Source: People’s Republic of China – State Council News
NANNING, Sept. 24 — Participants at the 21st China-ASEAN Expo, which kicked off on Tuesday in Nanning, south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, emphasized the importance of deepening economic and trade cooperation between the two sides.
The opening ceremony attracted about 1,100 participants, including Chinese and foreign leaders, government officials, entrepreneurs, scholars, and representatives from international organizations.
The theme of this year’s expo focuses on “Upholding amity, sincerity, mutual benefit and inclusiveness for common development, creating a diamond crown new future — promoting development of a China-ASEAN Free Trade Area 3.0 and high-quality growth of this region.”
Speaking at the opening ceremony, China’s Vice Minister of Commerce Li Fei said that the mutually beneficial and win-win cooperation between China and ASEAN countries has reached new levels.
Bilateral economic and trade cooperation has continued to upgrade over the years, with positive progress achieved in negotiations for version 3.0 of the China-ASEAN Free Trade Area, Li said.
The five-day event covers an exhibition area of nearly 200,000 square meters, with Malaysia as the country of honor.
As part of the 50th-anniversary celebrations of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Malaysia, four events related to China-Malaysia enterprise cooperation matchmaking, China-ASEAN commodity trading innovation promotion, and the Malaysian durian shopping festival, will be held.
In addition, a new section has been introduced to highlight strategic emerging industries, showcasing the latest developments and technologies in fields such as digital technology, new energy and intelligent connected vehicles.
The expo has been standing as a testament to the enduring friendship, cooperation and shared prosperity between China and the ASEAN countries over the years, said Kao Kim Hourn, secretary-general of ASEAN, adding that since its inception in 2004, the expo has evolved into an important platform for dialogue, cooperation and development, covering sectors such as infrastructure, agriculture, technology, education and tourism.
It has made important contributions to the economic integration between ASEAN and China, facilitating investment flows and cross-border economic opportunities, laying the foundation for building a more connected, resilient and dynamic region, Kao added.
Since the first China-ASEAN Expo was held in 2004, the event has actively built a platform for ASEAN enterprises to enter the Chinese market.
Official data shows that China has remained ASEAN’s largest trading partner for 15 consecutive years. In the first seven months of this year, bilateral trade reached 552 billion U.S. dollars, up 7.7 percent year on year.
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The title comes in recognition of Liverpool’s impressive commitment to innovation and smart regulation to rapidly decarbonise the live music and TV/Film production sectors – both vital parts of the city’s economy – following several years of developmental work by ACT 1.5, an artist-led research and action effort, and climate scientists from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.
To mark the launch of this initiative, the following key events and plans were also announced today:
A three-night live music series at Liverpool Arena from 28 – 30 November in collaboration with Massive Attack, ACT 1.5 and SJM concerts, to showcase innovations in sustainability and the smart design of live music events.
A headline industry event, called Expedition 1, on (29 November) and public event (30 November) in the adjacent ACC Liverpool which will test and showcase eight cross-sectoral pilot projects for rapid decarbonisation across live music, TV and film productions scheduled in 2025, and then invite the public into multiple climate action workshops, live audience podcasts, and performances.
The implementation of three initial plans for galvanising decarbonization in the cultural sector: a pioneering integrated public transport and ticketing program (TAG Network); electrification with 100% renewable energy of all key live event and filming locations in the city centre; and a new Paris 1.5-degree compatible sustainability standard that major events will need to meet in order to be granted a land use agreement for an event to proceed.
This work builds upon the groundbreaking project commissioned by the band Massive Attack and developed over the past four years, culminating in a climate action accelerator event entitled ACT 1.5 in Bristol (UK) in late August.
The band worked in collaboration with the Tyndall Centre, AGF, and super low-carbon providers to produce what is anticipated to have been the lowest greenhouse gas emissions show of its size ever staged.
As an ’Accelerator City’ Liverpool, which has just announced huge plans for the future of its music sector, will expand on this use of policy, technology, infrastructure, and transport practices to pilot and then embed decarbonisation methods into the fabric of the city, extending the scope of this work to include national film and television institutions; establishing cross-sectoral solutions with clean, green providers and sustainability-focused event & onscreen producers.
The world-leading Accelerator City programme is supported by Ecotricity and is comprised of a partnership network of private, public sector, and UN organisations including BBC, BAFTA Albert, BFI, Earth Percent, Equity, BECTU, The European Space Agency, A Greener Future, Association of Independent Festivals, UN Climate Change, UNESCO, ZENOBE Energy, and numerous transport, food and local service providers.
Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, said: “I commend the city of Liverpool on its ambitious plans to dramatically speed up decarbonisation in this vital sector. Cities and towns are absolutely essential in picking up the pace and scale of climate action – and the cultural sector plays a vital role in unlocking innovation and promoting sustainable behaviours. I applaud Liverpool’s initiative and look forward to identifying other ‘Accelerator Cities’ in the future.”
UK Climate Minister Kerry McCarthy MP, said: “I am proud and delighted that Liverpool – as famous for its cultural exports as it is for its maritime history – will be the UN’s first Accelerator City for climate change action.
“I would especially like to congratulate the artists, scientists, providers and the city council who have made huge efforts and driven innovative solutions to tackle greenhouse gas emissions and are having their work recognised in this way. Dynamic projects like these are completely in line with our mission for the UK to become global leaders in this action once again, and with our efforts to boost clean, green, highly skilled jobs at home to drive economic growth and achieve clean power by 2030.”
Robert Del Naja, (3D – Massive Attack), said: “Our recent Bristol show demonstrated beyond question that major live music events can be Paris 1.5 compatible, and that audiences will embrace change enthusiastically. The vast scope of work in Liverpool and UN recognition means we can now concentrate more dynamic pilots and experiments to rapidly phase out fossil fuels. This idea and this insistence are not going back in any box. We’re delighted to see artists like Coldplay testing elements like localised ticket pre-sales and 100% renewable energy as recommended in the Tyndall Centre Paris 1.5 decarbonisation road map and encourage other artists to do so freely. The talking stage is over, it’s time to act.”
Councillor Liam Robinson, Leader of Liverpool City Council, said: ‘Liverpool has redefined the transformative power of culture over the past 25 years by blending imagination and innovation with a passion to deliver amazing results – be it staging the best-ever Eurovision to playing a leading role in the UK’s recovery from Covid. Now we’re ready to apply all of our best efforts to tackling the biggest challenge humanity faces and we are deeply honoured the UN has recognised our commitment to decarbonise our cultural sector and appointed Liverpool as the World’s First “Accelerator City” for Climate Action.
“What is so fantastic about this status, is not just the plans we have to help decarbonise music, events and filming, but also the way that this project will educate and motivate audiences through something they really care about – music and entertainment. Liverpool is a city that has always strived to innovate and inspire, and this award recognises that on a global scale.“
Steve Rotheram, Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said: “Liverpool has always been a city of firsts but being named the world’s first ‘Accelerator City’ is huge for our region, and another example of how we’re leading the charge on climate action. We’re not just talking about change; we’re making it happen. By bringing innovation to the sectors that define us—like music, film and TV —we’re showing the world how culture can drive real, meaningful climate action. Together, we’re proving that the Liverpool City Region isn’t just making headlines; it’s helping to write the playbook for building a fairer, greener future a reality for everyone.”
Matt Scarff, Managing Director BAFTA Albert, said: “The screen industries are uniquely placed to help drive forward the vital progress and innovation needed to protect the future of our planet. BAFTA albert is proud to support this brilliant UN initiative and support the city of Liverpool as we work to make it a hub of sustainable creativity for generations to come.”
Professor Carly McLachlan, Director of Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, said: “This city level action to transform live music and film and TV production is really exciting in its ambition and the critical combination of collaboration and regulation. We need to move fast on decarbonisation and that means innovation and new ways of working, but crucially it also means sharing learning, getting the right infrastructure in place and ratcheting up minimum standards. Liverpool’s global recognition as such a culturally rich city make it a brilliant location to demonstrate to the world how things can be done differently.”
Dale Vince OBE, Founder of Ecotricity, said: “Big congrats to Liverpool, leading the way by adopting Act 1.5 across the city. We’ve been working with Massive Attack on the music side and with partners in film and tv production to show that it’s possible for the live event sector to operate this way – that’s important not just for the sake of its own … footprint but because of the platform it has – we can reach huge amounts of people this way and show them there is another way to live. I love the scale and the ambition.”
Film obtained from Birmingham trade fair shows staff at UK company The Squad Group Ltd demonstrating electric-shock gloves which deliver painful electric shocks
Call on West Midlands Police and HM Revenue & Customs to urgently investigate
‘It’s disturbing that a UK company led by three former police officers has openly promoted these devices’ – Dr Michael Crowley
‘No-one should be allowed to profit from the sale of torture equipment’ – Sacha Deshmuk
A British company led by retired police officers – including a former Assistant Chief Constable – has been caught on camera demonstrating electric-shock torture equipment at a trade fair in Birmingham.
The revelations, made by Amnesty International UK and the Omega Research Foundation, raise serious questions about the enforcement of laws in relation to the prohibition of torture equipment as well as the staging of security equipment trade events, with campaigners saying it should prompt an urgent investigation by West Midlands Police and HM Revenue & Customs, as well as the trade fair organisers, Nineteen Group Ltd.
In one video, filmed yesterday at the Emergency Services Show at the Birmingham NEC, representatives of the company, The Squad Group Limited – which markets itself as the “Sole UK & Ireland partner of Compliant Technologies”, a US company promoting a range of electric-shock devices – are seen demonstrating devices (known as the “G.L.O.V.E.”), direct-contact devices which emit a painful electric charge on contact with a restrained person’s skin. The Squad Group Limited are seen demonstrating the glove device while emphasising that its electrical charge setting was only at “one tenth” of what the device is capable of. The person volunteering to receive the shock – apparently a serving police officer – is seen grimacing in pain when the glove is used to grab his arm.
In addition, the company has also promoted a body-worn electric-shock device, the “E-Band Restrictor”, on its website. This device, which is designed to be worn around the ankle of a prisoner, can deliver painful electric shocks repeatedly via a remote control.
In a briefing document to accompany the video, Amnesty and Omega explain that the trade in direct-contact and body-worn electric-shock weapons is illegal under laws regulating the arms and security trade, with UK companies and nationals banned from importing, exporting or in any way promoting these goods anywhere in the world. Electric-shock weapons are prohibited under The Trade in Torture etc. Goods (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020, and current Government export control guidance clearly states that all trading activity, including promotion and marketing of these goods anywhere in the world, is prohibited.
Due to their design and purpose, these electric-shock weapons are inherently abusive and can be used to carry out torture, including through the application of multiple or continuous electric shocks, as well as electric shocks to vulnerable areas of the body such as the head, neck and genitals. In the UK, police use of Tasers is the only permissible use of electric-shock weapons, and then only under strict licensing conditions. The G.L.O.V.E. is a conductive energy distraction device, the means of that distraction via the application of electric shocks, and as such Amnesty International UK and the Omega Research Foundation believe it falls clearly within the scope of prohibited torture goods.
The Squad Group Limited is a new company, only registered in May 2023, and its three company directors are all retired police officers. The company’s founder, Adam Conn, is a former police officer and emergency services worker; its CEO, Matthew Nicholls, is a former Assistant Chief Constable with the Hertfordshire Constabulary; and its chief operating officer, Simon Thompson, is a former police officer with the Metropolitan Police. On the company website all three detail their extensive police experience, with two citing their knowledge of weapons deployment in policing.
Last year, The Squad Group Ltd representatives appeared in photographs and videos demonstrating the use of the G.L.O.V.E. and E-Band Restrictor devices to members of the Royal Gibraltar Police at a two-day seminar event in Gibraltar. Officers from UK police forces, UK Border Force and officials from the Ministry of Defence attended the event, either in person or remotely.
After yesterday’s discovery, Amnesty International UK and the Omega Research Foundation alerted the trade fair organisers Nineteen Group Ltd and the relevant UK authorities. At the time of writing, it is unclear what action – if any – has been taken.
Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive, said:
“It’s alarming in the extreme that torture equipment is openly being demonstrated at a UK trade fair, and West Midlands Police should urgently investigate this.
“Bringing any direct-contact electric-shock weapon into the UK must surely be a serious breach of import-export controls, and HMRC should investigate to see if the rules banning torture equipment are being properly enforced.
“The organisers of this trade fair have serious questions to answer about how they allowed torture equipment to be touted at their event. No-one should be allowed to profit from the sale of torture equipment.”
Dr Michael Crowley, Researcher at the Omega Research Foundation, said:
“The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture has specifically identified direct-contact electric-shock weapons and body-worn electric-shock weapons as inherently-abusive goods that should be completely prohibited.
“It’s disturbing that a UK company led by three former police officers has openly promoted these devices on its website and demonstrated direct-contact electric-shock weapons at an international trade fair.
“The Squad Group’s ability to attend and demonstrate inherently-abusive devices to a seminar of UK and Gibraltar police officers is also deeply concerning, and should be investigated to establish if UK law was broken and whether serving UK law-enforcement officers or Government officials knew of or facilitated these actions.
“The UK now also needs to become a global champion in the fight against torture by supporting the call for an international Torture-Free Trade Treaty to end the global trade in these abhorrent products.”
Washington, DC: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Post Financing Assessment (PFA)[1], and endorsed the Staff Appraisal on a lapse-of-time basis. South Africa’s capacity to repay the Fund is assessed as adequate.
The new government of national unity that took office in June faces significant challenges, including declining real per capita growth, high unemployment, poverty, and inequality, and a rising level of public debt. The new administration has committed to address these challenges by continuing ongoing structural reforms aimed at addressing supply constraints and bolstering inclusive growth, while maintaining fiscal discipline.
Growth slowed to 0.7 percent in 2023, depressed in part by widespread power shortages and disruptions at rails and ports. Unemployment remained elevated, reaching 32 percent at end-2023. Following decisive monetary policy tightening during 2022 and early 2023, inflation fell within the SARB’s 3–6 percent target range last year, moderating further to 5.1 percent in June 2024. The current account deficit widened to 1.6 percent of GDP in 2023 (from 0.5 percent in 2022), driven by higher imports. The budget deficit remained in line with the revised budget target thanks to robust revenues and expenditure restraint, although public debt continued to rise to just above 74 percent of GDP.
Looking ahead, growth is expected to reach 1 percent in 2024, on the back of improved investor sentiment and electricity generation, stabilizing at 1.4 percent in the medium term, as structural bottlenecks ease only gradually. Inflation is projected to decline toward the midpoint of the target range 2025Q2. The current account deficit is expected to increase modestly to 2.2 percent of GDP by 2029, as imports accelerate in line with domestic demand. The fiscal deficit is projected to remain elevated over the medium term, given rising debt service, support to state-owned enterprises, and sizeable spending on public wages and transfers. As a result, public debt is not expected to stabilize. Risks to the outlook are broadly balanced, with faster reform implementation under the new government of national unity representing an upside risk to growth, while downside risks largely relate to the uncertain external environment and an inability of the new government to agree on needed fiscal and structural reforms.
South Africa’s economy has shown resilience in the face of massive disruptions, but persisting structural challenges risk a further erosion of living standards. Despite unprecedented electricity shortages and bottlenecks at rails and ports last year, growth stayed positive, as economic agents adapted. However, per-capita income growth continued to decline, public debt rose further, and unemployment and poverty rates remained at unacceptably high levels.
The new government should use the opportunity of a new mandate to implement bold reforms to address long-standing challenges and achieve the economy’s full potential. Such a mandate can turn the economy around from the path of weak growth, high debt, and deteriorating living standards toward high growth, fiscal sustainability, and shared prosperity. This requires determined structural and fiscal reforms, complemented by prudent monetary and financial policies. The new administration should build on the existing reform agenda but increase its ambition and accelerate implementation to put the economy on a permanently higher and more inclusive growth path.
Structural reforms are paramount to support job creation, growth, and prosperity. Wide-ranging electricity and transportation-sector reforms, including to foster private sector participation, are indispensable to reinvigorating activity, boosting exports, and supporting the green transition. Product-market reforms improving business environment and removing obstacles to trade, complemented by labor-market reforms, are essential to boost investment and employment. Strengthening governance and reducing corruption are essential to reap reform gains, which should be broadly distributed.
An ambitious fiscal consolidation is essential to restore the sustainability of public finances. Durable expenditure-based consolidation of at least 3 percent of GDP over the next three years is required to place debt on a sustained downward path, while protecting vulnerable groups. Reliance on gains on foreign reserves has helped lower borrowing needs but does not substitute for the needed fiscal consolidation. Any additional spending initiatives to lower inequality and improve health should be financed in a deficit-neutral way. Improving the institutional fiscal framework by adopting a debt rule, bolstering the procurement framework, and improving public-investment management can support the adjustment and mitigate fiscal risks.
Monetary policy should carefully manage the descent of inflation to the mid-point of the target range and stay data dependent. Given continued uncertainty about the inflation outlook, rate cuts should be considered only once inflation declines sustainably towards the mid-point of the target range. Any change to the monetary policy framework should be carefully timed, well-coordinated and communicated to manage expectations and safeguard credibility.
Financial policies should continue to support financial stability. Ongoing banking resolution and safety-net reforms, together with the new loss-absorbing capacity requirement, significantly strengthen crisis management tools and enhance depositors’ protection. Continued monitoring of risks remains critical, given the sovereign-financial sector nexus. Implementation of prudential regulations, along with the countercyclical buffer, could play a vital role.
Staff assess that South Africa’s capacity to repay the Fund is adequate under the baseline and downside scenarios. South Africa is expected to be able to repay the Fund by end-2025 given ample reserves and manageable external debt service. Capacity to repay is also assessed as adequate under a downside scenario, where policies will need to be tightened to contain inflationary pressures and safeguard debt sustainability, while protecting vulnerable groups. The flexible exchange rate is expected to act as a shock-absorber.
South Africa: Selected Economic Indicators, 2022–26
Sources: South African Reserve Bank, National Treasury, Haver, Bloomberg, World Bank, and Fund staff estimates and projections.
1/ Per-capita GDP figures are computed using STATS SA mid-year population estimates.
2/ Inventories data are volatile and excluded from the investment breakdown to help clarify fixed capital formation developments.
3/ Consolidated government as defined in the budget unless otherwise indicated.
4/ Revenue excludes “transactions in assets and liabilities” classified as part of revenue in budget documents. This item represents proceeds from the sales of assets, realized valuation gains from holding of foreign currency deposits, and other conceptually similar items, which are not classified as revenue by the IMF’s Government Finance Statistics Manual 2014.
5/ The Eskom debt relief is treated as capital transfer above-the-line item.
6/ Central government.
7/ Average January 1- April 19, 2023. For nominal and effective exchange rate, year on year change of average January 1-April 19.
8/ Other depository institutions’ “loans and securities” in all currencies.
[1] After completing an IMF lending program, a country may be subject to a Post Financing Assessment (PFA). It aims to identify risks to a country’s medium-term viability and provide early warnings on risks to the IMF’s balance sheets. For more details click here.
[2] The Executive Board takes decisions under its lapse-of-time procedure when it is agreed by the Board that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions.
Washington, DC: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation[1] with the Republic of Latvia and endorsed the staff appraisal on a lapse-of-time basis without a meeting.
The Latvian economy contracted with significant disinflation. After the post-pandemic recovery, growth contracted by 0.3 percent in 2023, due to tighter financial conditions and weak external demand. Headline inflation declined to 0.0 percent y/y in May 2024. However, core inflation still stood at 3.1 percent in April 2024. The financial sector has so far been resilient although risks are elevated. Fiscal performance in 2023 was stronger than expected, reflecting revenue buoyancy linked to inflation and expenditure under-execution. The current account deficit narrowed to 4 percent of GDP in 2023 from 4.8 percent in 2022, due to import contraction and lower energy prices. Russia’s war in Ukraine and the related geoeconomic fragmentation are adding to structural challenges amid multiple transitions, notably, climate change and energy, and aging and labor shortages. The economic consequences of Russia’s war in Ukraine continue to depress private investment and productivity, thus compromising further Latvia’s lagging income convergence.
Amid high uncertainty, the outlook is for higher growth and the balance of risks is tilted to the downside. Real GDP growth is projected to increase to 1.7 and 2.4 percent in 2024 and 2025, respectively, underpinned by a recovery in private consumption, higher public investment, and stronger external demand. Growth in the medium-term is projected to continue at an average of around 2.5 percent, supported by public investment and reforms. Inflation is expected to continue to moderate. Headline inflation (annual average) is projected to decline to 2.0 percent in 2024. Meanwhile, core inflation (annual average) is projected to slow to 3.3 percent in 2024, reflecting persistent services inflation. Downside risks dominate, including risk to competitiveness associated with recent high wage growth, rising geopolitical tensions and deeper geoeconomic fragmentation, and weaker external demand.
Latvia’s economy has encountered severe headwinds. The Latvian economy contracted with significant disinflation against the backdrop of geopolitical headwinds. Notably, Russia’s war in Ukraine and the related geoeconomic fragmentation are adding to long-standing challenges to productivity, investment, and labor supply, amid multiple transitions around climate change and energy, aging and labor shortages, and rising defense costs.
Amid high uncertainty, growth is projected to rebound, but risks are tilted to the downside. Real GDP growth is projected to increase in 2024 and 2025, largely driven by a rebound in private consumption, higher public investment, and stronger external demand. The main risks stem from rising geopolitical tensions and deeper geoeconomic fragmentation, credit risks related to variable-rate loans, and weaker-than-expected external demand. Risks to competitiveness can also arise given recent high wage growth. Over the medium-term, delays in public investment and structural reforms could weigh on potential growth.
Considering the improving outlook, staff recommends a less expansionary, neutral fiscal stance for 2024 and a tighter fiscal stance in 2025. Proactively identifying spending efficiency and better targeting social support, while protecting the most vulnerable, would help. Staff commends the authorities for the targeting of energy support measures. In 2025, the fiscal stance should be tighter to build buffers for future spending needs. Policy options to achieve this include reducing tax exemptions, raising revenue from property taxation, strengthening tax enforcement, and improving investment spending efficiency. Fiscal policy should remain flexible and evolve if risks materialize.
Although Latvia has some fiscal space, structural fiscal measures are needed to provide buffers for medium to long term spending pressures. Over the medium term, options for fiscal consolidation include (i) broadening the bases of corporate income tax (CIT) and personal income tax (PIT), including by reducing the shadow economy; (ii) broadening the base of property taxes; (iii) reducing tax exemptions and fossil fuel subsidies, and (iv) rationalizing spending on goods and services. Given this scaling-up of public investment amid high uncertainty and cost overrun, enhanced public investment management is warranted to mitigate fiscal risks. The mission welcomes the healthcare reform aimed to generate efficiency gains, while mitigating risks and supporting solidarity. Staff also welcomes the government’s pension reform efforts and recommends linking the retirement age to life expectancy. Latvia should swiftly implement the NRRP.
Although the financial sector has so far been resilient, continued monitoring of macrofinancial vulnerabilities and spillovers is warranted. The banking sector remained well capitalized and liquid, with a low NPL ratio. However, given heightened risks, continued monitoring of financial sector vulnerabilities is important. Notably, regular risk-based monitoring of banks’ asset quality and liquidity should continue, supported by tailored stress tests. Any households’ financial distress related to variable-interest-rate mortgage loans should be addressed through the consumer bankruptcy framework, supplemented by the social protection system for the most vulnerable. The new untargeted interest subsidy scheme for variable-interest-rate mortgages should not be renewed at its expiration in 2024. The authorities should refrain from further initiatives to increase taxation on bank profits given their adverse impact on bank capital and financial stability. Staff welcomes the continued efforts to mitigate cybersecurity risk.
While the current macroprudential policy stance is broadly appropriate, the recent adjustment to the borrower-based measures for energy-efficient housing loans should be reconsidered. The overall policy stance strikes the right balance between maintaining financial stability and the need to extend credit to the economy. However, borrower-based macroprudential measures should be relaxed only when their presence is overly stringent from the financial stability perspective.
Latvia has made significant progress in strengthening its AML/CFT frameworks and governance reforms. Staff commends the authorities’ effort to pursue AML/CFT reforms and supports the authorities’ priorities to prepare for the 6th round of MONEYVAL evaluation. Staff welcomes the authorities’ reforms to digitalize the procurement system and the continued implementation of Latvia’s anti-corruption plan and national strategy.
Structural reforms should be accelerated to enhance productivity and resilience. Accelerating corporate reforms could boost investment and productivity by improving capital allocation and access to finance. Given the aging population and skill mismatch, Latvia should continue to address reforms to boost high-skilled labor supply which will enhance investment in productivity. Efforts should focus on promoting training and internal labor mobility toward priority sectors (green and transition, digitalization, health). Further streamlining product and service markets regulations could boost competition, innovation, and productivity. Staff welcomes the ongoing overhaul of the administrative procedures and their digitalization. Implementing measures to promote digital transformation of the economy could help reduce labor shortages and support productivity. Regarding the green and energy transition, more vigorous climate policy is needed. Staff encourages the authorities to expedite the adoption of the climate law and the National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP). The authorities should aim to achieve a robust balance between fiscal support, carbon pricing or taxation, and norms while addressing distributional concerns. Staff welcomes the ongoing work on climate adaptation. Latvia should continue to enhance energy security, and boost investment in clean energy and connection.
Credit to private sector (annual percentage change)
-2.3
-4.4
11.9
7.1
5.1
…
…
Broad money (annual percentage change)
8.0
13.1
9.2
5.1
2.7
…
…
Balance of Payments
Current account balance
-0.6
2.9
-3.9
-4.8
-4.0
-3.7
-3.5
Trade balance (goods)
-8.6
-5.1
-8.3
-10.7
-9.3
-8.8
-8.8
Gross external debt
117.1
122.1
110.5
102.3
98.5
94.9
86.6
Net external debt 2/
18.1
13.6
10.3
8.1
7.5
10.7
13.5
Exchange Rates
U.S. dollar per euro (period average)
1.12
1.14
1.18
1.05
1.08
…
…
REER (period average; CPI based, 2005=100)
123.0
124.5
125.0
129.7
136.8
…
…
Terms of trade (annual percentage change)
0.9
1.8
-1.6
-0.6
3.6
-0.1
0.9
Sources: Latvian authorities; Eurostat; and IMF staff calculations.
