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Japan’s prime minister urged the importance of unity in a world plagued by “divisions” at a futuristic but also tradition-steeped opening ceremony for the World Expo yesterday.Everything from a Mars meteorite to a beating heart grown from stem cells will be showcased during the six-month event, which opens to the public today.The vast waterfront site in Osaka will host more than 160 countries, regions and organisations.“Having overcome the Covid pandemic, the world now faces the crisis over many different divisions,” Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told the opening ceremony. “It is extremely significant that people from all over the world gather and face the question of life in this era, exposing ourselves to state-of-the-art technology and diverse cultures and ways of thinking,” Ishiba said.Expo is also known as a World’s Fair and the phenomenon, which brought the Eiffel Tower to Paris, began with London’s 1851 Crystal Palace exhibition and is held every five years.Most pavilions - each more outlandishly designed than the last - are encircled by the world’s largest wooden architectural structure, a towering latticed “Grand Ring” designed as a symbol of unity.An array of colourful imagery symbolising life, birth and nature adorned a massive screen in a minutes-long video at yesterday’s ceremony, with foreign dignitaries and Japan’s royal family in attendance. The ceremony displayed a mix of technology, including its AI-powered “virtual human” master of ceremonies, and tradition that included Japanese kabuki dancing and taiko drums.Emperor Naruhito said he hopes Expo 2025 will “serve as an opportunity for people worldwide to respect the lives not only of their own but also of others”. Heightened security was put to the test hours before the ceremony when a suspicious box was found at the nearby Kyoto train station and reported to police.A bomb squad was sent to the scene, causing train delays, but it was found that the box only contained “foreign-made sweets”, according to Japanese media. Osaka last hosted the Expo in 1970, when Japan was booming and its technology was the envy of the world. It attracted 64mn people, a record until Shanghai in 2010.However, Expos have been criticised for their temporary nature, and Osaka’s man-made island will be cleared to make way for a casino resort after October. Only 12.5 percent of the Grand Ring will be reused, according to Japanese media. Opinion polls also show low levels of enthusiasm for the Expo among the public.So far 8.7mn advance tickets have been sold, below the pre-sales target of 14mn.Japan is also experiencing a record tourism boom, meaning accommodation in Osaka - near hotspot Kyoto, and home to the Universal Studios Japan theme park - is often fully booked with sky-high prices.

This was supposed to be the year that Silicon Valley’s years long backlog of billion-dollar startups were finally able to go public, delivering riches to venture capitalists. Instead, President Donald Trump’s promises of sweeping tariffs and the havoc in global markets have thrown those plans into limbo, threatening to plunge the VC and startup industry into crisis.Most major public listings planned for this year are on ice, with StubHub Holdings Inc, payments firm Klarna Group Plc and trading platform eToro Group Ltd all pausing their preparations. Some of these businesses, like Klarna, intend to list as soon as the market stabilises. But others aiming to go public this year, particularly those directly impacted by the tariffs, may struggle to reach that goal altogether.A significant delay to initial public offerings could starve venture capitalists of cash at a critical moment. “A major source of anxiety is going to be around the exit markets and whether or not they are open,” said Tomasz Tunguz, founder of Theory Ventures. “If we have another two years of no liquidity, it’s going to be really problematic for the asset class.”On Monday, the mood inside Silicon Valley VC firms was tense — similar to the environment in March of 2020, in the run-up to the global pandemic. “We’ve had a lot of Slack traffic over the last few days,” said Jake Saper, a general partner at Emergence Capital, with investors and founders rushing to make sense of the new policies. One founder told Saper her company’s customers were feeling “Covid-level fear and uncertainty.”“We’ve been through so many crises now,” Saper said, that the firm has an emergency playbook, starting with identifying the hardest-hit companies and helping them respond. Tariffs are likely to impact startups dealing with hardware and international trade, such as e-commerce-related businesses, investors say. And AI companies may also see an increase in computing prices.“We are trying to triage and figure out which ones will have the most pain early on,” Saper said.Many in the industry caution that it’s too early to know what the impact of the tariffs will be — partly due to uncertainty over whether the policies will stick. Meanwhile, volatility in the public markets is “going to be giving everyone whiplash,” said Pegah Ebrahimi, a co-founder of venture firm FPV Ventures.Stock prices reflect “an incredible amount of self-imposed tariff chaos,” said Byron Deeter, a partner at Bessemer Venture Partners and chair of the National Venture Capital Association. The result is that potential IPO investors are “completely distracted.” His firm, a backer of would-be public companies StubHub and Hinge Health, is watching the markets carefully, he said, and waiting for a reprieve. “Let’s all hope it’s in days or weeks instead of months or quarters.”For some planned IPOs, “we’re now looking at 2026 at the earliest,” said Mitchell Green, founder of growth equity firm Lead Edge Capital. That means further delaying payouts to the investors in VC funds for another six to 12 months, he said, on top of an existing multiyear drought. “This comes amid an investment environment already starved for liquidity,” Green said.Chris Farmer, partner and chief executive officer at SignalFire, expressed relief that the firm just completed its new fundraising, calling the timing “very fortunate.” He said there’s a risk that some limited partners are going to grow even more skittish, worsening an already tough environment. “Budgets will get pulled if they believe they are not going to get the distributions they are baking on.”Unable to sell their stakes in startups on the public markets, some investors may turn to private shares sales instead. “If the secondary market is the only place to access high-growth private companies in a closed IPO environment, we anticipate seeing high demand for quality companies,” said Charlie Grimes, head of global capital markets at Forge Global, a trading platform for private companies.In the short term, market uncertainty could make it harder for buyers and sellers on secondary markets to agree on a price. But a sustained lack of public offerings could make private trading more active.