Variational has raised about $50 million in a Series A round led by Dragonfly, giving the peer-to-peer derivatives startup fresh capital to expand perpetual futures tied to real-world assets including oil, gold, silver and copper. The funding marks a sharper push by decentralised finance firms into traditional market instruments at a time when traders are seeking broader access to commodities, indices, foreign exchange and equities through blockchain-based […]
Washington’s derivatives regulator and the National Hockey League have signed a memorandum of understanding to share information and co-ordinate oversight of prediction markets tied to professional hockey, extending federal scrutiny over a fast-growing sector that sits between financial derivatives, sports data and gambling regulation. The agreement, signed by Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Michael S. Selig and NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman on 21 May 2026, creates regular […]
Polymarket has appointed a representative in Japan and is preparing to press policymakers for a route to authorise prediction markets, marking a significant step in its effort to turn a crypto-native trading platform into a regulated global financial venue.
The New York-founded company, led by Shayne Coplan, is seeking to open discussions around whether event-based contracts can be permitted under Japan’s financial and digital-asset framework rather than treated purely as gambling. The move comes as prediction markets draw heavier institutional interest, stronger trading volumes and sharper scrutiny from regulators over consumer protection, market integrity and the legal boundary between betting and derivatives.
People familiar with the matter said the company’s Japan strategy is at an early stage and would require engagement with officials, lawmakers and industry participants before any formal market entry. Japan does not have a dedicated framework for cash-based prediction markets, leaving platforms that allow users to trade on political, economic, sports or cultural outcomes exposed to uncertainty under gambling and financial laws.
Polymarket allows users to buy and sell contracts tied to the outcome of real-world events, with prices reflecting market-implied probabilities. Its markets have covered elections, central bank decisions, geopolitical events, sports, entertainment and cryptocurrency milestones. The platform gained global visibility during the 2024 US presidential election cycle, when trading volumes surged and its odds were widely cited as an alternative gauge of political sentiment.
Japan would offer Polymarket a large, sophisticated retail market with deep participation in equities, foreign exchange and digital assets. The country has also built one of the world’s more structured crypto regulatory regimes, requiring registration for crypto-asset exchange service providers and imposing rules on custody, anti-money laundering controls and customer protection. That framework may give the company a potential route for engagement, although prediction markets remain a separate and more politically sensitive category.
The company’s global push has accelerated after a period of regulatory pressure in the United States. Polymarket settled a case with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission in 2022 after being accused of offering off-exchange event-based binary options without proper registration. It blocked US users for several years before moving to rebuild a domestic regulatory path through acquisitions and licensing efforts. Its purchase of a derivatives exchange and clearinghouse gave it a route to pursue compliant US operations.
Institutional backing has also strengthened its position. Intercontinental Exchange, the parent of the New York Stock Exchange, agreed to invest up to $2 billion in Polymarket in a deal that valued the business at about $8 billion before the transaction. The partnership gave Polymarket a powerful market infrastructure ally and signalled that event-driven data may have value beyond retail speculation, particularly for investors seeking real-time sentiment around political, economic and corporate developments.
Competition is intensifying. Kalshi, a regulated US prediction market operator, has expanded rapidly by framing event contracts as financial instruments under commodities law. Its growth has triggered legal disputes with state regulators, some of whom argue that sports and election-linked contracts resemble gambling products. That debate is likely to influence Japan’s assessment of whether prediction markets can be supervised as finance, gaming, information markets or a hybrid category.
Polymarket’s Japan plan faces several obstacles. Gambling is tightly restricted, with permitted activity largely confined to state-authorised sectors such as horse racing, bicycle racing, motorboat racing, lotteries and pachinko-linked structures. Online betting carries heightened enforcement risks, and any product involving wagers on uncertain outcomes would need careful legal classification. A crypto-funded model could add further complexity because regulators would need to examine custody, settlement, identity checks, sanctions screening and investor suitability.
Supporters of prediction markets argue that they create useful public signals by aggregating dispersed information into tradable prices. Traders who believe a market is mispriced can buy or sell contracts, pushing prices closer to collective expectations. That model has appealed to political analysts, hedge funds, economists and technology investors seeking faster indicators than polls, surveys or conventional research.
