Fintech PR
OPEC Fund delivers record results in 2023 with US$1.7 billion in development funding
VIENNA, Jan. 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The OPEC Fund for International Development, a multilateral development finance institution headquartered in Vienna, Austria, expanded its new commitments to US$1.7 billion across 55 projects globally in 2023, providing funding to address climate change and energy transition, support social and economic resilience and boost sustainable growth. The organization was established 48 years ago and the 2023 results represent a record in new commitments.
OPEC Fund Director-General Dr. Abdulhamid Alkhalifa said: “In 2023, the OPEC Fund increased its impact through the delivery of development support in a challenging global environment. We grew our lending program across the board in response to strong demand by our partner countries and thanks to our success in raising additional funds from the capital markets. We were also able to leverage our partnerships to mobilize development support by working with multilateral development banks and development finance institutions such as the Arab Coordination Group. And we are well on track with our 2030 target to commit 40 percent of all new financing to climate action.”
In 2023, the OPEC Fund delivered strong results across Africa (42 percent of investments), the Middle East and North Africa & Europe and Central Asia (20 percent), Latin America & the Caribbean (20 percent), as well as Asia and the Pacific (18 percent) through public and private sector lending, trade finance and grants operations.
The largest share in last year’s lending program was dedicated to policy-based-lending (31 percent). In cooperation with financing partners, the OPEC Fund supported sustainable development government programs in Botswana (US$100 million), Cote d’Ivoire (US$74 million), Armenia (US$54 million), North Macedonia (US$54 million), Colombia (US$150 million) and Paraguay (US$100 million) to bolster economic, social and climate resilience.
The transport and storage sector received the major share of OPEC Fund’s support (14 percent) with the OPEC Fund helping to build roads and sustainable transport infrastructure for improved connectivity in India (US$100 million), Kyrgyz Republic (US$15 million), Tajikistan (US$10 million), Uzbekistan (US$47 million) and Bosnia and Herzegovina (US$28 million).
Aligned with the OPEC Fund Climate Action Plan, support in renewable energy projects constituted nearly 60 percent of all lending in the energy sector. The OPEC Fund supported the development of a solar plant in Niger (US$25 million), a 240 MW wind farm in Azerbaijan (US$50 million) and two wind power plants in Uzbekistan totalling 1 GW of renewable energy capacity (US$40 million). OPEC Fund energy sector investments also included projects to promote energy security in Tanzania (US$30 million) and Bangladesh (US$60 million), aligned with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 7 – Clean and affordable energy.
In the financial sector, the OPEC Fund provided US$171 million, partnering with governments and local banks to provide on-lending to small and medium-sized enterprises, promoting job creation and access to finance in Albania, Botswana, Paraguay and Vietnam. US$273 million of trade finance was offered to partner banks to support the movement of critical commodities and goods in developing economies.
Aligned with its Food Security Action Plan, the OPEC Fund provided US$59 million to promote agricultural sustainability and fisheries in Benin, Liberia and Zimbabwe. The institution also dedicated US$104 million towards education, US$61 million to water and sanitation and US$50 million to health projects primarily in Africa and Asia.
Successful development delivery in 2023 was also fuelled by the OPEC Fund’s debut in the capital market, which the institution tapped for the first time in its history in January. The issuance of the OPEC Fund’s benchmark SDG bond raised US$1 billion for sustainable development projects. The OPEC Fund’s excellent standing in the market was confirmed in December when the international rating agency Standard & Poor’s assigned the OPEC Fund a credit rating upgrade to AA+ with stable outlook, citing its “ambitious growth agenda”.
In 2023, the OPEC Fund continued to expand partnerships with peer institutions including the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Arab Coordination Group (ACG), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United National Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the World Food Programme (WFP) among others.
About the OPEC Fund
The OPEC Fund for International Development (the OPEC Fund) is the only globally mandated development institution that provides financing from member countries to non-member countries exclusively. The organization works in cooperation with developing country partners and the international development community to stimulate economic growth and social progress in low- and middle-income countries around the world. The OPEC Fund was established in 1976 with a distinct purpose: to drive development, strengthen communities and empower people. Our work is people-centered, focusing on financing projects that meet essential needs, such as food, energy, infrastructure, employment (particularly relating to MSMEs), clean water and sanitation, healthcare and education. To date, the OPEC Fund has committed about US$27 billion to development projects in over 125 countries with an estimated total project cost of more than US$200 billion. The OPEC Fund is rated AA+/Outlook Stable by Fitch and AA+, Outlook Stable by S&P. Our vision is a world where sustainable development is a reality for all.
CONTACT:
Basak Pamir
T+43151564174
[email protected]
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Fintech PR
Xinhua Silk Road: Conference on deepening financial openness and co-op in Northeast Asia held in NE. China’s Shenyang
BEIJING, Dec. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — The 2nd Northeast Asia Finance Conference and 2024 “Revitalizing Liaoning with Finance” Excellent Cases Release kicked off on Tuesday in Shenyang, capital of northeast China’s Liaoning Province, aiming to further deepen financial openness and cooperation in the Northeast Asian region and advance construction of a regional financial center.
The main forum held a series of activities, including an opening ceremony, two round-table dialogues on “finance + biomedical industry” and “finance + cultural industry”, a symposium for foreign financial institutions, a seminar on innovative development of financial clusters, a forum on development of technology and finance, a forum on industrial low-carbon transformation and financial innovation, as well as an enterprise project roadshow and industry-finance matchmaking event.