1/ National definition. Includes economy-wide EU grants in revenue and expenditure.
2/ Gross external debt minus gross external assets.
[1] Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.
[2] At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chairman of the Board, summarizes the views of Executive Directors, and this summary is transmitted to the country’s authorities. An explanation of any qualifiers used in summings up can be found here: http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm.
Washington, DC: The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation[1] with Togo.
Following a series of shocks in recent years, Togo continues to face headwinds, including persistent challenges of food security and terrorist attacks, while broader development needs remain acute. Fiscal expansion implemented in response to the shocks has helped preserve robust economic growth but has also pushed up public debt, reversing the debt reduction achieved during the 2017–20 ECF-arrangement, eroding fiscal space and buffers to absorb shocks, and contributing to regional vulnerabilities in the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). In response to these challenges, in March 2024, the International Monetary Fund approved the authorities’ request for a new arrangement under the Extended Credit Facility.
Against a background of a substantial strengthening of fiscal revenue and a beginning of fiscal consolidation in 2023, the macroeconomic outlook is broadly favorable. Growth is expected to remain robust, while fiscal revenue is expected to rise further. There are no substantial domestic or external disequilibria, with low inflation and a well-contained current account deficit.
The outlook is however subject to elevated risks, including from a potential intensification of terrorism, potential difficulties in securing affordable regional financing, and banking sector challenges. In the longer run, economic performance is also subject to the risk of weakening debt sustainability should efforts to achieve sufficient fiscal consolidation while maintaining robust growth disappoint.
The 2024 Article IV consultation focused on how the Togolese authorities can best (i) anchor macroeconomic stability by ensuring fiscal consolidation to enhance debt sustainability, (ii) conduct structural reforms to lay the basis for sustained growth, and (iii) strengthen social inclusion to accelerate progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals and support medium-term growth prospects.
Executive Directors agreed with the thrust of the staff appraisal. They commended the authorities’ policies, which enabled Togo to weather the series of shocks of recent years relatively well, with continued growth and progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. However, significant challenges remain, including from the sharp increase in the debt burden in recent years and terrorist attacks at the northern border, while development needs remain acute. Against this background, Directors encouraged the authorities to maintain full commitment to the recently approved ECF arrangement with the Fund and continue their efforts to strengthen debt sustainability and implement reforms to boost inclusive growth and reduce poverty. These efforts should be well communicated to ensure social cohesion and supported by the Fund’s capacity development.
Directors underscored the importance of continued growth‑friendly fiscal consolidation, guided by the dual fiscal anchor adopted under the ECF, to ensure debt sustainability and create fiscal buffers. They welcomed the recent large increase in fiscal revenue and called for further measures, comprising tax policy and revenue administration elements. Such measures could be considered as a part of an overarching fiscal strategy that considers taxation and spending together to help reach both efficiency and income distribution goals. In that context, creating space for priority spending, particularly on health and education, will be imperative to promote social inclusion while expanding cash transfers could further improve the social safety nets. The authorities should also continue to strengthen public financial management, including the oversight of state‑owned enterprises.
Directors noted that to boost growth it will be important to strengthen the business environment, accelerate productivity gains, and attract more private investment. Strengthening of the governance and anti‑corruption frameworks will be key. In this regard, they encouraged the authorities to request an IMF governance diagnostic assessment. Directors noted the dynamic economic activity at the special economic zone while encouraging cautious implementation of industrial policies, considering their cost and benefits. The authorities should also continue addressing the existing financial sector vulnerabilities and increasing the capacity of banks to provide credit to the private sector. Improving access to infrastructure and utilities and building climate resilience, potentially with support by an RSF arrangement, remains key. Further enhancing data provision to the Fund is also important.
It is expected that the next Article IV Consultation with Togo will be held in accordance with the Executive Board decision on consultation cycles for members with Fund arrangements.
Table 1. Togo: Selected Economic and Financial Indicators, 2020–29
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
2026
2027
2028
2029
Estimates
Projections
(Percentage change, unless otherwise indicated)
Real GDP
2.0
6.0
5.8
5.6
5.3
5.3
5.5
5.5
5.5
5.5
Real GDP per capita
-0.4
3.5
3.3
3.1
2.8
2.8
3.0
3.0
3.0
3.0
GDP deflator
1.8
2.5
3.7
2.9
2.2
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
Consumer price index (average)
1.8
4.5
7.6
5.3
2.7
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
GDP (CFAF billions)
4,253
4,621
5,069
5,507
5,927
6,366
6,850
7,371
7,932
8,536
Exchange rate CFAF/US$ (annual average level)
575
554
622
606
…
…
…
…
…
…
Real effective exchange rate (appreciation = –)
-2.0
-1.4
2.3
-5.4
…
…
…
…
…
…
Terms of trade (deterioration = –)
-1.3
6.5
-0.1
4.4
-2.7
-2.5
0.4
1.1
1.0
0.7
Monetary survey
(Percentage change of beginning-of-period broad money)
Net foreign assets
14.1
5.6
-0.6
6.2
2.7
2.4
3.0
2.8
2.2
2.2
Net credit to government
-1.6
-0.3
8.0
0.2
-2.9
1.0
1.2
2.0
0.2
0.2
Credit to nongovernment sector
0.2
6.0
10.7
1.5
9.4
4.0
4.4
4.6
4.8
4.8
Broad money (M2)
11.4
12.3
14.9
8.5
8.8
7.4
7.6
7.6
7.6
7.6
Velocity (GDP/end-of-period M2)
2.1
2.1
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
2.0
Investment and savings
(Percent of GDP, unless otherwise indicated)
Gross domestic investment
21.4
23.4
25.9
28.0
26.0
24.4
25.0
25.8
26.7
27.2
Government
9.3
8.2
9.7
11.5
9.3
7.3
7.7
8.3
8.9
9.4
Nongovernment
12.1
15.2
16.2
16.5
16.7
17.1
17.3
17.5
17.8
17.8
Gross national savings
21.1
21.2
22.5
25.1
22.7
21.0
21.9
23.3
24.4
24.9
Government
2.2
3.6
1.4
4.8
4.4
4.3
4.7
5.3
5.9
6.4
Nongovernment
18.9
17.6
21.0
20.3
18.3
16.8
17.2
18.0
18.5
18.5
Government budget
Total revenue and grants
16.6
17.1
17.6
19.8
19.0
18.8
19.2
19.7
20.1
20.5
Revenue
14.1
15.3
15.1
16.8
16.9
17.3
17.8
18.3
18.7
19.3
Tax revenue
12.5
14.0
13.9
14.8
15.2
15.7
16.2
16.7
17.2
17.7
Expenditure and net lending (excl. banking sector operation)
External public debt service (percent of exports)1
6.9
5.2
8.3
8.2
8.4
9.1
9.1
8.2
7.2
6.5
Domestic public debt2
34.6
37.6
41.2
42.1
42.4
39.8
36.9
34.6
32.8
31.8
Total public debt3
62.2
64.9
67.4
68.0
69.8
68.6
66.5
65.0
63.4
62.0
Total public debt (excluding SOEs)4
60.1
63.0
65.8
66.6
68.6
67.6
65.7
64.3
62.8
61.5
Present value of total public debt3
…
…
…
60.5
61.0
58.3
54.7
51.8
49.1
47.4
Sources: Togolese authorities and IMF staff estimates and projections.
1 Includes state-owned enterprise external debt.
2 Includes domestic arrears and state-owned enterprise domestic debt.
3 Includes domestic arrears and state-owned enterprise debt.
4 Includes domestic arrears.
[1] Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. (Article IV consultations with countries benefitting from Fund financial arrangements are held every other year.) A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.
[2] At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chairman of the Board, summarizes the views of Executive Directors, and this summary is transmitted to the country’s authorities. An explanation of any qualifiers used in summings up can be found here: http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm.
Check against delivery. 1 Words of welcome Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you have recharged your batteries after the summer and a holiday break, despite the eventful days we can look back on. Perhaps you are still relishing the sporting highlights you experienced from the comfort of your own armchair: the thrill of watching the Olympic Games and the Paralympics on TV at home. A “sports programme” of a somewhat different variety now awaits us: a broad repertoire of topics to cover in a short allotted speaking time. Let’s begin by discussing three questions that are always of crucial importance: Where is economy activity heading? Where is inflation heading? And where is monetary policy heading? These will be followed by three topics specific to monetary policy: balance sheet reduction, the changed operational framework for monetary policy, and monetary and fiscal policy interactions. 2 Economic activity Let’s kick off with the economic situation as well as the outlook for the economy. German economic output shrank by 0.1% in the second quarter of this year, after expanding slightly at the beginning of the year. The main drags on activity were weak investment and the construction sector, but exports and private consumption contracted somewhat as well. Increased financing costs continued to squeeze investment activity, thus crimping domestic demand for industrial goods and construction work. Private investment also faced headwinds stemming from the intense uncertainty surrounding economic policy. On top of that, there was a countereffect in construction activity following the mild weather conditions in the first quarter. Moreover, industry in Germany is still feeling the pinch of weak foreign demand. Capacity utilisation in industry is now significantly below average, and that, too, is depressing investment. All these factors combined mean the domestic economy has been treading water since the start of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine more than two years ago. Stagnation might be more or less on the cards for full-year 2024 as well if the latest forecasts by economic research institutes are anything to go by. Hopes that industrial activity might pick up in the second half of the year have dimmed considerably according to the sentiment indicators observed in recent months. And consumer restraint is looking more stubborn than our Bundesbank experts were expecting when we published our Forecast for Germany in June. For all this, though, it is still true to say that sharply rising wages, easing inflation and robust labour market developments are opening up more and more scope for spending. Households could leverage that scope to gradually step up their consumption. Looking ahead to next year, the economic research institutes are expecting to see tentative economic growth of between ½ and 1%. The Bundesbank will be publishing its new Forecast for Germany in December. Ladies and gentlemen, one point I have stressed on multiple occasions in the past is that we should not talk our country down as a business location. That is not to say, of course, that we should not pinpoint weaknesses and resolutely tackle problems. An overly pessimistic mindset can be damaging. But what can also be damaging is viewing a situation through rose-tinted spectacles or blindly trusting that everything will somehow fix itself of its own accord. There is no doubt that Germany is not seeing as much investment as we would like. And industry is struggling with a difficult competitive environment. Barriers need to be dismantled here. At this point, allow me to make a passing remark in light of recent events: if businesses are to get to grips with – and finance – their future challenges, we will need banks that are strong and robust. In any possible mergers, what matters is that the institution that comes about as a result is one that fits that bill in the best possible way. As far as the topic of barriers is concerned, I do not wish to go beyond my allotted time. Allow me, then, to run through just some of the initiatives that could boost the attractiveness of a business location: cutting as much red tape as possible, and speeding up administrative procedures like approval processes. As for greening the economy, policymakers should ensure greater planning security. Digital infrastructure and education, in particular, are in need of improvement. In addition, politicians should act to boost the labour supply because staff shortages are bound to worsen further as demographic change makes itself felt. Headlines claiming that Germany is a millstone around the neck of the euro area[1] make for unpleasant reading. But the simple fact is that when the largest Member State’s economy is weak, the average across the bloc will be depressed as a result. The euro area economy as a whole has gained some traction in the first two quarters of this year (recording quarter-on-quarter growth rates of 0.3% and 0.2%, respectively). In their latest projections, ECB staff are forecasting modest economic growth of 0.8% in full-year 2024, rising slightly to 1.3% next year. The outlook is uncertain, particularly given what remains a tense geopolitical environment. Neither in Ukraine nor in the Middle East has the situation eased. The outcome of the presidential election in the United States is another source of economic uncertainty. Last week’s TV debate gave us a taste of what is to come.Europe might end up losing out if, say, the United States adopts a more protectionist trade policy, takes government action to support the country as a business location, or turns its back on multilateral cooperation (on issues such as climate action, NATO and the WTO). There’s good news as well, though: the labour market in the euro area is as robust as ever, as unemployment hit an all-time low of 6.4% in July. Germany’s economy hasn’t recovered yet, so its labour market hasn’t improved, but nor did it deteriorate significantly. Because firms in Germany have largely refrained from scaling back their workforces during the ongoing spell of economic weakness, they see little need overall for new hires. Even if they are certainly finding it difficult to fill vacancies in some areas. An analysis by the ECB has found that labour hoarding – that is, keeping staff in reserve – is still above pre-pandemic levels in the euro area. Because profit margins were high at times, firms were able to hoard staff to a greater extent or for longer than usual when the situation or outlook deteriorated, the ECB noted.[2] If profit margins now start to normalise, they will probably reduce the scope for firms to undertake labour hoarding. In addition, labour hoarding suggests that there will be fewer hires than usual as the economy recovers. Instead, productivity is more likely to rise. The new projections include an increase in euro area labour productivity of around 1% in both 2025 and 2026, following stagnation in the current year and a decline of just under 1% last year. Taken in isolation, this would dampen unit labour costs and thus inflation. 3 Inflation This brings us to question number two concerning the outlook for prices. On this point, the focus is not only on the weak productivity growth observed so far, but also on the strong wage growth at the current juncture. For Germany, the latest wage deals have increased pay levels significantly. And relatively high wage settlements look set to be reached in the forthcoming pay negotiations as well. Understandably, the trade unions are looking to achieve lasting compensation for the real wage losses accumulated over the past three years. Because inflation compensation bonuses will only be exempt from taxes and social contributions until the end of this year, the trade unions are now stepping up their demands for permanent wage increases. The still high willingness to strike and persistent widespread shortage of labour suggest that wage growth will remain comparatively strong. The longer-term outlook, too, indicates that labour scarcity in Germany wil
l remain a key factor driving robust wage growth and thus high inflation in the domestic economy. In the euro area, growth in negotiated wages slowed significantly in the second quarter. However, this was due in part to a one-off effect in Germany (owing to inflation compensation bonuses paid out in the previous year but absent this year). The persistent labour market tightness in the euro area means that a quick let-up in wage dynamics is unlikely. With wage pressures easing only slowly, the disinflation process is proving to be slow and arduous. Right now, inflation is not yet where we on the ECB Governing Council want it to be. Headline euro area inflation stood at 2.2% in August, down from 2.6% one month earlier. That significant decline mainly came about due to energy prices. Whilst it is true that German inflation – as measured by the Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices – has reached 2.0%, I’m afraid to say that, for the time being, that level is probably not yet here to stay. Services inflation in the euro area is still worryingly high, coming in at 4.1% at last count. Core inflation has eased only marginally, dropping to 2.8%. According to the latest ECB staff projections, euro area price inflation will be back at the 2% mark at the end of 2025. The journey there remains uncertain and include a few bends. For instance, inflation rates are expected to edge somewhat higher again towards the end of this year due to energy prices being in decline in the fourth quarter of last year. Overall, though, we have made huge advances towards safeguarding price stability. As the disinflation process plays out, inflation expectations have also receded the way we want them to, and the risk of higher inflation expectations has diminished in the view of markets and surveyed experts. This would suggest that inflation expectations are well anchored. It is now up to us on the ECB Governing Council to prove our staying power. If we achieve that, we will soon make it over the finishing line. 4 Monetary policy The third question I asked at the beginning has basically been answered: the phase of steep tightening was followed by nine months of unchanged key interest rates, after which the ECB Governing Council subsequently loosened the reins somewhat in June and now again in September. We don’t know yet how things will unfold, but it is certain that key interest rates will not go back down as quickly and sharply as they went up! The intervals between the potential moves may vary depending on the incoming data, as monetary policy must remain tight enough for long enough to ensure that the inflation rate returns to the 2% target over the medium term. Assumptions to that effect about key interest rates also form the basis for the ECB’s projections. Ladies and gentlemen, public opinions on the best time for an interest rate move vary. This is due, not least, to the fact that the risks cannot be clearly quantified and that monetary policy time lags are impossible to measure with certainty. It is important for me to see inflation stable at the 2% target as soon as possible. To get there, we will not pre-commit to any path in our decisions going forward. Instead, we will continue to examine incoming data with an open mind. We are not flying on autopilot when it comes to interest rate policy. 4.1 Reducing the balance sheet I will now turn to the three topics specific to monetary policy. The key interest rates are the central lever with which to adjust the monetary policy stance. In addition, gradual balance sheet reduction also influences the direction of monetary policy. This is because the length of the balance sheet is ultimately driven by previous accommodative non-standard measures. Banks’ repayment of loans under the longer-term refinancing operations has thus far been the primary contributory factor towards reducing the Eurosystem’s total assets. Remaining outstanding funds borrowed under targeted longer-term refinancing operations (TLTROs) are now only relatively small (around €76 billion). Next week will be the penultimate maturity date, and in December of this year the last repayments of funds borrowed under TLTROs will be made. Moreover, the Eurosystem’s large bond holdings are gradually declining, by an average of €25 to €30 billion per month (since July 2023), through the discontinuation of reinvestments under the APP, the largest such purchase programme. Since July of this year, reinvestments under the pandemic emergency purchase programme (PEPP) have been reduced by an average of €7.5 billion per month and will also be fully discontinued at the end of 2024. The process of significantly shrinking current total assets of just under €6,500 billion is not done just yet. So far, the markets have taken the Eurosystem’s balance sheet reduction (starting from a peak of over €8,800 billion) in their stride. I am confident about the future, too. On the ECB Governing Council, I am one of those who has been advocating for reducing the Eurosystem’s footprint in financial markets. This process will take time. It is closely linked to how monetary policy is implemented and passed through to the financial markets. That is why I now wish to briefly address, as the second of my three topics specific to monetary policy, the changes to the operational framework for implementing monetary policy adopted in mid-March. 4.2 Changes to the operational framework for implementing monetary policy You might be thinking: what a dry, hard-to-digest topic, and right after lunch to boot! However, addressing these seemingly annoying details is worth the time and effort. This is because the new operational framework for implementing monetary policy will determine how central bank liquidity is provided to banks in the future and how short-term money market rates will evolve going forward. With excess liquidity in the banking system declining, but still high for the time being, little will change at first: we will continue to regularly lend central bank liquidity to banks at the quantities demanded and a fixed interest rate, with a wide range of bonds and other claims being eligible collateral for these loans. The reserve ratio for determining banks’ non-remunerated compulsory deposits with the Eurosystem remains unchanged at 1%. On this very day, the gap between the main refinancing operations rate and the deposit facility rate narrowed from 50 to 15 basis points. This operational adjustment will incentivise bidding in the weekly tenders. Short-term money market rates are therefore likely to continue to evolve in the vicinity of the deposit facility rate, given limited fluctuations. In the process, we will observe the compatibility of our operational framework with market principles.[3] The ECB Governing Council also agreed to introduce, at a later stage, new structural longer-term refinancing operations and a structural portfolio of securities. These transactions are intended to make a contribution to covering the banking sector’s structural liquidity needs. But that is a way off yet. That’s because, as already mentioned, banks’ excess liquidity and Eurosystem bond holdings are still very sizeable. We will now gain experience and gather insights. A review of the key parameters of the operational framework is scheduled for 2026. However, adjustments can be made earlier if necessary. 4.3 Monetary and fiscal policy interactions My third topic specific to monetary policy, monetary and fiscal policy interactions, is a perennial theme. Generally, the combination of the two policy areas determines how accommodative or restrictive the overall effect on the economy is. In some times of crisis, such as during the coronavirus pandemic, monetary and fiscal policy can work together in the pursuit of their respective objectives. In times of high inflation, however, there may be potential for conflict. At the very least, fiscal policy should not undermine a restrictive monetary policy in the fight against inflation, but rather support it as much as possible.This year and next, the euro area fiscal stance is likely to have a roughly neutral effect, i.e. not generate any additional inflationary pressure. However, the expiry of crisis support measures is the reason why the deficit ratio is expected to decline. Seen from this perspective, fiscal policy is not restrictive. The ECB projects that the euro area debt ratio will remain close to 90%. In some Member States, government debt is worryingly high, with no signs of a trend reversal happening any time soon. Monetary policy should ignore this. This is because the Member States will have to be able to deal with the interest rate level that is warranted from a monetary policy perspective. Governments ought to brace themselves for higher interest rate levels. The new EU fiscal rules entered into force at the end of April. However, it is not yet clear what concrete requirements for fiscal consolidation will follow. In July, the existence of excessive deficits was established for seven countries, including the euro area countries France, Italy, Belgium, Slovakia and Malta. It will be crucial to implement the new rules in such a way that high debt ratios actually fall. This would require setting ambitious targets, and governments would then have to comply with them more ambitiously than in the past. Setting priorities will remain the key fiscal policy challenge at any rate And this will not get any easier if additional expenditure, for example for climate action, defence or in view of demographic pressures, is moved higher on the priority list. This is true even in Germany, where the debt ratio is no longer far from the 60% limit. In this case, it may indeed make sense to expand the fiscal scope somewhat by means of a moderate reform of the debt brake just as long as Germany complies with the European debt rules. The Bundesbank has put forward proposals to achieve that goal. 5 Concluding remarks Ladies and gentlemen, After three questions and three topics, I would like to end with a triad. Democracy, freedom and openness are core values on which our society, our daily coexistence, and our prosperity are based. We are living in challenging times. This is exemplified by the elections in France and three eastern German federal states as well as, this coming November, in the United States. For the future, it remains to be hoped that we can maintain democracy, freedom and openness as a secure basis. Thank you for your attention.
Footnotes: Konjunktur: Wirtschaft in Euro-Zone wächst – jedoch nicht in Deutschland (wiwo.de), Wirtschaft in Euro-Zone wächst trotz Bremsklotz Deutschland 0,2 Prozent (msn.com) European Central Bank, Higher profit margins have helped firms hoard labour, Economic Bulletin, Issue 4/2024, pp. 54‑58. See Nagel, J., Reflections on the Eurosystem’s new operational framework | Deutsche Bundesbank, speech at the Konstanz Seminar on Monetary Theory and Monetary Policy, 16 May 2024.
On the basis of the result of written part of CAPF (ACs) Examination, 2024 held by UPSC on 04th August, 2024, the candidates with the under-mentioned Roll Numbers have qualified for Physical Standards Test/ Physical Efficiency Tests and Medical Standards Tests.
2. The candidature of these candidates is Provisional, subject to their being found eligible in all respects. The candidates will be required to produce the original certificates in support of their claims pertaining to age, educational qualifications, community etc. at the time of the Personality Test. They are, therefore, advised to keep the said prescribed certificates ready and check before hand the requirement of certificates in accordance with the important instructions available on the website of the Commission before appearing in the Personality Test.
3. The candidates who have been declared qualified in the written examination have to first get themselves registered on the relevant page of the Commission’s website before filling up of the Detailed Application Form (DAF) ONLINE along with uploading of the scanned copies of relevant certificates/documents in support of their eligibility, claim of reservation etc. through the Commission’s Website i.e. http://www.upsc.gov.in which will be made available on the Commission’s website in due course. Important instructions regarding filling up of the DAF and submitting the same ONLINE to the Commission will also be available on the website.
4. The Indo Tibetan Border Police (Nodal Authority nominated by Ministry of Home Affairs) will intimate to the candidates about the date, time & venue of the Physical Standards Tests/ Physical Efficiency Tests (PET) & Medical Standards Tests, to be conducted by them. Intimation for the conduct of PST/PET/MST will be uploaded by the Nodal Force (ITBP) on its recruitment website . E-Admit Cards will be sent online through the said website of the Nodal Force and intimation to the candidates will also be sent through their registered e-mail ID. Candidates may regularly check the website of the Nodal Force and their mail box including SPAM Folder in the mail box. In case, any candidate does not receive/download the E-Admit Card for Physical Standards Tests/ Physical Efficiency Tests (PET) & Medical Standards Tests (MST) in due Course of time, he/she may contact the HQ, DG, Indo Tibetan Border Police on Telephone No. 011-24369482/ 011-24369483 & e-mail IDcomdtrect@itbp.gov.in and U.P.S.C. through letter or FAX immediately, to facilitate delivery of communications to them promptly.
5. Candidates who have finally submitted his Detailed Application Form (DAF) will be issued E-Admit Card by the Nodal Authority i.e. ITBP to appear for the PST/PET &MST. The candidates will have to produce the E-Admit Card along with hard copy of finally submitted DAF and photo identity proof viz. Aadhar card, Driving License, Passport, Voter I Card etc. at the allotted centers for appearing at the PST/PET/MST.
6. Candidates are advised to intimate change in their address, if any, to the HQ, DG, Indo Tibetan Border Police, Block No. 2, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110 003 or contact at Telephone No. 011-24369482/ 011-24369483 & e-mail ID comdtrect@itbp.gov.inor U.P.S.C. through letter or FAX immediately, to facilitate delivery of communications to them promptly.
7. The marks-sheets of all candidates who have not qualified will be uploaded on the Commission’s website after the publication of final result (after conducting Personality Test) and will remain available on the website for a period of 30 days.
8. The candidates can access their marks-sheet after keying in their Roll Numbers and date of birth. The printed/hard copies of the marks-sheet would, however, be issued by UPSC to candidates based on specific request accompanied by a self-addressed stamped envelope. Candidates desirous of obtaining printed/hard copies of the marks sheets should make the request within thirty days of the display of the marks on the Commission’s website, beyond which such requests would not be entertained.
