Latest news with #globalinstitutions
CNA
31-07-2025
- Business
- CNA
Hong Kong set to issue first batch of stablecoin licences early next year
Hong Kong, which is positioning itself as a crypto-friendly hub, is establishing a licensing regime for stablecoins referenced to the Hong Kong dollar. A new guideline issued this week lays out operational, financial, and governance standards. Authorities said the first batch of licences for issuers is expected to be granted by early-2026. The government believes its open-model approach will entice global institutions to issue stablecoins in the city. This will help enhance the city's liquidity and competitiveness, while building up the territory's hopes to cement its reputation as a leading international digital asset hub. May Wong reports.
The Guardian
13-07-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
The Guardian view on Brics growing up: A new bloc seeks autonomy – and eyes a post-western order
The Brics summit in Brazil last week revealed a loose alliance of emerging powers becoming more complex – and perhaps more consequential. For Brics, heft matters. It now counts 11 member states – including Indonesia, which joined this year – representing half the world's population and 40% of the global economy, outpacing the G7 by $20tn. Yet its size hides its contradictions. The grouping's call for more inclusive global institutions sounds welcome, but there is a preponderance of autocracies within its own ranks. Brics is right that international law should be upheld in Middle Eastern conflicts. But it climbs down from its moral pedestal by condemning Ukraine's strikes on Russian infrastructure – while staying silent on Moscow's relentless attacks on civilians. The acronym 'Bric' – Brazil, Russia, India and China (South Africa wouldn't join until 2010) – began as a Wall Street bet on rising powers challenging the west. But what defines Brics today is a subtler, more strategic ambition: to insulate themselves from Washington's gravitational pull while cooperating to build a joint hi-tech industrial base. There are things that the Brics get right. Financial global institutions such as the International Monetary Fund are in need of reform; the rich world has failed to honour climate finance promises. The group's understandable response in the face of inaction is to create its own development bank to promote a form of green industrialisation. A pre-summit agreement on a formal collective Brics stance on funding climate action will help. Rapid growth in renewable energy means fossil fuels now account for less than half of the bloc's total electricity generation. Given the climate emergency, such progress can only be welcome. Brics member states now lead in green tech and boast booming consumer markets – offering both the tools and the scale to drive industrial growth. The postwar order stood on three pillars: US dominance, hydrocarbons and open trade. Today, all three are cracking, largely because of the US itself. Many Brics nations have little to gain from backing oil when the world's biggest producer is the US. Donald Trump's threat of higher import duties on the bloc's members speaks to the US turn against global trade. By placing tariffs on Brazil over its internal politics, Mr Trump turns economic diplomacy into personal vendetta – and highlights how the rules-based order is unravelling. This moment presents both a challenge and an opening. Tariffed in the west, Chinese firms pivot to Brics. So the United Arab Emirates cashes in – winning local production and tech transfers from Beijing that the west won't permit. Brics' vision of smart, clean growth fits the gaps in the global order. But it isn't united: Russia's green potential is buried under its fossil fuel policy. Saudi Arabia hedges – flirting with Brics while clinging to the US, with deals in the balance. Most of the group's member states are nervous that a powerful China could tower over the rest. Strikingly, however, its leader, Xi Jinping, did not attend this summit. The Brics nations can still close ranks. Their most technical yet revealing move is to start building financial 'plumbing' to bypass western systems. The group isn't ditching the dollar – but its members know what exclusion feels like: India had credit denied after the 2008 crash; Iranian banks have been sanctioned since 2012. The bloc's success will depend not just on ambition, but on the capacity to coordinate across national interests.
Telegraph
15-06-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
G7 has been Trump-proofed to avoid trouble – here's how
The Canadian organisers of the G7 summit are taking no chances with Donald Trump this week, ditching the usual joint communiqué, padding the event with extra guests and reducing the amount of time when the world leaders sit around the same table. It is the latest example of how global institutions are adapting to the return of an unpredictable and combative figure. A diplomat in Washington DC, who has seen the schedule, said it included fewer plenary sessions of the full group and more one-on-one meetings 'There's a lot more of that than at other summits,' he said, 'which would make sense if you are worried about one person causing trouble.' The last time Mr Trump attended a G7 summit in Canada he stormed off early, ripping up a joint communiqué and leaving a trail of withering tweets behind him. His blanket use of trade tariffs has already set nerves on edge, according to Matthew P Goodman, who was deputy to the US G7 Sherpa during the Obama administration, one of the figures doing the heavy lifting on negotiations. 