By D. Raja The coming to power of the BJP with an absolute majority in the 2014 general elections was not merely a routine transfer of power from one democratically elected government to another. It marked a qualitative shift in the very nature of our polity. The BJP is the political arm of the Rashtriya […]Why CRM Matters in Dubai’s Real Estate The UAE has emerged as one of the world’s leading destinations for real estate investment, drawing interest from international buyers, institutional investors, and local clients. With intense competition, high transaction volumes, and multi-stakeholder deals, developers face unique operational challenges: Managing relationships with hundreds of brokers and agencies simultaneously. Coordinating international buyers who expect fast, transparent communication. Handling complex contracts, payments, […]
The OpenSearch Software Foundation has appointed Bianca Lewis as its new Executive Director, tasking her with guiding the foundation’s strategy, growing its community engagement, and maintaining vendor-neutral development. She takes on the post as the foundation marks its first year under the Linux Foundation banner. Lewis arrives with more than two decades of experience in technology, entrepreneurship, and business strategy, having held leadership roles at firms such […]
An Israeli airstrike in Doha targeting Hamas leaders and a large drone incursion by Russian forces into Poland have severely challenged the United States’ standing among allies and adversaries alike. These events have intensified debates over Washington’s influence and reliability in preserving international norms and regional security. The Doha attack struck a compound used by senior Hamas political figures, including some negotiating with Qatar over a proposed […]
Singapore is gearing up to reveal a comprehensive “value unlock” package by the end of the year aimed at reviving the nation’s stock market, regulators said. Key initiatives will likely build on the Equity Market Development Programme, stronger listing incentives, streamlined regulations and enhanced shareholder rights, intended to improve liquidity, listings and investor confidence.
The EQDP, a S$5 billion programme announced earlier in the year, will see its first tranche of S$1.1 billion allocated to three asset managers—Avanda Investment Management, JP Morgan Asset Management and Fullerton Fund Management—to invest in Singapore-listed equities. These selections were made partly based on alignment with objectives to broaden participation beyond large-cap stocks and strengthen asset-management capabilities.
Alongside co-investment funding, tax incentives are being offered for primary and secondary listings. A 20 per cent corporate income tax rebate applies for qualifying new primary listings, and a 10 per cent rebate for secondary ones. There is also pressure to ease regulatory requirements around prospectus disclosures, shorten IPO-approval timelines, and allow earlier investor outreach in IPOs.
Regulatory reforms under consideration include reducing the profit requirement for Mainboard listings, aligning secondary listing rules with international disclosure standards, and possibly removing the financial watch-list mechanism for loss-making firms while increasing the role of disclosure over prescriptive reporting.
Market analysts welcome the measures but caution that they may not address deeper structural weaknesses. Singapore’s exchange has seen more delistings than IPOs in many months, a low number of growth-stage listings, a prevalence of companies with weak profitability, and low free floats among many issued shares. These factors have limited trading depth and made it harder for mid-caps to attract institutional investors.
Insolvency reform is also part of the picture. Proposed changes to Singapore’s Companies Act would broaden the so-called cross-class “cram-down” powers, letting restructuring plans be imposed even over dissenting shareholders in certain cases. The proposals include streamlining processes for issuing new shares or disposing of assets during restructuring, and revising compensation frameworks for restructuring managers.
Regulatory agencies such as the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Singapore Exchange Regulation, and the Equities Market Review Group are all involved in shaping the yet-to-be-announced package. Public consultations on many proposals have taken place or are underway, especially around IPO rules, listing thresholds, and listing admission criteria.
Via Transportation raised US$492.9 million through its initial public offering, with the shares priced notably higher than expected. The transit-tech company sold 10.7 million Class A common shares at US$46 apiece, above its marketed range of US$40 to US$44. The valuation implied by this pricing is around US$3.65 billion. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in New York, Via specialises in software and technology solutions that optimise public […]
Australia’s Reserve Bank, through Assistant Governor Brad Jones, has warned that the era of stability and integration following the Cold War has given way to a more contested strategic environment that carries elevated risk for governments, financial institutions, and markets. At a FINSIA event in Sydney on 12 September, Jones declared that “the era of the peace dividend is over,” citing geopolitical, technological and operational disruptions reshaping the global financial order.
