Nokian Tyres plc Stock Exchange Release September 8, 2021 at 12:00 a.m.

Nokian Tyres’ Board of Directors has approved the company’s revised mid-term strategy and updated financial and non-financial targets. Nokian Tyres aims for organic growth ahead of the market, and increasing market share in all key markets.

The Board of Directors has approved the following mid-term financial targets:

• Growing faster than the market: Net sales EUR 2 billion
• High returns and profitability: Segments operating profit and segments ROCE at the level of 20%*
• Growing ordinary dividend: Dividend above 50% of net earnings

“Our large investment phase is completed, and we are well positioned for organic growth and strong performance. With our current manufacturing capacity, a valued brand and a world-class team, we are now ready to take an ambitious leap forward to become a EUR 2 billion revenue company. We will continue to improve operational and commercial performance, which, together with the growing markets, will propel our company to the next level in the years ahead”, says Jukka Moisio, Nokian Tyres’ President and CEO.

Growth will be driven by new products and smart Go-To-Market strategies

The global tire market is expected to grow by approximately 5% annually by 2024 (source: LMC Tyre & Rubber). Nokian Tyres’ mid-term target is to exceed the market growth and reach EUR 2 billion in net sales. Macro trends, such as an increasing number of new car models, rising SUV and CUV penetration and climate change mitigation, are driving demand for sustainably produced, innovative tires.  

The mid-term growth strategy builds on Nokian Tyres’ competitive strengths, including high-quality products and a premium brand, effective supply chain, leadership in sustainability and a strong Nokian Tyres team. The company has launched a record number of new products in 2020–2021 and will continue to accelerate innovation to further strengthen its competitiveness and unique positioning in the premium tire segment. This expanding product offering, together with smarter Go-To-Market strategies and improving commercial capabilities, will drive top-line growth. Reinforcing Nokian Tyres’ brand in the regions will be a key element in closer collaboration with customers. Profitability improvement will be driven by increasing volumes and operational efficiency. 

New non-financial targets set the bar higher

As a frontrunner in sustainability, Nokian Tyres has set the bar even higher by introducing new, ambitious non-financial targets and embedding them throughout the core operations.

Non-financial targets focus on bringing new environmental and safety innovations to products, reducing CO₂ emissions in line with the Science Based Targets, further improving workplace safety, and monitoring the sustainability of suppliers.

Nokian Tyres will, for example:

• Increase the share of either recycled or renewable raw materials in tires to 50% by 2030
• Reduce CO₂ emissions from both raw materials and tires by 25% between 2018–2030
• Decrease accident frequency (LTIF) yearly by 20%
• Sustainability audit 100% of critical active suppliers by 2025

All non-financial targets can be found at https://www.nokiantyres.com/company/sustainability/environment/our-targets-and-achievements/.

Nokian Tyres was the first in the tire industry to receive official approval for its climate targets from the Science Based Targets initiative (SBT) and has been included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index for four consecutive years, ranking it among the most sustainable publicly traded companies in the world.

Along with the revised growth strategy, Nokian Tyres has defined its purpose, which is to empower the world to drive smarter. The company has for decades safeguarded people’s lives and is committed to continuing this effort through even safer, smarter and more sustainable driving.

 Payments 20 (P20), the leading voice of the global payments industry, has collaborated with some of the largest payment firms and law enforcement organisations to develop a standard approach which will help firms defend themselves against the growing, global cyber threat.

The advocacy group, alongside organisations including American Express, Elavon, Hogan Lovells, J.P. Morgan Chase, the UK National Cyber Security Centre and New York State Department of Financial Services, has created a new report entitled ‘20 Best Practice Recommendations for Improved Cyber Security Protection’.

Aimed at non-cyber professionals, the report emphasizes the urgency of implementing more efficient and comprehensive cyber security frameworks in response to the increasing capabilities of cyber criminals, scammers and other nefarious actors since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The uncertainty and disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has presented cyber criminals with a wealth of opportunities to attack. Since March 2020 cyber crime has rocketed with 74% of banks experiencing a rise in cyber attacks and three out of four financial institutions worrying about the historic rise in criminal activity and what will happen going forward.

