Lake House Group Chairman Donates 2.5 Million Masks to European Governments
29.4.2020 07:14:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
In response to the impact of COVID-19 on European communities, Lake House Group Chairman Charles Brown has donated and coordinated delivery of 2.5 million masks to three European nations in order to stem the spread of the virus. He said “Masks are a low-cost, effective intervention for stopping the spread of the virus and getting people back to work safely.”
A Hong Kong native with European roots, Brown has donated one million masks each to the Kingdom of Spain and the Federal Republic of Germany, with an additional 500,000 masks designated for Région Sud in France. “The masks landed in Spain and Germany on 15 and 19 April, respectively, and the masks bound for southern France are currently in transit,” reported Torsten Hartmann, Managing Director for Europe in Lake House’s London office.
While traveling in Europe prior to widespread lockdowns, Brown noted with concern that few European citizens wore masks in public. Regarding Hong Kong’s low number of confirmed cases since the outbreak began there on 23 January, Brown stated “The 2003 SARS epidemic taught Hong Kongers to be vigilant about wearing masks, and that experience shows.”
The donation efforts have been spearheaded by Brian Lu, Venture Partner at the Japanese venture capital firm Infinity Ventures, in which Charles Brown is a Limited Partner. The firm’s portfolio company, Hong Kong-based logistics startup Buyandship, has worked to ensure the masks are delivered with as little burden as possible on the governments receiving the donations.
According to Lu, “We’ve seen how tough it’s been for governments to obtain masks from trusted sources and get them delivered efficiently, so we’re proud to be able to help these countries get masks into people’s hands as quickly as possible.”
“Giving money is an easy thing if you have it, but a more effective thing is to deliver the goods to the point where they are needed, and that’s what we’re trying to achieve here,” added Lake House’s Charles Brown. “I hope our efforts are able to spark other private donors to use their resources and connections to make similar efforts,” he said.
About Lake House Group
Established in 1995, Lake House Group is a private investment company founded by Hong Kong native Charles Brown, who is also Chairman Emeritus and Founding Board Member of the United Nations Peace Development Foundation in China. Lake House is led by CEO David Timblick, and invests in businesses across the globe at every stage. With offices in Hong Kong and London, the firm is involved in projects and investments in excess of US$15 billion across 15 countries.
About Infinity Ventures
Infinity Ventures is a venture capital firm, focused on early stage Internet companies, founded in Japan in 2008, with offices in Tokyo, Taipei, and Beijing. The firm manages $255M USD, and has invested in 91 startups and produced 9 IPOs. Since its founding, Infinity Ventures has grown alongside its portfolio companies to build category-leading innovators and unicorns including Groupon, Farfetch, freee, Yeahka, WealthNavi, and 17 Media.
About Buyandship
Buyandship is a cross-border e-commerce logistics company established in 2014. The company provides a one-stop transit service for goods bought in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, Korea, and China. Buyandship currently maintains warehouses in multiple countries, with daily scheduled flights to Hong Kong and other markets in Asia.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200428006110/en/
Contact information
Holly Harrington, Infinity Ventures
holly@infinityventures.com
+886936845447
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
European Wealth Firms Build Private Markets Capability Faster Than They Communicate It, Peregrine Report Finds20.10.2026 11:15:00 EEST | Press release
Europe's leading wealth managers have built genuine private markets capability but most have yet to explain it to the clients they built it for, according to The Wealth 30, a new report from Peregrine Communications. The study analyses how 30 leading UK and European wealth managers and private banks position private markets. It concludes that communication, not product, is now the biggest barrier to differentiation in the wealth channel. Capability outpaces explanation 73% of the Wealth 30 engage in private markets yet only 40% operate a dedicated landing page explaining what private markets are, why they matter and how clients can access them. Just 23% combine explainers, a destination and repeatable house-view content. Swiss private banks set the benchmark, supported by house views, outlooks and heritage narratives. Pictet, UBP, Lombard Odier and Julius Baer all back their positioning with repeatable insight content, and Coutts is the clearest UK example. UK firms more often communic
