UNITED NATIONS, United States: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday called for coordinated international action to address AI risks as fears rise about the dangers of the fast-evolving technology.
“National action is essential. But global coordination is also indispensable,” he told reporters. “AI does not stop at borders and neither do its risks.”
“AI has enormous potential — to accelerate sustainable development, enhance learning, strengthen health systems, boost climate resilience, and so much more,” Guterres said.
“But a growing number of those building it are sounding the alarm — warning that development is racing ahead of our understanding of the risks.”
“The world cannot afford a race to the bottom on AI safety,” he warned.
Concerns about AI safety have escalated in recent weeks, with workers at major AI developers resigning over concerns about the dangers posed by the technology.
President Donald Trump has dismissed warnings against AI risks as a “hoax” and pushed back against calls for tighter oversight.
KYIV: A Russian drone struck a passenger bus in southern Ukraine early Wednesday, killing five people and wounding at least seven in the latest in a series of Russian strikes on civilian transportation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the attack an atrocity with no military purpose.
The strike occurred in the Nikopol district of Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, near the war’s southern front line. Oleksandr Hanzha, head of the regional military administration, said that all five were killed at the scene while the seven wounded were receiving medical care.
Zelensky described the vehicle as a minibus and said in an X post that the strike had “no military rationale” and that it was “just another atrocity.” He said the strike was connected to Russia’s targeting of logistics and critical infrastructure that has continued “unabated.”
Zelensky said that a passenger train was also struck in the Mykolaiv region on Wednesday, damaging a railway station and a diesel locomotive. Nearly 170 passengers on board the train were evacuated before the strike. An electric locomotive in the northwestern city of Kovel was also struck, Zelensky said.
Ukraine requests locomotives from partners
Russian strikes on Ukraine’s rail network have resulted in more than 500 locomotives being damaged or completely destroyed since the beginning of the all-out war on Feb. 24, 2022, with more than half those strikes occurring this year, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X on Tuesday.
Sybiha described such attacks as “systematic” and aimed at disrupting logistics across Ukraine. He said that Ukraine urgently needs replacements for damaged locomotives, and called on the country’s partners to assist in finding locomotives compatible with its 1,520-millimeter rail gauge and to assist in financing.
In another post on X on Wednesday, Sybiha said that Russian forces were striking passenger trains, locomotives, stations and railway routes “knowing exactly how essential they are for civilians, evacuations and Ukraine’s economy.”
“This is not collateral damage. It is a systematic hunt for people and an attempt to (paralyze) civilian life,” he wrote.
Zelensky says there is no truce on halting energy strikes
In an interview with CBS News on Tuesday, Zelensky pushed back against an earlier claim by US President Donald Trump that Ukraine and Russia had agreed to mutually cease attacks on each other’s energy infrastructure. Zelensky said that Ukraine was ready to enter such an agreement, if Russia stops striking Ukrainian energy facilities.
Trump said in a social media post Monday that such a truce had been reached, but didn’t offer details on the purported agreement. Previous efforts to broker even a partial ceasefire have repeatedly fallen apart within hours, with both sides accusing the other of violations.
In the CBS interview, Zelensky said that the possibility of an energy truce was discussed during a recent meeting in Kyiv with Trump’s representatives, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, but that he had told them: “If the Russians are ready for an energy truce, that means there will be no attacks on energy facilities at all.”
This morning, the Russians struck a regular intercity minibus near Nikopol with an FPV drone. As of now, five people have been reported killed, and seven others are receiving medical care. No military rationale, just another atrocity. My condolences to the families and loved… pic.twitter.com/QFetF4Ww0s
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) September 16, 2026
Russia decorates ship captain who fired flares at Danish helicopter
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Wednesday that the captain of a Russian warship that fired two signal flares toward a Danish military helicopter on Monday, drawing ire from Denmark, has been awarded a medal for his “competent and resolute action.”
The ministry said in a statement that the Soobrazitelny corvette was on a mission in neutral waters in the Baltic Sea when its crew spotted the approaching helicopter, which failed to respond to calls made via the international communication channel.
“To prevent a provocation by the Danish helicopter, the corvette commander decided to fire two red signal flares, after which the helicopter left the area where the Russian warship was located,” the ministry said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday that Moscow has no aggressive intentions toward Europe, but that if countries on the continent were to launch an attack on Russia, “it would be a completely different kind of war, and a very short one.”
Russian general killed in Ukrainian drone strike
The deputy head of the Russian armed forces’ military-political department, Lt. Gen. Apti Alaudinov, confirmed Wednesday that a decorated Russian general had been killed in the occupied Donetsk region.
Alaudinov, who didn’t provide details on the circumstances of Maj. Gen. Anton Grunis’ death, hailed the officer as “a hero” and “one of the most respected generals … a real man and officer and a great patriot.”
The confirmation of Grunis’ death came after Robert “Magyar” Brovdi, commander of Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces, alleged on Wednesday that Grunis had been killed in occupied Donetsk by a Ukrainian drone while at a command post in the village of Kindrativka.
In July, Grunis reported to Russian President Vladimir Putin that his troops had captured the town of Kostiantynivka and he was later awarded the Hero of Russia medal. Ukraine has disputed that Kostiantynivka was fully taken by Russian forces.
Grunis had previously fought in Chechnya, a mainly Muslim republic whose bid for independence after the Soviet Union’s collapse led to years of war with Russian government forces. He also took part in Russia’s campaign in Syria.
In Ukraine, he commanded the 4th Guards Motorized Infantry Brigade.
Meanwhile, 17 other sites were damaged in Ukraine’s Kyiv region between Tuesday and Wednesday morning, according to the head of the Kyiv regional military administration, Tymur Tkachenko. Eight private homes, five vehicles, a municipal building, a hangar and a production facility were among the sites damaged, Tkachenko said on Telegram.