The cyber security problem now represents a serious systemic threat to the global financial system, a sentiment echoed by Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell, who in April 2021 said he worried that a cyber attack may result in the next great financial crisis. This highlights the need to a collective global, standardised approach towards counteracting the threat.

The best practice actions cover five areas: 

• Network security 
• Data handling 
• Employee awareness 
• Actions before a cyber attack occurs 
• Actions immediately after a cyber attack occurs 

Duncan Sandys, Chief Executive Officer at P20, said: "As businesses across the globe embraced remote working and shifted operations online, the state sponsored and professional criminal gangs exploited the weaknesses of security apparatus and the fears of individuals. At P20, we believe everyone has a part to play in protecting their organisation and its reputation against this threat. This is why we joined forces with leading financial institutions, cyber security experts and government officials to compile standardised, easy to implement actions for non cyber experts which will go a long way in strengthening their organisations’ defences and protecting their customers.”

Michael Papay, EVP, Technology Risk & Information Security at American Express, said: “The greatest vulnerabilities in the payments network are those hidden third-parties or fourth-party suppliers that nobody has identified as a risk. A lot of the big companies involved in payments networks understand the challenges -- they understand information security; they know how to approach these problems and how to tackle them.  It's the smaller companies that are providing some critical service that we haven't fully solved for yet.”

JF Legault, Managing Director, Global Head of Cyber Security Operations at J.P. Morgan Chase, said: “You can have the strongest controls in the world, the best cyber security program but one thing that organizations continuously need to work on is improving their crisis management processes.”

Paul Maddinson, Director for National Resilience & Strategy at the UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), said: “There are several things that we recommend for small organizations to get those basics right. One is about backing up data and making sure you're doing that properly. The second is using passwords appropriately. The third is keeping your devices updated and making sure that the software is patched. The fourth is putting some protections in place against malware and then trying to avoid phishing attacks through email and how your staff respond.”

The publication of the report comes ahead of P20’s annual Global Payment Conference, taking place on 28-29 September 2021 where cyber security will be a key talking point. The conference will bring together hundreds of industry leaders, politicians, government officials, regulators, thought leaders and others to highlight trends, debate industry priorities and shape the future. Keynote speakers include Andrew Bailey, Governor of Bank of England, Patricia Scotland, Secretary General of The Commonwealth, Christopher Woolard CBE, ex-Interim CEO, UK Financial Conduct Authority, Michael D’Ambrosio, ex-Assistant Director, US Secret Service and former US Ambassador to the United Nations, Andrew Young. 

Portfolio of industry-tailored solutions helps financial services firms navigate their cloud journey; balances risk and reward to boost colleague and customer experience

BT today announced a portfolio of industry-tailored solutions to help financial services firms take a controlled approach to adopting cloud. BT Cloud Control for Financial Services helps customers’ IT teams address the challenges they face in balancing the risks and rewards of moving their applications and secure data to the cloud; it helps chart the path to growth and delivering outstanding digital experiences.

The portfolio combines BT’s deep expertise and extensive capabilities in cloud, networking and security services. It builds on the company’s partnerships with leading public cloud providers, flexible connectivity into hyperscalers and regional datacentres and decades of experience providing cyber security services and industry-specific solutions. This includes operating the BT Radianz Cloud, one of the world’s largest secure, financial markets cloud communities.

BT’s security-first approach helps customers determine how to protect, enable or prevent access to applications and data in line with business and regulatory needs. Experts help customers understand what to move to the cloud and consider all operational, security and regulatory factors so migration can be done in a secure and resilient way with minimal or no impact on end-user experience. If a customer needs to maintain its own data centre services, BT can deploy a software-defined solution to deliver cloud-like agility, automation and improved performance.