Infobip and Yamaha Power Conversational Customer Engagement in Indonesia’s Automotive Sector20.10.2026 11:00:00 EEST | Press release
Global AI-first cloud communications platform Infobip strengthens its collaboration with Yamaha Indonesia Motor Manufacturing (YIMM) to transform customer engagement through WhatsApp-powered conversational experiences designed to drive stronger personalization and faster customer interactions. As Indonesia’s consumers increasingly adopt digital-first purchasing behaviors, Yamaha Indonesia is evolving how it connects with customers across the buying journey. Today’s motorcycle buyers often research products through Yamaha’s social media, websites, and video reviews on YouTube before visiting dealerships, raising expectations for brands to deliver fast, seamless, and highly personalized communication. For more than two years, Infobip has supported Yamaha Indonesia in building connected customer engagement strategies that integrate WhatsApp across the company’s wider digital ecosystem, including its websites, social media platforms, and customer touchpoints. The collaboration reflects the
Finsei Selects Thredd to Power New Debit Offering20.10.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Thredd, the AI-first issuer processing platform, today announced a new partnership with Finsei, a London-based payments company, to power the processing infrastructure behind Finsei’s new Mastercard debit offering. The partnership reflects a shared focus on simplifying an increasingly complex payments environment. Businesses operating across markets often rely on multiple providers to manage accounts, payments, foreign exchange, cards and expenses. Finsei is designed to bring those capabilities together, while Thredd provides the underlying payment technology and infrastructure needed to deliver a secure, digital-first debit experience at scale. At launch, physical and virtual cards will be available, followed by both Apple Pay and Google Pay. “Businesses increasingly expect their financial tools to work together rather than operate as a collection of disconnected services,” said Jim McCarthy, CEO of Thredd. “Finsei is building around that expectation, bringing payments, currency manag
BRG Survey Finds 71% of Competition Lawyers Say Global Antitrust Policies Grew More Fragmented over Past Year20.10.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Global antitrust enforcement is pulling apart along national lines, with 71% of senior competition attorneys reporting that policy became more fragmented across jurisdictions over the past 12 months, according to BRG’s inaugural Global Antitrust & Competition Report. Nearly four in five (78%) also cite cross-border antitrust requirements as a significant or recurring challenge. The report draws on a survey of 155 senior antitrust and competition attorneys across the U.S., Europe and Asia-Pacific (APAC) and in-depth interviews with 18 leading lawyers. It also finds that about 60% of respondents expect antitrust enforcement to expand in scope and intensity over the next 12 months. “Domestic politics and geopolitical considerations increasingly influence the application of competition law across jurisdictions”, said David Parker, a managing director at BRG. “As a result, deal timelines and risk assessments often now have to be built jurisdiction by jurisdiction, from the earliest stage of
Murata Develops World’s Smallest 008004-inch Size (0.25mm × 0.125mm) NTC Thermistor for Space-Constrained Temperature Sensing20.10.2026 05:00:00 EEST | Press release
Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 6981) (ISIN: JP3914400001) announces the development of the world’s smallest* 008004-inch size (0.25mm × 0.125mm) NTC thermistor, the NCU01 series. Compared with Murata’s previous smallest 01005-inch size (0.4mm × 0.2mm) product, the new series reduces mounting area by approximately 60% while achieving equivalent temperature-sensing performance, with resistance tolerance of ±1% and B-constant tolerance of ±1%. Its ultra-compact size enables temperature sensing to be positioned in increasingly restricted spaces and closer to heat-generating components, supporting more accurate and responsive thermal monitoring in smartphones, wearable devices, and other densely integrated electronic devices. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261019189089/en/ [Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd.] World’s smallest 008004-inch size (0.25mm × 0.125mm) NTC thermistor Murata plans to begin sample shipm
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom