Adrian Cheng of New World Development to Provide Essential COVID-19 Safety Equipment to the World's Most Vulnerable Children and Communities

NEW YORK, May 1, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Adrian Cheng, CEO of New World Development (NWD), today announces plans to support the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in an effort to provide vulnerable children and young people around the world with essential safety and sanitation materials critical to the fight against COVID-19. Through the charitable initiative, Adrian will donate 500,000 masks to UNICEF that will be distributed to children most in need, including those in refugee camps and communities. The masks will also reach underequipped health workers.

Present in 190 countries, UNICEF is committed to delivering assistance to children across the areas affected by COVID-19 and is working with governments, implementing partners and donors to find solutions to logistical and operational constraints to ensure children in need continue to receive humanitarian assistance. By providing a half million medical masks to the vulnerable children and young people, Adrian's contribution looks not only to save lives, but also to support the global containment of the virus and safeguard against its possible resurgence.

"With this donation, it is my sincere hope that we will help to galvanize global efforts to protect children and youth, especially those residing in the world's most vulnerable zones, from COVID-19," said Adrian Cheng. "Our ecosystem at New World Development places a great emphasis on education and healthcare, bringing to the forefront the importance of creating shared value across communities worldwide. An important part of that mission is protecting the next generation, especially as we navigate the unprecedented challenges that COVID-19 has presented to all of us, everywhere. I applaud the great work UNICEF has done to advocate for and empower children and youth around the world and urge that we don't just sit idly by while watching COVID-19 spread to the most vulnerable communities. I hope this donation will play a role in giving youth refugees the health protection they desperately need at this challenging time. It's by working together, across borders, that we can make progress in tackling COVID-19."

This initiative is the latest of Adrian's comprehensive efforts to combat COVID-19 worldwide. Driven by the Group's vision to Creating Shared Value (CSV) to contribute innovative and sustainable solutions to today's most pressing problems, NWD created a $7 million fund and made a donation of more than 3 million medical face masks to fight the spread across Greater China in January 2020.

Shortly after, in February 2020, the group donated over $1.2 million to establish a "community anti-epidemic fund" in Hong Kong SAR. To date, the donation has generated more than 2 million masks and 10,000 preventative kits containing medical face masks, hand sanitizer gels and sanitizing wipes, all of which have been distributed to low-income families throughout Hong Kong SAR.

Building on these earlier efforts, in March 2020, NWD launched #LoveWithoutBorders, a global charitable initiative originally designed to source, deliver and donate 2.5 million medical face masks to partners and local communities in South Korea, France, Italy and the United Kingdom. Most recently, the group announced plans to further promote the global charitable initiative and donate 10 million "Made in Hong Kong" medical face masks produced by NWD to Hong Kong and overseas communities. In the first phase of the distribution program, the company will supply Hong Kong's low-income communities with "Mask to Go" dispensers – contact-free medical mask vending machines servicing the individuals most vulnerable to COVID-19. Through the initiative, 35 dispensers will be installed in all 18 districts across Hong Kong, offering masks manufactured in-house by NWD's recently announced production lines, with an expected production of 7 million medical face masks per month once fully operational. The dispensers are expected to benefit more than 40,000 pre-registered individuals.

The donation also underscores Adrian's long-standing commitment to youth development around the world. With key leadership roles in both the All-China Youth Federation and the China Young Leaders Foundation, two of the country's leading organizations aimed at empowering young leaders, Adrian has been providing mainland Chinese and Hong Kong students with educational and career support. In addition, Adrian has supported programs that have reached more than 44,000 students in Asia, including the "Adrian Cheng Scholarship" designed to incubate the next generation of social leaders in different sectors. Through an array of community and mentorship programs, NWD continues to empower under-resourced children and youth in different aspects of life including health and wellness, art and culture, and learning opportunities that advance personal growth.

New World Development

Founded in 1970, New World Development Company Limited ("The Group", Hong Kong stock code: 00017) was publicly listed in Hong Kong in 1972 and is a constituent stock of the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index. A premium brand infused with a unique personality best defined by The Artisanal Movement along with the mission to create shared value, New World Group provides an ecosystem of infrastructure and services that includes include property development, property investment, retail, hospitality, roads, aviation and construction, education and healthcare. Its operations in Greater China, especially the Greater Bay Area, had a total asset value of approximately HK$503.3 billion as at 30 June 2019. The Group's two listed companies are NWS Holdings Limited (61%), and New World Department Store China Limited (75%). New World China Land Limited is wholly owned by the Group.

North America Contact:
Kendall Trainer
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SOURCE New World Development