On December 13, ITOCHU Corporation and ITOCHU Textile Prominent (ASIA) (hereinafter "IPA") announced that they have invested in Hong Kong-based Fenix Group Holdings Limited (hereinafter "Fenix") and ASF Limited (hereinafter "ASF"), an intermediate holding company under Fenix. ITOCHU's investment in ASF will increase to 30%, making it an equity-method affiliate. Fenix is a holding company that operates retail businesses in Asia, primarily in Hong Kong and China, including the fashion brand "ANTEPRIMA" and grocery and general merchandise supermarkets. ITOCHU has previously engaged in apparel OEM production with Fenix, a partnership spanning more than 30 years. The agreement was reached due to a strategic alignment between Fenix, which aims to expand its brand retail business in Asia, and ITOCHU, which prioritizes expanding overseas revenue and accelerating the overseas expansion of its brand business.

ASF was established to take over three businesses from Fenix: the Anteprima brand business, the fashion retail business, and the logistics business. With this investment, ASF aims to combine the strengths of both ITOCHU and Fenix to expand the business of brands such as Anteprima in Asia, including Japan, and to accelerate the expansion of new brands into Asia, with the goal of achieving sales of 20 billion yen in five years.