The end result for customers is a secure, multi-cloud environment managed by BT with certified staff, auditable processes and contractual assurances to optimise costs, protect applications and data and deliver the best digital experiences for customers and colleagues alike.

“Digital transformation in financial services is accelerating at a breath-taking rate and the cloud is playing a huge role in making it happen,” said Louise O’Neill, director, banking & financial services, BT. “Backed with decades of experience in managing cloud, security and networking services for leading banks and insurers, and with a full ecosystem of hyperscale partners, this is a compelling proposition from a trusted partner to help firms on their digital transformation journey.”

SquaredFinancial, the FinTech brokerage firm, has announced today, a strategic partnership with Lusis AI Lab to offer AI-based Forex trading strategies to its customers. This is part of SquaredFinancial’s ambitious expansion program to bring together the best technology and people to deliver world-class global service to clients. SquaredFinancial has seen a 400 per cent increase in clients on their platform in the 12 months to June.

Two AI strategies, benchmarked during 2020/2021, will be launched on the SquaredFinancial platforms in the coming months. The first uses the past days price action and indicators combined with the London opening price to take a single decision every morning. The second uses the Tokyo and London Session intraday price action and indicators combined to take a decision for the New York Session. Further AI strategies will be introduced once developed.

SquaredFinancial is a next generation multi-asset, multi-jurisdiction firm which provides a global investment gateway for a full range of financial products and services with world-class customer support. It is led by serial entrepreneur Philippe Ghanem whose team has years of experience and is well-versed in scaling businesses.

Lusis is a French software provider offering advanced software solutions and platforms enhanced by applied artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Philippe Ghanem, Executive Chairman of Squared Financial, said:

“Our partnership with Lusis is fantastic news for our clients. It enables us to take advantage of the latest AI developments in algorithmic trading to provide them with the best execution possible. We look forward to a long-term partnership with Lusis as we continue to develop further AI strategies.”

Philippe Préval, CEO of Lusis, said:

“We are proud to partner with SquaredFinancial, they are changing perceptions of how a FinTech company should be operated. AI is key in our strategy for the coming years in trading as in other business areas such as payment fraud, credit scoring, loyalty or recommendations. We look forward to growing our partnership further as we introduce new products to market.”

Facilitating employee reporting of phishing attempts is an effective security control when teams use automation to handle increased workload.

33% of emails employees report as phishing are either malicious or highly suspect, according to new research. The finding comes from an analysis of emails reported by employees from organizations across the globe during the first half of 2021, and highlights the efficacy of employee-led efforts in preventing cyber attacks.

Approximately one third of people working for organizations using F-Secure’s email reporting plugin for Microsoft Office 365 submitted over 200 000 emails for analysis during the first half of the year. On average, active users submitted 2.14 emails each during the period.

According to the analysis (available at https://www.f-secure.com/content/dam/press/en/media-library/reports/F-Secure_automation_burnout.pdf) the most common reason users gave for reporting emails was a suspicious link, which was cited by 59% of users. 54% reported an email because of an incorrect or unexpected sender, and 37% because of suspected spam. 34% of users suspected the use of social engineering in an email, while 7% reported because of a suspicious attachment.

99% of the reports were automatically analyzed. Out of those, 33% were classified as phishing. Security professionals manually investigated the remaining 1% of reported emails and determined 63% of those were phishing attempts.

"You often hear that people are security’s weak link. That’s very cynical and doesn’t consider the benefits of using a company’s workforce as a first line of defense,” said F-Secure Director of Consulting Riaan Naude. “Employees can catch a significant number of threats hitting their inbox if they can follow a painless reporting process that produces tangible results.”

Email is the most common method cyber criminals use to spread malware, and accounted for over half of infection attempts in 2020.* While aggressive reporting can clearly combat this problem, there are downsides. For every reported email, a trained professional needs to investigate and respond. Naude estimates this can take anywhere between 15 minutes to an hour depending on professional background and complexity of the particular case.