Jones described the international security and economic system as undergoing “seismic adjustment — on a scale and speed unseen in eight decades.” He flagged multiple forces contributing to instability: rising strategic rivalry, weakening tenets of the rules-based order, frictions in globalisation, and increasing emphasis on self-insurance by nations and firms against a broader set of possible harms.
Technological advances form one front of the risk profile. Jones spoke of an expanding surface for cyber-attacks driven by digitalisation, concerns over concentration risk in cloud services, and quantum computing’s looming threat to encryption systems. Artificial intelligence, while promising productivity gains, poses risks of misinformation, fraud, and systemic instability due to herding behaviour.
Critical infrastructure exposures were cited as especially vulnerable: telecommunications networks, the electrical grid, payment systems, and market infrastructure. Jones referenced a recent example in Europe, where cascading power outages in the Iberian Peninsula disrupted both households and economic activity, pointing out that such disruptions would be far more dangerous if key financial infrastructure were affected.
To respond, the RBA is pressing for what it calls an “anti-fragile” financial system—one not simply capable of withstanding shocks but able to adapt and improve because of them. Innovation, competition, and efficiency are being positioned not as opposing goals to resilience but as complementary. Initiatives under way include work with industry to bolster payments resilience, frameworks to ensure that future payments systems embed reliability and recoverability, migration to quantum-safe encryption standards, and reforms aimed at enabling new entrants in financial market infrastructure to reduce concentration risk.
These concerns build on earlier warnings in the RBA’s Financial Stability Review, which noted that heightened geopolitical tensions, trade uncertainty, and technological vulnerabilities could interact with existing financial system risks. The review flagged operational risks from interconnectedness and dependency on third parties for infrastructure and services.
The shift has implications for monetary policy, regulatory oversight, and business strategy. Regulators are likely to place greater emphasis on risk scenarios involving geopolitics, cyber-threats and supply-chain disruptions; financial institutions will need to review and stress-test against non-traditional threats while ensuring agility; and policy frameworks may need to evolve to address threats outside standard macroeconomic shocks.
Saudi Arabia is set to increase its crude oil exports by roughly 500,000 barrels per day this month, driven by heightened production and weaker domestic oil consumption. These shifts are intensifying concerns that the global oil market may swing into oversupply later this year. Aramco and Saudi authorities have scaled back domestic crude burn for power generation, particularly as cooling demand following the summer peak reduces the […]
A senior Tesla engineer has resigned, accusing Chief Executive Elon Musk of leading with what he describes as “seriously compromised” leadership. He claims the company’s mission and integrity are being undermined, citing concerns about dishonesty, manipulation of public discourse and support for climate change denial. Giorgio Balestrieri, who had spent eight years at Tesla and worked on the company’s European energy trading algorithms—specifically the Autobidder platform that […]
Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority has opened a newly widened section of Sheikh Zayed Road near the Umm Al Sheif Street exit, expanding one direction from six lanes to seven over a 700-metre stretch. The upgrade increases capacity by about 16 per cent, allowing up to 14,000 vehicles per hour through that section. The work focuses on traffic flowing from Abu Dhabi towards central Dubai, a corridor […]
By Sushil Kutty Nepal burned and continues to simmer. Next, France is in turmoil. French citizens have invaded streets and roads blocking all that stands in their way, from roads and buildings and commercial establishments. The agitators are calling it ‘Block #verything Movement’, which is not only telling, prophetic and on the dot but is […]A surge in cyberattacks targeting U. S. schools and colleges is being met with increasing resistance, but experts warn that serious vulnerabilities remain. Data from multiple cybersecurity firms and institutions show that ransomware incidents rose by 23% year-on-year for the first half of 2025 among educational organisations—around 130 confirmed or probable attacks—at an average ransom demand of approximately US$556,000. Check Point Research finds that from January to […]
China has seen financial flows totalling about US$4.5 trillion, a figure that many analysts believe marks a turning point in how its markets are engaging with the world. The scale of cross-border investment—both inbound and outbound—is now surpassing trade in many respects, reflecting Beijing’s accelerating liberalisation efforts and a growing confidence among foreign and domestic investors.
The financial sum comprises equity, bond, and other capital movements, and corresponds with recent policy moves designed to reduce restrictions and open up China’s capital markets. One key driver is the Stock Connect programme, which allows mainland Chinese investors to purchase eligible Hong Kong–listed stocks and gives international investors access to A-shares. Southbound flows—money moving from mainland China into Hong Kong—have been especially significant, gathering close to US$100 billion within the first half of 2025. That alone matched the total stock in 2024 via that channel.