“The big question is on pricing and whether valuations will reset yet again,” Grimes said, referring to the slowly fluctuating share prices of pre-IPO companies. While Wall Street valuations have an effect on startups, private markets are less reactive to day-to-day volatility, he said, and it can take weeks or even months for pricing changes to materialise.Investors looking to cash out of startup investments are also hopeful an uptick in large venture-backed acquisitions will provide some relief. David Chen, Morgan Stanley’s global head of technology investment banking, said last month that economic uncertainty meant “the sellers’ willingness to transact has actually improved” — and that with no clear IPO window in sight, acquisitions can become more attractive.However, volatility can also lead to disagreements between buyers and sellers about acquisition prices. And tariffs could create added challenges for cross-border deal-making.Some of Trump’s most vocal supporters in tech remain hopeful that tariffs could help America in the long-run, despite the recent investor unrest. Some VCs have stressed that the move will help the US reduce dependence on foreign trade for products like drones. “Do the hard things and have a 70% chance you win,” Sequoia Capital partner Shaun Maguire said in a post on X.Nik Talreja, CEO of Sydecar, outlined a different potential upside to the market turmoil in a memo to employees reviewed by Bloomberg. “In an environment where public equity and debt markets pull back, there is the potential for private markets to remain an interesting place to invest capital,” he wrote.But Talreja, whose company develops software for venture capitalists to manage their funds, also cautioned that the private markets could follow Wall Street to a slowdown in the second half of this year. “We do not know to what extent and how far-reaching the impact of any such slowdown will be,” he wrote.Eric Liaw, a general partner at IVP, is broadly pessimistic about the impact of the tariffs on the VC industry, but said it’s hard to predict the impact of such asprawling change to international trade. The firm will host a private event for portfolio CEOs and chief financial officers about navigating tariff volatility on Friday. For now, IVP is advising portfolio companies to exercise caution. “It’s tough to pick a fight with the whole world simultaneously,” Liaw said.

Investors are trying to game out how much tolerance US President Donald Trump has for stock market losses after his latest tariff policies ignited a more than 10% wipeout on Wall Street, with some still holding out hope of eventual relief. A so-called “Trump put” – the option market equivalent of a presidential backstop for equities – underpinned Trump’s first term, as he frequently cited stock market strength as proof his policies were working. Over the course of his first presidency the S&P 500 benchmark rose 68% and scaled record highs, while Trump cheered its progress, tweeting more than 150 times about the stock market. This time around, hope that such a Trump Put still exists is evaporating, or at the least, investors are coming around to the view that Trump is much more inclined to ride out sharp falls. The S&P and Nasdaq are down over 15% and 20% since his inauguration in January respectively.“The whole notion of tariffs and trade policy has been such an integral part of Donald Trump’s psyche, I don’t see it abandoned,” said Michael Rosen, chief investment officer at Angeles Investments, who said any pain level likely to cause Trump to change course remained a long way away. Previous assumptions that Trump’s pro-business agenda would buoy risk assets similarly had already been fading as his trade policies rattled investors over the past few weeks.But the more-aggressive-than-anticipated tariffs unveiled on April 2 deepened the market selloff, leaving investors questioning whether the Trump put was gone, or might eventually reappear through tariff rollbacks after any trade deals.For Bob Elliott, chief executive officer and chief investment officer of Unlimited Funds, the selloff still had a long way to go before any policy turnaround.“It takes 20-30% declines in stocks to get there. So the decline so far is not big enough,” he said.Some were more hopeful the market fall could eventually induce a change of course.“I don’t think (Trump) is going to be highly tolerant of massive stock market declines – he’ll see his popularity tank, and it will endanger his whole agenda,” said Kevin Philip, partner at Bel Air Investment Advisors. “I don’t see any way out of this if he doesn’t come up with deals or reasons to change course.”The huge market falls – not seen since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 – even caused speculation online that Trump was intentionally “crashing” the market to force the US Federal Reserve to lower interest rates while making stocks more affordable to middle-class investors. Trump on Friday retweeted a social media post bearing the caption “Trump is Purposely CRASHING The Market” and featuring images of the president pointing at a large downward red arrow and of him signing executive orders at the White House. Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump said he was not intentionally engineering a market selloff and the rout was the result of a “medicine” needed to fix the US trade deficit. Trump and his team have said their policies may cause short-term pain but will eventually revive manufacturing and spur growth. On Friday he told investors pouring money into the United States that his policies would never change.White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement to Reuters: “Just as it did during President Trump’s first term, the administration’s America First economic agenda of tariffs, deregulation, tax cuts, and the unleashing of American energy will restore American Greatness from Main Street to Wall Street.”Some investors fear that weakening consumer confidence, an escalating trade war, and rising price pressures could deal a harsh and lasting blow to the economy, regardless of any potential economic upside down the line.For Brian Bethune, an economist at Boston College, the disruption caused by the tariffs was too abrupt to allow US businesses to soften the blow, despite their resilience.