Zelensky said on X that the Kherson, Donetsk and Poltava regions had also come under attack.
In the northern city of Sumy, six people were injured in a Russian guided aerial bomb attack, including a 14-year-old girl, according to the head of the Sumy regional military administration Oleh Hryhorov. Two homes were destroyed and 10 others damaged in the strikes, along with damage to an educational facility, Hryhorov said, adding that two other men were hospitalized after a separate strike hit an industrial zone.
In the port city of Odesa, one person was killed in a Russian attack that sparked a fire at garages and damaged vehicles and private homes, Serhii Lysak, head of the city’s military administration, wrote on Telegram Wednesday.
Russia’s Defense Ministry said that its air defenses downed 71 Ukrainian drones overnight. In the Belgorod region, one person was killed and four others were wounded by Ukrainian strikes over the last 24 hours, according to acting governor Alexander Shuvayev.
JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Tadawul All Share Index held firm on Wednesday, losing just 1.66 points, or 0.02 percent, to close at 10,779.96
As investors traded around 168 million shares worth nearly SR3.5 billion ($933 million), 113 stocks advanced and 147 declined.
The Kingdom’s parallel market Nomu lost 2.77 points, or 0.01 percent, to close at 21,376.05, with 30 companies gaining and 33 declining. The MSCI Tadawul 30 Index also fell 0.08 points, or 0.01 percent, to close at 1,450.01.
Market movers
The main market’s top performer was Raydan Food Co., whose share price increased 10 percent to end the session at SR16.28, while Nofoth Food Products Co. recorded a 9.87 percent increase to close at SR6.57.
Ataa Educational Co. also increased 4.75 percent to end the day at SR42.76.
On the losing side, Armah Sports Co. decreased 4.92 percent to close at SR67.60, while Flynas Co. declined 4.46 percent to end the session at SR42.02.
Sumou Real Estate Co. also declined 4.13 percent to close at SR25.08.
Corporate disclosures
Saudi Vitrified Clay Pipes Co. said Laffan Pipes Co., or Laffan Saudi, has been converted from a one-person limited liability company into an unlisted Saudi joint stock company with issued capital of SR45.5 million, according to a Tadawul filing.
Laffan Pipes Factory Co. of Qatar has completed its admission as a shareholder through a capital increase against an in-kind contribution, giving it a 45 percent stake in Laffan Saudi, while SVCP retains the remaining 55 percent.
Laffan Saudi’s issued capital comprises 45.5 million ordinary shares, each with a nominal value of SR1, and has been fully paid through in-kind contributions.
The development follows an MoU signed between the two companies in February 2024 and a partnership agreement signed about six months later.
SVCP’s shares declined 3.12 percent to close at SR17.99.
In another disclosure, Umm Al-Qura for Development and Construction Co. said it signed an agreement to sell a 2,500-sq.-meter plot within Masar Destination in Makkah to Rawajeh Real Estate Co. for SR168.91 million.
The boulevard-facing plot, located in Zone 2 of Masar Destination, has a book value of SR76.01 million.
Umm Al-Qura, whose shares rose 2.50 percent to SR17.20, said the sale is part of its development strategy for Masar Destination, with the plot to be developed as a residential tower.
The transaction is expected to have a positive impact on liquidity and financial results, with proceeds to be used to finance working capital and ongoing projects.
In a separate Tadawul filing, CATRION Catering Holding Co. said it signed an agreement with Air Arabia DMM Co. to provide inflight catering services under a five-year contract valued at an estimated SR200 million.
Under the agreement, CATRION will provide inflight catering services, sell onboard food, beverages and other supplies, and provide logistics services to Air Arabia.
The agreement was signed on Sept. 15 and is expected to have a financial impact beginning in the fourth quarter of 2026.
CATRION, whose share price fell 0.74 percent to SR67.25, said the agreement is part of its strategy to sustain business, strengthen long-term partnerships with airline-sector clients, support growth, diversify revenue streams and enhance operational efficiency.
Indonesia is expanding cultural cooperation with Gulf states to preserve the diverse heritage of Muslim societies, the culture minister tells Arab News, as he seeks partnerships in new technologies and creative entrepreneurship to keep it relevant for younger generations.
Minister of Culture Fadli Zon has held talks with Gulf officials in recent months, as part of Indonesia’s effort to strengthen cultural diplomacy.
This includes meetings with Saudi Minister of Culture Bader bin Abdullah bin Farhan, the Kuwaiti Ambassador to Indonesia Khalid Jassim Al-Yassin, and the Qatari Ambassador to Indonesia Sultan bin Mubarak Saad Al-Dosari.
“Indonesia and the Gulf countries share an interest in safeguarding heritage while ensuring its relevance to younger generations,” Fadli said.
“Collaboration in digitization, museum development, heritage management, cultural education, and the use of new technologies can strengthen preservation while supporting tourism, research, and creative entrepreneurship.”
He envisions deeper cooperation with Gulf partners through more extensive cultural exchange, experience and knowledge sharing, as well as collaborations in the creative economy, ranging from modest fashion, culinary traditions to digital content creation.
While Indonesia and Gulf countries have “distinct cultural traditions and national experiences,” they are still connected by centuries-long ties, through which further cultural cooperation can serve as “an important platform for sharing the diverse expressions of Muslim societies,” Fadli added.
He highlighted “strategic, multi-layered initiatives” Jakarta currently has with Gulf nations, including how the visit of Saudi culture minister to Jakarta in April “opened new avenues in joint film co-production, artist residencies, museum innovation and digital cultural” programs and boosted the renewal of their cultural cooperation, following Jakarta and Riyadh’s first such agreement in 2017.
The two countries are also collaborating under the framework of intangible cultural heritage, including on preserving Arabic calligraphy and the extension of its recognition by UNESCO.