Yields on Chinese government bonds have hit highs not seen since late 2024, suggesting investors are now demanding greater returns, but also that they perceive risks such as inflation and currency pressures to be easing. The 10- and 30-year yields climbing indicates that institutions expect stabilization in key macro indicators, even if headline economic growth remains uneven. The bond market, however, has also become more volatile, driven by leveraged buying of equities and speculative pressure in certain sectors.
Another contributing factor is the behaviour of domestic institutional investors. With over 160 trillion yuan in household savings, China’s policy makers are encouraging pension funds, insurance companies, and sovereign funds to shift more capital into domestic equities. These kinds of flows reinforce the internal market strength, even as external capital enters or exits depending on global risk appetite.
Hong Kong’s IPO market has benefited greatly. Several major mainland firms—including tech and battery makers—have either listed in Hong Kong or signalled plans to do so. This has helped Hong Kong reclaim its spot among the world’s most active IPO hubs in 2025. The changes to listing rules, including shorter approval times for eligible mainland firms, have been essential in this revival.
By Nitya Chakraborty The two day uprising in Nepal on September 8 and 9 resulting in the ouster of the KPS Oli government following the attacks and burning of the Parliament Building, Supreme Court and the official and private residences of the present and former powerful ministers, was an expression of total revolt by the […]Ajman is preparing to host the Big Bad Wolf book sale for the first time, as the world’s biggest travelling book fair descends on the emirate. The sale runs from 25 September to 5 October 2025 at Youth X HUB, open daily from 10 am to 9 pm, with free admission throughout. Book enthusiasts can explore more than 250,000 titles across genres—from children’s stories to science fiction, […]
The United States is confronting a rise in COVID-19 hospitalisations and emergency department visits, reflecting a discernible peak in national activity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on 5 September 2025 that COVID-19 activity “is peaking in many areas of the country with elevated emergency department visits and hospitalisations nationally.” Worryingly, wastewater surveillance indicates very high viral levels across multiple regions, especially in the West, […]
By Nitya Chakraborty Is the Prime Minister Narendra Modi retracting from his commitment to the SCO declaration issued on September 1 and the BRICS statement of July 6 this year to send some sort of signals to US President Donald Trump about restoring reciprocity in the India-US relations? The question is very relevant as one […]Markets are sending urgent signals. Gold has burst above $3,600 an ounce, a record that reflects both anticipation of rate cuts and a broader scramble for safety. Treasury yields have swung sharply, with shorter maturities pulled lower by expectations of central bank easing while long-dated bonds creep toward multi-year highs, and across equities, momentum has become fragmented, with volatility rising around political headlines and economic uncertainty. These […]
By Nantoo Banerjee One’s pain could be another’s gain. The phrase aptly describes those big business gainers across the world out of the three-and-a-half-year-old Russia-Ukraine war, killing thousands of soldiers and civilians on both sides. The list of such gainers may be short but very impressive. They include some of the giant US defence manufacturers […]The integration embeds Ripple Payments into Thunes’s Direct Global Network, spanning 130 + countries and over 80 currencies. This union leverages Ripple’s global payout infrastructure—serving 90 + markets and covering more than 90 % of daily FX flows, with over US $70 billion processed—bringing real-time, cost-efficient, and transparent transactions to Thunes’s vast network.
Chloe Mayenobe, President and COO of Thunes, emphasised that the partnership bridges traditional finance and digital assets, enabling seamless, compliant cross-border payments at scale. She stressed the importance of real-time settlement and robust local integrations in scaling financial access globally. Fiona Murray, Managing Director for Asia-Pacific at Ripple, underscored how combining Thunes’s payment reach with Ripple’s digital asset infrastructure enhances speed, accessibility, and compliance.
This move extends Thunes’s capability to deliver payouts in local currencies in regions with limited banking access, particularly through its SmartX Treasury System. Ripple Payments is now integrated into SmartX, bolstering liquidity management and last-mile delivery in underbanked markets.
Analysis from BeInCrypto notes that this alignment enables faster settlement and improved compliance, especially where mobile wallets like GCash, M-Pesa, and WeChat Pay dominate. For enterprises, the collaboration promises efficient global transfers with lower friction. Crowdfund Insider adds that the partnership broadens payout reach while streamlining money movement across key markets.