9. Union Public Service Commission has a Facilitation Counter at its Campus. Candidates may obtain any information/clarification regarding their examinations/result on working days between 10.00 AM to 5.00 PM in person or over telephone Nos. (011) 23385271/23381125/23098543 from this Counter.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
HKSAR Government recruitment activities in Beijing and Shanghai wrap up (with photos) HKSAR Government recruitment activities in Beijing and Shanghai wrap up (with photos) *************************************************************************************
A series of recruitment activities organised by the Civil Service Bureau (CSB) in Beijing and Shanghai wrapped up today (September 24), attracting an online and in-person participation of over 1 800 Hong Kong people interested in applying for and learning about civil service posts in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government. Five recruitment talks on the Administrative Officer (AO) and Executive Officer (EO) grades were held at the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Shanghai (SHETO), East China University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Renmin University of China, and China University of Political Science and Law respectively. Most of the attendees were university students with immense interest in the AO and EO grades, and they were keen to ask questions on the relevant grades. The CSB had specifically arranged for serving AO and EO colleagues who had studied or lived on the Mainland to share their work and personal experiences, and encourage university students to join the civil service. The Principal Assistant Secretary for the Civil Service (Administrative Service), Ms Yen Pun, and the Senior Principal Executive Officer (General Grades), Miss Iris Ma, also introduced the entry requirements, training programmes, examination and interview arrangements, as well as tips on preparing for examinations of the AO and EO grades at the seminars. In addition, representatives of the CSB participated in the “Gathering with Hong Kong Students and Youth in East China Region to Celebrate the 75th Anniversary of the Founding of the People’s Republic of China” organised by the SHETO to introduce the AO and EO grades to the young participants. The aim was to enable them to know more about the work and career prospects of the grades concerned, and encourage them to apply for civil service posts in the HKSAR Government. The CSB is currently conducting a joint recruitment exercise for the civil service grades of AO, EO II, Assistant Trade Officer II and Transport Officer II. The application deadline is October 4. Eligible applicants are encouraged to seize the opportunity to apply. For details, please visit the CSB’s website at www.csb.gov.hk.
Ends/Tuesday, September 24, 2024Issued at HKT 18:38
Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau met senior officials and business leaders in Singapore to deepen trade and economic ties, and explore collaboration opportunities during his visit from September 22 to 24.
Mr Yau updated representatives from major business chambers of Singapore on Hong Kong’s latest developments and measures on assisting enterprises in setting up businesses in the city.
They include the Singapore Business Federation, the Association of Small & Medium Enterprises of Singapore, the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
He appealed to the Singaporean business sector to leverage Hong Kong’s unique advantages to explore the vast opportunities in the Mainland market, particularly the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
Yesterday, Mr Yau had a lunch meeting with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade & Industry of Singapore Gan Kim Yong to discuss various trade and economic issues, and the regional economic landscape.
Mr Yau thanked Singapore for supporting Hong Kong’s application for joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
He noted that Hong Kong always treasures Singapore as a valuable economic partner both on its own and as a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) family.
By joining the RCEP, Hong Kong can contribute to the wider and deeper economic co-operation and integration in the region, Mr Yau added.
The commerce chief also paid a courtesy call on the Chinese Ambassador to Singapore Cao Zhongming to update him on Hong Kong’s latest situation.
Mr Yau then attended a dinner with Hong Kong entrepreneurs and executives working in Singapore to hear more about their work and lives.
Today, he met Singapore Economic Development Board Chairman Png Cheong Boon to learn about Singapore’s latest developments and exchange views on investment promotion, saying he looked forward to further collaboration between Hong Kong and Singapore in different areas with a view to fostering even closer relations between the two economies.
Noting that Hong Kong and Singapore have long been enjoying close and cordial bilateral trade and economic relations, Mr Yau highlighted that Singapore is Hong Kong’s fourth-largest trading partner and largest partner among the ASEAN member states in merchandise trade, as well as Hong Kong’s seventh-largest investor and sixth-largest destination of outward investment.
The commerce chief will return to Hong Kong this evening.
Karen Mollica (BA Honours [Political Science], McMaster University, 2000; MA [International Affairs], Carleton University, 2003) joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 2003 after completing internships in Guyana and Costa Rica.
Karen Mollica (BA Honours [Political Science], McMaster University, 2000; MA [International Affairs], Carleton University, 2003) joined the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade in 2003 after completing internships in Guyana and Costa Rica. Her early assignments included serving as coordinator of the Landmine Action Team and as a case officer for several West and Central African countries. She then worked at the Canadian International Development Agency, serving as First Secretary at the High Commission in South Africa and as Counsellor and Head of Cooperation at the Embassy in Jordan. Upon her return to headquarters in 2019, she was appointed Director of Policy, Planning and Operations for Latin America and the Caribbean, a position she held until 2022. Most recently, she served as Director and Senior Ministerial Advisor in the Office of the Minister of International Development and Chargé d’Affaires at the Embassy to the Holy See.
Ajit Singh (BA [Communications], University of Winnipeg, 2003; BA Honours [Political Science], University of Winnipeg, 2004; MA [International Law], United Nations University for Peace, 2006; JD, Osgoode Hall Law School, 2012) has lived, studied and worked in a multilingual environment in 6 countries on 4 continents. He joined the Government of Canada in 2008 after working in media, education, the United Nations and civil society organizations. He then practised private law in Toronto and was called to the Ontario Bar as a barrister. In 2013, he joined the Privy Council Office in the Intergovernmental Affairs Secretariat. He subsequently worked at the Foreign and Defence Policy Secretariat, where he was responsible for relations with Europe, the Caucasus, Central Asia and Latin America, as well as legal files. In 2017, he joined Global Affairs Canada as Deputy Director in the Foreign Policy Planning Division, where he led the Foreign Ministers’ Events team during Canada’s G7 Presidency in 2018. He then worked in the Conflict Prevention, Stabilization and Peacebuilding Division. In 2021, he joined the Department of National Defence as Director of Operations. He returned to the Privy Council Office in 2022, this time to become the first person to hold the position of Director of International Crisis Response.
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and/or sentence structure not be perfect.
SINGAPORE, Sept. 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Web 3.0 liquidity layer, Orderly Network, proudly sponsored this year’s Singapore edition TOKEN2049, one of the most prestigious events for global leaders in the Web3 space. As a key player in Web3 trading, Orderly Network showcased its vision and cutting-edge innovations throughout the week across multiple events, highlighting its work in the convergence of AI and DeFi, and providing thought leadership into the evolving landscape of decentralized trading and the potential role these technologies may play in the future of Web3.
A key meeting of minds in the emerging AI meets DeFi space, Orderly Network and Google Cloud teamed up last Tuesday, 17 September to host a cast of decision-makers and crypto KOL’s at their highly anticipated ‘Bounty Bash’ event. This collaborative initiative marked the announcement of the Orderly Network x Google Cloud Bounty – Unleashing the Power of AI Trading Agents program, developed in partnership with Google Cloud and Empyreal. The program is designed to empower developers to build AI agents capable of autonomously trading on Orderly’s decentralized infrastructure, contributing to the future of Web3 trading and decentralized finance by making it easier than ever for new users to gain results and confidence trading.
A key highlight in the week was the keynote presentation of Orderly Network Co-Founder Ran Yi at the TOKEN2049 event. Entitled ‘DEXs 3.0 and the Transition from CEX to DEX’, in his address, Ran shared key insights into the evolution of DEXs and the forward path toward greater adoption. As a TradFi and DeFi veteran, Ran’s discussion explored his unique perspective on how the future of DEXs lies in combining the strengths of CEXs—such as intuitive user experiences, deep liquidity, high performance, and lower trading costs—with the inherent benefits of DEXs, including transparency, permissionless access, interoperability, and decentralized governance.
This keynote presentation built on an overarching theme for the week – how centralized and decentralized worlds can work together to grow the space by producing more compelling solutions for users.
At Caladan’s Liquidity Day event, in a panel discussion aptly named ‘The CEX and DEX Transition’, Ran had delved into the growing convergence between centralized and decentralized trading platforms. Discussing the potential for building a powerful DEX that could rival Binance in the decentralized space, he further emphasized the importance of fostering innovation while maintaining user trust and security.
At Morph Consumer Day, Ran joined a star-studded cast that included well-known trader and Orderly supporter Nani XBT on stage to discuss ‘The Future of Consumer DeFi & Stablecoins’. In this session, Ran delved into the growing convergence between centralized and decentralized trading platforms, examining the role of DeFi and stablecoins in shaping the next generation of consumer-facing financial services.
To conclude a week of engaging discussions and transformative ideas, Orderly Network also co-hosted the official TOKEN2049 afterparty, AFTER2049, joining forces with several other prominent projects in celebrating the successes of the event and fostering deeper connections within the community.
For more information on the Orderly Network and its innovative solutions for liquidity, please visithttps://orderly.network/
About Orderly Network
Orderly Network is a cloud liquidity infrastructure for Web3 trading. Built on omnichain architecture, Orderly enables deep liquidity for any asset across multiple blockchains. Focused on a future of DeFi that’s open to all, Orderly empowers developers to fluidly create a comprehensive array of financial products for any level of trader, without the risks of wrapped asset movement through cross-chain bridging.
Bank of New Zealand (BNZ) is the latest business to join the growing lineup of private sector companies backing AgriZeroNZ, alongside government, to get emissions reduction tools into Kiwi farmers’ hands sooner.
Announcing the new shareholder today, Hon Todd McClay, Minister for Agriculture & Trade, confirmed the government would match BNZ’s $4 million investment, boosting AgriZeroNZ’s funds by $8milllion to total $191 million.
BNZ joins The a2 Milk Company, ANZ Bank New Zealand, ANZCO Foods, ASB Bank, Fonterra, Rabobank, Ravensdown, Silver Fern Farms and Synlait with a combined 50% shareholding of the joint venture (JV). With the government’s increased investment, it owns the remaining half through the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI).
AgriZeroNZ Board Chair, Sir Brian Roche KNZM, says this provides a welcome boost in funds to achieve the JV’s ambition and maintain the multibillion-dollar agricultural export trade.
“I’m pleased more of the private sector is joining us to help get practical tools into farmers’ hands.
“New Zealand farmers are highly efficient producers of milk and meat for the world, but global companies that pay a premium for these products – such as McDonald’s, Nestlé, Danone, Tesco and Sainsbury’s – are all pushing deep into their supply chain for emissions reduction, with ambitious scope 3 targets.
“These customers want to see more progress and we need to act now, or we risk losing these high-end customers and potentially breaching trade agreements. Further to this, competitor markets with more intensive farms are getting access to new tools to reduce emissions so they could take our place in supplying these customers.
“There is a very real and very disruptive risk to our agricultural sector from the need to reduce emissions but there is also an opportunity to stay among the most efficient producers in the world if we can get the right tools to our farmers.
“We’re confident that with our ambition, expertise, and increasing reach through the private sector, we’ll have 2-3 tools in widespread use by 2030.”
Sir Brian Roche KNZM, AgriZeroNZ Board Chair, says the JV Is confident it will have 2-3 tools in widespread use by 2030
BNZ CEO Dan Huggins says the bank is pleased to support AgriZeroNZ and partner with government and some of the country’s largest primary sector businesses to back its farming customers by investing in tools to help reduce emissions and maintain New Zealand’s competitive advantage in agriculture.
“BNZ has a long history of banking New Zealand farmers, and over that time we have worked alongside our farming customers as they have continually adapted and innovated to meet changing market dynamics.
“This public-private partnership approach to addressing on farm emissions continues that tradition, helping to ensure New Zealand maintains a resilient and productive agricultural sector into the future,” he says.
Dan Huggins, BNZ CEO, says it is investing in tools to help reduce emissions and maintain New Zealand’s competitive advantage in agriculture.
AgriZeroNZ is a world-first public-private partnership with an ambition to ensure all farmers in Aotearoa New Zealand have equitable access to affordable, effective solutions to reduce biogenic methane and nitrous oxide emissions, supporting a 30% reduction by 2030 and drive towards ‘near zero’ by 2040.
Since being established in February 2023, the JV has committed more than $29M across 10 high impact opportunities to bring emissions reduction solutions to market for Kiwi farmers. This includes a methane-inhibiting bolus, novel probiotics, methane vaccine development, and low emissions pasture.
It recently raised $18million from The a2 Milk Company, ANZ Bank New Zealand and ASB Bank becoming shareholders in April, with their funding also matched by government.
AgriZeroNZ has over 77 potential investment opportunities on its radar for review as it continues scanning the globe for solutions which could work on New Zealand farms, to invest and drive development towards a pasture-based solution. It is also working with officials to clarify the regulatory pathway in New Zealand for tools to be used on-farm.
There was nothing in the Reserve Bank’s (RBNZ) announcement to greatly challenge our view of the world. The Official Cash Rate (OCR) was lowered 25bps to 5.25% as we expected. The interest rate brake is still on, just less so than before.
The most important aspect of the meeting in our view was the confirmation that the OCR will move a lot lower over the coming 18 months.
It needs to. Our rough estimate of the ‘real’ (inflation-adjusted) cash rate has increased in recent months, even with this week’s cut. And it’s a long way down for the OCR to the RBNZ’s estimate of the long-run neutral rate around 3%.
Chart 2: Chop
The RBNZ’s updated forecasts were a shadow of their former selves. GDP growth, inflation and OCR forecasts got a chop while unemployment rate expectations were lifted ½% or so to a 5½% peak.
This brings the RBNZ’s view of the economy down to, or even a touch weaker than, where we’ve been seeing things. Importantly, CPI inflation is now seen well inside the 1-3% target range in Q3 (2.3%y/y from 3.0% in May). As of yesterday, we concur.
It means there’s a higher hurdle for incoming data to surprise the RBNZ on the downside. That doesn’t rule out a larger 50bps OCR cut being deployed at some point, but it does lean against the possibility in the short term.
Chart 3: Joining the rate race
Having been something of an outlier for a while, NZ is now back in the policy easing peloton. Most developed markets anticipate sizeable interest rate cuts over the coming 12 months.
Markets price a better than even chance of a 50bp start to the US Federal Reserve’s easing cycle next month which, if delivered, may embolden global rate cut pricing further.
Of those markets covered opposite, implied policy easing to February 2025 is most aggressive for the US (-185bps), NZ (-150bps), and Canada (-130bps), with Australia (-65bps) and Japan (+10bps) at the other end of the field.
Chart 4: US sniffles
Global financial markets have recovered much of their poise following the steep equity market declines of early last week. Sentiment is not what it was though. Investors are suddenly alert to any number of global fragilities.
Most of the ‘blame’ for the wobble has been pinned on cooling tech/AI exuberance and US growth concerns. The outsized reaction last week may reflect the additional, creeping reliance on the US to drive the global expansion this year. The old ‘US catches a cold’ adage is still relevant.
Chart 5: Jobs growth stalled
The number of people employed nudged up 0.4% in the June quarter, according to official figures released last week. We’d pencilled in a small decline. Unemployment still rose to 4.6% as expected.
Q2’s employment kick is unlikely to be repeated this quarter, and it also doesn’t change the broader narrative of jobs growth effectively stalling around mid-2023.
Amongst the sectoral detail, it’s clear that the construction sector has been at the vanguard of the changing employment market.
Chart 6: Relocating for work
The lift in NZ’s unemployment rate in Q2 maintained a ½ percentage point gap to the (4.1%) Aussie equivalent.
It doesn’t sound large, but that gap is the widest since 2013. Not coincidentally, net migration outflows to Australia are also running at the strongest level since 2013. People move to where the jobs are.
Our forecasts imply both trends have got a ways to run. A climb in the NZ unemployment rate to a 5.5% peak in early 2025 against a lower (4.6%) peak in Australia would, on past form, be consistent with an acceleration in net outflows.
Chart 7: Green f(lags)
Wage inflation peaked in NZ about a year ago. We saw another notch in the downtrend last week. The private sector Labour Cost Index eased to 3.6%y/y in June, down from 3.8% the prior quarter and the 4.5% peak.
More of the same easing is expected over the coming 12 months. It’s something that should help drain still-elevated domestic services inflation pressure. So, it’s not that high interest rates have been ineffective on non-tradables inflation, it’s that the impacts take time to turn up. The lags are real!
Chart 8: No retail respite
The trend in NZ retail card spending abruptly turned in early 2023, and it’s been downhill ever since. July’s 0.1%m/m contraction was the 6th consecutive monthly decline. Discretionary categories remain the hardest hit.
The weakness is even more pronounced once buoyant population growth is accounted for. Our estimate of the average monthly spend per (working age) person is 8% below March 2023 levels. It’s a deeper and longer contraction than during the 2008 GFC.
We’re hopeful the downtrend soon stabilises. Tax and interest rate cuts are supports, but falling population growth and job security are not.
Chart 9: Housing market in focus
The release of July REINZ housing market numbers has been shunted out to Tuesday, thus missing the cut for this edition of TEITC.
But, it’s fair to say, housing stats will be watched more closely than usual as folk scour for green shoots in a sector likely to be one of the earlier responders to (recent and expected) falls in retail interest rates. There are stirrings in some of the anecdote and surveys, but we think the prognosis is more stabilisation than acceleration, for now.
In the least, we’d expect a hearty bounce-back in July sales activity following the outsized, Matariki holiday-related, drop in June. That’s what we saw from this week’s Barfoot & Thompson figures covering a share of the Auckland market.
Chart 10: Food for thought
Food prices lifted 0.4%m/m (seasonally adjusted) in July. Prices have been flattish for the past year, but they’re still up 24% on 2020 levels.
As you’d expect, there’s been a fair bit of variation amongst the components over that time. If you’re partial to an omelette and/or yogurt for breakfast you will be feeling the pinch a lot more than some. At least your morning brew is still, relatively speaking, cost effective.
Disclaimer: This publication has been produced by Bank of New Zealand (BNZ). This publication accurately reflects the personal views of the author about the subject matters discussed, and is based upon sources reasonably believed to be reliable and accurate. The views of the author do not necessarily reflect the views of BNZ. No part of the compensation of the author was, is, or will be, directly or indirectly, related to any specific recommendations or views expressed. The information in this publication is solely for information purposes and is not intended to be financial advice. If you need help, please contact BNZ or your financial adviser. Any statements as to past performance do not represent future performance, and no statements as to future matters are guaranteed to be accurate or reliable. To the maximum extent permissible by law, neither BNZ nor any person involved in this publication accepts any liability for any loss or damage whatsoever which may directly or indirectly result from any, opinion, information, representation or omission, whether negligent or otherwise, contained in this publication.
Botswana’s economic growth is expected to slow to 1 percent in 2024 primarily because of a diamond market contraction, before picking up next year. Inflation has declined sharply since the peak of mid-2022 and returned to the central bank’s medium-term objective range of 3–6 percent, where it is expected to remain in the medium term.
The government plans a fiscal expansion in FY2024 followed by two years of substantial fiscal adjustment. Public debt is low (20 percent of GDP), but government deposits at the central bank have significantly reduced over the past decade.
The financial sector is sound, stable, and resilient.
Washington, DC: On August 28, 2024, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation[1] with Botswana and endorsed the staff appraisal without a meeting on a lapse-of-time basis.[2]
Botswana’s economic growth decelerated from 5.5 percent in 2022 to 2.7 percent in 2023, below the long-run potential growth of 4 percent. A sharp decline in diamond trading and mining activities was the main contributor to the slowdown, as global demand for rough diamonds decreased. Inflation has remained below the ceiling of the central bank’s medium-term objective range since July 2023. Despite lower diamond exports, FX reserves increased in 2023 supported by higher customs union receipts. The financial sector is broadly sound, stable, and resilient.
Botswana’s economy is expected to decelerate further this year, with growth projected at 1 percent. The continued slowdown is mainly due to a fall in diamond production, partly offset by construction projects financed by the fiscal expansion. Growth is forecast to rebound – averaging 5 percent over the next two years – due to higher prices and quantities of diamonds produced. Inflation is projected to remain within the central bank’s objective range of 3–6 percent.
The fiscal deficit is projected to widen further to 6 percent of GDP in FY2024, reflecting a further decline in mineral revenues and higher capital expenditure. The government plans a substantial fiscal adjustment in the following two years to reach a fiscal surplus. The external position should soften over the medium term (with FX reserves decreasing to 5 months of imports) due to weak growth in customs revenues and higher government foreign debt repayments. Risks to the outlook remain elevated due to the emergence of cheaper lab-grown diamonds, and uncertainty over the recovery of major export markets.
Executive Board Assessment
In concluding the 2024 Article IV consultation with Botswana, Executive Directors endorsed staff’s appraisal, as follows:
Botswana is facing a severe slowdown from a diamond market contraction in 2023 and 2024. Growth is expected to fall to 1.0 percent this year, from 2.7 percent in 2023 and 5.5 percent in 2022. This reflects weaker global demand for diamonds and a sharp increase in inventories.
Real GDP growth should rebound next year, although risks to the outlook remain elevated. A strong recovery is projected in 2025, driven by the rebound in diamond production and trade. But the economic outlook is highly uncertain, with the emergence of cheaper lab-grown diamonds, and the announced sale of De Beers by its UK parent company.
In the near term, the fall in diamond revenues could be accommodated by a mix of higher fiscal deficit and reprioritization of capital expenditure. Some fiscal relaxation is warranted in light of the widening of the output gap, but staff encourages the authorities to reprioritize capital projects to limit the increase in the deficit and ensure that they achieve the highest value for money.
Over the medium term, the authorities’ planned fiscal consolidation is critical to put a stop to the depletion of government’s financial buffers, build resilience against shocks, and preserve fiscal sustainability. Staff assesses that targeting a 1 percent of GDP fiscal surplus would generate sufficient savings to protect the budget against major economic shocks. While the authorities’ adjustment plan focuses mostly on expenditure restraint, there is also scope to increase revenues. The medium-term adjustment should be supported by institutional reforms, including a fiscal rule, more credible medium-term budgeting, and possibly a well-designed SWF.
The monetary policy stance is appropriate. Inflation has declined since August 2022 and is projected to remain within the central bank’s objective range in the medium term. Underlying pressures, as measured by core inflation indicators, seem contained, while inflation expectations are well anchored. The 2023 external position is assessed to be broadly in line with fundamentals and desirable policies.
The authorities’ plans to strengthen financial sector oversight, deepening, and inclusion are welcomed. The financial sector is broadly sound and stable despite the economic slowdown. Faster implementation of the 2023 FSAP recommendations will further reduce financial risks. These include moving to implement Basel III liquidity standards, enhancing risk-based supervision of banks, reinforcing the crisis management framework (ELA, bank resolution), and deploying macroprudential tools to address household debt risk.
Accelerating growth and job creation requires a fundamental shift towards greater private sector participation, a more diversified export base, and a more efficient public sector. The authorities should prioritize SOE modernization, improved infrastructure for doing business (internet, energy, logistics), trade facilitation measures, more efficient social protection, and financial inclusion reforms that support small entrepreneurs. These goals could be enshrined in the new NDP, supported by time-bound and well-prioritized action plans.
Botswana: Selected Economic and Social Indicators, 2020-20291
Gross investment (including change in inventories)
32.8
27.4
25.0
30.3
35.4
34.1
35.0
35.5
36.7
37.5
Public
6.5
5.5
5.4
7.1
8.4
7.0
6.2
6.0
5.5
5.2
Private
26.3
21.9
19.6
23.2
26.9
27.1
28.8
29.5
31.2
32.3
Gross savings
26.6
28.1
24.9
29.9
33.4
35.6
36.2
36.8
37.3
37.7
Public
-4.3
0.7
4.0
3.0
2.4
4.2
5.4
6.1
5.9
5.5
Private
30.8
27.5
20.8
26.9
31.0
31.4
30.9
30.7
31.4
32.2
Central Government Finances3
Total revenue and grants
25.6
29.0
29.1
28.4
28.2
28.8
28.6
28.8
27.6
26.7
SACU receipts
9.1
6.5
5.5
9.1
9.6
7.0
6.4
6.6
6.3
5.9
Mineral revenue
5.3
10.6
13.3
7.4
5.8
9.5
9.9
9.8
8.9
8.4
Total expenditure and net lending
36.5
31.4
29.1
33.1
34.2
30.6
29.1
28.3
27.1
26.2
Overall balance (deficit –)
-10.9
-2.4
0.0
-4.7
-6.0
-1.7
-0.5
0.5
0.5
0.5
Non-mineral non-SACU balance4
-25.3
-19.5
-18.8
-21.3
-21.3
-18.2
-16.7
-15.9
-14.7
-13.8
Net Debt
15.3
12.8
12.6
16.9
22.2
21.6
20.2
18.2
16.2
14.6
Total central government debt5
18.7
18.7
18.1
20.1
22.6
22.1
20.7
20.1
20.0
20.0
Government deposits with the BoB6
3.4
5.9
5.5
3.3
0.4
0.4
0.6
1.9
3.8
5.5
External Sector
Trade balance
-13.2
-3.5
2.7
-2.4
-6.9
-0.9
0.2
0.3
0.0
0.0
Current account balance
-10.3
-1.7
-1.2
-0.6
-2.0
1.5
1.2
1.2
0.6
0.2
Overall Balance
-11.7
-1.4
1.8
0.6
-0.9
1.3
1.3
1.5
0.9
0.5
Nominal effective exchange rate (2018=100)7
94.0
94.1
90.8
86.4
–
–
–
–
–
–
Real effective exchange rate (2018=100)7
94.4
97.7
99.1
94.7
–
–
–
–
–
–
Terms of trade (2005=100)
140.5
178.9
161.3
152.7
125.9
162.2
171.4
176.6
181.6
186.6
External central government debt5
7.8
8.4
7.5
8.9
8.3
6.7
5.6
4.8
3.9
3.5
Gross official reserves (end of period, millions of USD)
4,944
4,806
4,281
4,757
4,587
4,879
5,198
5,600
5,852
6,014
Months of imports of goods and services8
6.4
6.6
7.1
7.3
6.3
6.0
5.8
5.6
5.4
5.1
Months of non-diamond imports8
9.3
8.7
8.2
8.8
7.9
7.8
7.6
7.5
7.2
7.1
Percent of GDP
31.2
27.1
21.8
24.2
23.3
22.3
21.5
21.7
20.8
19.6
Sources: Botswana authorities and IMF staff estimates and projections.
1 This table is based on calendar years unless otherwise indicated.
2 Based on Atlas method from the World Bank.
3 Fiscal variables are based on fiscal years (starting on April 1).
4 The non-mineral non-SACU balance is computed as the difference between non-mineral non-SACU revenue and total expenditure.
5Excludes guarantees. Debt data measured at end of fiscal year.
6Government deposits with the BoB include Government Investment Account as well as other accounts. Deposits data measured at end of fiscal year.
7 For 2020-2023, both effective exchange rates are from IMF INS database.
8 Based on imports of goods and services for the following year.
[1] Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.
[2] The Executive Board takes decisions under its lapse-of-time procedure when the Board agrees that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions.
