Financial Center News #172

Back from a fantastic Annual General Meeting in Busan, thanks to our great host, the Busan Finance Center, it is time to implement all the decisions made. Several financial centers have approached us in recent days, showing growing interest in joining our World Alliance family.

Our most recent member, the Tashkent International Financial Center (TIFC), does not yet have a LinkedIn page, but has started promoting itself globally. There is a strong interest in Central Asia, an area of strong economic growth with needs for efficient financial services and international connectivity. At the World Alliance, we will support this ambition.

EQT has launched its Middle East platform, opening a new office in ADGM.

The move establishes an active, on-the-ground presence in the GCC, a natural next step in a relationship built over more than a decade.

ADGM's globally connected financial ecosystem, strong regulatory framework and institutional environment made Abu Dhabi a strategic base for EQT to deepen engagement with investors, companies and partners across the region.

Read more here: https://lnkd.in/eGJNzKjj

The AFD 2026 Exhibition brought together financial, investment, consulting and technology organisations, reflecting the diversity of the financial ecosystem represented at Astana Finance Days.

We are grateful to every organisation that joined us and contributed to the strength of this year’s Exhibition, creating a space for new connections across the financial ecosystem.

Thank you to all our exhibitors for being part of AFD 2026 and for contributing to the energy, scale and success of this year’s Exhibition.

Today at The Nassau Conference, BFSB’s CEO & Executive Director, Niekia Horton, joined industry leaders for the panel discussion, “The Forces Reshaping the Global Financial Environment.”

The discussion brought together perspectives from across The Bahamas’ financial services sector on the forces influencing the global financial landscape and what they mean for the industry moving forward.

Panelists:

• L. Ryan Pinder KC, Former Attorney General of The Bahamas

• John Rolle, Central Bank of The Bahamas

• Niekia Horton, Bahamas Financial Services Board

Moderator: Perry Rolle, CIBC Caribbean Trust (Bahamas) Ltd.

From Casablanca to Busan, strengthening the bridges between financial centres.

Casablanca Finance City took part in a week of high-level exchanges in Busan, South Korea, bringing together financial centres from across the world to discuss cooperation, connectivity and the future of global finance.

As part of the World Alliance of International Financial Centers (WAIFC) Annual General Meeting, CFC joined members of the Alliance for a week of discussions, institutional exchanges and new opportunities for collaboration.

A key milestone was the signing of an MoU between Casablanca Finance City and Busan Finance Center, renewing a partnership built since 2017 and opening new avenues for cooperation in green finance and carbon markets, digital finance and operational excellence.

The week also marked the BIFC Global Finance Symposium 2026, where CFC contributed to the WAIFC Roundtable on “The Future of Global Financial Centers: Competitiveness, Cooperation and New Opportunities”, while the Alliance unveiled its new White Paper, “The Impact of Financial Centers”.

The report introduces a common framework to better understand, measure and communicate the contribution of financial centres to their economies and wider ecosystems.

From institutional partnerships to shared knowledge and new business connections, the Busan mission reflected what financial centres can achieve when they work together.

For CFC, it was another opportunity to strengthen its role as a gateway between Africa and the world.

A special thank you to the World Alliance of International Financial Centers (WAIFC) for bringing its global network together and to Busan Finance Center for hosting us.

Solus Re has chosen DIFC as the base for its presence in the region, joining a growing community of insurance and reinsurance firms. With capabilities across aviation, energy, construction and financial services, the firm adds its specialist expertise to DIFC’s expanding insurance ecosystem.

Today, we celebrate a leader whose passion has become part of our story.

Happy Birthday to our Chairman, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, CFR.

Thank you for believing in the vision of EnterpriseNGR, championing its purpose and continually opening doors for greater possibilities.

We are grateful for your leadership, your passion and the difference you continue to make.

Happy Birthday, Chairman! 🎉

FinanceMalta was pleased to support the European Private Wealth Excellence Forum, in Athens, and contribute to an engaging discussion on the evolving private wealth landscape. As part of the programme, Anabel Mifsud, Governor of FinanceMalta, moderated the roundtable “Private Wealth in Transition: Preserving Legacy, Embracing Innovation”, together with Borana Hima, Head of Advisory at FJVA, and Aristides Protopapadakis, Founder & Managing Director of Systemic.