Electronic Payments International confirms the integration into SmartX, reinforcing Thunes’s treasury capabilities and enhancing its services. CryptoBriefing highlights the joint effort to improve speed, transparency and compliance across Thunes’s global network by incorporating Ripple Payments.
This development reflects an industry shift: traditional payment networks increasingly adopt blockchain infrastructure to reduce costs and boost efficiency. Thunes, with its “Smart Superhighway” platform covering billions of mobile wallets, bank accounts, and cards, stands well-positioned to harness Ripple’s tools for expanding financial inclusion.
Thunes, founded in 2019 and headquartered in Singapore, already partners with PayPal, Uber, Grab, Paytm, and others, serving a global footprint that includes more than 3 billion accounts across 130 countries. The integration with Ripple strengthens its proposition to these and other clients seeking faster, more transparent cross-border transfers.
Nairobi forecasts steadiness in the shilling, naira and cedi for the week ahead to Thursday, even as Uganda’s shilling may firm and Zambia’s kwacha shows signs of weakness, according to trader assessments cited on 5 September 2025. Kenya’s shilling is anticipated to remain stable against the dollar, with commercial bank quotes clustered around 129.00/40 per dollar—virtually unchanged from the prior Thursday—thanks to subdued foreign exchange demand. Traders […]
Abu Dhabi National Oil Company has entered an agreement with RIQ to secure over $500 million in risk coverage across the next ten years. The AI-driven reinsurance platform, backed by International Holding Company, will work closely with ADNOC to structure capital-efficient protection tailored to complex operational, climate-related and specialty risks using advanced modelling and AI-augmented underwriting. ADNOC Secures $500 Million AI-Driven Reinsurance Pact embodies this forward-looking collaboration […]
China has issued a bold action plan to propel its electronic information manufacturing industry through 2025 and 2026, targeting sustained growth in industrial output, revenue, and technological capability as it seeks to strengthen its position in the global technology arena.
The plan, jointly issued by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the State Administration for Market Regulation, sets forth a target of roughly 7 per cent average annual growth in industrial output across major segments—including computer, communications, and electronic equipment manufacturing. Revenue growth across related sub-sectors such as lithium batteries, photovoltaics and components is projected to exceed 5 per cent per annum.
Authorities further anticipate that by the close of 2026, the electronic information manufacturing category will retain its status as the largest among China’s 41 key industrial sectors in both revenue and export share. Ambitious local targets aim to elevate five provinces to over 1 trillion yuan in annual manufacturing revenues, with the server industry aiming to surpass 400 billion yuan.
Beyond output and revenue, the plan calls for accelerated equipment modernisation and the development of high-end, intelligent, and eco-friendly production lines. Central to this strategy is the creation of internationally competitive industry bases and specialised clusters serving smaller enterprises.
This industrial blueprint emerges amid broader national efforts to invigorate advanced manufacturing. In August, authorities unveiled new financial guidelines, integrating structural monetary instruments and “green channels” for critical technology firms, aimed at spurring innovation and easing access to capital for integrated circuits, industrial software, medical equipment and advanced materials. Concurrently, China continues to pursue consolidation within its semiconductor sector—though merger negotiations have encountered obstacles, reflecting legal, valuation and fragmentation challenges.
Observers note that China’s renewed emphasis on domestic capability complements longer-standing ambitions under industrial strategies such as “Made in China 2025”, which have driven progress in robotics, solar technology, electric vehicles and rail systems, yet left persistent weaknesses in semiconductors and aerospace.
The current two-year action plan appears to reinforce this trajectory by tying industrial upgrading to environmental standards and smart manufacturing. Provincial authorities are being pressed to deliver on revenue milestones, while the focus on intelligent and eco-friendly production signals an effort to align with global sustainability trends and elevate manufacturing sophistication.
This approach also reflects the government’s response to external pressure, including export controls and trade friction, by targeting resilience and self-sufficiency. By prioritising hubs and clusters, China aims to decentralise innovation and drive inclusive industrial progress across regions, not just within flagship firms or coastal areas.
The twin objectives of maintaining international leadership and building more advanced, cleaner industrial capacity are central to this strategy. As China moves into the mid-2020s, its success will depend on execution—not just on paper targets, but on implementation, regional mobilisation, talent development, and the ability to absorb and apply new technologies at scale.