Distinguished guests, I am delighted to be here in Bishkek on my first visit to the Kyrgyz Republic, in the heart of Central Asia.
This region has been at the crossroads of civilizations for millennia. It is a mosaic of a rich cultural heritage, diverse peoples, and natural endowments that include spectacular mountains, lakes, rivers, and a rich biodiversity. It is also located very favorably at the crossroads of Asia and Europe. Needless to say, it is quite truly a unique region!
As we gather here today to discuss the economic possibilities for the Caucasus and Central Asia (CCA) region, we all recognize that the world is changing rapidly, and this is a pivotal moment.
It reminds me of another time of momentous opportunity, when the region gained independence in the 1990s. Since then, the CCA countries have made remarkable progress by unleashing their first wave of market- oriented reforms, generating higher growth and improving living standards.
But new and unprecedented challenges have emerged. The Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath are only just in our rear-view mirrors, as the region confronts emerging challenges from climate change to regional conflicts. The global economy has also shifted with geoeconomic fragmentation emerging as a key risk.
The theme of my remarks today is simple: in this changing world, raising living standards in the CCA region requires bold, concerted action.
We must strengthen stability and resilience, promote regional integration, and launch a new wave of reforms. This is how we can unleash the full economic potential of the region and its vibrant young populations, accelerate growth, create jobs and open-up opportunities for generations to come.
Building on Macroeconomic Stability
It is important to remind ourselves of the global context as we consider what is needed to propel the region to the next level of economic growth and prosperity.
The world economy has shown remarkable resilience in the face of the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and an inflation surge. Global growth bottomed out at 2.3 percent in 2022 and is expected to rebound to 3.2 percent in 2024 and 3.3 percent in 2025. Initial fears of recession and uncontrolled wage-price spirals fortunately did not materialize and there is less economic scarring from the pandemic than anticipated.
However, medium-term growth projections remain below historical averages. Persistence of inflation in parts of the world, geopolitical conflicts, and the gaps in structural reforms needed to promote efficient resource allocation remain critical challenges. Global inflation is projected to decline to 5.9 percent in 2024 and 4.5 percent in 2025, with advanced economies returning to inflation targets before emerging market and developing economies.
The risks to the outlook are still considerable. Notably, geopolitical tensions and regional conflicts pose downside risks, potentially causing new price spikes. Other risks include rising trade protectionism, increasing inequality, and financial market volatility. At the same time, the fact that this year saw the hottest day on record for the planet serves as a stark reminder of daunting challenges due to climate change.
Policymakers in the CCA region deserve full credit for navigating their economies through these turbulent times and maintaining macroeconomic stability. Rapid COVID virus containment, decisive policy actions, and robust international support have led to a swift recovery, with the region growing at 4.9 percent in 2023.
Inflation fell in most CCA countries, including in the Kyrgyz Republic, amid exchange rate appreciations and a decline in commodity prices. Inflation remained more persistent in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan due to strong domestic demand, elevated inflation expectations, and energy price reforms in Kazakhstan.
In the April Regional Economic Outlook, we projected a growth slowdown to 3.9 percent in 2024, but inflows of income, capital, and migrants from Russia, and rerouting of trade though the region have again boosted growth to impressive high single digits so far this year in oil importing CCA economies, including the Kyrgyz Republic. In Kazakhstan, on the other hand, growth is expected to slow to 3.1 percent in 2024 before picking up to 5.6 percent in 2025 as production increases from the Tengiz oil fields.
Over the medium term, growth in the region is expected to moderate to under 4 percent and inflation stabilize in mid-single digits. Escalation of the war in Ukraine and the Gaza conflict, however, could cause commodity price volatility and a reversal of the recent trade patterns.
Achieving macroeconomic stability is just a beginning. It is not sufficient to meet the aspirations of current and future generations.
Now is the time for us to come together and take bold steps to unleash a new wave of reforms that will durably raise growth, create more jobs, and improve living standards. This requires reforms to increase productivity, strengthen resilience to shocks, and expand markets.
While this is ambitious, it is within our reach as long as there is consensus to move ahead on this path. The current favorable macroeconomic conditions offer a promising window of opportunity because, as our research shows, structural reforms yield greater growth dividends during economic expansions.
From Stability to Prosperity
Historically, this region has been a vital link between Europe and Asia, serving as a conduit for trade, culture, and innovation.
Today, regional integration can once again harness this potential. It can facilitate the freer movement of goods, services, capital, and people, increase market size and economic efficiency, and promote inclusive prosperity.
Moreover, deepening ties within the region and global markets can foster stability and peace. Regional integration is therefore not just an opportunity, but an economic necessity.
Reducing nontariff trade barriers, boosting infrastructure investment, and enhancing regulatory quality could increase trade by up to 17 percent on average in the CCA region, as our research shows. They can also improve market access and foster diversification.
Transportation networks, such as roads, railways, and ports are essential to facilitate cross-border trade. The planned construction of the China-Kyrgyzstan-Uzbekistan railway is an illustration of cross-country cooperation to improve connectivity between the East and the West, supporting the region’s ambition to regain its historical role.
You have abundant renewable energy resources in the region, including hydro, solar and wind power. Enhanced energy cooperation will help develop regional energy markets, ensure security, and create export opportunities. Collaborative projects, such as Kambarata-1, can help diversify the energy mix and reduce dependency on fossil fuels. Critically, it can also improve water availability for neighboring countries.
Both of these investments—the railway and Kambarata-1—hold enormous potential for regional development and connectivity. Collective effort in mobilizing expertise and financing is essential for full realization of this potential while sustaining macroeconomic stability that has been a hallmark of the region’s recent achievements.
This brings me to the importance of regional cooperation in addressing the risks of climate change, which requires immediate and resolute actions from all of us.
A Path to a Low-Carbon Future
The CCA region is highly vulnerable to climate change. Temperatures are rising fast, and droughts and floods have become more frequent and severe, causing immense damage to crops, infrastructure and livelihoods. We estimate that unabated climate change could cause a loss of annual output of nearly 6.5 percent in the region by 2060.
The good news is that these losses could be substantially reduced by joint actions to cut emissions, adapt to climate change, and manage the risks of transition to a low-carbon economy.
The region must collaborate to promote green technologies, improve energy efficiency, and manage natural resources sustainably. Scaling back energy subsidies and introducing carbon-pricing mechanisms can contribute to global mitigation efforts. In this respect, the Kyrgyz Republic’s commitment to raising electricity tariffs and gradually eliminating energy subsidies is a shining example.
Such decisive measures can enhance resilience to climate change and create higher-paying jobs–green jobs that pay 7 percent more on average.
Reforms for Enhanced Growth and Stability
To fully realize the benefits of regional integration, structural reforms are essential. Our research finds that such reforms could lift output by 5-7 percent in the next 4 to 6 years.
Let me highlight a few key areas where structural reforms can help achieve this boost:
A vibrant private sector is the engine of growth. Strengthening governance, property rights and the rule of law, and reducing the state footprint in the economy by simplifying regulations, fostering competition, and combating corruption will build confidence and attract private investment.
Importantly, we find that governance reforms yield the highest growth dividends and amplify the positive impacts of other reforms. The implication is clear: governance reforms should be prioritized and accompanied by other reforms.
Prudent management of state-owned enterprises (SOEs) is also critical. While some SOEs serve essential public-policy objectives and should remain in public hands, it is crucial that they operate efficiently and do not crowd out the private sector.
In most cases, however, the private sector is more efficient in delivering goods and services and creating jobs. Therefore, privatization of non-essential SOEs can lead to more dynamic and competitive markets, enhancing growth and resilience.
Investments in education, health, and digital infrastructure are vital to boost productivity. The full potential of the region’s young and dynamic population can only be unleashed through high quality education and healthcare.
Enhancing digital infrastructure also offers vast opportunities for productivity growth, especially in a region with young people eager to embrace new technologies.
As the CCA starts to reap the benefits of these reforms, it is equally important to ensure that growth benefits all segments of society, and the vulnerable are shielded from the impacts of energy subsidy reforms and climate change. Well-targeted social assistance is essential for reducing poverty and inequality.
Benefits work best when they incentivize work and are targeted and timely to support adversely affected households during economic downturns but scale back when the recovery takes hold. Empowering women and promoting gender equality can unlock significant economic potential and contribute to more inclusive growth.
IMF’s Commitment to CCA Stability and Growth
The IMF has been a steadfast partner of the CCA region since its initial days of independence. We provide policy advice, financing, and technical assistance to help our members in the region stabilize their economies, develop sustainable growth, and reduce poverty.
The IMF stands by all its member countries in both prosperous and challenging times. For example, our assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic helped our membership weather the crisis and lay the groundwork for recovery.
To better support our member in the CCA, the IMF established the Caucasus, Central Asia, and Mongolia Regional Capacity Development Center. This center provides technical assistance and training to help countries in the region build stronger institutions and implement sound economic policies. It also represents our long-term commitment to the region’s development.
Conclusion
Let me conclude. Since its early days of independence, the CCA region has shown tremendous perseverance in laying the foundation of a prosperous, peaceful society.
Today, you are confronting new global challenges that test the resilience and adaptability of your economies. Embracing continued market-oriented reforms is the most effective strategy to strengthen your economies. Now is the time to forge ahead with bold spirits.
The IMF will continue to support your efforts, working in partnership for the benefit of all people in this region and beyond.
Washington, DC: On September 10, 2024, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation discussions[1] with the Kingdom of the Netherlands—Curaçao and Sint Maarten and endorsed the staff appraisal without a meeting on a lapse-of-time basis[2]. These consultation discussions form part of the Article IV consultation with the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Context. Curaçao and Sint Maarten have continued to experience a vigorous post-pandemic recovery underpinned by strong stayover tourism, which is outperforming Caribbean peers. Headline inflation has declined rapidly led by international oil price developments, notwithstanding a recent uptick, while core inflation remains elevated. In both countries, current account deficits improved markedly from pandemic years but remain high. Fiscal positions remained strong and in compliance with the fiscal rule. The landspakket, the structural reform package agreed with the Netherlands in 2020, continues to guide both countries’ reform agenda.
Curaçao outlook. Growth is expected to accelerate in 2024 before gradually converging to its potential over the medium term. Stayover tourism supported by fiscal expansion is projected to drive economic growth at a robust 4.5 percent in 2024 due to new airlifts and further expansion in hotel capacity. Growth is then expected to moderate to reach 1.5 percent over the medium term, given subpar investment and productivity growth coupled with sustained population decline and beginning saturation in tourism flows, assuming no further reforms and diversification. Headline inflation is projected to decline mildly to 3.2 percent in 2024 from 3.5 percent in 2023, but to continue falling towards its steady state of around 2 percent by 2027 reflecting international price developments. Fiscal balances would be guided by the fiscal rule and debt would continue to decline, while surpluses narrow as investments return and social spending pressures mount. The current account deficit is expected to improve in the medium term but would remain elevated.
Sint Maarten outlook. Growth is expected to moderate in the medium term as tourism recovery and the reconstruction taper off. Growth is expected to be 2.7 percent in 2024 and 3 percent in 2025, supported by a delayed recovery in cruise passengers towards pre-pandemic levels. However, the near-term outlook is threatened by the electricity load shedding (since June) and political instability. From 2026 onwards, growth is expected to gradually converge towards 1.8 percent as the stimulus from the reconstruction peters out, and tourism growth becomes constrained by the island’s carrying capacity and ailing infrastructure. Inflation is expected to remain broadly contained while remaining vulnerable to international price developments. Over the medium term, the government will continue to comply with the golden fiscal rule and capacity constraints will continue to weigh on public investment.
Monetary Union. Monetary policy is appropriately targeted towards maintaining the peg. Efforts to absorb excess liquidity should continue while closely monitoring developments in core inflation driven by tourism-related services. The financial sector is sound and risks to financial stability have substantially diminished as the CBCS advances its reform agenda. Banks are highly liquid and adequately capitalized and systemic risks are contained. Building on the CBCS’s strong progress in strengthening supervisory and regulatory capacity, and the recent resolution agreement for ENNIA, staff welcomes CBCS’s continued efforts in its reform agenda, including financial stability and crisis management.
Curaçao’s economy successfully embraced the pivot towards tourism-led growth, giving rise to a strong near-term outlook. After losing key traditional industries, Curaçao quickly and successfully leveraged its tourism potential to grow, attract new hotels, and create jobs. While this is serving the economy well in the near term – growth is projected to accelerate to 4½ in 2024 – structural shifts have started to emerge, including a low-skilled, informal recovery of the labor market amidst low investment in non-tourist sectors. Growth is expected to moderate over the medium term given saturation in tourism flows, sustained population decline, and subpar investment. Notwithstanding the economy’s recent overperformance, inflation declined significantly and only reversed some of its gains recently on the back of higher international oil prices and unfavorable base effects. Inflation is expected to gradually converge towards its steady state rate of around 2 percent. Fiscal policy remains guided by the fiscal rule, albeit past surpluses are expected to unwind, allowing for the reversal of pandemic wage cuts and a return of public investments. The current account markedly improved thanks to lower oil prices but the deficit remains elevated.
Risks to the outlook are broadly balanced. Growth slowdown in major economies could negatively impact tourism receipts, while positive surprises could boost foreign demand. Domestically, a successful expansion of renewable energy and faster-than-expected development of hotel capacity and yachting marinas would boost growth, while delays in public investment and more persistent core inflation could dent tourist experience and competitiveness.
Efforts to safeguard recently created fiscal space are welcome. Overall surpluses in 2022 and 2023 helped reduce debt and granted access to favorable financing terms from the Netherlands. Safeguarding this space and avoiding procyclical impetus is warranted, including through more gradual unwinding of pandemic wage cuts in 2024, prudent liquidity management to repay a bullet loan in 2025, and general efforts to strengthen tax administration, review procurement and domestic arrears management, and streamline transfers to public entities. Ensuing room for maneuver could be used for priority investments, including for climate adaptation, guided by a medium-term fiscal framework steering towards the island’s debt anchor.
Healthcare and pension reforms are needed to lock in a sustainable expenditure path and mitigate medium-term fiscal risks. Growing health and old-age pension deficits, exacerbated by an aging population, pose risks to the sustainability of public finances. Recent initiatives to incentivize the use of generics and raise the pension age are commendable, and more needs to be done to put the system on a sustainable path. Staff sees a broad range of efficiency gains in health spending, including lowering pharmaceuticals and laboratory costs and enhancing primary care’s gatekeeping role. Reforms on the revenue side, including broadening the contributor base and increasing co-payments, are politically more difficult.
Sustaining the positive growth momentum in the medium term requires investments in capital and labor and resolving existing growth bottlenecks. First, moving up the value chain with high-end resorts and complementary recreational activities would help sustain valuable income growth from tourism but requires scaling up investments in infrastructure and deregulating the transportation sector. Second, further investments in electricity grid and energy storage, as well as a revised pricing strategy, are needed to accompany the ongoing energy transition and reap its vast benefits, including lower fuel imports, emissions, and electricity prices. The envisaged floating offshore wind park for hydrogen production would be a game changer for the island. Boosting public investment to achieve these objectives, however, requires ramping up capacity in planning and execution. Third, to further stimulate growth and offset the sustained population decline, formal labor markets and skills would need to be strengthened. And fourth, continued improvements in the business climate in line with the landspakket’s economic reform pillar could help overcome decade-low productivity growth.
Important strides in reducing ML/FT vulnerabilities are welcome and could be built upon. The draft online gaming law, implementation of risk-based supervision, and a new law to address EU grey listing and enable automatic information exchange represent important strides in enhancing Curaçao’s defenses against ML/FT and related reputational risks. Curaçao can further improve upon these important accomplishments, including by passing and implementing the aforementioned legislations in a timely manner and enhancing coordination and monitoring across relevant agencies.
Sint Maarten
Near-term growth is strongly anchored but preserving the positive momentum hinges on investments to revamp an ailing infrastructure and improve tourism’s value added. The economic recovery is well underway, underpinned by tourism recovery and the reconstruction. GDP is expected to surpass its pre-Irma level in 2025. However, without investments to upgrade an ailing infrastructure, growth will falter as the island approaches its maximum carrying capacity. Strategies should continue to focus on enhancing tourist’s experience, differentiating from other Caribbean destinations, and improving tourism’s value added.
A comprehensive strategy is required to durably resolve the electricity crisis. Mobile electricity generators have been leased and efforts to replace old engines are underway. Once the immediate crisis is resolved, efforts should be devoted towards developing a detailed masterplan for the energy transition with targets, projects, costing, timeline, and a comprehensive assessment of ancillary investments. The Trust Fund could receive a new mandate, beyond 2028, to operate as a public investment agency in charge of planning, securing the financing, and implementing plans for the energy transition.
Revenue mobilization efforts are essential to ensure fiscal sustainability. Plans to lower tax rates, to make the country more competitive with neighboring islands, should be avoided as this would reduce government’s revenues and endanger fiscal sustainability. Instead, additional revenues are required to satisfy the fiscal rule, service loans with the Netherlands, raise public wages to attract and retain talent, increase transfers to cover public health costs, and clear public arrears with the SZV. Envisaged reforms to enhance the tax administration and to digitize and interface government systems should be complemented with plans to i) tax casinos’ profits, turnover, and winnings; ii) enforce the lodging tax on short-term rentals, and income and profit tax on the proceeds from such rentals; iii) update the price of land leases; and iv) institute a tourist levy at the airport.
Without reforms, the healthcare and pensions funds are unsustainable. Health premiums and government transfers are insufficient to cover health costs, which are being cross-financed with pension savings. With unchanged policies, given population aging and rising administrative costs, both health and pensions funds will run deficits by 2027, and the SZV would deplete its liquid assets by 2027. By 2030, the government would need to transfer about 4 percent of GDP per year to sustain the system. Reforms are urgently needed to contain health costs including: i) introducing the General Health Insurance, ii) rationalizing benefits, iii) extending the use of generics, iv) optimizing referrals, v) strengthening preventing care, and vi) adopting out-of-pocket payments. Given the rapid pace of population aging, additional measures such as increasing the contribution rates and linking the retirement age to life expectancy, should also be considered.
Strengthening the implementation of AML/CFT measures is necessary to increase effectiveness of the AML/CFT regime. Laws for an effective AML/CFT framework were approved but their implementation is lagging. UBO registration is yet to begin, while the investigation and prosecution of suspicious activities is lacking. Granting the FIU full independence to investigate and prosecute cases, and increasing its budget for recruitment and operations could strengthen the AML/CFT framework.
The Monetary Union of Curaçao and Sint Maarten
The current account deficit is expected to improve in the medium term but would remain elevated, while international reserves are expected to remain broadly stable. Large CADs in both countries are expected to improve and remain well-financed, leading to a stable and broadly adequate level of international reserves over the medium term. Curaçao’s external position is assessed to be weaker than implied by fundamentals and desired policy settings due to an elevated CAD and sustained appreciation of the real effective exchange rate, while that of Sint Maarten is considered in line with fundamentals and desired policy settings.
Monetary policy is appropriately targeted towards maintaining the peg. In line with global monetary policy tightening, the CBCS increased its benchmark rate during 2022-23 and has kept it unchanged since September 2023. Efforts to absorb excess liquidity should continue while closely monitoring developments in core inflation driven by tourism-related services. Even though credit growth declined further and reached negative territory in real terms amidst monetary tightening, the transmission mechanism of monetary policy remains weak. Structural factors include the absence of interbank and government securities markets. The continued increase in mortgages, the only credit component to display growth, was accompanied by a broadly stable loan-to-value ratio on aggregate, albeit more granular data is needed to monitor potential vulnerabilities. Further acceleration in mortgage credit could warrant introducing a macro prudential limit below the currently by banks self-imposed ratio.
The financial sector is sound and risks to financial stability have substantially diminished as the CBCS advances its reform agenda. Banks are highly liquid and adequately capitalized and systemic risks are contained. Near-term risks to financial stability have substantially diminished with the agreement for a controlled wind-down of ENNIA and the start of the restructuring process, as well as the CBCS’s continued improvements in supervision, regulation, and governance. Staff welcomes CBCS’s initiatives to establish a financial stability committee, further refine stress-testing, and enhance crisis management capacities, including lender of last resort and a deposit insurance scheme.
Table 1. Curaçao: Selected Economic and Financial Indicators, 2020–25
(Percent of GDP unless otherwise indicated)
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Prel.
Prel.
Prel.
Prel.
Proj.
Real Economy
Real GDP (percent change)
-18.0
4.2
7.9
4.2
4.5
3.5
CPI (12-month average, percent change)
2.2
3.8
7.4
3.5
3.2
2.4
CPI (end of period, percent change)
2.2
4.8
8.4
3.1
3.2
2.4
GDP deflator (percent change)
2.2
3.8
4.0
3.5
3.2
2.4
Unemployment rate (percent) 1/
13.1
13.5
7.2
7.0
6.9
6.6
Central Government Finances 2/
Net operating (current) balance
-15.0
-10.6
0.7
0.6
0.0
0.5
Primary balance
-13.2
-8.8
2.0
2.5
2.0
1.9
Overall balance
-14.5
-10.0
1.0
1.3
0.1
0.5
Central government debt 3/
87.1
90.3
81.6
70.8
65.4
61.1
General Government Finances 2, 4/
Overall balance
-15.7
-10.4
0.3
0.9
-0.3
-0.1
Balance of Payments
Current account
-27.2
-18.6
-26.8
-19.7
-17.9
-16.5
Goods trade balance
-37.0
-41.6
-47.9
-38.3
-40.4
-39.9
Exports of goods
10.7
12.5
18.0
16.9
16.5
16.2
Imports of goods
47.7
54.1
65.9
55.2
56.9
56.1
Service balance
9.6
21.7
20.5
18.4
22.6
23.7
Exports of services
29.3
37.2
48.6
46.6
50.3
51.3
Imports of services
19.7
15.6
28.1
28.2
27.7
27.6
External debt
197.3
194.8
180.9
177.1
169.1
164.0
Memorandum Items
Nominal GDP (millions of U.S. dollars)
2,534
2,740
3,075
3,318
3,578
3,789
Per capita GDP (U.S. dollars)
16,492
18,135
20,648
22,160
23,775
25,065
Credit to non-government sectors (percent change)
0.1
-9.7
3.2
2.5
…
…
Sources: The Curaçao authorities and IMF staff estimates and projections.
1/ Staff understands that the unemployment rate of 7.0 percent published in the 2023 Census data is not comparable to the historically published unemployment rates from the labor force survey by the Curacao Bureau of Statistics. As such, staff estimated the unemployment rate and overall labor force for the period of 2012 to 2022. Staff understands that the Curacao Bureau of Statistics intends to revise the historical series in the near future.
2/ Defined as balance sheet liabilities of the central government except equities. Includes central government liabilities to the social security funds.
3/ Budgetary central government consolidated with the social security fund (SVB).
4/ The latest available datapoint is as of 2018. Values for 2019-2023 are IMF staff estimates based on BOP flow data.
Table 2. Sint Maarten: Selected Economic Indicators 2020–25
(Percent of GDP unless otherwise indicated)
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Est.
Est.
Est.
Est.
Proj.
Real Economy
Real GDP (percent change) 1/
-20.4
7.1
13.9
3.5
2.7
3.0
CPI (12-month average, percent change)
0.7
2.8
3.6
2.1
2.5
2.3
Unemployment rate (percent) 2/
16.9
10.8
9.9
8.6
8.5
8.2
Government Finances
Primary balance excl. Trust Fund operations 3/
-8.7
-5.4
-0.6
1.5
0.9
0.9
Current balance (Authorities’ definition) 4/
-9.6
-6.3
-1.5
0.5
-0.1
0.0
Overall balance excl. TF operations
-9.3
-5.9
-1.1
1.0
0.2
0.2
Central government debt 5/
56.1
55.3
49.3
49.0
46.2
44.1
Balance of Payments
Current account
-25.5
-24.6
-3.9
-7.5
-7.8
-3.0
Goods trade balance
-40.7
-49.8
-59.2
-59.3
-62.4
-60.5
Exports of goods
11.8
11.4
14.1
14.8
13.1
11.2
Imports of goods
52.4
61.2
73.2
74.1
75.5
71.7
Service balance
20.2
33.1
62.8
60.3
62.6
65.2
Exports of services
34.4
51.0
78.7
81.4
81.5
83.9
Imports of services
14.3
17.9
15.9
21.1
18.9
18.7
External debt 6/
274.3
253.7
213.6
206.3
200.8
194.0
Memorandum Items
Nominal GDP (millions of U.S. dollars)
1,141
1,268
1,479
1,563
1,645
1,733
Per capita GDP (U.S. dollars)
26,796
29,646
34,437
36,088
37,570
39,160
Credit to non-gov. sectors (percent change)
2.4
1.3
4.5
1.0
…
…
Sources:
1/ Central Bank of Curacao and Sint Maarten and IMF staff estimates.
2/ The size of the 2022 labor force reported by the 2023 Census was adjusted to ensure consistency with the reported total population.
3/ Excludes Trust Fund (TF) grants and TF-financed special projects.
4/ Revenue excl. grants minus interest income, current expenditure and depreciation of fixed assets.
5/ The stock of debt in 2018 is based on financial statements. Values in subsequent years are staff’s estimates and are higher than the values under authorities’ definition in quarterly fiscal reports.
6/ The latest available datapoint is as of 2018. Values for 2019-2022 are IMF staff estimates based on BOP flow data.
[1] Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.
[2] The Executive Board takes decisions under its lapse-of-time-procedure when the Board agrees that a proposal can be considered without convening formal discussions.
[3] At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chairman of the Board, summarizes the views of Executive Directors, and this summary is transmitted to the country’s authorities. An explanation of any qualifiers used in summings up can be found here: http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/misc/qualifiers.htm.
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
In the capital ended festival “Summer in Moscow. Everyone out on the street!”. 600 entertainment venues were organized for city residents and tourists, including at the festival sites of “Moscow Seasons”. Visitors bought 35 thousand portions of various treats and 16 thousand liters of soft drinks. During the festival, souvenir shops and shopping chalets sold about 11 thousand memorable gifts, jewelry and decorative items. This was reported by the capital’s Department of Trade and Services.