Critics counter that thin liquidity, anonymous participation, insider access and coordinated trading can distort outcomes. Questions have intensified around markets linked to sensitive events, where participants may possess non-public information or where the existence of a market could create troubling incentives. Japan’s regulators are likely to examine whether surveillance systems, position limits, disclosure rules and dispute-resolution mechanisms are strong enough to reduce those risks.
Emirates NBD has extended a AED367.3 million loan facility to Luxembourg-based CPI Property Group, giving the European real estate investor funding cover for deferred payments on a portfolio of ultra-luxury residential units in Dubai through 2026 and 2027. The transaction, equivalent to about $100 million or €86 million, is secured against 19 high-end residences owned by CPI Property Group, including 15 units still under construction. The assets […]
Apache OFBiz users have been urged to move to version 24.09.06 after disclosure of an authentication bypass flaw that can be chained to remote code execution, exposing enterprise resource planning systems to takeover through a manipulated password-change workflow. Tracked as CVE-2026-45434, the vulnerability affects Apache OFBiz versions before 24.09.06. It stems from improper authentication handling in the platform’s password-change logic, where a forced password reset condition may […]
Core42 has secured $550 million in structured trade finance from HSBC to accelerate artificial intelligence cloud and compute deployments across the United States and Europe, strengthening the Abu Dhabi group’s position in the global race to build large-scale AI infrastructure. The financing, arranged through two non-equity dilutive facilities, gives the G42 company additional capital without requiring a share sale. The first facility, worth $240 million, was completed […]
UAE economic growth is expected to slip into a mild contraction in 2026 as the Iran war disrupts oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz, before staging a strong recovery in 2027 on higher crude and gas production, major energy projects and continued strength in non-oil sectors. The projected setback marks a sharp reversal for the Gulf’s second-largest economy, which has spent the past decade reducing its […]
SpaceX is pitching its planned public listing as a bet on artificial intelligence as much as rockets, telling prospective investors that AI services could open a $26.5 trillion market opportunity and transform the company from a launch-and-satellite operator into a global computing platform. The shift marks a striking turn for Elon Musk’s space company as it prepares for what could become the largest stock-market debut on record. […]
HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM – Media OutReach Newswire – 21 May 2026 – Vietnam International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City (VIFC-HCMC), in collaboration with Gemadept Corporation and the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies, today hosted a high-level forum to officially launch the International Maritime Financial Ecosystem (IMFE) — one of the four strategic pillars of VIFC-HCMC.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Huan (left), Vice Chairman of VIFC-HCMC, and Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh, General Director of Gemadept Corporation, at the official launch ceremony of the International Maritime Financial Ecosystem (IMFE) in Ho Chi Minh City.
The forum, themed “Developing the International Maritime Financial Ecosystem within the Vietnam International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City,” took place at the VIFC-HCMC Building, 08 Nguyen Hue Street, District 1, and drew more than 100 senior delegates. Attendees included leaders from central ministries and agencies, the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, representatives from coastal provinces (Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang), domestic and international financial institutions, port and logistics enterprises, and international organisations.
The day’s agenda focused on three headline moments: a strategic industry report by Roland Berger, titled “Vietnam Maritime Industry: A Strategic Opportunity for Breakthrough Growth,” which benchmarked leading global maritime financial hubs and mapped a roadmap to raise Vietnam’s domestic value retention from the current 4–5% to 15% by 2035; the official launch ceremony of the IMFE initiative within VIFC-HCMC; and a memorandum of understanding signed between VIFC-HCMC and Gemadept Corporation, owner and operator of Gemalink International Port in Cai Mep – Thi Vai, formalising Gemadept’s role as a founding lead of the initiative. The forum also saw the introduction of the first maritime financial products and initiatives to be developed within the VIFC-HCMC framework.
A seaport system of growing global weight
The ambition behind IMFE is grounded in the rapid rise of southern Vietnam’s port infrastructure. Ho Chi Minh City is home to Cat Lai Port — ranked among the world’s top 21, handling approximately 7.5 million TEUs annually — and Gemalink International Port in Cai Mep – Thi Vai, capable of receiving ultra-large container vessels. These existing assets are set to be joined by the Can Gio International Transshipment Port, a 571-hectare project with a projected capacity of 17 million TEUs per year, further deepening the city’s integration into global logistics and trade networks.