“You’re putting so many sandbags on the balloon, it’s going to come back down to earth with a thud,” Bethune said. In the two sessions after the tariff decision was unveiled on Wednesday, the S&P 500 has tumbled 10.5%, erasing nearly $5tn in market value, marking its most significant two-day loss since March 2020. On Monday, the S&P was down 0.12%.Hopes that the market could be propped up by actions by the US Federal Reserve have also taken a knock. Trump on Friday called on Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to cut interest rates, saying it was the “perfect time” to do so. But stock losses deepened past 5% after Powell on Friday warned that the new tariffs would likely push inflation higher while slowing economic growth, suggesting the Fed was unlikely to rush in to cut rates.“The market is still digesting the great deal of uncertainty and I think it’s also digesting the fact that both Trump and Powell have made it clear that the cavalry is not coming to immediately cause things to bounce back up,” said David Seif, chief economist for developed markets at Nomura in New York.Rising prices could reduce the Fed’s ability to take supportive actions as it has in previous market downturns or if economic conditions deteriorated significantly, analysts said. This could take off the table a so-called “Fed put,” or a perceived tendency of the central bank to run to the aid of financial markets. “Who blinks first? The Fed or President Trump? The Fed has made it clear that with inflation where it is and unemployment where it is, (they’re) comfortable without doing anything right now,” said Ryan Detrick, chief market strategist at Carson Group in Omaha. “We think Washington likely has to blink first to present some type of positive news.” – Reuters

There is a significant upside potential for European Union growth over the next few years in view of a major shift in the EU fiscal stance, alongside continued monetary easing and positive investor expectations, according to QNB.The European Union (EU) has been struggling with significant headwinds from a battery of deep and broad negative economic shocks over the last few years, QNB said in an economic commentary.This included the aftermath of the pandemic, the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, the Chinese slowdown, and a lack of political cohesion for stronger policy stimulus or a bolder response to structural challenges.While the Euro area as a whole was able to avoid a post-Covid recession, the economic bloc has been semi-stagnated, i.e., growing much below potential with several member countries, such as Germany, the Netherlands and Austria, having faced either an official recession or zero growth for a couple of quarters. Importantly, the EU is also significantly underperforming the US.Moreover, reflecting conditions from earlier this year, analysts and economists were projecting further weakness ahead for the EU, with the Bloomberg consensus still pointing to below pre-Covid pandemic long-term growth of 2%, including projections of 1.3% for 2025 and 1.5% for 2026.However, despite the negative momentum from the previous couple of years, there is room to be more positive about European growth over the short- and medium-term. Three main reasons support our view.First, negative political and geopolitical events, such as the emergence of radical political parties and disputes within the Atlantic alliance with the US, created a “burning platform” that is requiring extraordinary fiscal actions from political leaders.In Germany, Friedrich Merz, leader of the new coalition government, aims to leverage most of the German mainstream political parties to “flexibilise” strict budget rules and enable the approval of a massive programme for defence and infrastructure spending, which still requires constitutional amendments.This was also followed by a parallel movement at the EU level to expand the supranational EU budget and to allow member states to increase significantly their defence expenditures without triggering the “Excessive Deficit Procedure”, unlocking more than EUR800bn in five years under the “ReArm Europe” slogan.Such actions, QNB noted point to a massive change in fiscal policy stance within the EU, from restrictive to stimulative, suggesting a meaningful boost in aggregate demand and activity.A significant part of the US economic outperformance in recent years versus the EU is explained by much more accommodative fiscal policies. In fact, the US has been consistently stimulating its economy with primary deficits that are 2.5x to 3x larger than EU deficits.More fiscal flexibility in Germany and the EU should allow the bloc to stimulate more its economy while addressing the existing defence and infrastructure gaps, favouring growth.Second, the European Central Bank (ECB) has started its easing cycle in June 2024 and is expected to enact further rate cuts this year. This comes on the back of the successful normalisation of inflation and inflation expectations, which are currently running close to the 2% ECB target.The benchmark deposit facility interest rate has already been reduced by 150 basis points (bps) from a peak of 4%, and the market expects more 50 bps in cuts by the end of the year, taking the benchmark rate to 2%.Over time, this should alleviate financial conditions, lowering credit costs and favouring both investments and consumption. Therefore, regional growth should also be supported by monetary policy.Third, European markets are pointing to a significant increase in growth expectations, expressed by the “bullish” combination of higher equity prices, higher long-term yields, and an appreciating currency. Indeed, since the beginning of the year, the STOXX600 index of European equities is up 7.9%, while German 10-year yields are up by 50 bps and the EUR appreciated by 5.8% against the USD. “This is a sign of strong investor confidence in German and EU plans to credibly boost up regional defence and, in the process, prop up growth,” QNB said.Equity markets, in particular, suggest positive expectations for earnings growth and a sizeable improvement in business conditions. This is even more remarkable in a context where US equity indices are under pressure and the new US administration is threatening to wage a “trade war” against many competitors and allies, including the EU, QNB added.