Guests especially loved craft chocolate, hand-made ice cream and pine cone jam. At each site, you could try meat and fish dishes cooked on the grill, and national culinary delicacies from vendors from all over the country.
From the world of gadgets to reality
In the summer, Muscovites attended concerts and theatrical performances by groups from all over Russia. Thousands of master classes were held at the venues of the festival “Summer in Moscow. Everyone out on the street!”, where adults and children made home decor, toys, jewelry and fashion accessories, as well as culinary masterpieces with the help of experienced chefs. Young guests attended programming, English and archeology classes, and drawing lessons with professional teachers. Plein airs were very popular.
More than 20 Moscow Seasons venues hosted fun starts, sports and board games, training sessions, as well as dance lessons, Zumba, yoga and stretching classes. In addition, Muscovites took part in transformation games that helped them return from the world of gadgets to reality, understand their goals and find ways to achieve them.
Dancing to the gramophone and games from childhood
At the creative evenings, visitors listened to poems and songs, discussed the works of classics, legendary plays and books, watched performances by contemporary artists. Lectures and creative classes with representatives of the fashion industry, writers and theater community were held at the Moscow Seasons venues.
On Nikitsky Boulevard, an open-air exhibition and art market were held for 100 days. An exhibition of paintings by young artists from the Moscow Exhibition Halls association was organized for city residents and tourists, and master classes on painting techniques and handicrafts were held.
The guests of the festival remembered the “Summer in Moscow. Everyone out on the street!” theme nights with gramophone music at the vintage market on Chistye Prudy, as well as the championship of the childhood game “Rock, Paper, Scissors”, in which residents of all Moscow districts took part.
More information about the activities of the Department of Trade and Services is available in the official telegram channel.
Please note: This information is raw content directly from the source of the information. It is exactly what the source states and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
Please note; This information is raw content directly from the information source. It is accurate to what the source is stating and does not reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.
http://vvv.mos.ru/nevs/item/144354073/
EDITOR’S NOTE: This article is a translation. Apologies should the grammar and or sentence structure not be perfect.
Washington, DC: On September 9, 2024, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with Bhutan[1].
During the past decade Bhutan adeptly balanced economic growth and poverty reduction with environmental sustainability. Sustained growth increased incomes, lifting living conditions and eliminating extreme monetary poverty by 2022. Bhutan has a long history of leading environmental conservation and climate change action and is committed to remaining carbon neutral. While the pandemic hindered economic development, strong policies limited its health impact.
Growth remained subdued during 2023. Large-scale emigration and policies to curb imports hindered a more robust recovery. Inflation accelerated in the second half of 2023, driven by wage increases in the public sector. The current account deficit (CAD) widened to around 30 percent of GDP driven by a large investment in crypto assets mining and the slow recovery in tourism. The fiscal deficit narrowed but remained high and non-hydro debt nearly doubled from pre-pandemic levels.
Boosted by hydro-power projects and grant-financed capital investment, growth is projected to accelerate over the medium term, averaging 6.3 percent of GDP, but to remain volatile. A gradual easing of inflation towards 4 percent is expected as the impact of wage increase subside. The CAD is expected to narrow, supported by higher electricity exports due to the commissioning of new hydropower plants, a continued recovery in tourism, and crypto assets exports. Securing diverse sources of growth that provide quality employment opportunities while preserving Bhutan’s commitment to environmental sustainability remains a key medium‑term challenge.
Uncertainty remains elevated with the balance of risks tilted to the downside. Domestic risks include slippages on implementation of the goods and services tax, delays in hydropower projects, and fiscal risks from the materialization of contingent liabilities in the financial sector. External risks include volatile commodity prices—particularly of fuel—and a global slowdown that could hinder non-hydro exports. Bhutan is vulnerable to climate change, given the importance of hydroelectricity and agriculture. Crypto mining entails significant upside and downside risks given their price volatility. Overall, the large external debt and persistent CADs—while supporting growth-enhancing investments and financed by development partners—are nonetheless a source of vulnerability. On the upside, the pursuit of stronger‑than-envisaged fiscal consolidation would accelerate the pace at which fiscal and external buffers are rebuilt.
Executive Directors agreed with the thrust of the staff appraisal. They commended Bhutan’s significant reduction in poverty and inequality during the last decade. Directors welcomed that growth is expected to accelerate over the medium term, boosted by a large hydroproject, higher capital spending, and the slowdown of emigration. Noting downside risks to the outlook, they underscored that tighter fiscal and monetary policies are needed to support the peg, reduce domestic and external imbalances, and rebuild buffers; while carefully managing potential risks stemming from crypto assets operations is also needed. Directors called for structural reforms to foster high-quality jobs in the private sector and diversify the economy, and commended the authorities’ commitment to ecological conservation and climate change action. They noted that continued support from the Fund’s capacity development is important.
Directors stressed that a gradual and sustained fiscal consolidation, based on revenue mobilization and spending restraint, is essential to rebuild buffers and preserve debt sustainability. They welcomed the authorities’ commitment to a timely implementation of the Goods and Services Tax and to undertaking additional tax and revenue administration measures to achieve the planned fiscal consolidation. Directors recommended strengthening public financial management, public investment management, and domestic debt management.
Directors underscored that monetary policy needs to be tightened in tandem with fiscal policy to ease balance-of-payment pressures and rebuild reserves. They stressed the need for a well-functioning domestic liquidity management framework to support the monetary policy operation function. Directors encouraged the authorities to phase out existing exchange restrictions once conditions allow. They noted the need to address remaining financial sector vulnerabilities, particularly given the expiration of COVID-related support measures. In this context, they welcomed the new guidelines and regulations to address credit quality and the progress in moving toward risk-based supervision. Directors recommended further enhancing the AML/CFT framework.
Directors called for structural reforms to diversify the economy and foster the creation of private sector jobs for high-skilled workers. They recommended improving the business environment, strengthening human capital accumulation, and improving active labor market policies. Directors welcomed efforts toward a new FDI policy, which relaxes some restrictions, including access to foreign currency, local employment requirements, and caps on foreign ownership. They also welcomed the improvements in data quality and called for further progress in this area.
Directors stressed the need to further strengthen public sector governance, including the Royal Monetary Authority’s (RMA) governance framework and independence as well as the transparency in the operations of state-owned enterprises. Noting the need to mitigate the potential risks stemming from crypto asset operations, they welcomed RMA’s efforts to strengthen its reserve management strategy and the forthcoming audited financial statements of crypto-mining operations.
[1] Under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, the IMF holds bilateral discussions with members, usually every year. A staff team visits the country, collects economic and financial information, and discusses with officials the country’s economic developments and policies. On return to headquarters, the staff prepares a report, which forms the basis for discussion by the Executive Board.
[2] At the conclusion of the discussion, the Managing Director, as Chairman of the Board, summarizes the
views of Executive Directors, and this summary is transmitted to the country’s authorities. An explanation
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Following are the opening remarks by the Secretary for Justice, Mr Paul Lam, SC, at the forum titled Hong Kong: The Common Law Gateway for Vietnamese Businesses to China and Beyond in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, today (September 24):Vice President Vo (Vice President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mr Vo Tan Thanh), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Good afternoon, xin chào buổi trưa. Firstly, a very warm welcome, a very big thank you to all of you joining our forum this afternoon co-organised by the Department of Justice of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Singapore and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The theme of today’s forum is “Hong Kong: The Common Law Gateway for Vietnamese Businesses to China and Beyond”. In my opening remarks, I simply wish to try to answer two questions, two very obvious questions that I suppose you have in mind. Firstly, who we are; secondly, why are we here. For the purpose of this forum, I have a very big delegation consisting not simply of government lawyers from my Department. The Department of Justice of Hong Kong is in fact quite similar to the Ministry of Justice in Vietnam. So, a lot of people would think I will be responsible for criminal prosecutions, giving advice to the Government. But perhaps not so well known is that, it is also one of my duties to promote legal services in Hong Kong to friends outside the jurisdiction. Apart from my colleagues from the Department of Justice, I am very fortunate to have the support of about 15 legal practitioners from Hong Kong. They are very experienced legal practitioners specialised in different areas. And in fact we have all together, if I recall correctly, six supporting organisations. And you can tell from the nature of the organisations to have some idea as to who these legal practitioners are representing. We have representatives from the two legal professional bodies in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Bar Association and the Law Society of Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, we still adopt the British system, we still have a divided legal profession. We have barristers who go to the courts to do advocacy work, and then we have solicitors handling all sorts of legal matters from non-contentious commercial matters to dispute resolution. So the representatives from two legal professional bodies, and then we have representatives from the main arbitration institutions in Hong Kong, including the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, HKIAC, which is the main arbitration institute in Hong Kong. We also have the South China International Arbitration Center (Hong Kong), which is also a very important institution. And then we have the AALCO, Asian African Legal Consultative Organization, with a regional arbitration centre in Hong Kong. We also have a representative from eBRAM which provides electronic services, not just for dispute resolution, but also for deal making. So from looking at the nature of these organisations, I hope you will be convinced that we have a wide spectrum of legal practitioners who are going to share their experiences and their knowledge about Hong Kong legal services to you in due course. Having told you very briefly who we are, the second question perhaps is even more relevant and important: Why are we here? What do we aim to achieve in the next couple of hours? We have two hours for the forum. We decided to share with you some of the things about Hong Kong which you may be interested in for the two hours. And I believe many of you will join our dinner after the forum, so it will be around four hours. A lot can be achieved within four hours. As I said earlier, I come across this question quite often. People wonder, in my capacity as the Secretary for Justice, I should be responsible for legal matters. It is not really my responsibility to promote trade and finance. I am not a minister of commerce. So what on earth am I doing here? To answer this very pertinent question, I think we should remind ourselves of the very close relationship between Vietnam and Hong Kong. I think we have to set the scene, we have to put things in context first. As a matter of fact. I am sure you would agree that Hong Kong and Vietnam share very close ties both as a matter of history and also at present. Now we are in the beautiful city of Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh is the founding father of Vietnam, and I am sure you would remember that Mr Ho Chi Minh actually founded the Communist Party of Vietnam in Hong Kong in the early 1930s. I had a very quick chat with Vice President Vo just a moment ago. He reminded me that in the last century, from the 60s, 70s, all the way up to 90s, a lot of trade concerning Vietnam actually went through Hong Kong for a lot of reasons. And then fast forward, what is the position as at today? At the moment, I think there are more than 7 000 Vietnamese settling in Hong Kong, because I attended the national day celebration held by the Consul-General of Vietnam last week, so I got all the figures. There are more than 7 000 Vietnamese settling in Hong Kong. We have a lot of good Vietnam restaurants. I like the pho and banh mi. But more than that, we have roads and streets in Hong Kong named after places in Vietnam. We have the Saigon Street, Hanoi Road, so on and so forth. Last October, the Hong Kong Government has relaxed some immigration regulations, and as a result, it is much easier and convenient for Vietnamese talent to come to work in Hong Kong. In addition, the criteria for taking multiple visas, either as tourists or on business, have also been relaxed. And a little bit closer to today, about two months ago, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Government came to Vietnam. I think he held a forum exactly in this particular venue. On that occasion, I was told that altogether 22 co-operation agreements have been signed between business people in Ho Chi Minh City and Hong Kong, covering a wide range of areas. And you look at the figures, look at the statistics, Vietnam is Hong Kong’s second-largest trading partner within ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries. I don’t remember the exact figures, but the amount is huge. And in terms of direct investment in Vietnam, the Vice President also confirmed to me that Hong Kong ranks among the top five. So plainly, if you put the matter in context, the relationship between Vietnam and Hong Kong has always been very close. And we look to the future. The Permanent Deputy Prime Minister of Vietnam actually paid a visit to Hong Kong about two weeks ago to attend the Belt and Road Summit. And he gave a very inspiring speech touching upon the relationship between Vietnam and Hong Kong. He mentioned the development plan of “Two Corridors, One Belt”, which is a very important development plan of Vietnam. He said he is hoping that we can connect the Vietnamese “Two Corridors, One Belt” plan with the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by China. So these two plans actually can have a sort of very good synergy. So this is the background that I would like to remind ourselves. But still you might think, well, I haven’t answered the very pertinent question yet, because so far I did not mention the word “law” very often. So how is legal service, how are lawyers in Hong Kong relevant to what I have said to the future relationship between the jurisdictions? I think the answer must be obvious, because most of you are very successful, very influential business people in Vietnam, and most of you will be engaged in international commercial investment transactions. And you must recognise that no matter how much you hate lawyers, in particular the fees that they are charging you, lawyers are indispensable from the moment you decided to set up a business in a foreign place to the point you have to negotiate or conclude a contract with a foreign party; when it comes to how to manage your risk when you set up a business in a particular place, including: should I be concerned about the labour law there, tax or whatsoever; and in the im
portant event that you run into dispute with your business partner or other people that clearly you will require legal service to assist you to resolve dispute. So the point that I wish to make is that, in the whole business cycle, I would use the analogy “from cradle to grave” but need to be more precise in the context from the inception of a business to the termination, to the point when you rip your profit from your joint venture, at each and every stage, legal service would be indispensable. But that still doesn’t answer the question. Assuming legal service is indispensable, obviously you have to consider who should I instruct? Legal services of which jurisdiction would be to my advantage, would serve my best interest? Now, here comes the ultimate objective of today’s event. I am hoping that after four hours, you will be convinced that Hong Kong will be your best choice. I am not suggesting that Hong Kong is the only choice because the choice is yours, but I am assisting you to make an informed choice. We will be trying our best to persuade you that among all the options, Hong Kong is the best choice. Why? Because Hong Kong is a common law gateway for Vietnamese businesses to China and beyond. This is my short answer. We do have a long answer, but I am afraid that the long answer is not going to be given by me. It is going to be provided by my eminent friends coming from Hong Kong. They will speak from their own area of practices, from their experiences to substantiate the point that I wish to make. And of course, after they share their experiences and what they wish to tell you, at dinner time, I am hoping that most of you would join the dinner, I will have the chance to speak to you again, just to do my closing submission. I will wait for your verdict at the end of your dinner. On this note, I hope you all have a very enjoyable afternoon and a very fruitful afternoon. And I hope that I will be able to convince you, because the duty of a lawyer is to convince people. I will be failing my duty if I am unsuccessful in this respect. I need your support and I am very optimistic because I have very good friends with me doing the job together with me. Thank you very much.
Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr. Kao Kim Hourn, today addressed the China-ASEAN Silk Road E-commerce Open Cooperation Promotion Event in Nanning, China. In his remarks, Dr. Kao emphasized three key areas where ASEAN and China can collaborate to unlock the full potential of e-commerce, including: building on existing digital transformation initiatives, maximizing the benefits of RCEP and ACFTA 3.0, and encouraging greater collaboration between major e-commerce platform to empower MSMEs.
Download the full remarks here.
The post Secretary-General of ASEAN opens the China-ASEAN Silk Road E-commerce Open Cooperation Promotion Event appeared first on ASEAN Main Portal.
It’s been less than six months since Google Cloud Next, and the pace of innovation across industries has been nothing short of extraordinary. We’re proud of our AI leadership and differentiation as we continue pushing the technology frontier for our customers. From launching more powerful versions of Gemini 1.5 Pro, to rolling out general availability for Gemini Flash and Imagen 3, to investing in our Vertex AI platform, our teams have been building off the product momentum of Next. And all of this innovation is driving incredible use of our products.
Today, as part of our Gemini at Work global event, we are showcasing nearly 50 new customer stories from organizations around the world to highlight just how impactful generative AI can be when you put it to work at scale — including Pods, Snap, Volkswagen US, Warner Bros. Discovery and many others. We’re inspired by what customers are building and excited by how quickly they’ve been able to move ideas from experimentation into production with our Vertex AI platform. We’re also seeing major boosts in productivity through Gemini for Google Workspace, with customers saving an average of 105 minutes per user, per week, according to our recent study of enterprise customers.
They can access and customize the best foundation models from both Google and the industry, including Gemini. We are the only Cloud provider to offer widely-used first-party, third-party, and open models. Enterprises want to choose a platform that gives them choice.
They can create sophisticated gen AI agents and experiences faster with our single, integrated development platform, Vertex AI. It sits on top of our world-class infrastructure and is the only unified platform that lets customers discover and access models, tune and augment models, and create, ground, deploy, and manage AI agents and experiences.
They can be more productive with our AI agents. We offer Gemini for Google Cloud and Gemini for Google Workspace, as well as purpose-built agents for Customer Engagement and Search. Customers are really appreciating these packaged agents, in addition to building their own.
They are deploying models with confidence, with the most comprehensive approach to grounding in enterprise truth. This significantly improves response accuracy and completeness, and lets them control their brand voice and customer experience.
Six types of AI agents
We continue to see customers and partners benefiting from AI agents — intelligent systems that go beyond simple chat and predictions, to proactively take actions. What makes AI agents unique is they help achieve specific goals, whether that’s guiding a shopper to the perfect pair of shoes, helping an employee look for the right health benefits, or supporting nursing staff with smoother patient hand-offs during shift changes. We see AI agents centering around six use cases:
Customer agents help make great recommendations
Customer agents work seamlessly across channels including the web, mobile, and point of sale, and can be integrated into product experiences with voice and video.
Bell Canada pioneered using digital agents to provide self-service — improving customer experience and delivering $20 million in cost savings.
Best Buy resolves issues up to 90 seconds faster using automated call summarization.
GoTo Group launched Dira, a Bahasa Indonesia AI-powered voice assistant integrated into their GoPay fintech app. Customers use voice commands and complete tasks like bill payments and money transfers with fewer steps. Check out a live demo of the app from GoTo in this video.
ScottsMiracle-Gro built an AI agent on Google Cloud Vertex AI to provide tailored gardening advice and product recommendations.
Snap deployed the multimodal capability of Gemini within their “My AI” chatbot and has since seen over 2.5x as much engagement within Snapping to My AI in the United States.
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Telecom Italia (TIM) implemented a Google-powered voice agent to address many customer calls, increasing efficiency by 20%.
UPS Capital uses an agent built on Google Cloud technology to analyze package movements, insurance claims, and address data in real time to identify anomalies.
Volkswagen US built a virtual assistant in the myVW app, where drivers can explore their owners’ manuals and ask questions such as, “How do I change a flat tire?” or “What does this digital cockpit indicator light mean?” Users can also use Gemini’s multi-modal capabilities to see helpful information and context on indicator lights simply by pointing their smartphone cameras at their dashboards. Watch how the myVW app works in this demo.
We continue to build on this momentum with our own packaged agents. For example, today we are announcing Customer Engagement Suite with Google AI, an end-to-end application that combines the rich features of our leading Contact Center AI solution with the latest gen AI capabilities.
This new solution offers four key benefits:
Omnichannel features, so you can orchestrate consistent customer experiences across web, mobile, voice, email, and apps with a single platform.
Multimodal approach, so your customers can use text, voice, and images.
Rule-based controls AND generative AI so you can address a broad range of issues that may come up from your customers. For instance, a customer speaking with a bank representative may have to verify their identity through a specific set of verification questions. At the same time, they may ask the bank: “Tell me what’s the best mortgage offering for me? Can you compare it across the products you offer?” The first requires a deterministic flow. The second requires a generative flow.
Grounding to provide the highest levels of accuracy
All of this can be connected with any customer service application — whether it’s a SaaS application like Salesforce, Servicenow, SAP, Dynamics, or Oracle — or an on-premise app.
Employee agents help workers collaborate and get more done
Employee agents can streamline processes, manage repetitive tasks, answer employee questions, as well as edit and translate critical communications.
Click Therapeutics develops prescription digital therapeutics designed to treat disease. Their Clinical Operations team leverages Gemini for Google Workspace to transform complex operations data into actionable insights; so they can quickly pinpoint ways to streamline the patient experience in clinical trials.
Dun & Bradstreet built an email-generation tool with Gemini that helps sellers create tailored, personalized communications to prospects and customers for its research services. They also developed intelligent search capabilities to help users with complex queries like, “Find me all the companies in this area with a high ESG rating.”
Elanco, a world leader in animal health, has implemented a gen AI framework, powered by Vertex AI and Gemini, to support critical business processes, such as Pharmacovigilance, Customer Orders, and Clinical Insights. This has resulted in an estimated ROI of $1.9 million since launching last year.
Randstad is using Gemini for Google Workspace to enhance our relationships internally and externally with candidates, making them more efficient and giving them time back to focus on the human aspect of their work.
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SURA Investments, the largest Asset Manager in Latin America, developed a gen AI-powered analysis model for employees built on Google Cloud that allows them to better understand customer needs. It has already improved sentiment analysis on more than 90% of calls and delivered a 10-point increase in customer satisfaction.
Thomson Reuters added Gemini Pro to its suite of large language models (LLM). The 2 million token context window makes some skills as much as 10x times faster to process and unlocks the ability to create new skills that require the LLM to process entire documents in context
The employee agents we deliver through Gemini for Google Workspace, our leading collaboration and productivity tools, are helping customers get more done, with greater confidence and in less time. In a recent survey of our enterprise customers using Gemini, we found they save an average of 105 minutes per user, per week. And it’s not just about getting more done, but getting it done really well — 75% of daily Gemini for Workspace users say it improves the quality of their work.
To help more people boost productivity with AI, we’re making the Gemini app with enterprise-grade data protection available as part of existing Google Workspace subscriptions. Starting next month, customers will have a round-the-clock brainstorming partner, research assistant, and more, to help where they need it most.
Data agents help you do research and data analysis more effectively
Data agents can help answer questions about internal and external sources, synthesize research, develop new models — and, best of all, help find the questions we haven’t even thought to ask yet, and then get the answers.
Bayer’s Crop Science team developed a Field Answers application built on Vertex AI to make critical, timely decisions in the field, contributing to more sustainable and efficient farming.
The CME Group is building a first-of-its-kind cloud-based commodities trading platform with Google Cloud’s AI tools built in, offering CME’s trading customers access to deeper insights and smarter trades as well as rapid experimentation on new trading strategies that won’t interrupt existing trade flows
Hiscox, one of the oldest syndicates in Lloyd’s of London, used BigQuery and Vertex AI to create the first AI-enhanced lead underwriting model, automating quoting for complex risks, from three days down to a few minutes.
Ipsos, a multinational market research firm, built a data analysis tool grounded in Google Search for its market researchers, eliminating the need for time-consuming requests to analysts.
Intelligencia AI, a healthcare technology company, uses Cloud SQL for Postgres for the data infrastructure that powers its AI-driven drug development predictions, enabling the company to deliver accurate and transparent results to customers, while reducing overhead.
NeuroPace, a medical device company, built a solution using Google Cloud gen AI technologies, to quickly identify effective epilepsy treatment options. By analyzing brainwave patterns, they can find similar patients and apply successful therapies faster.
Warner Bros. Discovery built an AI captioning tool with Vertex AI and saw a 50% reduction in overall costs, and an 80% reduction in the time it takes to manually caption a file without the use of machine learning.
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Security agents significantly increase the speed of investigations
Security agents automate monitoring and response for greater vigilance and compliance controls. They can also help guard data and models from cyberattacks, such as malicious prompt injection.
Apex Fintech has accelerated the creation of complex threat detections, reducing the time required from hours to mere seconds with Google SecOps.
Certify OS is working with Google Cloud to automate credentialing, licensing, and monitoring of medical providers for healthcare networks, relieving the burden of time-consuming and often siloed information.
Fiserv is working with Gemini in Security Operations to summarize threats, find answers, and detect, validate, and respond to security events faster.
NetRise‘s “Trace” product is enabling AI-powered semantic search — built using Google Cloud gen AI — in the software supply chain.
Creative agents can help everyone build design, artistic or production skills
Creative agents can empower organizations with the best design and production skills, working across images, slides, and more. Many businesses are building agents alongside their marketing teams, audio and video production teams, and creative teams to help explore and build creative concepts.
Formula E is using Google Cloud gen AI to summarize two-hour-long race commentary into a two-minute podcast in any language, using driver data and ongoing seasonal storylines.
Globo, the largest media group in Latin America, is using Google Cloud’s AI to hyper-personalize content for its streaming users, and create a better experience for spectators.
PODS, working with advertising agency Tombras, used Gemini to create the “World’s Smartest Billboard,” a campaign on their trucks that could adapt to each neighborhood in New York City. The ads used live feeds of data so they updated in real-time hitting all 299 neighborhoods in just 29 hours creating more than 6,000 headlines.
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PUMA is using Imagen to customize product photos on their website, saving time and ensuring they are locally relevant. Puma India has already seen a 10% increase in click-through rate, and they share how they did it in this demo.
Radisson Hotel Group worked with Accenture and Google Cloud to use Vertex AI and Gemini models to personalize its advertising at scale by training AI models on extensive datasets stored in BigQuery; ad teams saw productivity rise 50% while revenue increased from AI-powered campaigns by more than 20%.
Google’s open platform drives more momentum with partners and customers
The success of AI depends on an open platform that offers choice, is easy to integrate with existing systems, and is supported by a broad ecosystem. Google Cloud works closely with important partners, like Accenture and Deloitte, who report more than 45% of their Google Cloud gen AI projects have moved from proof of concept to production. In addition, expanded partnerships and dedicated Google Cloud centers of excellence with Accenture, BCG, Cognizant, Deloitte, HCLTech, KPMG, McKinsey, PwC, and Wipro have spurred thousands of successful projects. This collaborative ecosystem is the key to unlocking AI’s true potential. At Google Cloud, we truly value our partnership with this ecosystem, which is vital to helping our entire industry in its transformation — from systems updates to organizational change management to an overall mindset shift.
We’re inspired by the ingenuity and speed with which our customers are embracing gen AI. And we continue to work hard to partner with customers to help them deliver real business value in the form of incremental leads, conversions, sales, and profits. We’re committed to taking a bold and responsible approach to make AI helpful for everyone, helping organizations of all sizes solve real-world challenges in entirely new ways.
This is the new way to cloud. It’s a journey we’re on together with all of you — our customers and partners — all around the world.
This post originally appeared on theTransform with Google Cloud blog. It was first published April 12, 2024; last updated with new use cases September 24, 2024.
Since generative AI first captured the world’s attention, there’s been a vigorous discussion about what, exactly, the new technology is best used for. While we all enjoyed those early funny chats and witty limericks, we’ve quickly discovered that many of the biggest AI opportunities are clearly in the enterprise, government, and with exciting new companies.