In 2025, the Ho Chi Minh City port system handled over 24 million TEUs, ranking 8th globally according to Lloyd’s List, and was associated with approximately USD 200 billion in import-export turnover, accounting for around 20% of Vietnam’s total trade value. Surrounding this physical infrastructure, a broad ecosystem of supporting services has expanded significantly, spanning cargo handling, warehousing, freight forwarding, customs clearance, and supply chain management. The total annual trade transaction value flowing through the region — encompassing goods, logistics services, and related financial demand – is estimated at over USD 1 trillion.
The financial gap: billions flowing through offshore centers
However, the scale of this physical activity stands in sharp contrast to the financial value Vietnam currently retains. Despite enormous cargo volumes, most high-value maritime financial services generating the largest profit margin including trade finance, ship financing, marine insurance and reinsurance, international payments, and logistics risk management continue to flow through developed offshore maritime financial centers. Vietnam currently captures only around 4–5% of these financial transaction values domestically, leaving an estimated USD 6–8 billion in potential value accessible but unrealised. To complete the maritime value chain and retain these economic benefits onshore, Vietnam must evolve beyond purely physical cargo transshipment. The gradual development of a comprehensive maritime financial ecosystem is an essential and inevitable strategic step.
IMFE: from vision to institutional launch
Against this backdrop, the IMFE initiative took shape as a core component of VIFC-HCMC, with Gemadept Corporation serving as a founding lead. The initiative was first introduced on September 12, 2025, during the symposium “Ho Chi Minh City – A Modern, High-End, High-Value Service Hub,” where Gemadept presented a strategic vision of integrating Vietnam’s deep-sea port infrastructure with a dedicated maritime financial ecosystem. To materialise that vision, the corporation cooperates with the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, leading to its official designation as a Strategic Member of VIFC-HCMC on February 11, 2026, at the Center’s Launching Ceremony. Today, as the operator of Gemalink — a major deep-sea gateway at Cai Mep – Thi Vai — Gemadept is focused on channeling high-value capital flows and advanced financial services directly into Ho Chi Minh City’s real maritime economy.
With this foundation in place, today’s forum pursues three concrete objectives: to officially launch the IMFE as a strategic platform designed to localise maritime financial capital and services, laying the groundwork for Ho Chi Minh City to emerge as one of the region’s leading maritime hubs; to connect financial institutions, banks, insurance companies, shipping lines, logistics enterprises, and international organisations within an integrated ecosystem, bringing the port-to-finance model to life in Vietnam; and to introduce the first maritime financial products and initiatives, creating mechanisms for Vietnamese enterprises to access financing, insurance, and risk management tools domestically rather than through foreign intermediaries.
“Ports such as Can Gio and Cai Mep-Thi Vai are transshipment hubs for cargo flows — VIFC-HCMC must become the transshipment hub for capital flows serving Vietnam’s maritime economy,” said Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Huan, Vice Chairman of VIFC-HCMC.
Hashtag: #VIFC
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Greenlogue/AP Corporate climate target-setting is entering a more flexible phase as the Science Based Targets initiative shifts its global approach from a largely standard-setting and validation role towards a broader model aimed at helping companies deliver emissions cuts in difficult operating conditions. The London-based organisation, widely regarded as the leading verifier of corporate climate goals, has set out a 2026-2030 strategy that gives greater weight to implementation […]
Mexico’s sovereign credit rating has been cut to the last rung of investment grade, placing fresh pressure on President Claudia Sheinbaum’s administration as investors weigh rising debt, sluggish growth and the continuing fiscal burden of Petróleos Mexicanos. Moody’s Ratings lowered Mexico’s long-term local and foreign-currency issuer and senior unsecured ratings to Baa3 from Baa2, while changing the outlook to stable from negative. The move leaves Latin America’s […]
Caracas has become an unlikely stop for financiers, oil executives and restructuring advisers as Venezuela’s attempt to reopen its economy turns a once-quiet luxury hotel into a meeting point for dealmaking. The Cayena, a boutique property in the capital’s La Castellana district where rooms start at about $400 a night, spent much of its 13 years operating in a market cut off by sanctions, political conflict and […]
Morocco is moving to turn video gaming into a high-growth industry, offering financial backing, incubation and training to local startups as it seeks to create skilled jobs, widen export revenue and produce the country’s first billion-dollar technology companies. The push has gained fresh momentum around the Morocco Gaming Expo 2026 in Rabat, held from May 20 to 24, where officials, developers, investors and international technology firms are […]
Meta Platforms has told employees it does not expect further company-wide layoffs this year after cutting about 8,000 jobs and shifting thousands more workers into artificial intelligence projects. Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg delivered the assurance in an internal memo on Wednesday, the same day the Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp owner carried out one of its largest reorganisations since the post-pandemic technology downturn. The cuts affect about 10 […]
MANILA, PHILLIPINES – Media OutReach Newswire – 21 May 2026 – State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT), one of the world’s leading providers of financial services to institutional investors, today announced the establishment of a new office in Manila, the Philippines.