Investors need to be agile to navigate global uncertainties to manage short-term risks and achieve their long-term investment goals, according to HSBC Global Private Banking’s Investment Outlook. The report, "Innovate or Stagnate", sets out how increased trade frictions and rapid AI-led innovation are among the major changes that are challenging markets, so high net worth and ultra high net worth clients need to adapt quickly to this fast-evolving world. In Q1, the bank upgraded its outlook for Chinese stocks to positive and raised its allocation to eurozone equities to neutral. It maintains its medium-term optimism in the US, but diversifies across countries and sectors as opportunities spread. It further diversifies its portfolio strategy to address tail risks through high-quality bonds, hedge funds and gold. Its four priorities going into Q2-2025 are: • Global AI adopters and electrification: Technology-driven earnings growth is moving from AI enablers to AI adopters. Rising energy consumption is driving investments in electricity generation capacity and the electric grid. • Multi-asset and active fixed income strategies: Diversification across asset classes, geographies and sectors offer global opportunities for improved risk-adjusted returns. The busy news flow lends itself to active managers. • Private markets and hedge funds: Private equity is well placed to benefit from M&A, and the AI boom will help smaller firms compete with established public market peers. Hedge funds can exploit volatility and relative value opportunities. • Domestic resilience in an evolving Asia: Asia’s diverse markets present a broad range of opportunities, particularly in Indian, Singapore and Japanese stocks. Chinese stocks should benefit from AI-led innovation and reduced regulatory risks. Willem Sels, Global Chief Investment Officer at HSBC Global Private Banking and Wealth, said: “While the global economy is facing challenges, it remains resilient as government and corporate spending is supporting economic activity, while innovation in AI is boosting productivity. Global central banks are also assisting by maintaining a monetary easing bias. The underperformance of the US in the year to date can at least in part be attributed to increased optimism in other countries and opportunities outside the tech sector.” Georgios Leontaris, Chief Investment Officer, Switzerland and EMEA, HSBC Global Private Banking and Wealth, said: “Exceptionalism has often been associated with the US economy in recent years, however the same characterisation can be made about the non-oil economy in GCC countries, which is up almost 20% compared to pre-Covid levels led by strength in Saudi Arabia and UAE. Solid fundamentals and ample sovereign wealth buffers provide a cushion against external uncertainties. Structural reforms and multi-year investment programmes in infrastructure, technology and hospitality remain visible. We have recently upgraded our view on UAE equities as part of our drive to broaden geographical diversification, with undemanding P/E multiples offering a good entry point for international investors.”

The world’s major growth engines are about to run in reverse. The policies and uncertainties of US President Donald Trump’s second administration have hit a sluggish global economy with a transformational exogenous shock. Risks are especially worrisome in both the United States and China, which have collectively accounted for a little more than 40% of cumulative global GDP growth since 2010.America is now the problem, not the solution. Long the anchor of the rules-based international order, the US has turned protectionist, posing major risks to an already fragile global trade cycle.At the same time, Trump’s MAGA (“Make America Great Again”) movement has driven a powerful wedge between the US and Europe and divided North America, with Canada’s very independence in Trump’s crosshairs. The central role of the US in sustaining post-World War II geostrategic stability has been shattered.The US will be unable to put the genie back in the bottle. Trump’s shocking actions have eroded the trust that has underpinned America’s global leadership, and the damage will be evident long after Trump has left the scene. Having once abdicated its moral authority as the anchor of the free world, who is to say it can’t happen again?This breakdown in trust will cast a long and lasting shadow over economic performance, not least in the US itself, where it is affecting business decision-making, especially the costly long-term commitments associated with hiring and capital spending. Businesses need to scale their future operations relative to confident expectations of future growth trajectories – now an increasingly uncertain proposition. Asset values and consumer confidence, too, have been shaken. Uncertainty, the enemy of decision-making, is likely to freeze the most dynamic segments of the US economy.For China, state-directed policy guidance might temper the initial blow of a Trump policy shock. But the pressures of Trump’s tariff escalation will undermine China’s export-led growth model, which is especially problematic for economic growth, given the lingering weakness of China’s domestic demand.The country’s long-promised consumer-led rebalancing of the economy remains more of a slogan than an actual shift in the sources of Chinese growth – especially with a deficient social safety net that continues to encourage fear-driven precautionary saving. China’s just-announced 30-point action plan to boost household demand draws much-needed attention to the seemingly chronic plight of the Chinese consumer. But it offers only modest support to an inadequate social safety net.The Trump shock is likely not only to exacerbate the Sino-American conflict but also to weaken both countries’ growth prospects significantly. Don’t count on other economies filling this void. Eventually, India might be able to take up some of the slack. But its relatively small share of world GDP – currently 8.5% (in purchasing-power-parity terms), compared to 34% for China and the US combined – means that that day is in the distant future.The same is true of Europe. While the European Union’s 14% share of world GDP is nearly double that of India, Europe remains saddled with anaemic growth, compounded by mounting trade pressures associated with an escalating global tariff war.If the apparent breakdown of the transatlantic alliance has a silver lining, it is that the incentives for strategic cohesion should have an outsize impact on European defence spending. But that will also take time. Meanwhile, Europe will equally be exposed to the adverse effects on business and consumer expectations and decision-making, comparable to those afflicting the US.What does all this mean for global economic prospects in the coming years? The current baseline expectation of around 3.3% world GDP growth for 2025-26, as per recent forecasts by the International Monetary Fund, is far too sanguine. While there may be some front-loading of growth momentum in the early part of this year – exemplified by accelerated shipments of Chinese exports ahead of Trump’s tariff hikes – I suspect that the downside risks will progressively build.That points to a fractional reduction of forecasts for global economic growth for 2025, with the slowdown becoming considerably more pronounced in 2026 and after. That could easily push an increasingly fragile world economy down to the 2.5% growth threshold, typically associated with outright global recession.Nor is this likely to be a standard shortfall of global growth. To the extent that the tariff war is aimed at promoting friendshoring and strengthening supply-chain resilience, the global economy’s supply side is likely to come under significant strain. A new layer of adjustment costs is being imposed on a once-globalised world. Reshoring to higher-cost local producers not only takes considerable time but also erodes the efficiencies of production, assembly, and delivery that have underpinned worldwide disinflation over the past three decades.Nearly five years ago, in the depths of the Covid-19 shock, I warned that the onset of stagflation was only “a broken supply chain away.” Subsequent experience and research have borne that out, confirming that the supply-chain disruptions during the pandemic and its immediate aftermath generated significant upward pressure on prices.A global trade conflict implies a similar dynamic. The higher costs associated with Trump’s coming “reciprocal” escalation of multilateral tariffs, which are due to be announced on April 2, are especially problematic. In the face of a likely shortfall of economic growth, the added cost and price pressures are likely to tip the scales toward a global stagflation.The Trump shock, in short, is the functional equivalent of a full-blown crisis. It is likely to have a lasting impact on the US and Chinese economies, and the contagion is almost certain to spread throughout the world through cross-border trade and capital flows. Perhaps most importantly, this is a geostrategic crisis, reflecting a reversal of America’s global leadership role. In the space of little more than two months, Trump has turned the world inside out. If my assessment of this shock is anywhere close to the mark, concerns over the global economic forecast seem almost trivial. — Project Syndicate• Stephen S Roach, a faculty member at Yale University and former chairman of Morgan Stanley Asia, is the author of Unbalanced: The Codependency of America and China and Accidental Conflict: America, China, and the Clash of False Narratives.

Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang on Thursday pledged stronger policy support for the world’s No 2 economy, which he said had started 2025 well and was on track to hit this year’s growth target, buoyed by advancements in AI and other technologies.His keynote speech at a business and political summit in the island province of Hainan comes in a week where Beijing has mounted a charm offensive to woo fresh foreign investment for its sluggish economy and protect against simmering geopolitical tensions.Chinese policymakers have put expanding domestic demand top of the agenda this year as they try to cushion the impact of US President Donald Trump’s tariff salvos, but have struggled to assuage foreign investors’ concerns over the durability of the post-pandemic recovery underway in the $18tn economy.“In the first two months of this year, the economy started off steadily, continuing the recovery momentum seen since the fourth quarter of last year, China’s sixth-ranking official told delegates at the annual Boao Forum.“This year’s growth target of around 5% is determined through careful calculations and meticulous planning, and is supported by both growth potential and favourable conditions, along with strong policy measures,” Ding said.“More proactive and effective macroeconomic policies will be implemented to comprehensively expand domestic demand and stabilise foreign trade and investment,” he added.Foreign investors have soured on China in the years since the Covid pandemic, with business’ longstanding concerns about geopolitics, tightening regulations and a more favourable playing field for state-owned companies weighing heavier.Foreign direct investment into China dropped an annual 13.4% or $13.5bn in January, according to the most recent data from China’s commerce ministry.“We will steadily expand institutional opening up, further ease market access for foreign investment... and sincerely welcome enterprises from all countries to invest and develop in China,” Ding said.Policymakers would also make “greater efforts” to “promote the healthy development of the real estate and stock markets,” he added, which will be crucial to encouraging Chinese consumers to spend again, analysts say, given that 70% of household wealth is held in real estate.Ding also talked up China’s increasing competitiveness in new energy vehicles (NEV), where Western accusations that Chinese firms benefit from unfair state subsidies have seen its producers hit with tariffs, as well as in artificial intelligence, bio-manufacturing and quantum technologies.“China’s economy is advancing towards new frontiers, accelerating high-level technological self-reliance and self-strengthening,” Ding told delegates, which included Chinese smartphone and NEV maker Xiaomi’s CEO Lei Jun.But amid the talk of self-strengthening, Ding reiterated Chinese Premier Li Qiang’s message at the China Development Forum in Beijing on Sunday that countries should open their markets and “resolutely oppose trade and investment protectionism,” in a veiled reference to the Trump administration.

Qatar Finance and Business Academy (QFBA) has announced the winners of the first edition of the National Finance Researcher Award during a special ceremony held to recognise outstanding students at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels and to honour their innovative contributions in the fields of finance and business.Launched under the sponsorship of Doha Bank, the award seeks to inspire and support the next generation of finance researchers in Qatar, promote academic excellence, foster creativity and innovation, and provide a national platform for young researchers to present their work and contribute to the development of Qatar’s financial and banking sectors.Dr Khalifa al-Yafei, CEO, Qatar Finance and Business Academy, expressed his pride in the successful launch of the award, emphasising the academy’s ongoing commitment to empowering emerging researchers and cultivating an environment of academic innovation.“This award reflects our commitment to fostering a thriving research culture in the fields of finance and business and to recognising the intellectual efforts that contribute to knowledge-based economic development. It aligns with the objectives of Qatar’s Third National Development Strategy and the Qatar National Vision 2030. As a strategic initiative, the award will continue annually to encourage high-impact research and help translate academic findings into practical applications that benefit the national economy.“We also extend our sincere appreciation to Doha Bank for its generous sponsorship of this award, which underscores the bank’s commitment to advancing scientific research and innovation in the financial sector. Congratulations to all the winners for their exceptional achievements.”During the event, Doha Bank was recognised for its valuable contributions, along with members of the judging panel, which comprised a distinguished group of academics and industry experts. The ceremony concluded with the announcement of the winners in the five designated award categories.Selections were made following a thorough evaluation process conducted by an independent panel, based on a set of rigorous academic standards, including originality, innovation, methodology, depth of analysis, relevance, impact, practical implications, and knowledge contribution.The winners are:- Buthaina Rashid al-Saidi, recipient of the ‘Best Qatari Finance Researcher Award’ for the paper titled ‘The impact of investment allocation on the financial performance of listed insurance companies in Qatar’.- Jamela Ali Mohammed, first place (bachelor’s degree Research Project Award) for the paper ‘Exploring the incorporation of ESG investment for SRI in Qatar’.- Abeeha Shoaib, second place (bachelor’s degree Research Project Award) for the paper ‘How did Covid-19 affect Shariah- compliant versus conventional firms’ operating performance?’- Ameera Fatima Anaz, first place (master’s degree Research Project Award) for the paper ‘Sustainability performance, credit ratings and share price: a global study’- Bashayer Hamad al-Kaabi, second place (master’s degree Research Project Award) for the paper ‘Analysis of climate change news sentiment’s impact on GCC stock markets’The first edition of the award saw the participation of talented students from prominent academic institutions in Qatar, including Qatar University, University of Doha for Science and Technology, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, Qatar Finance and Business Academy in collaboration with Northumbria University, and Hamad Bin Khalifa University.