When we first published this post during Google Cloud Next ‘24, we showcased 101 of the best use cases out of the hundreds featured across the event. Now, we’re adding another 84 to the list as customers across the globe continue to put generative AI to work.
[If you’ve visited this post in the past, you can find the newest use cases listed at the top of each section.]
In a matter of months, organizations have gone from AI helping answer questions, to AI making predictions, to generative AI agents. What makes AI agents unique is that they can take actions to achieve specific goals, whether that’s guiding a shopper to the perfect pair of shoes, helping an employee looking for the right health benefits, or supporting nursing staff with smoother patient hand-offs during shifts changes.
In our work with customers, we keep hearing that their teams are increasingly focused on improving productivity, automating processes, and modernizing the customer experience. These aims are now being achieved through the AI agents they’re developing in six key areas: customer service; employee empowerment; code creation; data analysis; cybersecurity; and creative ideation and production.
Hundreds of Google Cloud customers have now put AI agents and gen-AI solutions into production throughout their businesses and the world — with many seeing a tangible return on investment. They have come to rely on Google Cloud technologies that include our AI infrastructure, Gemini models, Vertex AI platform, Google Workspace, and Google Distributed Cloud.
Here’s a snapshot of how 185 of these industry leaders are putting AI to use today, creating real-world use cases that will transform tomorrow.
Customer agents
Similar to great sales and service people, customer agents are able to listen carefully, understand your needs, and recommend the right products and services. They work seamlessly across channels including the web, mobile, and point of sale, and can be integrated into product experiences with voice and video.
1.Alaska Airlines is developing natural language search, providing travelers with a conversational experience powered by AI that’s akin to interacting with a knowledgeable travel agent. This chatbot aims to streamline travel booking, enhance customer experience, and reinforce brand identity.
2. Bennie Health uses Vertex AI to power its innovative employee health benefits platform, providing actionable insights and streamlining data management in order to enhance efficiency and decision-making for employees and HR teams.
3. Beyond 12, a tech-enabled nonprofit focused on student empowerment, has developed an AI-powered college coach to offer scalable coaching to first-generation students that’s available over text, app, and the web.
4. CareerVillage is building an app called Coach to empower job seekers, especially underrepresented youth, in their career preparedness; already featuring 35 career development activities, the aim is to have more than 100 by next year.
5. Character.ai built its realistic conversational chat platform using the full stack of Google Cloud AI services, including for model training and daily operations, allowing it to manage terabytes of conversations each day without interruption.
6. Click Therapeutics develops prescription digital therapeutics designed to treat disease. Its Clinical Operations team leverages Gemini for Google Workspace to transform complex operations data into actionable insights, so they can quickly pinpoint ways to streamline the patient experience in clinical trials.
7. Formula E can now summarize a two-hour long race commentary into a 2-minute podcast in any language, incorporating driver data and ongoing seasonal storylines.
8. General Motors’ OnStar has been augmented with new AI features, including a virtual assistant powered by Google Cloud’s conversational AI technologies that are better able to recognize the speaker’s intent.
9. Gojek, an Indonesia-based super app, launched “Dira by GoTo AI,” a Bahasa Indonesia AI-powered voice assistant integrated into their GoPay service, allowing customers to use voice command to eliminate typing and scrolling, and complete tasks like bill payments and money transfers with fewer steps.
10. GroupBy, an ecommerce service provider, developed an AI-first Search and Discovery Platform powered by Vertex AI Search for Retail. This solution is meticulously designed to optimize revenue, strengthen brand loyalty, and drive sales growth for B2C and B2B retailers.
11. Hotelplan Suisse built a chatbot trained on the business’s travel expertise to answer customer inquiries in real-time, and, following that success, it plans to use gen AI to create travel content.
12. Justicia Lab is developing an AI-powered assistant that will simplify legal processes for asylum seekers and immigrants; by uploading a picture from a legal letter or document, users can extract valuable information and then receive personalized guidance and next steps.
13. Mercado Libre has incorporated semantic search into its digital shopping platforms, using AI embeddings from the Vertex AI Agent Builder, which greatly improved product recommendations and discoverability for more than 200 million consumers across Latin America.
14. Motorola’s Moto AI leverages Gemini and Imagen to help smartphone users unlock new levels of productivity, creativity, and enjoyment with features such as conversation summaries, notification digests, image creation, and natural language search — all with reliable responses grounded in Google Search.
15. mRelief has built an SMS-accessible AI chatbot to simplify the application process for the SNAP food assistance program in the U.S., featuring easy-to-understand eligibility information and direct assistance within minutes rather than days.
16. Personal AI offers a “personal language model” using only the data of one individual or brand and allowing them to control and own how it is used. Built on your own data, facts, and opinions, it creates a responsive and interactive messaging experience that helps people be more productive and deepen relationships.
17. PODS worked with the advertising agency Tombras to create the “World’s Smartest Billboard” using Gemini — a campaign on its trucks that could adapt to each neighborhood in New York City, changing in real-time based on data. It hit all 299 neighborhoods in just 29 hours, creating more than 6,000 unique headlines.
18. Quora developed Poe, its own generative AI platform for people to discover and chat with AI-powered bots, including Gemini, Anthropic’s Claude, Meta’s Llama, and Mistral’s Large 2 — many of which are hosted on Google Cloud’s purpose-built AI infrastructure.
19. ScottsMiracle-Gro built an AI agent on Vertex AI to provide tailored gardening advice and product recommendations for consumers.
20. Snap has deployed the multimodal capability of Gemini within its “My AI” chatbot and has since seen over 2.5-times as much engagement within Snapping to My AI in the United States.
21. Tabiya has built a conversational interface, Compass, that helps young people find employment opportunities; the platform asks questions and requests information, drawing out skills and experiences and matching those to appropriate roles.
22. Telecom Italia (TIM) implemented a Google-powered voice agent to address many customer calls, increasing efficiency by 20%.
23. UPS Capital launched DeliveryDefense Address Confidence, which uses machine learning and UPS data to provide a confidence score for shippers to help them determine the likelihood of a successful delivery.
24. Volkswagen of America built a virtual assistant in the myVW app, where drivers can explore their owners’ manuals and ask questions, such as, “How do I change a flat tire?” or “What does this digital cockpit indicator light mean?” Users can also use Gemini’s multimodal capabilities to see helpful information and context on indicator lights simply by pointing their smartphone cameras at the dashboard.
25. ADT is building a customer agent to help its millions of customers select, order, and set up their home security.
26. Alaska Airlines is developing a personalized travel search experience using advanced AI techniques, creating hyper-personalized recommendations that engage customers early and foster loyalty through AI-generated content.
27. Best Buy is using Gemini to launch a generative AI-powered virtual assistant this summer that can troubleshoot product issues, reschedule order deliveries, manage Geek Squad subscriptions, and more; in-store and digital customer-service associates are also gaining gen-AI tools to better serve customers anywhere they need help.
28. The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is using Vertex AI to modernize transportation operations for a smoother, more efficient journey.
29. Etsy uses Vertex AI training to optimize their search recommendations and ads models, delivering better listing suggestions to buyers and helping sellers grow their businesses.
30. IHG Hotels & Resorts is building a generative AI-powered chatbot to help guests easily plan their next vacation directly in the IHG One Rewards mobile app.
31. ING Bank aims to offer a superior customer experience and has developed a gen-AI chatbot for workers to enhance self-service capabilities and improve answer quality on customer queries.
32. Magalu, one of Brazil’s largest retailers, has put customer service at the center of its AI strategy, including using Vertex AI to create “Lu’s Brain” to power an interactive conversational agent for Lu, Magalu’s popular brand persona (the 3D bot has more than 14 million followers between TikTok and Instagram).
33. Mercedes Benz will infuse e-commerce capabilities into its online storefront with a gen AI-powered smart sales assistant. Mercedes also plans to expand its use of Google Cloud AI in its call centers and is using Vertex AI and Gemini to personalize marketing campaigns.
34. Oppo/OnePlus is incorporating Gemini models and Google Cloud AI into their phones to deliver innovative customer experiences, including news and audio recording summaries, AI toolbox, and more.
35. Samsung is deploying Gemini Pro and Imagen 2 to their Galaxy S24 smartphones so users can take advantage of amazing features like text summarization, organization, and magical image editing.
36. The Minnesota Division of Driver and Vehicle Services helps non-English speakers get licenses and other services with two-way real-time translation.
37. Pepperdine University has students and faculty who speak many languages, and with Gemini in Google Meet, they can benefit from real-time translated captioning and notes.
38. Sutherland, a leading digital transformation company, is focused on bringing together human expertise and AI, including boosting its client-facing teams by automatically surfacing suggested responses and automating insights in real time.
39. Target uses Google Cloud to power AI solutions on the Target app and Target.com, including personalized Target Circle offers and Starbucks at Drive Up, their curbside pickup solution.
40. Tokopedia, an Indonesian ecommerce leader, is using Vertex AI to improve data quality, increasing unique products being sold by 5%.
41. US News saw a double-digit impact in key metrics like click-through rate, time spent on page, and traffic volume to its pages after implementing Vertex AI Search.
42-45. IntesaSanpaolo, MacquarieBank, and Scotiabank are exploring the potential of gen AI to transform the way we live, work, bank, and invest — particularly how the new technology can boost productivity and operational efficiency in banking.
Employee agents
Employee agents help workers be more productive and collaborate better together. These agents can streamline processes, manage repetitive tasks, answer employee questions, as well as edit and translate critical communications.
46. 2bots offers technology solutions, such as chatbots and virtual agents, built with Google Cloud’s AI solutions; these intelligent chatbots and content generation tools are transforming the way companies interact with their customers.
47. Augment is building an AI personal assistant that offers enhanced note-taking and collects information across your apps, including calendar, email, texts, and social media, so users can more quickly and easily find personal information and keep their lives organized.
48. Bayes Impact builds AI products to support nonprofits, and its flagship product, CaseAI, is a digital case manager that integrates with an NGO’s current system to add smart features to draft action plans tailored to a beneficiary’s unique history; caseworkers have saved 25 hours of work per week on average.
49. Bell Canada has built customizable contact center solutions for its business customers that offer AI-powered agents to address callers, and Agent Assist, which listens when a human agent is on, offering suggestions and sentiment analysis. AI has contributed $20 million in savings across customer operations.
50. Best Buy can generate conversation summaries in real time using Contact Center AI, allowing live agents to give their full attention to understanding and supporting customers, resulting in a 30-to-90-second reduction in average call time and after-call work. Both customers and agents have cited improved satisfaction.
51. Camanchaca, a Chilean seafood company, took only six weeks to develop Elon, a virtual assistant that aims to provide more efficient customer service through digital channels, enhancing Camanchaca’s customer interactions.
52. Certify OS is automating credentialing, licensing, and monitoring of medical providers for healthcare networks, relieving the burden of time-consuming and often siloed information.
53. Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs widely uses Gemini for Google Workspace, estimating that employees are saving an average five hours per week just with AI capabilities in Gmail. Gemini is also streamlining time-consuming, manual processes through uses like AI-generated transcriptions and auto-formatting of pharmaceutical lab results or FDA compliance documentation.
54. Dun & Bradstreet built an email-generation tool with Gemini that helps sellers create tailored, personalized communications to prospects and customers for its research services. The company also developed intelligent search capabilities to help users with complex queries like, “Find me all the companies in this area with a high ESG rating.”
55. England’s Football Association is training Vertex AI on the FA’s historical and current scouting reports so they can be transformed into concise summaries, helping national teams discover future talent.
56. Fireflies.ai can transcribe, summarize, and analyze meetings, recordings, and other voice conversations to save time and improve collaboration and information sharing across teams.
57. Fluna, a Pan-African digital services company, has automated the analysis and drafting of legal agreements using Vertex AI, Document AI, and Gemini 1.5 Pro, achieving an accuracy of 92% in data extraction while ensuring security and reliability for sensitive information.
58. Hemominas, Brazil’s largest blood bank, partnered with Xertica to develop an omnichannel chatbot for donor search and scheduling, streamlining processes and enhancing efficiency. The AI solution has the potential to save half-a-million lives annually by attracting more donors and optimizing blood supply management.
59. Hiscox used BigQuery and Vertex AI to create the first AI-enhanced lead underwriting model for insurers, automating and accelerating the quoting for complex risks from three days down to a few minutes.
60. LiveX AI delivers AI Agents that swiftly enhance product education, boost customer conversion, reduce churn, and provide personalized customer support, with the goal of offering everyone a seamless VIP experience across their customer journey.
61. Opportunity@Work is applying gen AI to scale a suite of software tools and APIs that help employers identify “STAR” job candidates — “skilled through alternative routes” such as community college, military service, and on-the-job experience — helping fill roles in a tight market and expand opportunities.
62. QuantumMetric has introduced Felix AI, powered by Gemini Pro, to simplify digital analytics and decision making. Felix AI automatically summarizes a user’s web or mobile session and consolidates the moments that matter most into short, readable summaries for customer service workers.
63. Randstad, a large HR services and talent provider, is using Gemini for Workspace across its organization to transform its work culture, leading to a more culturally diverse and inclusive workplace that’s seen a double-digit reduction in sick days.
64. Sprinklr built Sprinklr AI+ into its unified customer experience management platform, giving brands gen-AI capabilities for customer service, insights, social media management, and marketing that has enterprise-grade governance, security, and data privacy built-in.
65. Thomson Reuters added Gemini Pro to its suite of large language models approved for employee use; with its 2-million-token context window, Gemini makes some tasks as much as 10-times faster to process and can process entire documents in context.
66. Warner Bros. Discovery built an AI captioning tool with Vertex AI and saw a 50% reduction in overall costs, and an 80% reduction in the time it takes to manually caption a file without the use of machine learning.
67. The U.S. Air Force built a new proof-of-concept portal for searching, browsing, and reading e-published PDFs — all within a 90-day deadline that leveraged the prebuilt tools and speed of Vertex AI Search and Conversation.
68. Avery Dennison empowered their employees with generative AI to enable secure, flexible, and borderless collaboration for enhanced productivity to drive growth.
69. Bank of New York Mellon built a virtual assistant to help employees find relevant information and answers to their questions.
70. Bayer is building a radiology platform that will assist radiologists with data analysis, intelligent search, and to create documents that meet healthcare requirements needed for regulatory approval. The bioscience company is also harnessing BigQuery and Vertex AI to develop additional digital medical solutions and drugs more efficiently.
71. Bristol Myers Squibb is transforming its document processes for clinical trials using Vertex AI and Google Workspace. Now, documentation that took scientists weeks now gets to a first draft in minutes.
72. BenchSci develops generative AI solutions empowering scientists to understand complex connections in biological research, saving them time and financial resources and ultimately bringing new medicine to patients faster.
73. Cintas is using Vertex AI Search to develop an internal knowledge center for customer service and sales teams to easily find key information.
74. Covered California, the state’s healthcare marketplace, is using Document AI to help improve the consumer and employee experience by automating parts of the documentation and verification process when residents apply for coverage.
75. Dasa, the largest medical diagnostics company in Brazil, is helping physicians detect relevant findings in test results more quickly.
76. DaVita leverages DocAI and Healthcare NLP to transform kidney care, including analyzing medical records, uncovering critical patient insights, and reducing errors. AI enables physicians to focus on personalized care, resulting in significant improvements in healthcare delivery.
77. Discover Financial helps their 10,000 contact center representatives to search and synthesize information across detailed policies and procedures during calls.
78. HCA Healthcare is testing Cati, a virtual AI caregiver assistant that helps to ensure continuity of care when one caregiver shift ends and another begins. They are also using gen AI to improve workflows on time-consuming tasks, such as clinical documentation, so physicians and nurses can focus more on patient care.
79. The Home Depot has built an application called Sidekick, which helps store associates manage inventory and keep shelves stocked; notably, vision models help associates prioritize which actions to take.
80. Los Angeles Rams are utilizing AI across the board from content analysis to player scouting.
81. McDonald’s will leverage data, AI, and edge technologies across its thousands of restaurants to implement innovation faster and to enhance employee and customer experiences.
82. Pennymac, a leading US-based national mortgage lender, is using Gemini across several teams including HR, where Gemini in Docs, Sheets, Slides and Gmail is helping them accelerate recruiting, hiring, and new employee onboarding.
83. Robert Bosch, the world’s largest automotive supplier, revolutionizes marketing through gen AI-powered solutions, streamlining processes, optimizing resource allocation, and maximizing efficiency across 100+ decentralized departments.
84. Symphony, the communications platform for the financial services industry, uses Vertex AI to help finance and trading teams collaborate across multiple asset classes.
85. Uber is using AI agents to help employees be more productive, save time, and be even more effective at work. For customer service representatives, they’ve launched new tools that summarize communications with users and can even surface context from previous interactions, so front-line staff can be more helpful and effective.
86. The U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs is using AI at the edge to improve cancer detection for service members and veterans. The Augmented Reality Microscope (ARM) is deployed at remote military treatment facilities around the world. The prototype device is helping pathologists find cancer faster and with better accuracy.
87. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has improved the quality and efficiency of their patent and trademark examination process by implementing AI-driven technologies.
88. Verizon is using generative AI to help teams in network operations and customer experience get the answers they need faster.
89. Victoria’s Secret is testing AI-powered agents to help their in-store associates find information about product availability, inventory, and fitting and sizing tips, so they can better tailor recommendations to customers.
90. Vodafone uses Vertex AI to search and understand specific commercial terms and conditions across more than 10,000 contracts with more than 800 communications operators
91. WellSky is integrating Google Cloud’s healthcare and Vertex AI capabilities to reduce the time spent completing documentation outside work hours.
92. Woolworths, the leading retailer in Australia, boosts employees’ confidence in communications with “Help me write” across Google Workspace products for more than 10,000 administrative employees. It’s also using Gemini to create next-generation promotions, as well as for quickly assisting customer service reps in summarizing all previous customer interactions in real time.
93-97. Box, Typeface, Glean, CitiBank, and Securiti AI discuss developing AI-powered apps across the enterprise, with measurable returns on investment for marketing, financial services, and HR use cases.
98-99. Highmark Health and Freenome join Bristol Myers Squibb to explore how AI can improve efficiency and innovation across care delivery, drug discovery, clinical trial planning, and bringing medicines to market.
Code agents
Code agents are helping developers and product teams to design, create, and operate applications faster and better, and to ramp up on new languages and code bases. Many organizations are already seeing double-digit gains in productivity, leading to faster deployment and cleaner, clearer code.
100. Labelbox has built a fully managed AI model evaluation solution directly integrated into the Vertex AI platform, allowing Google Cloud users to seamlessly launch human evaluation jobs and set specific criteria for evaluation, such as question-answering and summarization; this eases and accelerates the ability to deploy human-in-the-loop AI systems with higher levels of trust and authority.
101. Leroy Merlin, a global home improvement retailer, developed its Pull Request Analyzer using Vertex AI. This generative AI solution summarizes code changes, helping developers understand projects faster and improve code review efficiency.
102. Linear, a product development platform, built Similar Issues, a feature that uses AI to detect and prevent duplicate or overlapping tickets and ensures cleaner and more accurate data representation.
103. Magic is building a developer platform with a 100-million-token context window, so organizations can upload extremely large code bases and more easily query and build on them using gen AI assistance.
104. Pinecone provides infrastructure for developers to build accurate, secure, and scalable AI applications, allowing companies to easily ground gen AI apps in their proprietary data for use in AI search, retrieval-augmented generation, coding agents, and more.
105. Regnology built its Ticket-to-Code Writer tool with Gemini 1.5 Pro to automate the conversion of bug tickets into actionable code, significantly streamlining the software development process.
106. Weights & Biases, a creator of AI tools for developers, created W&B Weave, a lightweight toolkit to track, evaluate, and debug gen AI applications built with Gemini, so teams can confidently go from demo to production.
107. Capgemini has been using Code Assist to improve software engineering productivity, quality, security, and developer experience, with early results showing workload gains for coding and more stable code quality.
108. Commerzbank is enhancing developer efficiency through Code Assist’s robust security and compliance features.
109. Quantiphi saw developer productivity gains of more than 30% during their Code Assist pilot.
110. Replit developers will get access to Google Cloud infrastructure, services, and foundation models via Ghostwriter, Replit’s software development AI, while Google Cloud and Workspace developers will get access to Replit’s collaborative code editing platform.
111. Seattle Children’s hospital is using AI to boost data engineering productivity and accelerate development.
112. Turing is customizing Gemini Code Assist on their private codebase, empowering their developers with highly personalized and contextually relevant coding suggestions that have increased productivity around 30 percent and made day-to-day coding more enjoyable.
113. Wayfair piloted Code Assist, and those developers with the code agent were able to set up their environments 55 percent faster than before, there was a 48 percent increase in code performance during unit testing, and 60 percent of developers reported that they were able to focus on more satisfying work.
Data agents
Data agents are like having knowledgeable data analysts and researchers at your fingertips. They can help answer questions about internal and external sources, synthesize research, develop new models — and, best of all, help find the questions we haven’t even thought to ask yet, and then help get the answers.
114. 180Seguros is powering its data management platform for employees with Google Cloud AI and BigQuery to improve operational metric tracking, allowing for 3X faster query times.
115. Addy AI is helping mortgage lenders and banks automate their lending processes with custom AI models trained on Vertex AI. For example, the platform can extract loan opportunity details from lengthy email threads with numerous attachments.
116. Bayer Crop Science has developed Climate FieldView, a comprehensive agricultural platform with more than 250 layers of data and billions of data points; AI-powered recommendations allow farmers to design and monitor their fields for greater yields and efficient fertilization, with the added benefit of reduced carbon emissions.
117. CME Group is building a first-of-its-kind cloud-based commodities trading platform with AI tools built-in, offering CME’s trading customers access to deeper insights and smarter trades as well as rapid experimentation on new trading strategies that won’t interrupt existing trade flows.
118. Digits is developing next-gen accounting software for startups and small businesses; using AI-driven bookkeeping, expense management, and financial analysis, Digits enables business owners to achieve financial clarity and focus on growth.
119. Elanco, a leader in animal health, has implemented a gen AI framework supporting critical business processes, such as Pharmacovigilance, Customer Orders, and Clinical Insights. The framework, powered by Vertex AI and Gemini, has resulted in an estimated ROI of $1.9 million since launching last year.
120. Full Fact, a UK-based nonprofit working in 18 countries to combat misinformation, is now using gen AI to actively monitor stories so its 30 fact-checking partner organizations can focus on addressing specific claims and harmful information.
121. Fullstory, a digital behavioral data platform, is building the ability to analyze and summarize user behavior on a site to create more informed and enriching chatbot experiences; responses are more relevant and accurate, ultimately improving virtual agent performance and customer experience
122. GamudaBerhad, a Malaysian infrastructure and property management company, has integrated a Gemini-powered conversational agent into its cloud-based Tunnel Insight platform, providing faster information and insights during construction projects.
123. IntelligenciaAI is using AI models to research novel new drugs, relying on Google Cloud’s AI-optimized infrastructure to deliver scalable research that is accurate and transparent to meet the stringent needs of medicine.
124. IPRally built a custom machine-learning platform that uses natural language processing on the text of more than 120 million global patent documents, creating an accurate, easily searchable database that adds more than 200,000 new sources a week.
125. Ipsos built a data analysis tool for its teams of market researchers, eliminating the need for time-consuming requests to data analysts, which is powered by Gemini 1.5 Pro and Flash models as well as Grounding with Google Search to enhance real-world accuracy from contemporaneous Search information.
126. Materiom, a startup researching zero-waste, bio-based alternatives to fossil-fuel-made products like plastics, is creating a gen AI tool that enables entrepreneurs to develop novel compostable materials with broad applications; AI offers faster research and information gathering to speed up the development process.
127. Mendel has built a clinical AI system designed to break down the longstanding silos in medical data, boosting accuracy, accessibility, and ultimately patient health outcomes.
128. NeuroPace, a medical device company, built a solution to quickly identify effective epilepsy treatment options best suited to different patients; by analyzing brainwave patterns, it can find similar patients and apply successful therapies, streamlining personalized care.
129. NotCo, a Chilean food tech company, partnered with Eleven Solutions to develop a conversational AI chatbot powered by Gemini; the chatbot has revolutionized data access, allowing employees to instantly query their SAP system and gain real-time insights for faster, data-driven decision-making.
130. SURA Investments, the largest asset manager in Latin America, developed an AI-based analysis model for employees that allows them to better understand customer needs and improve customer experience and satisfaction.
131. AI21 Labs offers a BigQuery integration called Contextual Answers that allows users to query data conversationally and get high-quality answers quickly.
132. Anthropic has partnered with Google Cloud to offer its family of Claude 3 models on Vertex AI — providing organizations with more model options for intelligence, speed, cost-efficiency, and vision for enterprise use cases.
133. The Asteroid Institute is using AI to discover hidden asteroids in existing astronomical data. This is a major focus for astronomers researching the evolution of the Solar System, investors and businesses hoping to fly missions to asteroids, and for all of us who want to prevent future large asteroid impacts on Earth.
134. Contextual is working with Google Cloud to offer enterprises fully customizable, trustworthy, privacy-aware AI grounded in internal knowledge bases.
135. Cox 2M, the commercial IoT division of Cox Communications, is able to make smarter, faster business decisions using AI-powered analytics.
136. Essential AI, a developer of enterprise AI solutions, is using Google Cloud’s AI-optimized TPU v5p accelerator chips to train its own AI models.
137. Generali Italia, Italy’s largest insurance provider, used Vertex AI to build a model evaluation pipeline that helps ML teams quickly evaluate performance and deploy models.
138. Globo, one of Brazil’s largest media networks, is using Service Extensions and Media CDN to fight piracy during live events by blocking pirated streams in real time.
139. Golden State Warriors are using AI to improve the fan experience content in their Chase Center app.
140. Hugging Face is collaborating with Google across open science, open source, cloud, and hardware to enable companies to build their own AI with the latest open models from Hugging Face and Google Cloud hardware and software.
141. Kakao Brain, part of Korean technology company Kakao Group, has built a large-scale AI language model that is the largest Korean language-specific LLM in the market, with 66 billion parameters. They’ve also developed a text-to-image generator called Karlo.
