In reality, socio-political events seem to be the primary driver of Bitcoin’s limited upside, considering that the global monetary base (M2) has expanded from $104 trillion in June to $108 trillion in October, while Bitcoin was rejected multiple times at the $68,000 resistance level. This suggests that the rally to $64,000 is unlikely to be rooted in the US fiscal situation.

Bitcoin/USD vs. global monetary base (M2, billion). Source: TradingView

Bitcoin 2-month futures contract premium. Source: Laevitas.ch

Source: Cointelegraph

The disappointment will now call into question that run of outperformance and leave pairs like GBP/AUD looking better protected on the downside.

Source: Poundsterlinglive

Bringing electricity supply to several hundred million of the world’s poorest would require investments of $21.3 billion by 2030.

This is according to the Global Association for the off-grid solar energy industry, which said the sum is six times larger than what it has managed to attract in investments so far, as Bloomberg reported.

The annual sum that needs to be spent on opening access to electricity to those without it would come in at about $3.6 billion over the period.

“Access to finance remains a significant challenge for the off-grid solar industry,” GOGLA said in a new report, as access to electricity actually worsens instead of improving. In 2022, the number of people without access to electricity rose for the first time in 20 years, to 685 million. This is the latest data available, the report noted.

The great majority of people without access to electricity live in sub-Saharan Africa and the numbers are rising. In 2010, 50% of those lived in the region. By 2022, this has risen to 85%, the industry association also reported.

The cheapest way to provide electrification to these no-access areas is off-grid solar, according to GOGLA, but it needs financial support from other entities. Per the organization’s proposal, a mix of debt, subsidies, and equity would do the job.

Africa has long been seen as a perfect destination for wind and solar investors but there have been obstacles. Lacking grid infrastructure is perhaps the biggest of these, along with poverty that makes it hard for many to afford electricity supply.

Currently, the World Bank and the African Development Bank are working on a plan to bring electricity to 300 million across Africa by 2030. The two have promised to provide $30 billion for the project, raising another $90 billion from other investors.

Source: OILPRICE

South Korea and Singapore have agreed to embark on a strategic partnership next year, marking the 50th anniversary of their establishment of diplomatic relations, the city state's Prime Minister Lawrence Wong said on Tuesday.

The two nations signed an extradition treaty and will look to deepen cooperation in fields such as artificial intelligence, defence and climate change, as well as upgrade their free trade pact.

"The upgrade is not just a change in name; it also means more substantial cooperation," Wong told a joint press conference with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who is on a state visit.

Both countries have many attributes in common, Wong added. "We were both 'Asian Tigers' that successfully transformed our economies," he said.

"And because we have benefitted greatly from regional peace and stability, we now seek to do our part to contribute towards the rule of law and strengthening the rules-based global order."

In addition, South Korea, the world's No.3 importer of liquefied natural gas (LNG), and Singapore, an LNG hub, signed a deal on cooperation in LNG supplies to benefit (from the) stability of the international supply chain, Yoon said in televised remarks.

Joint efforts could range from LNG swaps and joint purchases, to cooperation in tackling LNG supply chain crises, the Yonhap news agency said.

The countries also signed four pacts on supply chains, technology cooperation, food safety, and start-ups.

Yoon, who visited the Philippines this week, wraps up his trip to Singapore on Wednesday, before heading to Laos for a regional summit of leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) and several other Asian countries.

Seoul will participate in joint military exercises with Asean, and step up defence industry cooperation, the Straits Times newspaper quoted Yoon as saying in a written interview.

It will also work jointly to combat emerging threats, such as cyber and transnational crime, he added.

Source: Theedgemarkets

Dubai Holding, a sprawling investment conglomerate owned by the emirate’s ruler, is considering setting up a real estate investment trust to capitalize on the city’s property boom, according to people familiar with the matter.

The firm has lined up banks including Citigroup Inc., HSBC Holdings Plc and Emirates NBD Capital for the property trust offering, the people said, asking not to be named because the information is private. Deliberations are still at an early stage and decisions on the vehicle’s size haven’t been finalized, the people said.

Representatives for Dubai Holding, HSBC and Citi declined to comment. An Emirates NBD spokesperson didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Dubai Holding is one of the city’s principal investment vehicles with assets of 265 billion dirhams ($72 billion), ranging from luxury hotel chain Jumeirah to theme parks and the world’s tallest but non-functioning Ferris Wheel.

Setting up a REIT would allow investors to gain exposure to a number of prime income-generating assets overseen by one of the city’s biggest developers. The REIT would include some community developments that were recently transferred to Dubai Holding, the people said.

The deliberations come as Dubai experiences a relentless rise in demand for its property, with thousands of millionaires, financial professionals and businessmen flocking to the emirate in recent years to take advantage of its low-tax regime. Home values in the city have risen for 16 straight quarters and office leasing activity continues to surge.

One of Dubai’s main goals is to deepen its capital market and offering a REIT would present another channel to funnel financial flows into the emirate. Attempts to bolster the domestic stock market have already resulted in a slew of initial public offerings in the past two years.

Still, local REITs have faced challenges. Emirates REIT’s manager was probed four years ago by the Dubai Financial Services Authority over its corporate governance and later fined by the government agency. The Shariah-compliant real estate investment trust also faced opposition from bondholders over a proposed debt restructuring some years ago. Earlier this month, however, it sold another major asset to pare down debt.

Nakheel, Meydan

Earlier this year, Dubai Holding took control of two state-backed developers: Nakheel and Meydan.

While Nakheel is best known as the developer of Dubai’s artificial palm-shaped islands, it also teetered on the brink of default during the property crash in 2009 that nearly bankrupted Dubai. It has since consolidated operations and cut costs.

Meydan, for its part, owns one of the world’s most opulent horse racecourses. In 2021, its total debt amounted to about $4 billion, of which $2.6 billion required restructuring.

By bringing them “under the umbrella” of Dubai Holding, the emirate’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum is hoping to create a “more financially efficient entity,” he said earlier this year.

Both companies have benefited from Dubai’s status as one of the world’s best performing property markets. Last year, for instance, hundreds of brokers and investors queued in the summer heat for a chance to buy property on the undeveloped Palm Jebel Ali island, where homes started at 18.7 million dirhams.

Dubai Holding this year refinanced a 30 billion dirham loan to replace older facilities held by Nakheel and Meydan. That move, led by Dubai Holding Chief Executive Officer Amit Kaushal, was seen as a potential precursor to an eventual listing of some of the conglomerate’s units over the next few years, people familiar with the matter said at the time.

Source: Theedgemarkets