The UAE (United Arab Emirates) is recognised as a hub in terms of entrepreneurship and business innovation. Businesses are flourishing, nurtured by the growth of the accessible, flexible, alternative lending landscape that has evolved and is expanding at a considerable rate of knots. Consumers, too, are benefitting from the advantages that this new digital world offers.Growth of Digital Lending in the UAE and the Wider Middle EastThe wider Middle East, of which the UAE is a significant part, has experienced a 52% increase in CAGR in its digital banking scene since 2012. A recent report by Arthur D Little puts the asset value of the area at $3.2 trillion, with the UAE holding the lion's share. Over the past two years, the UAE has seen a growth in CAGR of 8.7%, and by 2029, its holding is projected to reach a total of $175.7 billion.The digital lending sector of the UAE offers consumers and businesses much easier access to loans than does the old traditional banking sector. The new loan and loan comparison platforms we are seeing use advanced data analytic algorithms and the power of artificial intelligence (AI). They are the new disruptive option that has already become firmly established and for which demand is steadily growing. Digital lending and loan tendering are quickly being recognised as integral components of the Fintech infrastructure.The Way in Which Loan Tendering Platforms Help Consumers Reach Smarter Financial DecisionsRather than approaching one particular lender, loan comparison platforms obtain loan proposals on your behalf from a number of different financial institutions. The platforms operating in the UAE are similar to those available in Finland, such as Pika Laina, which offers private loans of up to €70,000 within minutes of you completing your application.Rather than having to wait days or even weeks for a loan offer, which can worsen your financial position and cause more stress, Pika Laina’s rapid response, whereby you’re given up to 30 loan options from different sources, gives you the time you need to make more rational decisions. Also, the user-friendly loan calculator they provide makes it so easy to examine different loan amounts and terms, which facilitates making financially smarter decisions.The Popularity of Instant Loans – Fast and Reliable Cash SolutionsPeople tend to think of the UAE as the home of the wealthy, and yes, to some extent, that is the truth. But it doesn’t apply to everyone. Like any country or region, there are those who are less well off, and even among the more wealthy, there are those who have cash flow problems from time to time.The recent arrival of urgent cash loan apps like Cash Now, LNDDO, and Credy Loan, has been welcomed by the general public, business owners, and entrepreneurs too, who see them as game changers. This is proven by the fact that the uptake of these apps has increased by 20%. They perform a vital role for those who need cash on an urgent basis to cover unexpected emergencies or sudden high bills.A New Gateway for Entrepreneurs and StartupsThe UAE is a great incubator for startups, and in 2024 alone, over 8,600 new businesses were registered. Of this number, more than 750 startups were Fintech companies. According to research undertaken by Startup Genome, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, and Dubai are the frontrunners, forming incentivised environments.Abu Dhabi has the fastest-growing startups in terms of ecosystems in the MENA region. It com prised a little under USD 6 billion value-wise during 2021-2024. The aforementioned research also reported that early-stage startup funding totalled USD224 million. Of this, venture capital funding between 2021 and 2023 was over $1 billion, thanks to the action of startups operating under Hub 71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem.Finland is also home to one of the most vibrant startup ecosystems in the world. It’s the perfect gateway for entrepreneurs, scale-ups and startups, with loan comparison platforms like this one, which is offering tendering services for business loans up to €8 million. They both offer an easy way of comparing and applying for cheap loans quickly and efficiently.Loans to Fund the Home Renovation Trend in the United Arab EmiratesAs the population in Dubai expands, home renovations are becoming increasingly popular. Renovation trends include:Luxury bathroomsState-of-the-art kitchensIndoor/outdoor livingOpen-plan living areasEco-friendly updatesFor the wealthy, financing such renovations isn’t a problem, but for many, it means borrowing money to cover the cost.It’s not just the UAE where home renovating has become a popular trend. The same applies to Finland, where the spending on renovation and home goods is forecast to hit the €7.1 billion mark by 2028. This is an increase of €0.5 billion or 1.3% from expenditure in 2023. As in the UAE, many people don't have the ready cash to fund these projects, so they turned to the services of credit loan comparison sites, who will tender loan offers from as many as 30 different sources, tailored to the applicant's requests.Consolidation Loans for Those Who Have Overstepped Their BorrowingThe trend of taking out multiple loans and credit cards is something that increased disproportionately with the arrival of COVID-19 and the recent rise in the cost of living. In 2020, UAE inflation was negative at minus 2.08%, but following the pandemic, it rose steadily, and by 2022, it had reached a positive 4.83%, a rise of 6.91%. It meant many people took a number of loans and credit cards and ended up struggling to keep up with the repayments.It was a similar story in Finland, where the cost of living between 2020 and the end of 2022 rose by 9.4%. The only way now that many households can survive is by obtaining a loan to consolidate their debts and save money on repayments.In the UAE, people applied to financial institutions like Mashreq. In Finland, many households find the best consolidation deals by going through online loan tendering agencies. Applying a loan costs nothing and will present you with dozens of loan proposals from €1,000 to €60,000, which can ease your financial commitments and can eventually even result in increasing your credit rating.