This year, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country will organize cultural programs with Qatar to celebrate their 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations, with plans to showcase their national stamps.
In 2025, the culture ministry’s Directorate General of Cultural Diplomacy, Promotion and Cooperation signed an agreement with the Abu Dhabi Arabic Language Center, as Jakarta aims to promote Indonesian literature and arts through major international events held in the UAE.
In his meetings with the Qatari and Kuwaiti envoys last month, Fadli also proposed talks on bilateral cultural agreements to broaden cooperation in the sector.
“Indonesia is committed to transforming its longstanding historical and spiritual ties with the Gulf into modern, dynamic, and sustainable partnerships … We believe that the relationship between Indonesia and the Gulf can become an important model of cooperation between diverse Muslim societies,” Fadli said.
“By working together, Indonesia and the Gulf can ensure that culture does more than preserve the memory of our past. It can guide our societies through the challenges of the present and help us shape a more peaceful, inclusive, and humane future.”
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images News
BlackRock (BLK) has launched LifePath Solutions, a framework that brings large retirement plan capabilities to a broader set of plan sponsors.
The customizable target date design framework combines sophisticated plan and participant analysis with the option to leverage BlackRock’s whole-portfolio
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Wednesday that Canada has been invited to become the first “associate member” of the EU.
She announced the move during her 2026 State of the Union address in Strasbourg, to an audience including not only MEPs but also Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who attended her speech in the midst of a trade war with the US.
Since late August, the Canadians have been pushing hard for the Europeans to build a closer relationship with them, though full EU membership is not an option as Canada is not a European state.
During her speech before the MEPs on Wednesday, von der Leyen invited the country to become “the first associate member of the European Union”.
“We share one ocean, one set of values, one way of seeing the world. And we will now build our shared future as well,” she added.
Expectations had been high over the last week after Carney spoke about building a “unique alliance” with the EU.
Canada is not a European state geographically, but it shares the same values as the EU – human rights, democracy, rule of law – which are necessary criteria for becoming a member state.
Several options already exist for countries that don’t have full membership. Norway, for instance, is part of the single market, the EU’s borderless area of free movement of goods, persons, services and capital. Oslo and Brussels also collaborate on joint defence initiatives.
Switzerland also has access to the single market through several agreements – and in the years since Brexit, the United Kingdom and the EU have secured the largest and broadest trade and cooperation deal in the bloc’s history, coverering a wide range of sectors. The UK is now taking part in several EU programmes such as Horizon Europe, the EU’s research and innovation programme.
Euronews has learned that Ottawa is already in talks with Brussels to join the Erasmus+ exchange program, Horizon Europe research grants, and mutual recognition of workers’ qualifications.
However, “associate member” is a completely new status, and key questions have not yet been answered – chief among them, whether Canada will have voting rights in EU institutions. Despite their regulatory harmonisation with the bloc, Norway and Switzerland have no say on EU legislation.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz floated the idea last May of an “associate membership” for Ukraine, which is urgently seeking to enter the EU. In a letter sent to EU leaders, he argued that this status would grant Ukraine access to the decision-making bodies – the European Council, the European Commission and the European Parliament – without voting rights or a dedicated portfolio.
It would also allow the country to tap into certain EU-funded programmes on a “step-by-step” basis.
It’s hard to see Canada in the same category as Ukraine, a country which is at war, but von der Leyen’s announcement on Wednesday nonetheless sent a strong political signal in a volatile world where historical alliances are shifting.
“Europe and Canada believe in democracy. That power does not belong to the strongest, the richest, or the loudest – but to all of us,” she said. “Democracies have the freedom to choose with whom to work.”
She also called for a new alliance with Ottawa, which could include tech, defence, Arctic joint projects, but also energy, critical minerals and artificial intelligence.
“We will move from CETA to an Alliance for the Future to create a common prosperity and economic security space,” she said, referring to the 2016 EU-Canada trade agreement that removed tariff barriers between both sides and has been provisionally applied.
The economic and security cooperation between both partners is set to be pushed further during a summit in Montreal in October.
Crypto markets dropped late on Tuesday and early Wednesday, as investors digested a defeat that few in the industry had expected.
The procedural motion on the CLARITY Act drew 49 votes in favour and 50 against, 11 short of the 60 required to advance, dealing a major setback to efforts to pass market structure legislation this year.
The CLARITY Act, formally the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, was meant to divide supervision of digital assets between the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, replacing a fragmented system in which classification has largely been settled through enforcement actions and litigation.
Bitcoin fell almost 34 over the past 24 hours to below $76,000, while HYPE, the token behind the decentralised exchange Hyperliquid, which stood to benefit from the legislation, also dropped about 4% to below $78.
Most major tokens fell alongside them.
The bill’s defeat is striking because so much had been conceded.
US President Donald Trump agreed over the weekend to ethics restrictions he had long resisted, including a requirement that federal officials and their spouses divest significant financial interests in crypto issuers or place them in a blind trust, and a role for state attorneys general in enforcing those rules.
Republican negotiators said that over 120 Democratic requests were written into the final text of the more than 600-page bill, representing a major bipartisan effort.
Still, it was not enough.
Four Republicans, Jerry Moran, Susan Collins, Josh Hawley and Thom Tillis, joined the 45 Democrats who voted against it. The Democratic Senator Chris Coons did not vote.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren, the bill’s most prominent opponent, said it “fails to adequately protect investors, our financial system and our national security,” and attacked Trump’s crypto ventures on the US Senate floor hours before the vote.
Republican Senator Thom Tillis’s vote was a procedural exception. After having publicly backing the ethics package that morning, Tillis voted no to preserve a motion to reconsider, leaving open the possibility of another cloture vote.