The discussion explored how families can preserve legacy and continuity across generations while ensuring that wealth structures and governance remain flexible enough to evolve. It also looked at the growing role of innovation, technology and AI in shaping how the next generation engages with, manages and oversees wealth — and the importance of maintaining trust and human judgement as that transformation takes place.

A valuable exchange on how private wealth can balance preservation with progress, ensuring that structures remain relevant, resilient and fit for the future.

A great forum for putting Malta's value proposition in front of the right audience. Thanks to Smart Bridges GmbH for hosting.

𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁: 𝗔 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗔𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗠𝗕 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

#FSDC Vice-Chairman Ms Chen DING recently shared her views with Sing Tao Global 星島環球 on the strategic importance of Hong Kong’s gold market development.

With Asian demand on the rise, the city is uniquely positioned to expand RMB-denominated gold trading and promote the broader use of the currency in international settlement.

Ms Ding highlighted Hong Kong’s distinctive advantages, including its proximity to the Chinese Mainland, one of the world’s largest gold consumers, alongside its robust legal framework, free flow of capital and mature professional services ecosystem, enabling it to capture the growing demand and facilitate more efficient trading and hedging for global participants.

The trial operation of the new gold central clearing system, the introduction of the HAU price ticker, and the initial launch of Delivery Connect with the Shanghai Gold Exchange are strengthening the infrastructure needed to support Hong Kong’s gold market development.

Ms Ding noted that gold trading is only the starting point. By broadening its commodities ecosystem, Hong Kong can strengthen its asset allocation capabilities and further cement its role as a diversified and full-fledged #IFC.

AI has arrived in the ESG management of banks – but the leap from pilot project to widespread application is still pending in many places.

This is exactly where the Sustainable Finance Cluster s's new position paper comes in. It shows how AI can already support the analysis of ESG reports, data extraction, monitoring of external sources and documentation. Case studies from Helaba, Novata and Commerzbank AG provide insights into practical application.

The central finding: Technical potential alone is not enough. Responsible scaling requires reliable data, clear responsibilities, human control, and traceable results.

Learn more about the results and recommendations: https://frankfurt-main-finance.com/en/sustainable-finance-cluster-publishes-white-paper-on-ai-in-esg-management-in-banking/

How should Europe navigate a world defined by geopolitical uncertainty, technological disruption and a changing global economy?

We are pleased to welcome Janus Kizenevic (Janusz Kizieniewicz), Vice-Minister of Finance of the Republic of Lithuania, as a Special Guest of the Future Finance Summit 2026.

He will join the panel “Europe’s New Strategic Algorithm: Navigating an Era of Turbulence”, bringing the Lithuanian and broader CEE perspective to a conversation about Europe’s competitiveness, resilience and ability to act in a rapidly changing global environment.

Bringing together perspectives from across Europe is at the heart of Warsaw Finance Week, and we are delighted to have Lithuania represented in this important discussion.

Welcome to Warsaw, Vice-Minister Kizenevič!

Join us 👉 https://lnkd.in/dHhqC2ae

📅 Future Finance Summit | 4 November 2026

📍 CIC Warsaw

Part of Warsaw Finance Week | 3–5 November

Discuss. Connect. Act.

FinTech Poland Pawel Widawski Piotr Brewiński Katarzyna Multan Anna Bogucka

🎙️ New Podcast Episode 🎙️

What have our Rising Stars learned about building a career?

Petra Ariana Felgueiras from Hawksford, Charlotte Dawson from PwC Channel Islands and Clara Slee from RBS International joined us to share the experiences that have helped shape their careers so far.

They discuss building confidence, learning from the people around you, finding the right workplace and taking opportunities even when you might not feel completely ready.

🎧 Listen to the full episode: https://jsy.fi/4y1Fnap

We are pleased to share that Shaduri Umutoniwase, Chief Marketing Officer at KIFC, will speak at the 2026 African Marketing Confederation (AMC) Conference.

📍 Livingstone, Zambia

📅 23–25 September 2026

Held under the theme “Africa Rising: From Continental Strengths to Global Impact Through Marketing Leadership, Brand Power and Value Creation,” #AMC2026 will bring together marketing leaders, practitioners and innovators from across the continent to explore how Africa can transform its strengths, creativity and talent into greater global influence and economic value.