'Those two issues hang over this upcoming summit, and are going to make it very challenging for the host, Mark Carney, to manage this,' he said. Canadian diplomats were buoyed by their new prime minister's performance at the White House recently, when he avoided the sort or tongue lashing delivered to some other world leaders. But organisers are leaving nothing to chance. World leaders are due to begin arriving on Sunday. They will fly into the international airport in Calgary from where they will helicopter to the picturesque setting of Kananaskis, deep in the Canadian Rockies. Organisers have padded the number of attendees by inviting leaders from India, Brazil, Ukraine, Australia and Saudi Arabia (although Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman reportedly will not be attending). Cyril Ramaphosa, the South African president, is coming. He knows better than most how Mr Trump can undo the best laid plans after being ambushed last month in the Oval Office and accused of allowing a 'white genocide' to unfold. Mark Rutte, Nato secretary general, and António Guterres, the UN secretary general, are expected to attend. There will also be a session on fentanyl smuggling, a cause particularly close to Mr Trump's heart. The result is more breakaway bilateral meetings and fewer chances for Mr Trump to clog up the agenda. Mr Goodman said: 'Any host of these forums, if they're smart, will minimise the time around the table. You need a certain amount of that, but you want to allow for a lot of time on the margins for bilateral conversations and meetings' In 2018, Justin Trudeau, Canada's prime minister at the time, presided over a G7 summit where Mr Trump abruptly pulled the US out of a previously agreed communiqué, before blasting his host as 'dishonest and weak'. He flew out of Canada early, apparently upset at the way Mr Trudeau had talked about Canadian tariffs on US exports. It meant weeks of careful negotiations on easing trade tensions between the US and the European Union went up in smoke. This time Mr Carney is preparing to issue a chairman's statement, according to The Toronto Star, avoiding the need for all the parties to agree on a joint position on awkward issues such as Ukraine or Israel's strikes on Iran. 'Our hope is that Mr Trump will join us in getting tougher on Russia and push through new sanctions,' said a senior diplomat from a G7 nation. 'But he could equally say, no, let's give them another two weeks and then there is no chance for agreement.' That makes it almost impossible to make progress on a joint text ahead of the summit, he added. 'The problem is that no one knows what's on Trump's mind,' he said. 'Negotiating in the absence of that is not easy.' The G7 summit is not the only high-stakes diplomacy this month. Nato leaders will assemble in The Hague next week, where defence spending will be top of the agenda. Summit organisers there are preparing a one-page communiqué, The Telegraph revealed on Friday, designed to suit Mr Trump's attention span. It will be almost entirely focused on one of the president's pet issues and the historic decision to more than double spending on defence by leaders to meet new capability targets for deterring a Russian invasion. Mr Trump stormed out of his last Nato summit in the UK in 2019, abandoning plans for a press conference, after Mr Trudeau was caught on video apparently mocking the American president. He was talking to Boris Johnson, the British prime minister, and Emmanuel Macron, the French president, discussing how Mr Trump liked to use photo opportunities to talk to the press.
Gulf Business
07-06-2025
- Business
- Gulf Business
Abu Dhabi: ADGM assets under management show 33% YoY rise in Q1
Image: ADGM Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has recorded a strong start to 2025, posting significant year-on-year growth across its ecosystem in Q1, as investor confidence and international interest in the UAE capital's financial centre remain high. Backed by major regulatory developments, global engagement and jurisdictional expansion, 'ADGM's Q1 2025 performance marks the beginning of another landmark year,' said Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, chairman of ADGM. 'This is not just a reflection of ADGM's capabilities to deliver sustained growth, but also the trust it has gained among global and regional institutions. 'ADGM continues to expand and diversify with purpose, welcoming leading firms, deepening international partnerships, and driving digital and sustainable transformation across sectors.' At a glance: ADGM's key growth areas in Q1 Assets under management (AUM): AUM grew 33 per cent from Q1 2024. A total of 119 fund and asset managers now manage 184 funds. Licences: The number of new licences issued increased by 67 per cent year-on-year. Entities: Operational entities surged 43 per cent to 2,781. Financial services entities rose 26 per cent to 367. Workforce: More than 29,000 people are now employed on Al Maryah Island, up 17 per cent from the previous year. Work permits: 3,509 new work permits were issued for businesses establishing on Al Reem Island. Expanded international presence and strategic engagements In January, an ADGM delegation attended iConnections Global Alts in Miami, held bilateral meetings in New York and Washington, and joined a panel titled 'Abu Dhabi: The Capital of Capital'. In February, ADGM participated in a high-level UAE-China delegation led by ADDED, supporting efforts to deepen bilateral economic ties. In April, ADGM conducted nearly 30 strategic meetings in Japan with institutions focused on private banking, wealth management and family businesses. Al Reem Island integration and new incentives More than 600 new businesses established on Al Reem Island and 500 existing firms migrated to ADGM licensing during Q1. ADGM revised its fee structure in January, slashing commercial licence fees by 50 per cent or more for non-financial and retail businesses. A flat licence fee of Dhs1,000 was introduced to boost SME access. Digital and blockchain developments In March, ADGM signed an MoU with Chainlink to enable compliant tokenisation frameworks. Stacks Asia and Bitgrit joined ADGM under its DLT Foundations framework. ADGM launched an all-in-one mobile app offering compliance tools, licence renewals and regulatory updates. A new digital real estate platform was introduced, enabling fully virtual sale and purchase transactions. Read: Focus on sustainable finance The Abu Dhabi Sustainable Finance Declaration reached 170 signatories, including Aquila Capital, Century Financial, Oryx Global Partners, PwC and Olive Gaea. The initiative continues to promote ESG integration in the region's financial sector. Human capital and UAE National empowerment ADGM Academy created 800 job placements for UAE Nationals across nine career tracks. Signed strategic MoUs with Arab Youth and the Federal Tax Authority to support upskilling in technology and finance. Published six research papers on the impact of AI in the UAE financial sector via the ADGMA Research Centre. As the financial centre continues its expansion and regulatory innovation, it expects further growth in 2025, particularly from financial markets in Europe and Asia.