Senator Cynthia Lummis, the Wyoming Republican who has led crypto legislation in the US Senate since co-authoring the Responsible Financial Innovation Act in 2022, was blunt afterwards.
“I think we’re done. It’s over,” she told reporters before going considerably further online.
“The once-proud Democratic Party is anti-consumer and pro-illicit finance, anti-ethics, anti-free enterprise, anti-worker, anti-livable wage jobs and pro-socialism,” she wrote in a social media post.
The failed vote likely means the crypto industry will have to wait until next year for clearer rules to be discussed.
The US midterm elections are in just seven weeks which complicates bringing the bill back up for consideration in the short term.
Senators are scheduled to leave Washington in early October and not return until after the election and the House recesses even earlier, heading out of town already at the end of this week.
Members, especially those in tight races, are eager to return to their home states and hit the campaign trail.
The legislation’s failure does not mean nothing happens. It means the rules are more likely to be written by agencies instead.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission under Paul Atkins and the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission under Michael Selig have already been building a framework without Congress.
The two signed a cooperation agreement in March and issued a joint interpretation sorting tokens into five categories, with Atkins stating that most crypto assets are not, in themselves, securities.
The SEC’s own agenda includes registration exemptions for token launches, a safe harbour for projects decentralising away from central control, and rules on custody and trading venues.
Analysts expect that work to accelerate now.
However, the catch is durability, because agency rules can be rewritten by a future US administration, which is precisely the instability the CLARITY Act was meant to end.
DUBAI: Britain will “no longer stand by” while Israel kills Palestinian children in Gaza, First Secretary of State Louise Haigh said on Tuesday, pledging to increase pressure on Tel Aviv over the war and illegal settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.
Speaking at the Trades Union Congress in Brighton, Haigh said Prime Minister Andy Burnham was right to acknowledge that Britain had been “too slow” in its response to the situation in Gaza and the West Bank.
“At a time when it has never been more important to remind the world who we are, we hesitated,” Haigh said.
“We will no longer stand by while innocent Palestinian families are torn apart, while innocent children are killed in Gaza, and while the hope of a two-state solution evaporates before our eyes,” she added.
Haigh said sanctions announced last week by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband were intended to “change course,” adding that Britain was “purposefully targeting the illegal settlements” and increasing pressure on the Israeli government.
The measures include sanctions targeting individuals and companies linked to Israeli settlement expansion, as well as a ban on imports from settlements in the occupied West Bank.
“The Israeli people are not responsible for the actions of their government,” Haigh said. “We will stand against injustice. We will stand up for peace.”
She added that Britain would work with international partners to “speak with one voice” and help preserve the prospect of a two-state solution.
Gulf investment is rising, but Africa needs long-term solutions to close a huge infrastructure financing gap.
Africa harbors grand aspirations. In the continent’s long-term development blueprint, Agenda 2063, “world-class” infrastructure is one of the goals under Aspiration 2.
Realizing the goal of linking the continent by rail, road, sea, and air, as well as energy and ICT, to specifically unleash regional and international trade is proving herculean. The reason is financing constraints. Annually, Africa wrestles with an infrastructure financing gap of more than $80 billion, according to the Africa Development Bank.
For decades, China was the blue-eyed boy, helping Africa address infrastructure bottlenecks. In recent years, however, Gulf states have emerged as strategic partners.
Dubai-based DP World is among Gulf companies investing billions in Africa’s infrastructure. The conglomerate’s latest foray is in Kenya, where it is investing $100 million in a mega special economic zone (SEZ). The complex is expected to integrate Kenyan companies into regional and global supply chains.
While Gulf partners are at the forefront of helping Africa meet infrastructure needs, the huge funding gap is forcing the continent to innovate in mobilizing long-term financing at scale. In this context, digital bonds are the latest capital-raising solution.
Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) became the first African institution to issue the asset class, raising 350 million Swiss francs ($427.4 million) through a five-year digital bond, structured as a tokenized security on a Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) platform and priced at a 1.4925% coupon.
As the largest ever issuance in the Swiss Franc market, it attracted unprecedented interest from high-quality investors, including banks, asset managers, and hedge funds.
“Digital bonds have the ability to resolve frictions that characterize traditional bond issuances, making them ideal for investors with a different kind of risk appetite,” said Eric Musau, Head, Research & Sustainable Finance at Kenya’s Standard Investment Bank.
Fragmentation, exorbitant costs, slow and manual processes, and a complex web of intermediaries are among the friction points digital bonds can resolve.
As debt securities issued and recorded on DLT or blockchain, digital bonds are gaining traction. In 2025, global DLT fixed-income issuance totaled €4.8 billion ($5.5 billion), a 48% increase from €3.2 billion in 2024, according to the Association for Financial Markets in Europe.
Asia remains the epicenter of issuances, with €3.8 billion issued in 2025, representing 78% of the world’s total.
AFC has identified inadequate infrastructure as the primary threat to Africa’s long-term growth. The institution, which has disbursed $19 billion to finance numerous projects across 36 countries, believes the new capital pool will help accelerate financing for critical sectors, including transport, power, natural resources, heavy industry, and telecommunications.
Transport, SEZs, and industrial parks are often cited as being central to the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). In transport, for instance, traffic flows are expected to increase significantly across all modes.
Maritime is a case in point. According to the Economic Commission for Africa, freight is projected to double from 58 million tonnes to 131.5 million tonnes by 2030 under the AfCFTA.
John Njiraini is a contributing writer based in Kenya.
Wednesday’s Economic Calendar
Source link
THE HAGUE, Netherlands: Former Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte is expected to appear in public for the first time on Wednesday since being transferred to the International Criminal Court 18 months ago to face murder charges related to his war on drugs.