The new Manila office, scheduled to open in the second half of 2026, will further strengthen State Street’s global operating model and expand its processing capabilities, complementing the firm’s existing operations across the Asia Pacific region.
“The Asia Pacific region is critical to our longterm growth strategy,” said Ann Fogarty, chief operating officer for Investment Services, State Street. “The expansion into Manila is an important step in the continued evolution of our global operating model as we continue to support significant client growth in the region.”
Manila offers access to a young, diverse and highly educated workforce, drawing talent from the city’s wellestablished University Belt and its strong pipeline of graduates with financial services and operations expertise.
With USD54.5 trillion1 in assets under custody and/or administration, State Street services more than 12% of the world’s assets2. The firm operates in more than 100 geographic markets and employs approximately 51,000 people worldwide. State Street established its presence in Asia Pacific more than 40 years ago and today operates 16 offices across the region.
1As of March 31, 2026
2Represents State Street AUC/A of USD$54.5T as of March 31, 2026, divided by Global Financial Assets, including Global Equity, Global Debt Securities and Global Broad Money (M3), as of December 31, 2024. Sources: SIFMA Markets Factbook, 2025; Organisation for Economic Co-Operation (OECD), World Bank. Hashtag: #StateStreetCorporation #Manila #GlobalOperatingModel
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
About State Street Corporation
State Street Corporation (NYSE: STT) is one of the world’s leading providers of financial services to institutional investors including investment servicing, investment management and investment research and trading. With US$54.5 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and US$5.6 trillion* in assets under management as of March 31, 2026, State Street operates globally in more than 100 geographic markets and employs approximately 51,000 worldwide. For more information, visit State Street’s website at www.statestreet.com.
*Assets under management as of March 31, 2026 includes approximately US$184 billion of assets with respect to SPDR® products for which State Street Global Advisors Funds Distributors, LLC (SSGA FD) acts solely as the marketing agent. SSGA FD and State Street Investment Management are affiliated.
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Emirates has completed the first reconfiguration of a two-class Airbus A380, turning one of its high-density aircraft into a three-class jet as the Dubai carrier accelerates a $5 billion cabin renewal programme across its long-haul fleet. The upgraded aircraft, registered A6-EUX, has entered service on the Dubai-Birmingham route as EK39/40, carrying 76 business class seats, 56 premium economy seats and 437 economy class […]
OpenAI will commit more than S$300 million, or about US$234 million, to build its first Applied AI Lab outside the United States in Singapore, marking a significant step in the company’s international expansion and the city-state’s push to become a global centre for practical artificial intelligence deployment. The multiyear partnership with Singapore’s Ministry of Digital Development and Information will operate under the “OpenAI for Singapore” initiative, aimed […]
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai ARP Digital has joined the Fireblocks Network for Payments as its designated GCC corridor settlement partner, giving fintechs, payment service providers and financial institutions a regulated route into Gulf payment corridors through a single integration. The arrangement positions the Bahrain-licensed digital capital infrastructure platform as a settlement counterparty for Fireblocks’ global network, with live rails covering the UAE dirham, Bahraini dinar and other […]
Millions of browser users have been targeted by CypherLoc, a scareware campaign built to freeze screens, mimic security alerts and push victims towards fraudulent technology support operators. Security researchers tracking the activity said about 2.8 million attacks have been observed since the start of 2026, underscoring the scale of a threat that relies less on advanced malware and more on pressure, confusion and trust in familiar security […]
Investors should be seeking advice on a possible US stock market correction as surging bond yields driven by the ongoing war in Iran pose a near-term risk to stock gains. Wall Street spent the past year treating artificial intelligence as a force powerful enough to overwhelm inflation, war, deficits and interest rates simultaneously. Markets rewarded that conviction spectacularly. Nvidia added more than $2tn in market value in […]
Washington has imposed sanctions on more than 50 Iran-linked individuals, companies and vessels, targeting a currency exchange network and oil transport channels as pressure builds on Tehran to reach a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The measures announced on Tuesday place Amin Exchange, also known as Ebrahimi and Associates Partnership Company, at the centre of a renewed campaign against Iran’s financial and petroleum networks. The […]
SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 20 May 2026 – DigiFT, a regulated digital asset exchange for institutional-grade real-world assets, and Franklin Templeton, a global investment leader with USD 1.74 trillion in assets under management, today announced a long-term strategic partnership to make the Benji Technology Platform and its related tokenization products available to accredited and institutional investors through DigiFT’s platform. DigiFT holds Capital Markets Services and Recognised Market Operator licences from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) — a regulatory standing that makes DigiFT specifically authorised to distribute regulated securities tokens to institutional investors in Singapore.