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has decided to let lapse a $23bn programme to incentivise domestic manufacturing, just four years after it launched the effort to woo firms away from China, according to four government officials.The scheme will not be expanded beyond the 14 pilot sectors and production deadlines will not be extended despite requests from some participating firms, two of the officials said. Some 750 companies, including Apple supplier Foxconn and Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, signed up to the Production-Linked Initiative scheme, public records show.Firms were promised cash payouts if they met individual production targets and deadlines. The hope was to raise the share of manufacturing in the economy to 25% by 2025.Instead, many firms that participated in the programme failed to kickstart production, while others that met manufacturing targets found India slow to pay out subsidies, according to government documents and correspondence seen by Reuters. As of October 2024, participating firms had produced $151.93bn worth of goods under the programme, or 37% of the target that Delhi had set, according to an undated analysis of the programme compiled by the commerce ministry. India had issued just $1.73bn in incentives – or under 8% of the allocated funds, the document said.News of the government’s decision to not extend the plan and specifics about the lag in payouts are being reported by Reuters for the first time.Modi’s office and the commerce ministry, which oversees the programme, did not respond to requests for comment. Since the plan’s introduction, manufacturing’s share of the economy has decreased from 15.4% to 14.3%.Foxconn, which now employs thousands of contract workers in India, and Reliance didn’t return requests for comment.Two of the government officials told Reuters the end of the programme did not mean Delhi had abandoned its manufacturing ambitions and that alternatives were being planned. The government last year defended the programme’s impact, particularly in pharmaceuticals and mobile-phone manufacturing, which have seen explosive growth. Some 94% of the nearly $620mn in incentives disbursed between April and October 2024 were directed to those two sectors.In some instances, some food-sector companies that applied for subsidies weren’t issued them due to factors such as “non compliance of investment thresholds” and companies “not achieving stipulated minimum growth,” according to the analysis. The document did not provide specifics, though it found production in the sector had exceeded targets. Reuters could not determine which companies the analysis referred to. But Delhi had previously acknowledged problems and agreed to extend some deadlines and increase payment frequency after complaints from PLI participants. One of the Indian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential matters, said that excessive red tape and bureaucratic caution continued to stymie the scheme’s effectiveness. As an alternative, India is considering supporting certain sectors by partially reimbursing investments made to set up plants, which would allow firms to recover costs faster than having to wait for production and sale, another official said. Trade expert Biswajit Dhar at the Delhi-based Council for Social Development think-tank, who has said Modi’s government needs to do more to attract foreign investment, said the country might have missed its moment.The incentives programme was “possibly the last chance we had to revive our manufacturing sector,” he said. “If this kind of mega-scheme fails, do you have any expectation that anything is going to succeed?”The stalling of manufacturing comes as India tries to circumvent the trade war unleashed by US President Donald Trump, who has criticised Delhi’s protectionist policies.Trump’s threat of reciprocal tariffs on countries like India that have a trade surplus with the US means the export sector is increasingly challenged, said Dhar. “There was some amount of tariff protection ... and all that is going to be slashed.”Hits and missesThe programme was introduced at an opportune time for India: China, which for decades had been the world’s factory floor, was struggling to maintain production amid Beijing’s zero-Covid policy.The US was also seeking to reduce its economic reliance on an increasingly assertive Beijing, prompting many multinationals to pursue a “China plus one” policy of diversifying production lines.With its large youthful population, lower costs and a government regarded as relatively friendly to the West, India seemed set to benefit.India has become a global leader in pharmaceutical and mobile-phone production in recent years.The country produced $49bn worth of mobiles in the 2023-24 fiscal year, up 63% from 2020-21, government data show. Industry leaders like Apple now manufacture their newest and most sophisticated cellphones in India, after having started with low-cost models.Similarly, pharmaceutical exports nearly doubled to $27.85bn in 2023-24 from a decade ago.But the success was not repeated in the other sectors, which include steel, textiles and solar panel manufacturing. India faces fierce competition from cheaper rivals like China in many of those fields.In the solar industry, for instance, eight of the 12 companies that signed up to PLI are unlikely to meet their targets, according to a December 2024 analysis of the sector prepared by the renewable energy ministry and seen by Reuters. The eight firms included units of Reliance, Adani Group and the Indian conglomerate JSW.The analysis found that the Reliance entity would only meet 50% of the production target it had been set for the end of the 2027 fiscal year, when the solar PLI scheme will expire. It also said that the Adani business had not ordered equipment it needed to manufacture the solar panels and that JSW had not “done anything yet.”JSW declined to comment, while Adani did not respond to questions.The commerce ministry said in a January letter to the renewables ministry seen by Reuters that it would not agree to its counterpart’s request to extend the scheme beyond 2027 as doing so “will result in unfair benefit for non-performers.”The renewables ministry said in response to Reuters’ questions that it was committed to “fairness and accountability,” as well as “ensuring that only those who meet their targets are rewarded.”In the steel sector, investment and production also lag targets. Fourteen of the 58 projects approved for PLIs have been withdrawn or removed due to lack of progress, according to the undated programme-wide analysis. – Reuters