Duterte, 81, served as president from 2016 to 2022, before being charged with crimes against humanity for creating, funding and arming death squads that targeted narcotics peddlers and users. He was arrested and taken to The Hague in March 2025.
On Wednesday, judges will hear arguments about his health and ability to stand trial, which is scheduled to begin in November. His lawyers have argued that he suffers from cognitive decline and is not well enough.
Duterte’s lawyer and family did not respond to requests for comment.
ICC judges said in January that Duterte’s health was good enough for him to follow proceedings and requested his presence in court, rather than by video link from the detention unit.
Duterte’s warrant says he was responsible for a widespread and systematic campaign that led to thousands of killings between 2011 and 2019, including when he served as mayor of the southern Davao city.
ICC prosecutors have said as many as 30,000 people may have been killed in the crackdown, the details of which were reported in a Reuters investigation.
According to police, 6,200 suspects were killed during anti-drug operations. Duterte said he instructed police to act in self-defense and told supporters he was ready to “rot in jail” if it meant ridding the Philippines of illicit drugs.
Currency reforms, liquidity pressures, and new payment rails are forcing African CFOs to rethink corporate strategy.
This article appears in the September 2026 issue of Global Finance Magazine.
When Nigeria liberalized the naira in June 2023, something of a chain reaction began across Africa. Egypt sharply devalued the pound in March 2024 under a reform program supported by the International Monetary Fund, and Ethiopia dismantled decades of foreign-exchange controls four months later. Headlines focused on inflation, exchange-rate volatility, and political fallout.
Inside multinational boardrooms, however, another conversation was quietly taking shape.
Where should liquidity be held? CFOs and corporate treasurers asked. Can capital still be repatriated efficiently? Is local-currency borrowing now preferable to offshore funding? And should Africa continue to be managed as dozens of fragmented financial markets, or, increasingly, as one integrated treasury landscape?
The answers are reshaping one of the least visible—but most strategically important—functions within multinational companies.
“Treasury efficiency has shifted from a secondary consideration to a first-order determinant: often the binding constraint, even when infrastructure and trade fundamentals appear sound,” said Phumlani Majozi, executive director of the African Markets Institute (AMI). “The logic is straightforward; multinationals prefer an environment where it’s easy to extract their capital when they need it.”
His observation reflects a profound shift in corporate thinking.
For decades, multinational companies evaluated Africa through a familiar lens: market size, consumer demand, infrastructure, labor costs, and political stability. More often nowadays, the decisive consideration is whether capital itself can move efficiently across the continent.
The timing is significant.
Lending to Africa by China’s two principal policy banks has fallen dramatically, from US$28.8 billion in 2016 to US$2.1 billion in 2024, according to the Boston University Global Development Policy Center. As governments rely more on commercial finance and private capital to fund development, multinational companies have assumed greater responsibility for financing projects and managing liquidity across multiple jurisdictions.
The African Development Bank estimates that the continent requires some US$170 billion annually to finance infrastructure, but currently attracts only US$80 billion to US$90 billion, leaving a financing gap approaching US$80 billion each year. Against that backdrop, treasury has moved from supporting investment decisions to influencing them.
“The biggest change is that the treasurer is now expected to do far more than manage cash, funding, banking, and risk,” said Mike Richards, founder and CEO of The Treasury Recruitment Company. “Those things remain essential, but today’s treasurer is expected to help the CFO and the board understand what is happening, what the risks are, and what decisions need to be made.”
That evolution is especially evident across Africa.
Unlike Europe or North America, treasury teams operating on the continent must simultaneously navigate 54 sovereign jurisdictions, more than 40 actively used currencies, multiple exchange-rate regimes, and a complex web of banking regulations and capital controls. A finance executive overseeing operations stretching from Lagos to Nairobi and Johannesburg to Cairo may confront four entirely different monetary environments before the workday begins.
One subsidiary may hold surplus cash that cannot easily be repatriated because of foreign-exchange restrictions. Another may require emergency liquidity but operates in a market where access to hard currency remains constrained. Exchange-rate swings can rapidly inflate import costs or reduce earnings when profits are translated into dollars or euros.
“A company may appear to have plenty of cash across the group,” Richards said, “but that does not mean the cash is in the right place, in the right currency, or can be moved when the business needs it.”
That vexatious reality has become one of the defining operational challenges facing multinational companies in Africa. Because more companies are operating across the continent, treasury departments increasingly see fragmented pools of capital, each governed by different regulations, currency regimes, and banking systems.
These inefficiencies impose what amounts to a hidden investment tax, Majozi argues.
“When currency convertibility is uncertain,” he said, “intra-African capital movement is fragmented across more than 40 regulatory regimes, and hedging instruments for smaller African currencies are thin or nonexistent. Treasurers price in a liquidity-trapped capital discount before operational returns even enter the model. That discount frequently outweighs what improvements in infrastructure or regulation can offset.”
Technology is helping treasury teams respond.
“We have seen treasury teams become more data-driven in their analysis and execution of currency risk-management programs,” said Bob Stark, global head of market strategy at Kyriba. Greater visibility into balance-sheet and cash-flow exposures, he added, has enabled companies to strengthen natural hedging while making more efficient use of forward contracts and options.
AI is the logical next step.
“There is no AI strategy without a data strategy,” Stark said, noting that multinational companies are investing more in API-enabled treasury platforms that provide real-time tracking of liquidity, foreign-exchange exposure, and banking relationships across multiple African markets.
“The primary benefit of treasury management systems for African treasury teams remains improved visibility and forecasting that unlock and mobilize trapped cash,” he said.
Regional treasury hubs are also becoming more important. Rather than allowing every subsidiary to manage liquidity independently, multinational companies are consolidating treasury oversight in centers such as Johannesburg, Dubai, and Casablanca, where funding, foreign-exchange management, and banking relationships can be coordinated across multiple jurisdictions while maintaining local execution teams.