This year’s event also marks a convergence of three Africa-wide conferences spanning marketing (AMC), technology (TICON Africa) and cross-border trade (ASCON), bringing leaders across sectors together around one shared ambition:

How can we build stronger, more competitive and more connected African brands and businesses for the world?

African Marketing Confederation

Zambia Institute of Marketing-ZIM

Luxembourg brings together banking, treasury and payments, capital markets, private financing and securitisation within a deeply connected cross-border financial centre. From established financing structures to tokenisation and DLT-based issuance, the ecosystem continues to evolve alongside the needs of international businesses and investors.

Discover Luxembourg’s corporate finance ecosystem in our new video.

This is Luxembourg. Made to last. Built to grow.

On the margins of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, I signed a cooperation agreement on behalf of the NIFC Africa with Veronica Almedom, Chief Executive Officer of New Wind Ventures , a Swiss technology company.

The signing took place at the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York and was witnessed by Joachim Tomaschett , Deputy Consul General of Switzerland.

At the heart of this partnership is a clear ambition: to create a trusted, transparent and auditable pathway connecting Swiss institutional capital with credible opportunities in Financial Services & Technology in Kenya.

Through the NIFC Africa, New Wind Ventures will work with us to design and test a pilot framework connecting participants in the Swiss banking sector with Kenya’s capital markets.

The collaboration will seek to improve the quality and reliability of capital data, strengthen transparency across the lifecycle, explore the responsible application of tokenisation within Kenya’s evolving regulatory framework, and build a recurring pipeline in the ecosystem.

This is not technology for technology’s sake. It is about using technology to reduce information asymmetry, strengthen confidence, lower transaction costs and ultimately move more capital into productive, job-creating opportunities in Kenya.

The true measure of this partnership will not be the agreement signed or the photographs taken. It will be the opportunities structured, and transactions successfully completed.

New Wind Ventures brings technology, Swiss market relationships and international execution capability. NIFC brings Kenya’s institutional platform, regulatory connectivity and the mandate to position Nairobi as a globally competitive financial centre.

Together, we intend to turn Swiss confidence into scalable opportunity in Kenya —and establish a model that can eventually serve markets across the continent.

This is another deliberate step towards positioning Nairobi as Africa’s Capital of Capital: where global capital meets African opportunity, transactions are structured, technology is deployed and the continent’s future is financed.

My appreciation to Veronica Almedom and the New Wind Ventures team, and to Deputy Consul General Joachim Tomaschett and the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York for hosting and witnessing this important milestone.

Now, we proceed to get it done.

Ambassador Philip Thigo, MBS Kate Idwasi @embassy of switzerland in nairobi

Supporting SMEs goes beyond business setup - it’s about helping them navigate the operational needs that come with growth. 📈

As part of the Account Management & Growth team’s ongoing efforts to enhance the QFC client experience, QFC clients took part in an exclusive workshop hosted by Commercial Bank in collaboration with Sovereign PPG Corporate Services.🏦

The session provided practical insights into key areas of business operations, including HR and payroll, accounting and bookkeeping, as well as banking solutions designed to support businesses and their employees.

Through initiatives like these, QFC continues to connect its clients with relevant expertise, services and solutions that help strengthen their day-to-day operations and enable sustainable growth.

Last night, we brought together senior industry leaders for a discussion with Nikhil Rathi, Chief Executive of the Financial Conduct Authority, alongside Nasdaq's John Zecca and Roland Chai, on the future of financial markets in an increasingly digital and interconnected world.

The conversation explored how technologies such as tokenisation and AI are reshaping financial and related professional services, and what is needed to turn innovation from pilots and proofs of concept into real-world market adoption.

A key theme was the importance of ensuring new and existing market infrastructure develop in a joined-up way. Participants highlighted the UK's strengths, including the trust provided by English law, a supportive regulatory environment and deep capital markets, while recognising the need for continued collaboration between industry, regulators and policymakers to maintain competitiveness and unlock growth.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to the discussion, and to Nasdaq for sponsoring the evening.