Cross Border Investment

European Union – October 29, 2026 -- The number of retail clients receiving cross-border investment services in the EU/EEA rose 47% in 2025 from 2024 to about 15.5 million, according to the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA).

That is almost twice the 2023 level. ESMA compiled the annual analysis with national competent authorities (NCAs), using data from investment firms across 30 jurisdictions.

Firm numbers rise 2% while client numbers surge

A total of 379 financial firms provided cross-border services to retail clients. That is 2% more than in 2024, so the client increase far outpaced firm growth.

Complaints stayed stable, down 0.2% from 2024.

Cyprus hosts 20% of passporting firms

Cyprus remained the main base for firms providing cross-border investment services in the EU/EEA, with 20% of passporting firms. Luxembourg followed with 14% and Germany with 12%.

Oakland – October 14, 2026 -- The Vietnamese American Business Association (VABA) reports a network of more than 2,200 professionals and 720 businesses across 12 U.S. states and eight countries as it marks 15 years since its 2011 founding, and says its VABA Venture Capital arm is backed by $50 million from the Duong family office.

Founder and chairman David Duong built the group after launching a California recycling business and investing in Vietnam. His family arrived in the Bay Area in 1979 as refugees and started by collecting and selling cardboard and other recyclables. That work led to California Waste Solutions, founded in 1992, which expanded into municipal recycling services in Oakland and San Jose.

Genoa – – October 09, 2026 -- Midea Group has completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in Esaote S.p.A., the Italian medical imaging maker that posted fiscal 2025 revenues of EUR 267 million, 70% of them from international markets.

Esaote joins Midea Healthcare as an independent company

Esaote becomes part of Midea's Healthcare Division but will continue to operate as an independent global medical equipment company. It stays headquartered in Genoa, with R&D and manufacturing facilities in Italy and the Netherlands. Franco Fontana remains CEO, confirmed by the new shareholders.

Midea's DR, MRI, CT and DSA lines meet Esaote's ultrasound and open MRI strengths

Midea's portfolio covers DR, high-field MRI, CT and DSA. Esaote contributes premium-brand strengths in ultrasound, open and dedicated MRI systems and medical IT solutions. Esaote ranks among the top ten global manufacturers of ultrasound and of open and dedicated MRI.

Manama – October 01, 2026 -- The Bahrain Economic Development Board will convene the fourth edition of Gateway Gulf on November 1-2, 2026, at the Four Seasons Hotel Bahrain Bay, building on a 2025 edition that generated more than USD 17 billion in announced transactions and investment commitments.

Invitation-only forum targets 200 senior decision-makers across five continents

The event, themed 'Reimagining Global Partnerships, Powering Sustainable Growth,' will gather ministerial officials, chief executives and investors from the Middle East, Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America. Bahrain's public and private sector representatives will join 200 senior decision-makers for two days of curated networking, private meetings and investment showcases.

Pleasanton, Calif. – September 20, 2026 -- Healthcare Triangle, Inc. (Nasdaq: HCTI) has signed on as the U.S. technology and capital-markets partner for the newly launched Kanzun-ARCB Growth Fund, a vehicle designed to move Malaysian healthcare companies toward Middle Eastern capital and, ultimately, U.S. capital markets.

ARCB and Kanzun formalize the fund via a Kuala Lumpur MOU

The Kanzun-ARCB Growth Fund launched through a Memorandum of Understanding signed in Kuala Lumpur, pairing Dubai-based ARCB Investment LLC's capital network with Kanzun Ventures Management Sdn. Bhd.'s deal execution in Malaysia. ARCB opened its Asia-Pacific office in Kuala Lumpur in April 2026, and this fund represents its first major platform launch in the region.

Hong Kong – September 17, 2026 -- Nearly 300 government officials, consuls general and business leaders convened in Hong Kong for a conference positioning the city as the primary financial and innovation gateway linking the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) to global markets, ahead of two major APEC meetings the region will host later this year.

Hong Kong to host APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting in October, Shenzhen to hold Leaders' Meeting in November

Hong Kong SAR Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said in a video address that the 33rd APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting will be held in Shenzhen in November — a first for the GBA — while Hong Kong separately hosts the APEC Finance Ministers' Meeting in October. Lee said the city's deep, liquid capital markets and professional talent pool have made it Asia's premier hub for fundraising, asset management and risk management.