Richards recently recruited a senior treasury executive who helped establish a regional treasury center covering 16 African countries, centralizing foreign-exchange management, implementing cash-pooling arrangements, and negotiating local funding facilities across markets including Nigeria and Zambia.
“It is no longer enough to understand treasury technically,” he said. “You also need to understand the markets, the business, and the people operating locally.”
The next stage of evolution may be driven by regional financial integration.
The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is working to create a single market worth approximately US$3.4 trillion while the Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) aims to reduce the cost and complexity of settling cross-border transactions directly in African currencies.
“PAPSS solves a concrete, costly problem,” said Majozi. “Settling directly in local currencies cuts both cost and delay.”
Implementation remains uneven, he cautioned: “Multinationals will likely treat Africa-as-one-market as an aspiration for another five to 10 years, not a current operating reality.”
The direction of travel, however, is unmistakable. Africa’s abundant natural resources, favorable demographics, and expanding consumer markets will continue attracting global investors. Still, sustaining those investments will increasingly depend on modern financial infrastructure.
“Natural resources and favorable demographics may attract initial boardroom attention,” said Majozi. “But sustained, large-scale operational commitments depend on institutionalized monetary predictability, transparent capital flows, and efficient regional financial infrastructure.”
In Africa’s next chapter of economic integration, the competitive advantage may belong not simply to companies that understand the continent’s consumers, but to those that master the sophisticated movement of capital across its markets.
Charles Wachira is a contributing writer based in Kenya.
LONDON: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim vowed on Tuesday that shipments to Israel’s military would not be allowed to pass through Malaysia after cargo containers heading there were seized.
His comments came after Bloomberg reported that Malaysian authorities had halted all shipments heading to Israel from one of the country’s largest ports after three containers were stopped by authorities last month.
“We will not allow our country to be used as a conduit for any shipment that supports or contributes to Israel’s military capabilities and its atrocities against Palestinians and other innocent lives,” Ibrahim wrote on X.
“Any suspicious shipment will be subject to inspection and investigation in accordance with Malaysian law. Where a violation is established, decisive action will be taken.”
The three containers were stopped at Tanjung Pelepas Port on Aug. 19 and have been held ever since, the report said.
They were destined for Israel’s Ashdod port and contained products from China.
Malaysia has no diplomatic or trade relations with Israel, but cargo is allowed to transit through the country’s ports from one country to another.
Bloomberg reported that the seizure could be a shift in Malaysia’s approach to handling Israel-bound cargo.
Malaysia is a major shipping hub, located along some of the world’s busiest maritime routes through Asia.
The Malaysian Border Control Agency said the matter remains under investigation.
The seizure came just two weeks after a container destined for Israeli military technology company Elbit Systems from the Philippines was also stopped in Malaysia.
Malaysia has been one of the most prominent international critics of Israel and, in particular, the war on Gaza.
At the BRICS Summit in New Delhi at the weekend, Ibrahim condemned what he described as Israel’s “settler terrorism” in the occupied West Bank.
LONDON: Film festivals and filmmakers around the world have rallied around the directors of the Gaza documentary “NAZA,” after an Israeli minister accused them of treason and threatened to revoke their citizenship.
Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor have faced mounting criticism from officials in Israel since their documentary, which documents Israeli military operations in Gaza, and in particular the killing of civilians, won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival at the weekend.
Israel’s minister of culture and sports, Miki Zohar, said he would “act immediately” to revoke the citizenship of the filmmakers, accusing them of “treason against the state.”
The film, produced by The Guardian newspaper, features testimonies from 24 Israeli military and intelligence personnel about the use of AI-powered targeting systems in Gaza. It builds on investigations published by Israeli media outlets +972 Magazine and Local Call, as well as Guardian news reports.
The threats against the directors prompted a broad response from the international film community, with the directors of the Telluride, Locarno, Berlin and San Sebastian film festivals among those expressing support.
Julie Huntsinger, artistic director of the Telluride Film Festival, said that threatening the filmmakers’ citizenship was “unacceptable” and that the issue “should be condemned by any thinking human.”
The Berlin International Film Festival’s director, Tricia Tuttle, said artists must be free to examine events critically, and argued that in a democratic society the response to films should be “dialogue and scrutiny, not intimidation or punishment by the state.”
More than 1,500 Israeli filmmakers signed a petition backing Abraham and Szor, and rejecting the accusation that they sought to damage Israel’s international reputation. The petition warned that the campaign against them was moving toward rhetoric that could effectively sanction violence and pose a threat to their lives.
Abraham and Szor won an Oscar last year for their documentary “No Other Land”, made in partnership with Palestinian filmmakers Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal, which examined Israeli settler violence against Palestinian communities in the occupied West Bank.
The Israeli military has rejected claims “NAZA” makes about its operations, saying they were based on anonymous sources that could not be independently verified.
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump’s administration is planning to sell to Israel a munitions package worth $2.8 billion, which will include tens of thousands of highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs, according to a US official familiar with the sale.
The planned sale, which has been informally communicated to relevant congressional committees who weigh in on large arms sales, includes 20,000 MK 84s and 20,000 BLU-117s, the official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said.
News of the package was first reported by the Washington Post.
The State Department and the Israeli embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US public support for Israel has fallen since the Gaza war began in 2023, particularly among Democrats. A June Quinnipiac University poll found 48 percent of voters and 66 percent of Democrats believe the United States is too supportive of Israel, up from 16 percent and 20 percent when the question was first asked in 2017.
The 2,000-pound bombs have been regularly used by Israel in Gaza as well as in Lebanon, drawing scrutiny from rights experts. More than 73,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s military campaign, according to Gaza health authorities. A UN inquiry determined that Israel had committed genocide in Gaza, a charge Isarel rejects.