Considering that 73% of organizations surveyed in a 2019 study from the Ponemon Institute** said burnout due to an increasing workload made working in a security operations center (SOC) painful, organizations need to give security teams tools to properly manage the increased workload. 67% of respondents in the study identified automation of workflow as the most important measure to alleviate their SOC team’s pain.

“Manual triage is clearly a burden, and reporting emails initiates this triage process, regardless of whether or not the email is an actual threat. It’s clearly one of those areas where experts need tech to help them scale existing knowledge and skills,” said Naude.  

 Goal Group, the global fintech leader in withholding tax reclaims and securities class actions recoveries, has announced the appointment of prominent industry figure Daron Pearce as Brand Ambassador for its EMEA region.

Daron Pearce has an exceptional 30-year track record as a leader and innovator in securities services, most recently as Chief Executive Officer, Asset Servicing EMEA at BNY Mellon, where he held senior roles for two decades. Earlier this year he founded the consultancy firm Daron Pearce Associates through which he will act as Brand Ambassador for Goal Group, helping to promote the company and its services to prospective clients including large asset managers, pension funds and custodian banks.

Stephen Everard, Chief Executive Officer, Goal Group, said: “Daron is one of the industry’s most well-respected figures, combining a deep knowledge of asset management and securities operations with an outstanding aptitude for building relationships at the highest level. With his finger firmly on the pulse of our key markets, he is the perfect fit for our newly created Brand Ambassador role in EMEA. 

“Goal Group is entering an exciting phase of business growth as we reap the rewards of our substantial investment in digital transformation and roll out the market’s most advanced solutions in both withholding tax reclaims and shareholder class actions recoveries. Daron will help our sales team unlock the full market potential of our innovative suite of services and further raise our profile in the region as a fast-growing fintech that matches technological sophistication with operational and service excellence.” 

Daron Pearce, Founder & CEO, Daron Pearce Associates, adds: “I am thrilled to be joining Goal Group to assist in identifying and realising growth opportunities across the EMEA region in support of their business growth ambitions. Reclaiming withholding tax on cross-border investment income, and participating in shareholder class and collective actions, have become much more important for institutional investors over the last few years.

“The technology-driven solutions pioneered by Goal Group are driving significant behavioural change in our industry, enabling institutional investors to think beyond their fiduciary duties towards enhancing investment returns while also transforming a historically difficult and costly area of asset servicing into one of competitive advantage. As we emerge from the pandemic, now is the perfect time to reconsider service provision in this area and explore new revenue opportunities cost-effectively, using the latest technology.”

Goal Group recently created a similar Brand Ambassador role for its APAC region, appointing industry stalwart Bryan Gray, who previously served as Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand Sales at J.P. Morgan Securities Services.

The company’s worldwide client base includes all of the major custodian banks, many of the top fund managers and all four of the US depositary banks.

Seamless Middle East will reunite global industry leaders at a critical time to discuss the future of payments, fintech, identity, retail and e-commerce.

Seamless Middle East returns for its 21^st year on Wednesday 29 and Thursday 30 September, just days before the opening of Expo 2020, meaning the city of Dubai will be buzzing with some of the brightest and most innovative minds across the world. The conference and exhibition will explore the key topics and trends shaping the future of the industry including: cashless societies, payment methods of the future, the new retail experience from mobile to shopping malls, secure digital identity, sustainable banking and so much more.

Held under the patronage of His Highness Lieutenant-General Sheikh Saif Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Interior, and in partnership with the League of Arab States, Arab Federation of Digital Economy, and Dubai Economy, Seamless Middle East will unite industry leaders to drive the UAE forward as a global leader in payments and e-commerce.   

Terrapinn Middle East General Manager, Joseph Ridley commented: “As markets and travel corridors continue to open up, we look forward to welcoming thousands of visitors live and in-person from across the fintech, payments, e-commerce and retail communities in September. Dubai plays an important role on the international stage in enabling business across the region as well as leading the way globally in re-opening the events and tourism industries.”