(Left) Henry Zhang, Founder and Group CEO at DigiFT and (Right) Chetan Karkhanis, SVP Digital Asset Partnership Development at Franklin Templeton
The collaboration is grounded in a shared early commitment to institutional tokenization. Franklin Templeton launched the first U.S.-registered mutual fund to use a public blockchain to process transactions and record share ownership in 2021. DigiFT has built one of Asia’s most comprehensively regulated platforms for institutional tokenized asset distribution — holding licences in both Singapore and Hong Kong, including Type 1 and Type 4 licences from the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong. This partnership brings those two track records together: DigiFT will serve as a key distributor across Asia, with both organisations committed to expanding the scope of their work together over time.
The partnership arrives at a decisive moment. In 2025, tokenized real-world assets distributed on public blockchains grew from approximately USD 5.5 billion to USD 18.6 billion, with tokenized U.S. government securities emerging as the leading institutional category. This growth underscores a structural inefficiency in digital markets, where institutional capital is frequently held in non‑yielding stablecoins or on‑exchange balances, while traditional fund infrastructure remains constrained by defined settlement cycles. The Benji Technology Platform and its related tokenization products are designed to address this gap by supporting the tokenization of U.S. government securities strategies that accrue yield continuously, including intraday accrual, through Franklin Templeton’s patent‑pending Intraday Yield mechanism. It also supports 24/7 transferability between permissioned wallets and near‑instant on‑chain settlement, enabling a range of potential institutional treasury management, payment and settlement use cases, and deployable off‑exchange collateral for institutional market participants.
Henry Zhang, Founder and Group CEO of DigiFT, said: “DigiFT was built with a specific conviction: that institutional investors deserve access to the world’s best on-chain financial instruments, through a platform that meets the regulatory standard they require. The partnership with Franklin Templeton reflects that conviction and marks the beginning of a long-term strategic collaboration to bring tokenized solutions to market.”
Chetan Karkhanis, SVP, Digital Asset Partnership Development at Franklin Templeton, said: “The partners we choose reflect our long-term commitment, not just our near-term distribution objectives towards bringing the benefits of blockchain and tokenization to the industry. DigiFT’s leadership and innovative edge, together with the institutional infrastructure they have built, provides a strong foundation for this partnership. This marks the beginning of what we expect to be an expanding and enduring collaboration.” Hashtag: #DigiFT
Arabian Post Staff -Dubai Senior ministers, diplomats and business leaders from the UAE and India used a Dubai forum on Monday evening to sharpen a shared push for bilateral trade to reach $200 billion by 2032, building on the momentum generated by the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement. The high-level gathering, hosted by the UAE India Business Council’s UAE chapter under the theme “Strength in Resilience”, brought together […]
Dubai has unveiled the Museum of Digital Art at DIFC Zabeel District, positioning the planned five-floor institution as the region’s first museum dedicated to digital art and new technologies. Launched by Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture and Arts Authority, the project brings together Dubai Culture and Dubai International Financial Centre in a cultural partnership designed to expand the city’s role […]
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