Israel calls its actions self-defense, after Hamas-led militants killed 1,200 people and took more than 250 hostages in an October 2023 attack.
The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran responded with its own strikes on Israel and Gulf states that host US bases. US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Israeli attacks in Lebanon have killed thousands and displaced millions.
Published on •Updated
In a document sent to EU legislators and seen by Euronews, the US has threatened the EU with retaliation if it does not scrap European preference provisions in its multiannual budget.
EU member states are currently discussing the EU’s long-term budget (2028-2034), which includes a €402 billion fund dedicated to competitiveness that favours the production of key goods within the EU, including in defence.
The measure would potentially exclude foreign firms from EU financing to protect strategic and economic security interests.
“With further expansion of European preference measures in EU defence funds, the United States will review all potential response measures, including a rollback of the existing ‘Buy American’ blanket waivers and exceptions associated with the RDPAs [Reciprocal Defence Procurement Agreements] with 19 of the 27 member states,” the non-paper reads.
The Buy American Act requires the US government, including the US Department of Defence, to give preference to products manufactured in the US for certain public procurements, with some exceptions being granted in defence for some EU countries.
The non-paper adds that the European preference would impede “partnership” and “collaboration” with the US, and calls on the EU to introduce a “made with Europe” system – or, in the specific area of defence, a “made in NATO”.
The US’s latest warning comes after the creation of the Security Action for Europe programme in 2025, already sparked trade tensions between Washington and Brussels over a European preference for joint purchases of arms and military equipment.
The “made in Europe” approach is also pushed by France and the European Commission in several pieces of legislation over the last year designed to boost EU industry, with foreign countries lobbying hard against being excluded from the EU market.
The US and EU have been at loggerheads over trade since the start of the second Trump administration, amid repeated tariff threats and disputes over environmental and digital regulations which the White House deems to be non-tariff barriers.
The Commission hoped that the conclusion of a trade agreement in July 2025 would be a step towards a more stable transatlantic relationship.
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has surpassed its goal of training 1 million people in AI through a new initiative that embeds ethical use and safety standards into national skilling programs
Speaking at the 4th UNESCO Global Forum on the Ethics of AI in Riyadh, Ahmed Al-Ghamdi, CEO of the Saudi Data and AI Authority’s capacity building sector, said: “We launched SAMAI (One Million Saudis in AI initiative) last year to train 1 million in AI, raise awareness and provide them with the knowledge and skills to use AI in life and in their work.
“We trained more than that number and an important part of the training focused on ethical AI, responsible use and data preservation,” he told Arab News.
The UNESCO forum is co-hosted by Saudi Arabia, represented by the SDAIA and the International Centre for AI Research and Ethics.
Al-Ghamdi said that the forum had brought together more than 25 ministers from around the world, as well as global leaders and tech companies under the umbrella of UNESCO to shape the future of AI safety and responsible use.
SAMAI was part of a broader push to invest in capability building across national sectors and entities, enabling them to develop the skills needed to adopt AI safely and effectively, he said.
“In SAMAI we provided training with knowledge on what data to show and what tools to use safely.”
Al-Ghamdi said that ethical AI was positioned as a core element across the SDAIA’s training programs and frameworks, rather than a standalone topic.
The authority announced national frameworks and curricula for AI in January as part of efforts to align education pathways with national needs.
Additional capacity building frameworks were also announced at the International Conference on Data and AI Capacity Building, aimed at professionals, educators and training programs to support wider adoption across the economy, Al-Ghamdi said.
“For example, for the developers it includes training the right model on the right data, avoiding bias, and not using AI for fraud or any violence,” he said.
“It includes respecting the data privacy of people and organizations and complying with data laws within the country and within the world.”
The pace of AI advancement had raised the stakes globally, making governance and ethics central to discussions about safe deployment and public trust, he said.
“The ethics of AI comes in the heart of all activities of capability building in SDAIA. We believe the ethical use and the safety of AI are a priority for us.”
Andrii Dodonov/iStock via Getty Images
Fund managers have shifted their primary market worry. Bank of America’s September Global Fund Manager Survey, which polled 170 investors overseeing $470B in assets now ranks a disorderly rise in bond yields as the top tail risk.
A total of
Published on
Government bond markets remain under pressure as rising energy prices revive inflation concerns and increase expectations that major central banks will keep interest rates higher for longer.
The benchmark 10-year US Treasury yield briefly touched 5.011% on Monday, according to Dow Jones Market Data, before falling back below 5%. The level was the highest since October 2023.
The yield crossed the psychologically important 5% threshold as higher government borrowing, resilient economic growth and heavy corporate debt issuance linked to artificial intelligence investment compounded pressure on US bonds. Yields move inversely to bond prices.
Rising Treasury yields can feed through to mortgages, corporate loans and other forms of credit, potentially slowing economic growth. They can also make bonds more attractive relative to highly valued equities.
The latest rise followed the US Treasury’s previously announced expansion of its bond-buyback programme. Last week, it offered to purchase up to $6 billion of debt maturing in 10 to 20 years – three times the previous operation’s size.
The yield on the 30-year US Treasury bond, meanwhile, remained close to its highest level since 2007.
The sell-off has also spread across Europe. France’s 10-year government bond yield rose to 4.50% on Monday, while the equivalent Italian yield reached around 4.40%.
Germany’s benchmark 10-year Bund yield climbed as high as 3.538%, according to Dow Jones Market Data, its highest level in 15 years.
Energy prices are a major source of pressure. Brent crude rose to around $107 a barrel on Tuesday morning, while US West Texas Intermediate traded close to $103, as attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure and shipping in the Gulf intensified concerns about supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.