Ridley added: “The pandemic has accelerated the need for a cashless society, access to more inclusive and accessible financial services and unprecedented growth in e-commerce, with ‘new normals’ for the way consumers browse and purchase their goods and services. Now is the time to adopt crucial digital technologies that will advance an all-new consumer and citizen experiences.

Seamless will be the platform for industry leaders to discuss these key topics, sharing their thoughts and insights with our attendees.”

Across two packed days, Seamless Middle East will throw the spotlight on the region’s expertise in digital innovation from alternative payments and digital identity to cashless initiatives, digital footprints, e-commerce platforms and much more as organisations and society adapt to a digital-first world.

300+ conference speakers include top industry names such as the Secretary General from the League of Arab States, Director of Strategy and Innovation from Smart Dubai and the Chief Operating Officer at Sharaf Retail. All of whom will be speaking live on-stage as Seamless Middle East reunites the global economy at the Dubai World Trade Centre.

Dubai CommerCity, Title Sponsor of Seamless Middle East, is leading the way in transforming the future of the e-commerce industry. Seamless Middle East Keynote Speaker DeVere Forster, Chief Operating Officer at Dubai CommerCity, commented: “The world has witnessed a major surge in demand for e-commerce following the pandemic. With this ongoing demand, Dubai CommerCity, the first dedicated e-commerce free zone in the region, plays a key role in fulfilling the market’s needs by providing e-commerce businesses with unique services, world-class expertise, and an ideal ecosystem to support their growth.”

“As a Title Sponsor of Seamless Middle East and in line with our mission to grow the e-commerce industry, Seamless Middle East will serve as a platform for showcasing Dubai CommerCity’s strategic advantages which contribute to cementing Dubai’s position as a global hub for e-commerce,” Forster added.

Alongside the conference is a free-to-attend exhibition, Seamless Middle East offers attendees the unique opportunity to explore the latest technology solutions driving change in the Middle East and beyond, live and in-person. Showcasing companies include Title Sponsor; Dubai CommerCity, Toppan Futurecard, Geek+, Checkout.com, IDNow, InPay, Redbox Digital, Alibaba Cloud and YAP amongst many other world-class brands.

Other free-to-attend highlights on the show floor include the fintech pavilion, start-up showcase, e-commerce university, start-up pitch offs and the return of face-to-face networking.

 LPA Group, the capital market technology and innovation leader, today announcement that Nourdine Abderrahmane will join the firm as a new Partner in its Swiss consulting practice. 

Nourdine will be based in Zurich, Switzerland, and will work to further grow the Swiss consulting practice across its team, clients, and solutions, working closely with the wider group of LPA consultants and software developers on the ground and across Europe. 

One of Nourdine’s mandates will be on working with existing and future clients across financial services, aiming to help them address increased efficiency through technology and automation; putting in place robust approaches for reporting and risk management specifically around sustainability and sustainable investing; and ensuring an individual approach is taken to client relations.  

Nourdine has over 15 years of experience in the financial services industry. He most recently spent eight years at Capco, the global management and technology consultancy dedicated to the financial services and energy industries, with his final role there being Managing Principal and Lead of its Retail Banking Practice in Switzerland. He has also held consulting roles at Accenture within its Private Banking and Capital Markets practice and has held roles at Credit Suisse and UBS. 

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science from the University of Furtwangen, as well as a Master of Science in Business Management from Leeds University. 

Commenting on his appointment, Nourdine Abderrahmane said: “I’m delighted to be joining the LPA team in Switzerland. LPA encourages a progressive, client-centred and innovative environment, which closely aligns with my own values. I look forward to growing with the team and providing skills to address client challenges in the financial services industry.” 