142. Mayo Clinic has given thousands of its scientific researchers access to 50 petabytes worth of clinical data through Vertex AI search, accelerating information retrieval across multiple languages.
143. McLaren Racing is using Google AI to get up-to-the-millisecond insights during races and training to gain a competitive edge.
144. Mercado Libre is testing BigQuery and Looker to optimize capacity planning and reservations with delivery carriers and airlines to fulfill shipments faster.
145. Mistral AI will use Google Cloud’s AI-optimized infrastructure, to further test, build, and scale up its LLMs, all while benefiting from Google Cloud’s security and privacy standards.
146. MSCI uses machine learning with Vertex AI, BigQuery and Cloud Run to enrich its datasets to help our clients gain insight into around 1 million asset locations to help manage climate-related risks.
147. NewsCorp is using Vertex AI to help search data across 30,000 sources and 2.5 billion news articles updated daily.
148. Orange operates in 26 countries where local data must be kept in each country. They are using AI on Google Distributed Cloud to improve network performance and deliver super-responsive translation capabilities.
149. Spotify leveraged Dataflow for large-scale generation of ML podcast previews, and they plan to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with data engineering and data science to build better experiences for their customers and creators.
150. UPS is building a digital twin of its entire distribution network, so both workers and customers can see where their packages are at any time.
151. Workday is using natural language processing in Vertex Search and Conversation to make data insights more accessible for technical and non-technical users alike.
152. Woven — Toyota‘s investment in the future of mobility — is partnering with Google to leverage vast amounts of data and AI to enable autonomous driving, supported by thousands of ML workloads on Google Cloud’s AI Hypercomputer. This has resulted in resulting in 50% total-cost-of-ownership savings to support automated driving.
152-153. Broward County, Florida, and Southern California Edison are using geospatial capabilities and AI to improve infrastructure planning and monitoring, generate new insights, and create regional resilience for communities facing climate challenges today and tomorrow.
154-155. Kinaxis and Dematic are building data-driven supply chains to address logistics use cases including scenario modeling, planning, operations management, and automation.
156-157. NOAA and USAID are among the U.S. government agencies using Google Cloud AI to unlock critical data insights to streamline operations and improve mission outcomes — all with an emphasis on responsible AI.
Security agents
Security agents assist security operations by radically increasing the speed of investigations, automating monitoring and response for greater vigilance and compliance controls. They can also help guard data and models from cyberattacks, such as malicious prompt injection.
158. Apex Fintech is using Gemini in Security to accelerate the writing of complex threat detections from hours to a matter of seconds.
159. Exabeam has built a generative AI copilot for security analysts into its New-Scale Security Operations Platform.
160. Fiserv, a developer of financial services technology, can now summarize threats, find answers, and detect, validate, and respond to security events faster with the Gemini in Security Operations platform.
161. NetRise developed Trace to provide software supply chain security by introducing AI-powered intent-driven searches; these allow users to search their assets based on the underlying motives or purposes behind the code and configurations, rather than solely relying on signature-based methods.
162. Palo Alto Networks is using Gemini to create a grounded AI assistant for 24/7 security platform support in order to improve agent efficiency and response time; grounding the assistant in organizational data and security protocols has greatly improved the accuracy of responses.
163. BBVA uses AI in Google SecOps to detect, investigate, and respond to security threats with more accuracy, speed, and scale. The platform now surfaces critical security data in seconds, when it previously took minutes or even hours, and delivers highly automated responses.
164. Behavox is using Google Cloud technology and LLMs to provide industry leading regulatory compliance and front office solutions for financial institutions globally.
165. Charles Schwab has integrated their own intelligence into the AI-powered Google SecOps, so analysts can better prioritize work and respond to threats.
166. Fiserv’s security operations engineers create detections and playbooks with much less effort, while analysts get answers more quickly.
167. Grupo Boticário, one of the largest beauty retail and cosmetics companies in Brazil, employs real-time security models to prevent fraud and to detect and respond to issues.
168. Palo Alto Networks’ Cortex XSIAM, the AI-driven security operations platform, is built on more than a decade of expertise in machine-learning models and the most comprehensive, rich, and diverse data store in the industry. Backed by Google’s advanced cloud infrastructure and advanced AI services, including BigQuery and Gemini models, the combination delivers global scale and near real-time protection across all cybersecurity offerings.
169. Pfizer can now aggregate cybersecurity data sources, cutting analysis times from days to seconds.
Creative agents
Creative agents can expand your organization with the best design and production skills, working across images, slides, and exploring concepts with workers. Many organizations are building agents for their marketing teams, audio and video production teams, and all the creative people that can use a hand. With creative agents, anyone can become a designer, artist, or producer.
170. AdoreMe marketers write differentiated product descriptions in one hour, a tedious task which used to take 30-40 hours a month thanks to Gemini for Google Workspace.
171. Globo, the largest media group in Latin America, is using Google Cloud’s AI to hyper-personalize content for its streaming users, and create a better experience for spectators.
172. Higgsfield.ai built a number of text-to-video apps for consumers, including Diffuse 2.0, which can combine users photos, videos, and texts through AI models to create more realistic avatars.
173. Jasper trains its suite of creativity-, writing-, and marketing-focused AI models on Google’s AI infrastructure, delivering on-brand, data-optimized assets faster and at scale to teams large and small.
174. Puma is using Imagen to customize product photos on its website, saving time and ensuring they are locally relevant across markets; PUMA India has already seen a 10% increase in click through rate.
175. RadissonHotel Group personalized its advertising at scale in collaboration with Accenture and using Vertex AI and Gemini models, training them on extensive datasets stored in BigQuery; ad teams saw productivity rise around 50% while revenue increased from AI-powered campaigns by more than 20%
176. SquareEnix is using customer data to develop AI-optimized marketing assets to keep its gamers engaged, sharing personalized emails suited to each player’s preferences, leading to a 20% increase in email opens and a 10% increased retention rate.
177. Urmobo, a mobile-device management platform, created a virtual agent, Odin, that significantly improved user experience and reduced support tickets by enabling clients to interact with the platform using natural language.
178. The World Bank is developing a tool to extract key information from research literature on the causal impact of development interventions, with the ultimate goal to empower decision-makers to allocate the $220B in annual aid and trillions in annual impact investing more effectively.
179. Belk ECommerce is using generative AI to craft better product descriptions, a necessary yet time-consuming task for digital retails that has often been done manually.
180. Canva is using Vertex AI to power its Magic Design for Video, helping users skip tedious editing steps while creating shareable and engaging videos in a matter of seconds.
181. Carrefour used Vertex AI to deploy Carrefour Marketing Studio in just five weeks — an innovative solution to streamline the creation of dynamic campaigns across various social networks. In just a few clicks, marketers can build ultra-personalized campaigns to deliver customers advertising that they care about.
182. Major League Baseball continues to innovate its Statcast platform, so teams, broadcasters, and fans have access to live in-game insights.
183. Paramount currently relies on manual processes to create the essential metadata and video summaries used across its Paramount+ platform for showcasing content and creating personalized experiences for viewers. VertexAI Text Bison is now helping to streamline this process.
184. Procter & Gamble used Imagen to develop an internal gen AI platform to accelerate the creation of photo-realistic images and creative assets, giving marketing teams more time to focus on high-level planning and delivering superior experiences for its consumers.
185. WPP will integrate Google Cloud’s gen AI capabilities into its intelligent marketing operating system, called WPP Open, which empowers its people and clients to deliver new levels of personalization, creativity, and efficiency. This includes the use of Gemini 1.5 Pro models to supercharge both the accuracy and speed of content performance predictions.
To find even more customers using our AI tools to build agents and solutions for their most important enterprise projects, visit the Google Cloud customer hub.
Source: United Kingdom – Executive Government & Departments
Following the G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting at the High-Level Week of the UN General Assembly, the following statement was made by Chair Antonio Tajani.
1. Introduction
In today’s meeting in New York, in the wake of the Summit of the Future, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States and the High Representative of the European Union reiterated their commitment to upholding the rule of law, humanitarian principles and international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, and to protecting human rights and dignity for all individuals.
They re-emphasized their determination to foster collective action in order to preserve peace and stability to address global challenges, such as the climate crisis and to advance the achievement of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
In doing so, the G7 members renewed their commitment to the promotion of free societies and democratic principles, where all persons can freely exercise their rights and freedoms.
2. Summit for the Future
In the spirit of the renewed determination to strengthen the multilateral system based on the UN Charter’s principles, as reflected in the Pact for the Future adopted at the Summit of the Future by world Leaders, the G7 members committed to continue working with countries and all relevant stakeholders within the UN system through dialogue, mutual understanding and respect in the pursuit of common solutions, with the aim of upholding and reforming the multilateral system so that it better reflects today’s world and is fit to respond to the complex global challenges of the future. They reaffirmed their commitment to work with all UN member states to strengthen the roles of the UNSG as well as the UNGA. They also recommitted to the reform of the UNSC.
3. Steadfast Support to Ukraine
The G7 members reaffirmed their unwavering support to Ukraine as it defends its freedom, sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity, against Russia’s brutal and unjustifiable war of aggression. The G7 members strongly condemned Russia’s blatant breach of international law, including the UN Charter, and of the basic principles that underpin the international order. They strongly condemned the serious violations of international humanitarian law perpetrated by Russia’s forces in Ukraine, which have caused a devastating impact on the civilian population. Violence against civilians, including women, children, and prisoners of war is unacceptable.
They expressed their outrage at Russia’s repeated attacks against critical infrastructure and they condemned in the strongest possible terms any targeting of civilian buildings and even hospitals. Ensuring the protection and resilience of Ukraine’s energy grid and its power generation capacity remains a fundamental and urgent priority as winter approaches. They welcomed the international conference on energy security held on August 22. .as well as the ongoing coordination of the G7 energy group. They reiterated their commitment to help Ukraine meet its urgent short-term financing needs, as well as support its long-term recovery and reconstruction priorities.
Russia must end its war of aggression and pay for the damage it has caused to Ukraine. The G7 members reiterated their commitment to explore and use all possible lawful avenues by which Russia is made to meet those obligations.
The launch of the Extraordinary Revenue Acceleration (ERA) Loans for Ukraine, as mandated by G7 leaders, will make available approximately USD 50 billion in additional funding to Ukraine that will be serviced and repaid by future flows of extraordinary revenues stemming from the immobilization of Russian sovereign assets held in the European Union and other relevant jurisdictions.
The G7 Foreign Ministers and the High Representative are working, together with Finance Ministers, to operationalize the G7 Leaders’ commitment by the end of the year. They will maintain solidarity in this commitment to providing this support to Ukraine. The G7 members confirmed that, consistent with all applicable laws and their respective legal systems, Russia’s sovereign assets in their jurisdictions will remain immobilized until Russia ends its aggression and pays for the damage it has caused to Ukraine.
They also committed to strengthening the Ukraine Donor Platform to help coordinate the disbursal of funds and ensure they align with Ukraine’s highest priority needs at a pace it can effectively absorb. This will play a key role in advancing Ukraine’s reforms in line with its European path and in contributing to a successful Ukraine Recovery Conference to be held in Italy in 2025.
Any use of nuclear weapons by Russia in the context of its war of aggression against Ukraine would be inadmissible. They therefore condemned in the strongest possible terms Russia’s irresponsible and threatening nuclear rhetoric, as well as its posture of strategic intimidation. They also expressed their deepest concern about the reported use of chemical weapons as well as riot control agents as a method of warfare by Russia in Ukraine.
The G7 members remained committed to holding those responsible accountable for atrocities in Ukraine, in line with international law. They also condemned the seizures of foreign companies and called on Russia to reverse these measures and seek acceptable solutions with the companies targeted by them.
They condemned Russia’s seizure and continued control and militarization of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, which poses severe risks for nuclear safety and security, potentially affecting the entire international community. They reiterated their support to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s efforts directed at mitigating such risks.
They underlined once again their support for Ukraine’s right of self-defense and reiterated their commitment to Ukraine’s long-term security, recalling the launch of the Ukraine Compact in Washington on 11 July 2024. They re-affirmed the intention to increasing industrial production and delivery capabilities to assist Ukraine’s self-defense. They highlighted their support to Ukraine in its efforts to modernize its armed forces and strengthen its own defense industry. They expressed their resolve to bolster Ukraine’s air defense capabilities to save lives and protect critical infrastructure.
They remained committed to raising the costs of Russia’s war of aggression by building on the comprehensive package of sanctions and economic measures already in place. Though existing measures have had a significant impact on Russia’s war machine and ability to fund its invasion, its military is still posing a threat not just to Ukraine but also to international security.
The G7 members expressed the intention to continue taking appropriate measures, consistent with their legal systems, against actors in China and in third countries that materially support Russia’s war machine, including financial institutions, and other entities that facilitate Russia’s acquisition of items for its defense industrial base.
They expressed their intention to continue to apply significant pressure on Russian revenues from energy and other commodities. This will include improving the efficacy of the oil price cap policy by taking further steps to tighten compliance and enforcement, including against Russia’s shadow fleet, while working to maintain market stability.
They especially emphasized the urgency to support Ukraine’s energy security, including by coordinating international assistance through the G7+Ukraine Energy Coordination Group. They underscored the importance to continue working with the Ukrainian authorities and International Financial Institutions through the Ukraine Donor Platform, and by mobilizing private investments and fostering participation of civil society.
They highlighted the reality of millions of internally displaced Ukrainians and the importance of an inclusive rights-based, gender-responsive recovery, including the reintegration of veterans and civilians with disabilities, and to address the needs of women, children as well as other population groups who have been disproportionately affected by Russia’s war of aggression. They reiterated their condemnation of Russia’s unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children and welcomed coordinated efforts to secure their safe return. They called on Russia to release all persons it has unjustly detained and safely return all civilians it has illegally transferred or deported, starting with children. They welcomed the Ministerial Conference on the Human Dimension of Ukraine’s 10 point peace formula that will be hosted by Canada on October 30-31.
They reiterated the need to support Ukraine’s agriculture sector, which is critical for global food supply, particularly for the most vulnerable nations, and called for unimpeded exports of grain, foodstuffs, fertilizers and inputs from Ukraine.
They acknowledged the importance to involve the private sector in the sustainable economic recovery of Ukraine. They welcomed and underscored the significance of Ukraine itself continuing to implement domestic reform efforts, especially in the fields of anti-corruption, justice system reform, decentralization, and promotion of the rule of law. These endeavors are in line with the Euro-Atlantic path Ukraine has embraced. The G7 members were unanimous on the need to continue to support efforts of the Ukrainian government and people in these endeavors.
They resolutely condemned Russia’s holding of illegitimate ‘elections’ in the occupied Ukrainian Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. Russia’s actions once again demonstrate its blatant disregard for Ukraine’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence, and the UN Charter. They called on all members of the international community to refrain from recognizing Russia’s illegitimate actions.
They welcomed the Summit on Peace in Ukraine that took place in Switzerland on June 15-16 and its focus on the key priorities needed to achieve a framework for peace based on international law, including the UN Charter and its principles, and respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. They remained committed to follow up on the Conference through constructive engagement with all international partners to reach a comprehensive, just and lasting peace.
The G7 members acknowledged that Russia continues to expand its campaigns of foreign information manipulation and interference (FIMI). They condemned Russia’s use of FIMI to support its war of aggression against Ukraine. They reiterated their determination to bolster the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism by developing a collective response framework to counter foreign threats to democracies.
4. Situation in the Middle East
The G7 members reiterated their condemnation of Hamas’ horrendous attacks on October 7, 2023. 101 hostages are still in the hands of Hamas. They noted with deep concern the trend of escalatory violence in the Middle East and its repercussions on regional stability and on the lives of civilians shattered by this conflict, from the Gaza Strip to the Israeli-Lebanese Blue Line. Actions and counter-reactions risk magnifying this dangerous spiral of violence and dragging the entire Middle East into a broader regional conflict with unimaginable consequences. They called for a stop to the current destructive cycle, while emphasizing that no country stands to gain from a further escalation in the Middle East.
They expressed their deep concern about the situation along the Blue Line. They recognized the essential stabilizing role played by the Lebanese Armed Forces and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon in mitigating that risk. They demanded the full implementation of UNSCR 1701 (2006) and urged that all relevant actors implement immediate measures towards de-escalation.
The G7 members reaffirmed their strong support for the ongoing mediation efforts undertaken by the United States, Egypt and Qatar to reach a resolution between the parties to the conflict in Gaza. They reiterated their full commitment for the implementation of the UNSC Resolution 2735 (2024) and the comprehensive deal outlined by President Biden in May that would lead to an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, a significant and sustained increase in the flow of humanitarian assistance throughout Gaza, and an enduring end to the crisis, to secure a pathway to a two-state solution with a safe Israel alongside a sovereign Palestinian state. They urged the parties to the conflict to unequivocally accept the ceasefire proposal, stressing the need for countries in a position to directly influence the parties to cooperate in strengthening mediation efforts. They called for the full implementation of the terms of the ceasefire proposal without delay and without conditions.
They called on all parties to fully comply with international law, including international humanitarian law. They expressed their deep alarm for the heavy toll this conflict has taken on civilians, deploring all losses of civilian lives equally and noting with great concern that, after nearly a year of hostilities and regional instability, it is mostly civilians, including women and children, who are paying the highest price. Protection of civilians must be an absolute priority for all parties at all times.
The G7 members expressed concern at the unprecedented level of food insecurity affecting most of the population in the Gaza Strip. Securing full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access in all its forms and through all relevant crossing points remains an absolute priority. They urged all parties to allow the unimpeded delivery of aid and ensure protection of humanitarian workers by properly implementing de-confliction measures. They recognized the crucial role played by UN agencies and other humanitarian actors in delivering assistance especially health care for the most vulnerable persons, including the polio vaccination campaign. They expressed their support for UNRWA to effectively uphold its mandate, emphasizing the vital role that the UN Agency plays.
The G7 members reaffirmed their unwavering commitment, through reinvigorated efforts in the Middle East Peace Process, to the vision of a two-state solution where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders, consistent with international law and relevant UN resolutions, and in this regard stress the importance of unifying the Gaza strip with the West Bank under Palestinian Authority. We note that mutual recognition, to include the recognition of a Palestinian state, at the appropriate time, would be a crucial component of that political process. They expressed their concern about the risk of weakening the Palestinian Authority and underlined the importance of maintaining economic stability in the West Bank. They welcomed the EU’s 400 million Euro emergency package for the Palestinian Authority. All parties must refrain from unilateral actions and from divisive statements that may undermine the prospect of a two-state solution, including the Israeli expansion of settlements and the “legalization” of settlement outposts. They condemned the rise in extremist settler violence committed against Palestinians, which undermines security and stability in the West Bank and threatens prospects for a lasting peace. They expressed their deep concern regarding the deteriorating security situation in the West Bank.
They reiterated their commitment to working together – and with other international partners – to closely coordinate and institutionalize their support for civil society peacebuilding efforts, ensuring that they are part of a larger strategy to build the foundation necessary for a negotiated and lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace. The G7 members called on Iran to contribute to de-escalation of tensions in the region. They demanded that Iran cease its destabilizing actions in the Middle East. They underlined that they stand ready to adopt further sanctions or take other measures in response to further destabilizing initiatives.
They reiterated their determination that Iran must never develop or acquire a nuclear weapon and that the G7 will continue working together, and with other international partners, to address Iran’s nuclear escalation. A diplomatic solution remains the best way to resolve this issue. As the IAEA remains unable to verify that Iran’s nuclear program is exclusively peaceful, they urged Iran’s leadership to cease and reverse nuclear activities that have no credible civilian justification and to cooperate with the IAEA without further delay to fully implement their legally binding safeguards agreement and their commitments under UNSCR 2231(2015).
They condemned in the strongest possible terms Iran’s export and Russia’s procurement of Iranian ballistic missiles. Evidence that Iran has continued to transfer weaponry to Russia despite repeated international calls to stop represents a further escalation of Iran’s military support to Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine. Russia has used Iranian weaponry such as UAVs to kill Ukrainian civilians and strike their critical infrastructure.
They reiterated that Iran must immediately cease all support to Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable war against Ukraine and halt such transfers of ballistic missiles, UAVs and related technology, which constitute a direct threat to the Ukrainian people as well as European and international security more broadly.
They reaffirmed their steadfast commitment to hold Iran to account for its unacceptable support for Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine that further undermines global security. In line with their previous statements on the matter, they underscored that they are already responding with new and significant measures.
They also reiterated their deep concern about Iran’s human rights violations, especially against women and minority groups. They reiterated their call on Iran to allow access to the country to relevant UN Human Rights Council Special Procedures mandate holders.
De-escalation efforts in the region must also include the immediate and unconditional termination of any attack by the Houthis against international and commercial vessels transiting the Gulf of Aden, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Red Sea. The G7 members reiterated their strong condemnation of these attacks and the right of countries to defend their vessels from attacks. They called for the immediate release by the Houthis of the Galaxy Leader and its crew. They expressed their strong concern about the August 21 attack on the merchant vessel Sounion and the ongoing risk of an environmental catastrophe as salvage operations continue. They welcomed the efforts by the EU maritime operation Aspides and by the US-led Operation Prosperity Guardian to protect vital sea lanes. They appreciated the efforts of those countries that are committed to protect freedom of navigation and trade, as well as maritime security, in line with UNSCR 2722 (2024) and in accordance with international law.
5. Fostering partnerships with African Countries
The G7 members reaffirmed their commitment to support African nations in the pursuit of sustainable development as well as the creation of jobs and growth. The focus remains on fostering fair partnerships, built on shared principles, democratic values, local leadership, and practical initiatives.
They reiterated their intention to align actions with the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the specific needs of African countries, including plans to improve local and regional food security, infrastructure, trade, and agricultural productivity. They expressed their support for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area, a crucial factor for Africa’s growth in the next decade.
The G7 members emphasized the need to strengthen mutually beneficial cooperation with African countries and regional organizations. In addition to maintaining financial support for African nations, they expressed their determination to improve the coordination and effectiveness of G7 resources, mobilizing domestic resources and encouraging increased private investments.
They welcomed the African Union’s permanent membership in the G20, and the creation of an additional Chair for Sub-Saharan Africa on the IMF Executive Board in November.
They reaffirmed their commitment to the G20 Compact with Africa, a tool aimed at enhancing private investment, driving structural reforms, supporting local entrepreneurship, and fostering cooperation, particularly in the energy sector. The G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), and initiatives like the EU’s Global Gateway can contribute to promote sustainable, resilient, and economically viable infrastructure in Africa, ensuring transparency in project selection, procurement, and financing. In this framework, they welcomed Italy’s Mattei Plan for Africa.
They recognized that sustainable development, peace and security and democracy go hand in hand, reaffirming their commitment to help African governments in strengthening democratic governance and respect for human rights, while addressing conditions conducive to terrorism, violent extremism, and instability.
They expressed their deep concern about the destabilizing activities of the Kremlin-backed Wagner Group and other Russia-supported entities. They called for accountability for all those responsible for human rights violations and abuses.
6. Indo-Pacific
The G7 members reiterated their commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, based on the rule of law, which is inclusive, prosperous and secure, grounded on sovereignty, territorial integrity, peaceful resolution of disputes, fundamental freedoms and human rights. They reaffirmed the importance of working together with regional partners and organizations, notably the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). They reaffirmed their thorough support for ASEAN centrality and unity. They reaffirmed their intention to work to support Pacific Island Countries’ priorities, as articulated through the 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent.
As they seek constructive and stable relations with China, they recognized the importance of direct and candid engagement to express concerns and manage differences. They reaffirmed their readiness to cooperate with China to address global challenges. They expressed their deep concern at the China’s support to Russia. They called on China to step up efforts to promote international peace and security, and to press Russia to stop its military aggression and immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw its troops from Ukraine. They encouraged China to support a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on territorial integrity and the principles and purposes of the UN Charter, including through its direct dialogue with Ukraine. They also expressed their deep concern at China’s ongoing support for Russia’s defense industrial base, which is enabling Russia to maintain its illegal war in Ukraine and has significant and broad-based security implications. They called on China to cease the transfer of dual-use materials, including weapons components and equipment, that are inputs for Russia’s defense sector.
They recognized the importance of China in global trade. However, they expressed their concerns about China’s persistent industrial targeting and comprehensive non-market policies and practices that are leading to global spillovers, market distortions and harmful overcapacity in a growing range of sectors, undermining our workers, industries and economic resilience and security, as well as impacting on currencies. The G7 members are not decoupling or turning inwards. They are de-risking and diversifying supply chains where necessary and appropriate and fostering resilience to economic coercion. They called on China to refrain from adopting export control measures, particularly on critical minerals, that could lead to significant supply chain disruptions. Together with partners, the G7 members will invest in building their respective industrial capacities, promote diversified and resilient supply chains, and reduce critical dependencies and vulnerabilities.
They remained seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas and reiterated their strong opposition to any unilateral attempt to change the status quo by force or coercion. They reaffirmed that there is no legal basis for China’s expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, and they reiterated their opposition to China’s militarization and coercive and intimidation activities in the South China Sea. They re-emphasized the universal and unified character of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and reaffirmed UNCLOS’s important role in setting out the legal framework that governs all activities in the oceans and the seas. They reiterated that the award rendered by the Arbitral Tribunal on 12 July 2016 is a significant milestone, which is legally binding upon the parties to those proceedings and a useful basis for peacefully resolving disputes between the parties. They reiterated their strong opposition to China’s dangerous use of coast guard and maritime militia in the South China Sea and its repeated obstruction of countries’ high seas freedom of navigation. They expressed deep concern about the dangerous and obstructive maneuvers, including water cannons and ramming, by the China Coast Guard and maritime militia against Philippines vessels.
The G7 members reaffirmed that maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is indispensable to international security and prosperity, and called for the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues. There is no change in the basic position of the G7 members on Taiwan, including stated One-China policies. They supported Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations as a member where statehood is not a prerequisite and as an observer or guest where it is.
They remained concerned by the human rights situation in China, including in Xinjiang and Tibet. They are also worried about the crackdown on Hong Kong’s autonomy and independent institutions, and ongoing erosion of rights and freedoms. They urged China and the Hong Kong authorities to act in accordance with their international commitments and applicable legal obligations.