The European Central Bank raised its deposit rate by 25 basis points to 2.5% last week and warned that inflation could remain above its target for an extended period. Markets are pricing in at least one further ECB increase this year.
Attention now turns to three major central-bank decisions. The US Federal Reserve announces its decision on Wednesday, followed by the Bank of England on Thursday and the Bank of Japan on Friday.
A Reuters poll found that 85% of economists expected the Fed to raise rates by 25 basis points, while money markets placed the probability of an increase at around 93%.
The BoE is widely expected to leave rates unchanged. Economists surveyed by Reuters unanimously forecast no change, although some analysts have warned that a surprise increase cannot be ruled out. The BoJ is widely expected to raise borrowing costs.
RIYADH: David Livingstone, chief client officer at Citigroup, believes investor appetite for Saudi debt issuances reflects confidence in the Kingdom’s long-term story, while Gulf countries remain capable of maintaining their positive performance in debt markets despite higher yields and increased global supply.
Livingstone said in an interview with Nour Amache on the “East-West” program on Asharq Business with Bloomberg that the performance of Saudi sovereign issuances, as well as those of the Public Investment Fund, demonstrated the resilience of Saudi Arabia’s market and continued demand from international investors, despite the obstacles created by the Iran war this year.
Livingstone’s comments came after the Kingdom raised $3.25 billion through international sukuk in early September, attracting orders of around $16.5 billion, or more than five times the issuance size. Saudi Arabia tightened the pricing spread by about 30 basis points from the initial guidance.
The Citigroup head added that the pricing adjustment “demonstrates confidence in this long-term story,” placing it within the context of the transformations underway in the Kingdom under Vision 2030.
The comments came after Citigroup helped its clients in Saudi Arabia raise more than $40 billion since the beginning of the year. The bank also decided to increase its direct exposure limits to the Kingdom after it demonstrated “strong economic and financial resilience,” according to CEO Fahad Al-Deweesh.
Debt-market pressures
Higher global yields and increased government borrowing will give investors a wider range of choices in the bond market, Livingstone said, noting upward pressure on yields amid abundant debt supply in emerging markets, Europe, the UK and the US.
Despite this, he said that “Saudi Arabia, and Gulf countries as a whole, can continue this positive performance compared with the recent past.”
Yasir Al-Salman, chief financial officer at the Public Investment Fund, told Asharq Business with Bloomberg that international debt markets would remain the fund’s largest source of financing. The fund had around SR3.4 trillion ($906.1 billion) in assets under management after injecting about SR750 billion into the Saudi economy over five years.
Debt instrument pricing in the Kingdom is linked to US bond yields, which have recently been elevated. The yield on the 10-year US Treasury continued to rise for a fifth consecutive session on Sept. 14, exceeding 5 percent, its highest level since 2023.
Are investors affected by project reviews?
Asked about the effect of media reports concerning the postponement or reassessment of some projects in Saudi Arabia on foreign investor appetite, Livingstone said this did not change the fundamental basis of investor interest in the Kingdom. He said economic diversification remained “the attractive factor for investors,” as infrastructure development and projects connected to the economic transformation continued.
He added that the review was “justified” in light of the economic circumstances surrounding the projects being financed, with attention focused on their feasibility and sustainability.
Geneva: The United Nations called Tuesday for international investigators to be granted to access to all of Gaza “to assist with evidence-gathering” as hundreds of bodies are pulled from the rubble.
“The discovery of extensive remains under the rubble in Gaza City resurfaces these concerns of war crimes and other atrocity crimes,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.
SINGAPORE: Thailand accused Cambodia on Tuesday of “playing the role of a victim” in a dispute over maritime resources, as the Southeast Asian neighbours brought their long-standing feud before international mediators.
The hearing at the Singapore outpost of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) comes after the countries fought two rounds of deadly border clashes last year.
In May this year, Thailand unilaterally pulled out of a framework agreement with Cambodia that aimed to resolve overlapping maritime border claims, but denied any link to their land dispute.
Cambodia subsequently initiated a UN-backed conciliation process at the PCA, saying it hoped to return to constructive negotiations.
Opening Bangkok’s case before a five-member panel of international legal experts, Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said Cambodia sought to “vilify Thailand through false narratives, distortion of facts, and unfounded accusations… including at international forums”.
“It does this by playing the role of a victim with a sense of self-righteousness aimed at claiming the moral high ground,” he said.
Last year’s clashes left dozens of people dead and displaced more than a million before a truce was agreed.
Thailand has said it withdrew from the framework agreement, called “MoU 44”, because “no progress had been made” in implementing it. Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul denied the move was linked to the fighting.
The 2001 memorandum of understanding covers a resource-rich maritime territory of around 27,000 square kilometres (10,500 square miles) to which both Cambodia and Thailand lay claim.
Cambodia said last week that it had resorted to conciliation “after Thailand unilaterally terminated the agreed bilateral framework” through which the two nations had “negotiated their overlapping maritime claims for more than two decades”.
Prime Minister Hun Manet said in June that the move was also to “protect Cambodia’s sovereignty and maritime rights in accordance with international law”.
Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn told the PCA panel on Tuesday that Phnom Penh saw the process “as a means to rebuild trust, not as a form of escalation”.
Cambodia’s goal was to agree with Thailand on a “single, all-purpose maritime boundary”, or alternatively agree to jointly develop and equitably share resources until a boundary is drawn, he said.
“Cambodia sincerely hopes that Thailand will engage constructively in this process.”
Sihasak said Thailand was also seeking maritime delimitation and to rebuild trust.
Set up in 1899, the PCA is the world’s oldest intergovernmental dispute-resolution body and resolves disputes between countries and private parties by referring to contracts, special agreements and various treaties, such as the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The PCA office in Singapore is the Hague-based court’s first in Asia.
The commission’s recommendations are not binding and will take about a year to be decided.