares Currency Hedged ETF reported $1.204 billion in profit and $8.08 billion in net assets for its first reporting year. The audited results also show strong gains across several established funds, alongside sharp post-year-end NAV movements in energy and gold miners.

Cobalt Blue has cleared important technical and regulatory hurdles at its Kwinana refinery, but the pre-revenue developer says further funding is needed and auditors flagged material uncertainty over its ability to continue as a going concern. The company reported an A$8.797 million loss for FY2026 despite ending the year with A$4.265 million in cash.

VRX Silica has assembled much of the commercial and regulatory case for Arrowsmith North, including 960,000 tonnes per annum of binding offtakes and a reported A$179.2 million project NPV. The harder test now is funding construction while final approvals, logistics contracts and a final investment decision remain outstanding.

Kali Metals has secured up to $700,000 in exploration funding from Japan’s JX Advanced Metals for its 1,413 square kilometre Southern Lachlan project. The agreement creates a pathway to a potential farm-in or joint venture, but no formal deal has yet been agreed.

Zeotech Limited (ASX:ZEO) is moving Toondoon toward its first direct-shipping kaolin export after securing a potential A$200 million offtake agreement, while AusPozz™ and zeoteCH₄® produce encouraging trial results. The progress came alongside an A$8.15 million FY26 loss, negative operating cash flow and an acknowledgement that further funding may be required.

Advanced Engineered Materials is targeting a sharp increase in high-purity alumina sales while laying the groundwork for a possible doubling of Cap-Chat capacity to 6,000 tonnes per annum. The opportunity is substantial, but much of the customer pipeline remains uncontracted and the expansion still depends on feasibility work, financing and a final investment decision.

Platinum Asia Fund Complex ETF delivered a 31.2% return for the year ended 30 June 2026, while net assets climbed to $280.9 million after the PAI scheme of arrangement. The result was strong in absolute terms but trailed its Asian equity benchmark by 6.7 percentage points.

Fat Prophets Global Contrarian Fund lifted net tangible assets per share to $1.5713 and declared a 3.0 cent final dividend, even as annual profit fell to $5.183 million. The fund also raised $5.377 million through a rights issue while maintaining a concentrated portfolio with investments worth 103% of net assets.

AuKing Mining has approved planning for an approximately 1,000-metre diamond hole at its Tundulu Rare Earths Project in Malawi. The hole will test the depth of the carbonatite system at Nathace Hill after strong initial RC results and two deep diamond intersections.

Vanguard’s audited FY2026 report records positive returns across its international equity range, led by a 35.83% total return for VAE. The report also shows the broader International Shares Index Fund grew to $56.65 billion in net assets, while PwC issued an unmodified audit opinion.

Regal Asian Investments delivered a 3.2% net portfolio return in August, lifting its 12-month performance to 36.4% despite continued volatility across Asian equities. The listed investment company’s shares ended the month at a 14.3% discount to post-tax NTA, while its buy-back and fully franked dividend continued.