The G7 members strongly condemned North Korea’s continuing expansion of its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile programs in violation of multiple UNSC resolutions and its continuous destabilizing activities. They reiterated their call for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and demanded that North Korea abandons all its nuclear weapons, existing nuclear programs, and any other WMD and ballistic missile programs in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner, in accordance with all relevant UNSC resolutions. They called on North Korea to return to dialogue to promote peace and stability in the Korean peninsula. They urged all UN Member States to fully implement all relevant UN Security Council resolutions. They reiterated their deep disappointment with Russia’s veto last March on the mandate renewal of the UNSC 1718 Committee Panel of Experts.
They condemned in the strongest possible terms the increasing military cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including North Korea’s export and Russia’s procurement of North Korean ballistic missiles and munitions in direct violation of relevant UNSCRs, as well as Russia’s use of these missiles and munitions against Ukraine. They are also deeply concerned about the potential for any transfer of nuclear or ballistic missiles-related technology to North Korea, in violation of the relevant UNSCRs. They urged Russia and North Korea to immediately cease all such activities and abide by relevant UNSCRs. They urged North Korea to respect human rights, facilitate access for international humanitarian organizations, and resolve the abductions issue immediately.
They called on China not to conduct or condone activities aimed at undermining the security and safety of our communities and the integrity of our democratic institutions, and to act in strict accordance with its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.
7. Regional Issues
Venezuela
The G7 members reiterated their deep concern about the situation in Venezuela, following the vote on July 28.
They emphasized that the announced victory of Maduro lacks credibility and democratic legitimacy, as indicated by reports of the UN Panel of Experts and independent international observers as well as data published by the opposition. They underscored that it is essential for electoral results to be complete and independently verified to ensure respect for the will of the Venezuelan people.
They expressed their outrage for the arrest warrant and constant threats to the security of Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, who decided to seek refuge in Spain. According to the above-mentioned independent reports, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia appears to have won the most votes.
They urged Venezuelan representatives to cease all human rights violations and abuses, arbitrary detentions and widespread restrictions on fundamental freedoms, particularly affecting the political opposition, human rights defenders, and representatives of independent media and civil society. They called for the release of all political prisoners and for a path to freedom and democracy for the people of Venezuela.
They urged the international community to keep Venezuela high on the diplomatic agenda and they expressed their support for efforts by regional partners to facilitate the Venezuelan-led democratic and peaceful transition that the people of Venezuela have clearly chosen in the polls.
Haiti
The G7 members expressed their determination to continue supporting Haitian institutions – including the Transitional Presidential Council (CPT) and the Government of Prime Minister Conille – in their commitment to create the necessary conditions of general security and stability for the convening, by February 2026, of free and fair elections. The expression of popular will would set the foundation for the full restoration of democracy and the rule of law in Haiti.
They also expressed full support to the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission, which is providing critical support to the Haitian National Police as they counter criminal gangs engaged in illicit trafficking and inflicting brutal violence upon the population.
The G7 members emphasized the importance of continued support to the MSS mission through financial contributions to the UN Trust Fund as well as contributions in kind. They expressed their strong appreciation for the commitment of the Government of Kenya – which has already deployed 380 personnel on the ground – to support the Haitian National Police in restoring peace and security.
They called on all countries that have committed to deploy their contingents to the MSS mission to do so as soon as possible, to consolidate the mission and its fundamental role in the Country. They called on Haiti’s partners to continue their humanitarian assistance to the Haitian people and to expedite their financial and in-kind contributions to the MSS mission to help ensure that the mission is resourced for success.
They called also on the United Nations Security Council to consider a UN Peace Operation to maintain the security gains of the Haiti National Police and the MSS mission for holding free and fair elections and called on the Secretary-General accordingly to provide support.
The G7 members welcomed the work of the G7 Working Group on Haiti in monitoring institutional, political, social and security developments in Haiti, with a view to supporting the stabilization of the country and the restoration of full democratic governance.
Libya
The G7 members reiterated their unwavering commitment to Libyan stability, sovereignty, independence and unity. They expressed deep concern about recent developments in the country, in particular those involving the leadership of the Central Bank of Libya and the High Council of State, which show the fragility and unsustainability of the present status quo. They urged relevant Libyan parties to rapidly reach the necessary compromises to begin to restore the institutional integrity of the Central Bank of Libya and its standing with the international financial community. They called on Libyan political actors to refrain from taking harmful unilateral actions that create further political tension and fragmentation and make the country vulnerable to harmful foreign interference.
They noted advances made in the organization of local elections and they called for a free, fair and inclusive participation of all Libyans. It is now imperative to relaunch a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political process facilitated by the UN towards free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections.
They expressed their support and commended the efforts made by UNSMIL officer in charge Stephanie Koury in support of the stabilization of Libya. They called on the Secretary General to appoint a new Special Representative without delay.
Sudan
The G7 members reiterated their grave concern over the ongoing fighting, mass-displacement and famine in Sudan.
They condemned the serious human rights violations and abuses against the civilian population, including widespread sexual and gender-based violence, as well as international humanitarian law violations by both sides to the conflict. They called for an immediate end to the escalating violence, which is creating further displacement, and urged the warring parties to ensure the protection of civilians. They reiterated their commitment to holding accountable all those responsible for violations of international law in Sudan.
They condemned the emergence of famine in Sudan as a direct consequence of efforts to restrict access of humanitarian actors. They noted recent progress in relation to the re-opening of the Chad-Sudan Adre border crossing, in the wake of the Paris Conference and of the Geneva talks. They called for full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access both into Sudan and across lines of conflict so aid can reach all those in need.
They urged all parties to cease hostilities immediately and to engage in serious negotiations aimed at achieving a lasting ceasefire, humanitarian access and protection of civilians without pre-conditions.
They called on external actors to refrain from fueling the conflict, to respect the UN arms embargo on Darfur, and to play a responsible role in resolving the crisis.
They welcomed mediation efforts by regional and international actors and organizations to facilitate a durable peace for the country.
Inclusive, national dialogue, aimed at restoring democracy, re-establishing and strengthening the civilian and representative institutions after the end of the conflict, is a prerequisite for lasting peace. The G7 Members emphasized that it is necessary for representatives of Sudanese civil society, including women, to be fully engaged in the reflection on the political future of the country.
A series of recruitment talks organised by the Civil Service Bureau in Beijing and Shanghai wrapped up today, attracting over 1,800 Hong Kong people who are interested in applying for civil service posts in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government.
Five recruitment talks on the administrative officer (AO) and executive officer (EO) grades were held at the Hong Kong Economic & Trade Office in Shanghai (SHETO), East China University of Political Science & Law, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Renmin University of China, and China University of Political Science & Law respectively.
The participants, mostly university students, joined the talks online or in person.
At the seminars, participants were introduced to the entry requirements, training programmes, examination and interview arrangements, as well as tips on preparing for AO and EO grade exams.
In addition, the bureau had specifically arranged for serving AO and EO colleagues who had studied or lived on the Mainland to share their work and personal experiences.
The bureau’s representatives also attended a SHETO event to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, taking the occasion to introduce the AO and EO grades to the young participants, with a view to encouraging them to apply for civil service posts in the Hong Kong SAR Government.
A joint recruitment exercise is being held for the civil service grades of AO, EO II, assistant trade officer II and transport officer II. The application deadline is October 4.
One additional firm will not pay a penalty because it self-reported, self-policed, and demonstrated substantial efforts at compliance
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against 12 firms, comprising broker-dealers, investment advisers, and one dually-registered broker-dealer and investment adviser, for widespread and longstanding failures by the firms and their personnel to maintain and preserve electronic communications in violation of recordkeeping provisions of the federal securities laws.
The firms admitted the facts set forth in their respective SEC orders, acknowledged their conduct violated recordkeeping provisions of the federal securities laws, agreed to pay combined civil penalties of $88,225,000 as outlined below, and have begun implementing improvements to their compliance policies and procedures to address these violations. The firms are as follows:
Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Inc. agreed to pay a $35 million penalty;
Invesco Distributors, Inc., together with Invesco Advisers, Inc., agreed to pay a $35 million penalty;
CIBC World Markets Corp., together with CIBC Private Wealth Advisors, Inc., agreed to pay a $12 million penalty;
Glazer Capital, LLC agreed to pay a $2 million penalty;
Intesa Sanpaolo IMI Securities Corp., agreed to pay a $1.5 million penalty;
Canaccord Genuity LLC agreed to pay a $1.25 million penalty;
Regions Securities LLC agreed to pay a $750,000 penalty;
Alpaca Securities LLC agreed to pay a $400,000 penalty;
Focused Wealth Management, Inc. agreed to pay a $325,000 penalty; and
Qatalyst Partners LP will not pay a penalty.
“Today’s enforcement actions reflect the range of remedies that parties may face for violating the recordkeeping requirements of the federal securities laws. Widespread and longstanding failures, including where those failures potentially hinder the Commission’s investor protection function by compromising a firm’s response to SEC subpoenas, may result in robust civil penalties,” said Gurbir S. Grewal, Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “On the other hand, firms that self-report and otherwise cooperate with the SEC’s investigations may receive significantly reduced penalties. Here, despite recordkeeping failures that involved communications by senior leadership and persisted after our first recordkeeping matters were announced in 2021, Qatalyst took substantial steps to comply, self-reported, and remediated and, therefore, received a no-penalty resolution.”
The SEC’s investigations into all the firms except for Qatalyst uncovered pervasive and longstanding use of unapproved communication methods, known as off-channel communications, at these firms. As described in the SEC’s orders, the firms admitted that during the periods relevant to each order, their personnel sent and received off-channel communications that were records required to be maintained under securities laws. The failure to maintain and preserve required records deprives the SEC of these communications in our investigations. The failures involved personnel at multiple levels of authority, including supervisors and senior managers.
In contrast, in response to the Commission’s recent off-channel enforcement actions, Qatalyst conducted an internal investigation and uncovered that Qatalyst personnel at various levels of authority sent and received off-channel communications, which Qatalyst did not maintain or preserve, that related to its broker-dealer business. Qatalyst will not pay a penalty because it self-reported its recordkeeping violations, cooperated with the staff’s investigation, and demonstrated substantial efforts at compliance with the recordkeeping requirements. Two additional firms, Canaccord and Regions, also self-reported their violations and, as a result, will pay significantly lower civil penalties than they would have otherwise.
The firms were each charged with violating certain recordkeeping provisions of the Securities Exchange Act or the Investment Advisers Act or both. In addition, all but one of the firms failed to reasonably supervise their personnel with a view to preventing and detecting those violations. The SEC’s order against Focused Wealth also found that the firm failed to adopt and implement policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent the firm and its supervised persons from violating recordkeeping requirements.
Each of the firms was ordered to cease and desist from future violations of the relevant recordkeeping provisions and was censured. Ten of the firms also agreed to retain compliance consultants to, among other things, conduct comprehensive reviews of their policies and procedures relating to the retention of electronic communications found on personal devices and their respective frameworks for addressing non-compliance by their personnel with those policies and procedures.
Separately, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announced a settlement with Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce for related conduct.
The SEC’s investigations into Stifel, CIBC, Intesa, Canaccord, Alpaca, and Qatalyst were conducted by Laurel S. Fensterstock, Karolina Klyuchnikova, Austin Thompson, and Alison R. Levine. The SEC’s investigation into Focused Wealth was conducted by Bennett Ellenbogen and Michael Paley. Each of these matters was supervised by Thomas P. Smith, Jr. of the New York Regional Office. The SEC’s investigation into Invesco was conducted by Melanie Good, Craig Welter, and Nikolay Vydashenko, and supervised by Corey Schuster of the Enforcement Division’s Asset Management Unit. The SEC’s investigation into Glazer was conducted by Anne Hancock, Samantha Martin, and Christopher Rogers, and supervised by B. David Fraser of the Fort Worth Regional Office. The investigation into Regions was conducted by Katie D. Krysan and Amy S. Cotter, and supervised by Paul A. Montoya of the Chicago Regional Office.
5G integrations for homeland security, safe cities, civil security and defense markets empowers next-generation video streaming technology
Rehovot, Israel, Sept. 24, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Maris-Tech Ltd. (Nasdaq: MTEK, MTEKW) (“Maris-Tech” or the “Company”), a global leader in video and artificial intelligence (“AI”)-based edge computing technology, today announced that its Amethyst edge computing video solution product line (“Amethyst”), now supports 5G capability, enabling ultra-speed and high data transfer. This enhancement to the Amethyst product line highlights Maris-Tech’s commitment to staying at the forefront of technology.
The new 5G capability allows Amethyst to significantly improve operational efficiency in real-time, mission-critical environments.
The integration of 5G into Amethyst delivers high-quality, narrow-band, ultra-low-latency video streaming over cellular networks. This upgrade is aimed to benefit the homeland security and civil security markets, where missions require real-time, reliable communications.
Amethyst is an advanced, low-power H.264/5 multiple-stream recorder and streamer that supports both cellular and Ethernet networks. The device accepts video from IP and USB cameras, generates multiple H.264/5 streams IP camera inputs, and records the streams onto local EMMC or Micro-SD storage. Amethyst also enables real-time and pre-recorded video streaming over cellular or Ethernet networks and is fully controlled through Android, iOS, and Windows applications.
Israel Bar, Chief Executive Officer of Maris-Tech, said, “The introduction of 5G capability in Amethyst reflects Maris-Tech’s commitment to innovation. By integrating the latest technology in our product line, we are providing our customers with higher levels of performance and flexibility. This leap to 5G is expected to allow our clients to execute complex missions with greater efficiency, precision and confidence.”
In addition to speed and latency, 5G technology delivers superior network capacity by supporting a higher density of connected devices – crucial for modern security operations in urban environments. Its adaptable network architecture also allows for more customized, efficient communication systems.
According to Markets and Markets, “The 5G Defense market is estimated to be USD 0.9 Billion in 2023 to USD 2.4 by 2028”. Maris-Tech’s Amethyst 5G is well-positioned to meet this rising demand. The airborne segment, a key area for 5G deployment, is projected to reach $0.786 billion by 2028, further highlighting the importance of 5G-enabled technologies in modern security operations, according to Markets and Markets.
About Maris-Tech Ltd.
Maris-Tech is a global leader in video and AI-based edge computing technology, pioneering intelligent video transmission solutions that conquer complex encoding-decoding challenges. Our miniature, lightweight, and low-power products deliver high-performance capabilities including raw data processing, seamless transfer, advanced image processing, and AI-driven analytics. Founded by Israel technology sector veterans, Maris-Tech serves leading manufacturers worldwide in defense, aerospace, Intelligence gathering, homeland security (HLS) and communication industries worldwide. We’re pushing the boundaries of video transmission and edge computing, driving innovation in mission-critical applications across commercial and defense sectors.
This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, that are intended to be covered by the “safe harbor” created by those sections. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, can generally be identified by the use of forward-looking terms such as “believe,” “expect”,” “may”, “should,” “could,” “seek,” “intend,” “plan,” “goal,” “estimate,” “anticipate” or other comparable terms. For example, we are using forward-looking statements when we are discussing our commitment to staying at the forefront of technology, our position to meet the rising demand of the global defense market and the expected advantages and benefits to our customers from the integration of 5G capability into Amethyst, including the improvement in operational efficiency in real-time mission-critical environments, the delivery of high-quality, narrow-band, ultra-low-latency video streaming over cellular networks, the high level of performance and the ability to execute complex missions with greater efficiency, precision and confidence, the delivery of superior network capacity and adaptability of the network architecture to allow more customized and efficient communication systems. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results and financial condition may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual results and financial condition to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, the following: our ability to successfully market our products and services, including in the United States; the acceptance of our products and services by customers; our continued ability to pay operating costs and ability to meet demand for our products and services; the amount and nature of competition from other security and telecom products and services; the effects of changes in the cybersecurity and telecom markets; our ability to successfully develop new products and services; our success establishing and maintaining collaborative, strategic alliance agreements, licensing and supplier arrangements; our ability to comply with applicable regulations; and the other risks and uncertainties described in the Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended December 31, 2023, filed with the SEC on March 21, 2024, and our other filings with the SEC. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.
Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region
Following is the speech by the Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, at business luncheon Hong Kong-Spain: Partnering for Success in Madrid, Spain, today (September 24, Madrid time): Dr Peter Lam (Chairman of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council), Ms Jarillo (Deputy Director General for Asia, Europe and Oceania, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise of Spain, Ms Laura Jarillo), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen, Good afternoon. I’m delighted to be here, in Madrid, the dynamic capital and financial heart of Spain, a city renowned for its world-class museums and fine dining and wine, not to mention the best football club in Europe, if not the world. What more can a visitor ask for? Well, I can tell you that this speaker, and the young and energetic innovation and technology delegation here with me, are pleased to be here, with you, to talk about how Spanish and Hong Kong business can partner for success long-term, mutually rewarding success.Hong Kong, connecting Spain and Asia Ladies and gentlemen, like Spain, Hong Kong is back in business after the challenges of the COVID pandemic, back creating opportunity for a world of business. Spain, included of course. Hong Kong has long been recognised as one of the best connected cities in the world. Half the global population is no more than a five-hour flight away from us. Before the pandemic, Hong Kong International Airport operated 1 100 flights a day, covering 220 destinations. Today, passenger throughput is rebounding, reaching over 80 per cent of pre-pandemic levels on peak days, with full resumption expected by year’s end. As for cargo, our airport has been the busiest in the world for 13 of the last 14 years. This strategic connectivity is enhanced by Hong Kong’s institutional advantages, reinforcing our role as a “super connector” in Asia. The unique “one country, two systems” arrangement makes this possible. As part of China, Hong Kong enjoys convenient and sometimes priority access to the vast Mainland market, particularly the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, a city cluster comprising Hong Kong, Macao and nine Mainland cities in Guangdong province. The Greater Bay Area’s collective population counts more than 87 million, with a GDP exceeding 1.8 trillion euros, surpassing that of Australia and the Republic of Korea. And, on a purchasing power parity basis, the per capita GDP of the Greater Bay Area is US$40,000, 75 per cent of Spain’s. (Note: HK’s is US$71,500) Hong Kong, let me add, is the most international city in China, thanks to the “two systems” that distinguish us. We are the only jurisdiction in China practising the common law system, our judiciary exercising its powers independently. Information, capital, goods and people flow freely in and out of our city. Our taxes are low and simple, with a currency pegged to the US dollar. Our regulatory systems and professional services align with the best international standards. Our commitment to the rule of law is exemplified by the Rule of Law Index, produced by the World Justice Project. In the latest Index, Hong Kong ranked 23rd and Spain 24th, both ahead of the United States. Hong Kong’s enduring strengths will continue to thrive, as our country is committed to the “one country, two systems” principle for the long term. This commitment has been reiterated by President Xi Jinping on multiple occasions, and reaffirmed at various high-level state and party meetings in Beijing. Last year, China and Spain celebrated the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties. And those ties continue to grow. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Sanchez was in Beijing, his second trip to the Chinese capital in two years. As political and economic ties between our two countries strengthen, Hong Kong is proud to play a pivotal role in fostering more two-way investments, and more economic, innovation and cultural exchanges.Financial Services One obvious area where we can contribute is financial services. Hong Kong, after all, is an international financial centre – number three worldwide, behind only New York and London, according to the latest Global Financial Centres Index, released today. We have a robust fund-raising market. Our stock market’s total capitalisation stands at 3.7 trillion euros, while assets managed by private equity and venture capital exceed 200 billion euros. Hong Kong is the leading biotech fund-raising hub in Asia, too. A defining feature of our capital market are the “Connect Schemes” with the Mainland. Under the schemes, Mainland investors can buy stock, bonds, ETFs and derivatives directly from Hong Kong, while foreign investors can buy similar financial products on the Mainland through Hong Kong. In short, Spanish companies looking to list or issue bonds in Hong Kong can tap the capital from both the Mainland and international markets. Hong Kong is also the world’s offshore renminbi hub. As the use of renminbi as a trade and reserve currency increases, businesses will naturally look for renminbi-denominated investment and risk-management tools. Hong Kong handles approximately 80 per cent of global offshore renminbi transactions, offering a wide range of investment and risk-management products. Then there’s green and sustainable finance. We have long been Asia’s leader in green finance, issuing, on average, more than 55 billion euros in green and sustainable debt a year over the past three years. Our green standards align with the best international practices. To take an example, the Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance, released in May, is highly compatible with the European Union’s Taxonomy for Sustainable Activities. For green projects looking for funding, Hong Kong is simply Asia’s premier destination.Innovation and Technology No less important is our commitment to rise as a global innovation and technology hub, together with the Greater Bay Area. We have what it takes to realise that ambition. Hong Kong is home to five global top 100 universities, and our two medical schools are among the world’s top 40. We also support 29 labs and research and development centres in collaboration with prestigious universities around the world. Our start-up system is thriving, offering a variety of innovative products in fintech, green tech, biotech, supply-chain management, big-data analytics and more. And 20 per cent of our 4 200 start-ups were founded by overseas entrepreneurs. Many of them are based in our two main innovation flagships: Science and Technology Park and Cyberport. And you will soon hear more from senior executives from these institutions, Albert and Eric. Let me add that our delegation members, many of them founders and CEOs of start-ups, are eager to talk to you, to explore business opportunities together. Hong Kong boasts a full-spectrum financing market, including banks, private equity funds, venture-capital funds and a well-developed stock and bond market. These provide abundant financial support for tech companies local and global, at different stages of growth. Greater Bay Area cities, let me add, each offers distinct strengths in innovation and technology; from basic research to technological application, commercialisation, and advanced manufacturing. This year, the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Global Innovation Index ranked the Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster second, globally, for the fifth consecutive year. Now, allow me now to highlight a few I&T areas where Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area offer singular advantages, starting with artificial intelligence. Crucial to AI are algorithms, supercomputing power, data and application scenarios, all of which Hong Kong is blessed with. We serve as a convergence point for Mainland and international data. We are also investing in the necessary i
nfrastructure, including a supercomputer centre. Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area provide many different application scenarios for AI. Many AI companies, let me add, are choosing Hong Kong to develop their large language models and to go global. Biotechnology is also a priority. And we are planning to conduct clinical trials for the Greater Bay Area. We are also working on a “primary evaluation system” that will allow medicine and medical devices approved in Hong Kong to be widely used in the Greater Bay Area, the Asian region and around the world. Then there’s the Northern Metropolis, a 300-square kilometre area in Hong Kong bordering Shenzhen. The Northern Metropolis is destined to rise as an innovation and technology hub, a vast bridgehead for Hong Kong’s co-operation with other Greater Bay Area cities. Ladies and gentlemen, that just touches on the opportunities Hong Kong is actively pursuing. But let me say that we’re particularly focused on four areas: AI, biotech, fintech and new energy and new materials. We are bringing in strategic companies to help us develop those sectors. Since the end of 2022, we have attracted over 100 tech companies to Hong Kong. Together, they will invest about 6 billion euros and create more than 15 000 jobs in our city. We are equally keen on attracting talent. Since the launch of the new talent admission schemes and updating existing ones, to date, we’ve received some 360 000 applications under our various talent admission schemes. About 226 000 applications have been approved, and 150 000 professionals have already arrived in Hong Kong, I’m pleased to say.Concluding remarks Ladies and gentlemen, Hong Kong offers boundless opportunities for Spanish companies – as a gateway to the Chinese Mainland and throughout Asia, and as a hub for financial services and I&T. My thanks to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council for hosting today’s luncheon, and to our Spanish partners, including CEOC, ICEX and the Spanish Chamber of Commerce, for make this welcome gathering possible. I am happy now to take your questions, to hear your thoughts and ideas on how our two economies and peoples can deepen our co-operation, creating far-reaching opportunities that benefit us all. Thank you.
The Government has decided to advance its allocations to the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the UN Population Fund (UNFPA). This comes as humanitarian needs are increasing while these organisations’ life-saving activities are severely underfunded. Sweden is therefore augmenting its 2024 support by SEK 461 million, of which SEK 186 million will be allocated to WFP to stave off famine, SEK 185 million to UNHCR to help displaced people and SEK 90 million to UNFPA to prevent maternal mortality and combat gender-based violence.
“We see how humanitarian crises around the world are becoming deeper and more numerous, while funding is not increasing at the same pace. A record number of people are displaced. More than a million people are on the brink of starvation in Gaza, Haiti, Mali, Sudan and South Sudan. The support we’ve approved will help the family in Darfur who lost everything when fleeing violence and conflict and, at best, might only have a loaf of bread to share for dinner tonight, or the heavily pregnant woman in Gaza who might not survive childbirth. Sweden’s development assistance makes a difference in these heartbreaking situations,” says Minister for International Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Dousa.
Hunger and forced displacement are currently two of the most prominent humanitarian challenges. More than 300 million people are suffering from chronic hunger in 71 countries, and more than 120 million people are displaced from their homes. For the first time in seven years, there is famine in the world – this time in Sudan, where more than 12 million people have been forced to flee their homes since April 2023. Women and girls are often particularly vulnerable in humanitarian crises and lack life-saving maternal health care and other sexual and reproductive health services. The assessment of the UN is that more than 300 million people will need humanitarian assistance in 2024.
At the same time, donor countries have only provided one third of the funding required. A number of humanitarian organisations are thus facing an urgent and extremely strained situation. These include the central UN agencies – UNHCR, WFP and UNFPA – where liquidity shortages are currently threatening their ability to help people in need. It is therefore particularly urgent that the Government disburse Sweden’s support to these UN agencies now, earlier than planned, when their life-saving operations are needed most. Sweden will also provide SEK 185 million to UNHCR and SEK 133 million to WFP in remaining funds that the Government approved earlier this year. Sweden is providing a total of SEK 779 million to these three UN agencies – much needed additional funding for an important cause.
Sweden is one of the world’s largest humanitarian donors. Every day, Swedish kronor help people with the most pressing humanitarian needs. This government decision means that Sweden is taking even greater responsibility for helping people who are displaced, suffering from famine, lacking maternal health care or subjected to gender-based violence. At the same time, more actors must renew their efforts to reduce humanitarian needs and expand the humanitarian donor base.