Peter Schurau, CEO at LPA, commented: “Nourdine’s industry experience, accomplishments and expertise will be an asset to LPA and our clients. His experience across multiple sectors including wealth management, capital markets, private banking and asset management, coupled with his strong consulting background and client communication skills, will add tremendous value to a financial services industry that is seeking greater efficiency and agility. Nourdine has the ability and conviction to progress and grow the consulting practice in Switzerland, and I look forward to his invaluable contribution.” 

There is a pressing industry need for automated corporate actions solutions rooted in high quality corporate actions data and technology infrastructure, according to a survey by SIX conducted among leading global asset managers, wealth managers, custodians, clearing houses and investment banks.[1]

The survey – conducted from March until May 2021 across Europe, North America and APAC for the second consecutive year – showed that over three-quarters of respondents (78%) still process part of their corporate actions manually, with 40% processing more than half of their corporate actions in this way. Just under half of all respondents (49.1%) cited legacy technology as their greatest challenge standing in the way of them automating their corporate actions processing.

Despite the current lack of automation, nearly half of the respondents (47%) said they were looking for the near real-time delivery of corporate actions. There was a significant change, however, in the number of respondents looking for intraday delivery of corporate actions ― 30.9% in 2021, up from 12.9% in 2020. What these results show is that there is apparently new demand for corporate actions data delivered at various intervals during the day.

The increase in number wanting nearer to real-time delivery of corporate actions is in conjunction with important business drivers for increased automation of corporate actions processing, with respondents highlighting reduced operating costs and regulatory compliance as the two most important factors. In terms of asset class focus, market participants are looking for additional detail around their corporate actions, specifically when it comes to equities and fixed income.

Commenting on the results, Annelotte De Nanassy, Senior Product Manager, Financial Information at SIX said: “There has never been a more pressing need to process the corporate actions messages accurately and efficiently, but this can only be achieved through automation. Ultimately, firms need to integrate high quality data and timeliness in the provision of that data to maximize the automation of front and back-office operations. This will in turn free up staff for more complex tasks; including events that require constant back-and-forth between the team and the client, such as an IPO or M&A.”

·        IBEX 35 sentiment declines further, dropping into bearish territory

·        Significant drop could trigger further selling on the Spanish index

·        60 million securitised derivatives were traded on Spectrum last month

Spectrum Markets, the pan-European trading venue for securitised derivatives, has published its SERIX^TM European retail investor sentiment data for August (see below for more information on methodology), and notes the continuation of significant bearish trading related to Spain’s IBEX 35 index.

After dropping from a nine-month high in June to 105 in July, retail investor sentiment on the IBEX 35 fell further in August to reach a bearish SERIX^TM value of 95. This came as international investors contemplated the twin pressures of rising COVID-19 infections and the rapidly deteriorating situation in Afghanistan.

“Though the rate of new Spanish COVID-19 cases looked to be slowing into August, the IBEX 35 has struggled to maintain the upward trend it started in mid-July, and the SERIX data suggests retail investors are starting to get a bit nervous,” notes Thibault Gobert, Head of Liquidity Pool at Spectrum Markets.

“If the IBEX 35 experiences another significant decline, like the one seen in the second half of June, this could trigger further selling and, looking at the clear bearish signals we are seeing in our data, retail investors seem to be preparing for this scenario either by taking profits or positioning themselves for a drop in the near term.”

During August, 60 million securitised derivatives were traded on Spectrum, with 33.1% of  trades taking place outside of traditional hours (i.e. between 17:30 and 9:00 CET). 80.4% of the traded derivatives was on indices, 10% on currency pairs, and 9.6% on commodities, with the top three traded underlying markets being DAX 30 (27%), NASDAQ 100 (16.7%) and OMX 30 (13%).

Looking at the SERIX^TM data for the top three underlying markets, the DAX 30 moved back into bearish territory, dropping from 101 to 99 while the NASDAQ 100 also dropped two points, to 96. Meanwhile the OMX 30 recovered some of the bullish momentum seen earlier this year, rising from 92 to 99 in August.

Calculating SERIX^TM data