IDB to finance Iraqi infrastructure with $500m – president

Ahmed Mohamed Ali al-Madani, the president of Islamic Development Bank (IDB), said the bank is ready to finance Iraq infrastructure with $500 million, The president said this in Kuwait on Wednesday, according to Reuters. Donors and investors have gathered in Kuwait to discuss efforts to rebuild Iraq’s economy and infrastructure as it emerges from a devastating conflict […]

China unveils plan for world’s biggest carbon-trading market

China unveiled its plan for a national carbon market, creating the world’s biggest trading system for the climate-warming emissions. The market will initially involve only the power sector, National Development and Reform Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Yong said Tuesday at a briefing in Beijing. While that’s a pullback from a previous plan to include eight […]

South Korea building a $35bn city designed to eliminate the need for cars

When residents of the International Business District (IBD) in Songdo, South Korea go to work, pick up their kids from school, or shop for groceries, driving is optional, according to a World Economic Forum (WEF) report. That’s because the $35 billion district — currently a work-in-progress about the size of downtown Boston — was designed […]

Bitcoin boom presents higher risk to Japanese FX brokers – Deutsche Bank

Swelling cryptocurrencies interest among retail investors in Japan means that foreign exchange brokers in the Asian country face a “higher risk of failure”, an analyst at Deutsche Bank has warned. Retail investors are “shifting from leveraged FX trading to leveraged cryptocurrency trading,” reckons Masao Muraki, global financial strategist at the German bank, in a note […]

Cinema to contribute $24bn to Saudi economy

The Saudi Arabian Ministry of Culture and Information has estimated the contribution of the cinema sector to its GDP to be over $24 billion (90 billion riyals) after its launch soon. According to the ministry, employment generated by the cinema industry will create a large impact on the economy which will increase the media market […]

Why North Korea’s economy survives sanction after sanction

A lot of US allies aren’t following through on their promises. The Trump administration has sought to rein in North Korea’s nuclear program by passing tougher and tougher sanctions designed to punish its economy. A new study shows why that isn’t working. A whopping 49 countries have violated UN Security Council sanctions imposed on North […]

China’s growth objectives clash with financial stability goal – IMF

China should prioritise financial stability above development goals, as a pursuit of regional growth targets and helping firms avoid heavy job losses had led to a surge in debt, particularly at the local government level, the International Monetary Fund said. Noting a lack of coordination and inadequate systemic risk analysis, in a report released on […]

Afghan economy still hampered by war- World Bank

The Afghan economy remains severely hampered by the new war with the Taliban, a World Bank report said Tuesday. “The annual economic growth rate is anticipated to be around 2.6 percent in 2017,’’ the authors wrote. This is a slight increase from 2.2 percent economic growth recorded in 2016. However, the increased conflict appeared to […]