During the conference themed on “accelerating the construction of a regional financial center in Northeast Asia and creating a new highland for opening up”, excellent cases of revitalizing Liaoning through finance in 2024 were unveiled and the index for core areas of regional financial centers in northeast China was released.
The conference also held an unveiling ceremony for the upgrading of the Shenyang finance and trade development zone to a national-level development zone, and a launch ceremony of a platform for Shenyang industrial insights and decision analysis.
The conference was co-hosted by China Economic Information Service, Liaoning Branch of Xinhua News Agency, Shenhe District People’s Government, Shenyang local financial administration under guidance of Shenyang Municipal People’s Government and Liaoning local financial supervision and administration bureau.
Original link: https://en.imsilkroad.com/p/343777.html
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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/xinhua-silk-road-conference-on-deepening-financial-openness-and-co-op-in-northeast-asia-held-in-ne-chinas-shenyang-302339538.html
VILNIUS, Lithuania, Dec. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — BingX, a global leading cryptocurrency exchange, is excited to announce the launch of ALTCOIN Index, the first futures trading pair involving top altcoins. This innovative trading product offers users a one-click solution to efficiently track and trade major cryptocurrency trends with ease.
Traditionally used in stock markets, a futures index is a financial derivative that tracks the performance of a group of assets, such as stocks of commodities. These instruments were first introduced to simplify trading by allowing investors to speculate on or hedge against the collective movements of selected market sectors. Instead of purchasing individual stocks, traders are able to access broad market exposure in a single transaction, saving time and reducing costs.
In the cryptocurrency market, this new ALTCOIN/USDT futures trading pair works similarly by bundling the performance of the top mainstream cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and stablecoins. The current index includes ETH, XRP, SOL, BNB, DOGE, ADA, TRX, AVAX, and SHIB. This approach is more efficient compared to buying individual cryptocurrencies or ETFs as this allows for direct speculation using tiered leverage options without the need to manage multiple positions, effectively diversifying trading risks associated with individual asset volatility.
Vivien Lin, Chief Product Officer of BingX, commented on the new offering: “By aggregating a range of leading cryptocurrencies into a single trading instrument, we’re giving users a practical and efficient way to better capture market trends. This index trading pair should help our less experienced users with their trading goals more easily, particularly when they are unsure which asset to trade and just want to trade major altcoins in general with leverage.”
BingX users can take advantage of tiered leverage options and competitive rates consistent with the platform’s perpetual futures terms, simplifying open order management and enhancing trading efficiency. The platform also ensures that the index composition remains current, with regular quarterly adjustments and temporary updates in response to market conditions.
About BingX
Founded in 2018, BingX is a leading crypto exchange, serving over 10 million users worldwide. BingX offers diversified products and services, including spot, derivatives, copy trading, and asset management – all designed for the evolving needs of users, from beginners to professionals. BingX is committed to providing a trustworthy platform that empowers users with innovative tools and features to elevate their trading proficiency. In 2024, BingX proudly became the official crypto exchange partner of Chelsea Football Club, marking an exciting debut in the world of sports.
For more information please visit: https://bingx.com/
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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/bingx-introduces-altcoin-index-futures-trading-one-click-countless-trends-302339486.html
SINGAPORE, Dec. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Nodepay, a decentralized AI platform transforming unused internet bandwidth into real-time data pipelines for AI training, today announced it has raised a second round of funding, bringing its total to $7 million.
The latest funding round welcomed new strategic investors IDG Capital ($23 Billion AUM), Mythos, Elevate Ventures, IBC, Optic Capital, Funders.VC, Matthew Tan (Etherscan founder) and Yusho Liu (CoinHako Co-founder & CEO) as notable angels. They join an impressive roster of previous backers that includes Animoca Brands, Mirana, OKX Ventures, JUMP Crypto, Tokenbay Capital and more.
Nodepay’s network taps into a global community of users running privacy-protected nodes. By sharing their spare internet bandwidth, these participants earn rewards for creating a real-time data source that improves AI inference with accurate, timely information—an approach known as Retrieval Augmented Generation (RAG).
Darren Nguyen, co-founder of Nodepay commented: “Our mission is to develop solutions that create tangible value for both AI developers and its end users. We give contributors a share in the AI ecosystem they help fundamentally build.”
Nodepay’s infrastructure platform integrates real-time data retrieval, a Web3-focused decentralized answer engine, reinforcement learning for more accurate model output, and gamified human verification. Together, these components combine to create a fair, collaborative, and innovative AI ecosystem.
Eric Le, investment director of IDG Capital, said, “The team at Nodepay is democratizing the AI economy by providing a platform that allows users to share directly in the value they create. We’re proud to support their vision of making AI more accessible and beneficial to all.”
With this funding, Nodepay will continue to commercialize its infrastructure to benefit both its community and partner AI labs. As it prepares to launch on Solana, Nodepay stands ready to lead the next era of decentralized AI development and training.
Already serving over 1.5 million active users worldwide, Nodepay continues to expand its reach, solidifying its role as a leader in the integration of AI and blockchain technology. Users can expect further updates and new announcements through their social channels and official website.
About Nodepay
Nodepay is a decentralized AI platform dedicated to democratizing AI training through real-time data retrieval. By turning idle internet bandwidth into a valuable resource, Nodepay fuels the next generation of AI models and stands at the forefront of AI decentralization.
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View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/nodepay-raises-7m-total-funding-to-power-ai-growth-with-real-time-data-infrastructure-302339478.html
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