Box, Inc. (NYSE:BOX), the leading Content Cloud, today announced that Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) selected Box as its content management platform across the global enterprise.

MHI operates businesses in a wide range of fields including forms of energy and social infrastructure such as chemical plants, through advanced technology and engineering. It has been working to achieve carbon neutrality by building a next-generation ecosystem which responds to unpredictable changes and leverages MHI-owned technologies and historical expertise. MHI needed a solution to consolidate and securely share content with multiple locations, including those overseas, as well as with a wide variety of partners and experts.

As part of this effort to promote collaboration, MHI selected Box for its enterprise-grade security and compliance, as well as its high scalability. It is also looking forward to utilizing Box as a cooperative space for secure collaboration.

“In July 2022, the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group established the Digital Innovation Headquarters, aiming to realize a secure social infrastructure by implementing the vision of 'ΣsynX,' which intelligently connects product groups and digital technologies to meet the needs arising from rapid social changes,” said Mr. Yasunari Sasaki, Deputy Head of Digital Innovation Headquarters of MHI. “By adopting Box as the content management platform that supports ΣsynX, we will improve business processes while maintaining a high level of security, and at the same time, we will accelerate collaborative creation with external stakeholders, including customers and partner companies, to work toward the development of society.”

About Box

Box (NYSE:BOX) is the leading Content Cloud, a single platform that empowers organizations to manage the entire content lifecycle, work securely from anywhere, and integrate across best-of-breed apps. Founded in 2005, Box simplifies work for leading global organizations, including AstraZeneca, JLL, Morgan Stanley, and Nationwide. Box is headquartered in Redwood City, CA, with offices across the United States, Europe, and Asia. Visit box.com to learn more. And visit box.org to learn more about how Box empowers nonprofits to fulfill their missions.

The seller, American Engineers, Inc. (AEI), is an engineering firm comprised of several offices. Their focus is primarily on transportation, industrial, utility, and municipality space. With decades of experience across multiple markets and geographies, they have risen to the top of their respective field. Their motto “Designing Your Future”, paired with investments in innovative technology and the most proficient people, allow them to continually deliver excellence.

The buyer, STV Group, Inc. (a portfolio company of The Pritzker Organization, LLC.) is a professional services firm that offers designing, planning, and management of infrastructure projects across North America. The high caliber services they provide their clients allow them to maintain a position at the forefront of their field. STV has 55 offices spanning the continent, with headquarters in New York City.

“This acquisition will increase STV’s already expansive footprint and bring additional resources to the areas that American Engineers is currently servicing. This is an exciting opportunity for both companies as they are now poised to provide even more exceptional services that keep North America’s infrastructure strong. It was a true pleasure to be involved in this transaction with a great result for all.” – Director Matthew Kekelis, Benchmark International.

Benchmark International is a global M&A firm that provides business owners with creative, value-maximizing solutions for growing and exiting their businesses. Benchmark International has handled over $10 billion in transaction value across various industries from offices across the world.

With decades of M&A experience, Benchmark International’s transaction teams have assisted business owners with achieving their objectives and ensuring the continued growth of their businesses. The firm has also been named the Investment Banking Firm of the Year by The M&A Advisor and the Global M&A Network as well as the #1 Sell-side Exclusive M&A Advisor in the World by Pitchbook’s Global League Tables.

In May 2023, following the CIC Boston branch in US, Sanyou opens new offices in The Shard London and CIC Rotterdam respectively, to rapidly promote the globalization of business landscape.

Headquartered in Shanghai China, Sanyou Biopharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. is a world-leading national high-tech biotechnology enterprise focusing on R&D and services of innovative biological drugs. The company is committed to solving the unresolved core challenges in the R&D and industrialization of innovative biological drugs, and realizing the mission of "to make it easy to discover innovative biological drugs anywhere". At present, Sanyou has established a world-leading core technology platform for integrated R&D and preclinical development of innovative biological drugs, and possesses a world-class "super-trillion innovative-drug lead molecule library". Relying on "super-trillion, integration, and intelligence", the three industry-leading major innovative drug R&D technology platforms, Sanyou is very competitive to provide one-stop service in preclinical integrated R&D process.

By the end of 2022, Sanyou had established a team of nearly 300 innovative biopharmaceutical R&D experts and built an innovative drug R&D laboratory with an area of more than 20,000 square meters at the international leading level. The company have penetrated in the market through its "4C" business service (differentiated CRO, integrated CDO, collaborative CPO, and characteristic CRS). Sanyou has established business partnerships with more than 600 pharmaceutical companies, drug R&D institutions, and diagnostic reagent and product development companies worldwide. Its business network covers China, US, Europe, and other areas in the world.