Bowlers have been allowed to use saliva to shine the ball in the Indian Premier League but it is the batters who will be salivating at the prospect of breaching the 300-mark when the world’s richest Twenty20 league gets under way on Saturday.Lifting the saliva ban, a Covid-19 legacy, will allow the fast bowlers to try and generate some reverse swing in a format which treats them as cannon fodder.But the continuation of the Impact Player rule, which allows teams to play an extra batter substituting a bowler in a match, will ensure it will rain fours and sixes across 13 venues over the next two months.Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s 263-5 against Pune Warriors stood as the league’s highest total for a decade but that 2013 mark was bettered four times in last year’s IPL – three times by Sunrisers Hyderabad alone.Hyderabad’s 287-3 against Bengaluru is the new benchmark but Nathan Leamon, a strategy consultant with defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders, is among those who believe 300 is achievable.“We have already seen a huge escalation in scores over the last two years,” the former England lead analyst told ESPNcricinfo.“It would be naive to think that we have got to the fullest extent of that – of teams learning how to take advantage of the new laws.“You have seen several games where 260 has been scored, which never used to happen. You have seen several games where teams score 100 in the powerplay ... So something has changed.”RCB, who face Kolkata in today’s IPL opener at Eden Gardens, are likely to be involved when the 300-mark is breached given the traditionally flat pitch and small boundaries in Bengaluru.RCB’s Rajat Patidar is one of five new captains in the 18th edition of the tournament, which will culminate with the May 25 final in Kolkata.Ajinkya Rahane has been appointed Kolkata captain after the departure of Shreyas Iyer, who will spearhead Punjab Kings’ bid to win their maiden IPL title.All-rounder Axar Patel will lead Delhi Capitals after the franchise released stumper-batter Rishabh Pant, who will skipper Lucknow Super Giants.The double header tomorrow includes a mouth-watering clash between Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings, the IPL’s most successful teams with five titles each. While there are no overwhelming favourites this year, South Africa great AB de Villiers backed his former club RCB to shed their under-achiever’s tag. “It’s an incredibly good, balanced team,” de Villiers, who played more than 100 Tests for South Africa, said ahead of the tournament. “I do feel this squad has got what it takes to go all the way.”

Whoever succeeds Thomas Bach as president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) today will need to be “cool under fire” with some members believing the very existence of the Olympic Movement is at stake.Seven candidates are vying to become the most powerful person in sport governance and replace Bach, who steps down after a stormy 12-year tenure when he had to contend with Covid, a Russian doping scandal as well as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.“I believe this is the most significant Olympic election in nearly half a century,” Michael Payne, a former head of IOC Marketing, told AFP.“Some IOC members are even predicting that the very future of the Olympic Movement is at stake.”Payne, who in nearly two decades at the IOC was credited with renewing its brand and finances through sponsorship deals, said the Movement has “never been stronger” thanks in part to “perhaps the greatest Games ever” in Paris last year.However, he added the “future outlook is fraught with risk.”“The IOC has not faced such a troubled geopolitical outlook in many years,” the 66-year-old Irishman said.“How the IOC navigates an ever more fractured political world, maintaining universality and how the IOC engages with a rapidly changing marketing and broadcast market will define the Movement’s future.”Martin Sorrell – who founded advertising giant WPP and sat on the IOC’s Communications Commission – said the next president required a particular skillset as there is “immense volatility in the world”.With the next Summer Games in Los Angeles in 2028, Bach’s successor will have to deal with the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump.“The next IOC president is going to have to possess political savvy, tact, a strong temperament and a steady hand,” Sorrell told AFP. “The next president will have to be able to go to the White House and kiss the ring.“He or she will also have to be cool under fire as there are three big geographical and geopolitical challenges ahead – Russia/Ukraine, China and the Middle East with Iran.”‘Big damn deal’For another former IOC marketing executive, Terrence Burns, the next president must meet the challenge of “politicians’ predilections to use the Olympic Games as a political tool.”“I think the next IOC president must pass what I call the ‘joint press conference test,’ meaning, who can you envision sitting across or next to today’s world leaders and holding their own?” he told AFP.“The IOC must remain independent, and I think that is going to be more and more challenging.”While Payne believes Trump will be “incredibly supportive” of the LA Games, he envisages “sleepless nights” ahead for the IOC president.“(Trump’s) foreign policy and sudden executive orders counting down to the Games risk creating issues,” said Payne.“It is going to take special diplomatic and political skills and agility to ensure that all 205 nations turn up in LA in 2028 and protect the universality of the Olympic Movement.”Sorrell says the “two big buckets are geopolitics and technology” and “we are seeing it in spades here.”“I would not underestimate the political and technological shifts the new president will have to deal with,” said the 80-year-old Englishman. Burns, who since leaving the IOC has been a member of six victorious Olympic Games hosting bids, concurs with that.“AI (Artificial Intelligence) is – not probably, but is – upending everything from education to governance,” he said. “A few years ago, the stable economic and geopolitical construct that ushered in the modern, peaceful world was a ‘given’ – now it is not.”Burns add that this ups the ante for the challenges that lie ahead for Bach’s successor.“All this to say the next IOC president will face challenges as well as the pace of them that his/her predecessors could never have imagined,” he said.“So, yes, this election is a big damn deal in the Olympic world and for global sport in general.”Juan Antonio Samaranch Junior, Sebastian Coe and Kirsty Coventry are the frontrunners among the seven candidates to replace Bach.