The Shard is one of London's famous landmarks. It is located in the heart of urban transport system and is a gathering place for London's businesses with world-class office facilities. Sanyou will take advantage of The Shard's excellent connectivity to maintain close contact with overseas customers and deliver its high-quality services to clients.

The Dutch CIC is a branch of the Cambridge Innovation Center (CIC) in the Netherlands, which is located in Rotterdam, the second largest city in the Netherlands. Rotterdam is an important port connecting Europe, America, Asia, Africa, and Australia, known as the "Gateway to Europe". The settlement in CIC Rotterdam will help Sanyou to further utilize the local and nearby resources to provide more convenient and high-quality biopharmaceutical-related services for oversea customers.

With an international product and marketing team of dozens of experts, a global business network layout, a strong new drug R&D platform, and a complete business service system, Sanyou will maximize the role of the marketing networks in China, the US, and Europe, and continue to promote the breakthrough development of global business landscape and move forward to become an innovative drug R&D service provider with global influence!

Nearly nine-in-10 Filipino small businesses expect to grow this year, with technology investment driving momentum. That's according to a new survey by one of the world's largest professional accounting bodies.

CPA Australia's Asia-Pacific Small Business Survey collected views from 4,280 small businesses in 11 Asia-Pacific markets, including 306 from the Philippines. Filipino businesses outranked all markets for growth expectations for the second consecutive year.

Three quarters of Filipino small businesses grew in 2022, an increase of 10 percentage points from 2021. A robust economy contributed to 89 per cent predicting growth this year. This optimism is reflected in plans to hire more staff this year (58 per cent).

"Due to increasing domestic demand and a speedy recovery in the services sector, particularly in tourism, many Filipino small businesses expanded solidly. They continue to be one of the most dynamic in the Asia-Pacific region," said CPA Australia's Regional Manager for Emerging Markets Mr Nicklaus Wee.

A strong focus on maintaining customer relationships and using social media contributed to growth. Forty-four per cent nominated customer loyalty as a positive factor. Over 90 per cent used social media for business purposes, including promoting to potential customers (65 per cent) and selling products or services (59 per cent).

Filipino small businesses' ability to identify the right technologies to invest in and profit from further strengthened their competitiveness. Seven-in-10 said their investments last year had improved profitability, strongly surpassing the survey average of 55 per cent.

"The COVID pandemic has fundamentally changed consumer behaviour. The survey shows that Filipino small businesses are adopting a more customer-oriented approach, including increasing their interaction with potential customers. Using customer feedback allows them to swiftly identify the best options, including technological solutions to meet customers' needs" Wee explained.

Nevertheless, increasing costs and difficulties accessing external funds may hamper financial returns and development plans. Four-in-10 said increased costs were negatively affecting their businesses, the highest result in all surveyed markets. The cost of materials (42 per cent) ranked as the cost most felt by local businesses, followed by fuel (38 per cent) and utilities (36 per cent).

Despite over three-fifths requiring external funds last year, only 25 per cent said they found it easy to access finance. This was the lowest result of the surveyed markets. Seventy-eight per cent expect to seek finance this year, mainly for growth, but only 23 per cent foresee this process to be easy.

"Many Filipino micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are suffering from soaring costs. To combat high inflation, the central bank increased interest rates, which made financing conditions more challenging for MSMEs.

"The Filipino Government has several loan programs to enhance financial inclusion, such as the Pondo sa Pagbabago at Pag-asenso (P3) and KAYA loans. The percentage of small businesses that borrowed from banks, non-financial institutions and investors last year significantly increased from 2021.

"While the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is forecasting that inflation will begin to ease this year, small businesses continue to face a challenging period. To help them manage through this economic transition, Filipino small businesses should consider seeking professional advice. Their trusted accountant may help them better understand financing conditions, improve cash flow and diversify financing sources.

"More than a third (34 per cent) monitored their energy and water use and 24 per cent spent time and resources on supply chain sustainability. Small businesses should increase their focus on reducing energy costs and optimising supply chains from sourcing to production. This will help reduce energy cost volatility as they strive for sustainable expansion."

Fifty-three per cent expect overseas sales to grow this year. "With the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement taking effect in June, it will bring more opportunities for small businesses to tap into overseas markets."

CPA Australia is one of the largest professional accounting bodies in the world, with more than 172,000 members in over 100 countries and regions, including nearly 2,000 members in South Asia. Our core services include education, training, technical support and advocacy. CPA Australia provides thought leadership on local, national and international issues affecting the accounting profession and public interest. We engage with governments, regulators and industries to advocate policies that stimulate sustainable economic growth and have positive business and public outcomes.