Join us to hear the City and see the City. This autumn, from the 10th to 24th of October, the City Festival of Music, Invention & Knowledge celebrates the City’s unique environment, beauty and creativity through a two week programme of live music and performance. As the birthplace of London, …

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Background:IDEALS (www.IDEALS.org.uk) was established in 2000 by John Beavis, a retired orthopaedic surgeon. Previously known as The Bosnian Fund its mission is to relieve poverty, distress and suffering in any part of the world affected by conflict and/or natural disaster. It has worked in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Lebanon and …

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Background:Among property taxes in major economies, the UK’s Council Tax is uniquely regressive, individually and regionally. The UK also has the most dysfunctional housing market among large advanced countries because of its restrictive planning regime, the exorbitant privileges accorded to landowners’ rights, the nature of Council Tax and other aspects …

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Background:Intellectual property (IP) is so often seen just as a legal issue, but it is fundamentally a business matter. At its core, IP represents valuable assets that can drive a company’s growth, innovation, and competitive advantage. Businesses leverage IP, such as patents, trademarks, copyrights, designs, and trade secrets, to create …

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Background:In 1688, Lloyd's of London, the iconic insurance market, was born in Edward Lloyd's Coffee House on Tower Street. From its inception, Lloyd's has played a unique role in driving innovation in insurance, addressing the evolving demands of society, commerce, and industry over the ensuing centuries. Today, Lloyd's underwrites approximately …

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The FS Club is delighted, in partnership with Bank of China, to invite you to our Autumn Mixer. Join us on the 9th floor of the Bank of China Lothbury, in the City of London for refreshments, canapes, and as always, interesting and thought provoking conversation. The Lord Mayor of …

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Background: In a world struggling with multiple challenges, David will share a story of hope and resilience, explaining how the UK bakery sector has joined together to support colleagues in Ukraine, to bring a sense of normalcy back into this war-torn country, through the age-old tradition of baking.He will also …

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Background:Web3, sometimes referred to as the “Semantic Web”, enhances the machine readability of web content and could usher in a more intelligent, interconnected, and decentralised internet, turbocharging decentralised finance and fintech blockchain applications.These innovations have the potential to reshape financial services to be more inclusive and equitable, greatly enhancing international …

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The fourteenth edition of the Global Green Finance Index provides the world’s most authoritative measure of the performance of financial centres in delivering green finance services.The report, assembled by combining the views of financial professionals from around the world, with quantitative data commissioned and curated from over 130 sources, uses …

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Background:Everyone knows about windows, bottles and domestic glassware, not to mention perhaps their phones and other screens. There is at least one use which is arguably as important, if not more so, than any of the above. To find out more, you will have to attend this lecture! Three eminent …

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Background: The NAO’s latest report Efficiency in government procurement of common goods and services (nao.org.uk), sheds much needed transparency on the relationship between commissions, fees and value for money in public procurement. The public sector spent £393 billion, or 14.8% of GDP on goods and services in 2022-23, of which …

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Background: Historically, the City required everyone who worked in the Square Mile to have the City freedom, which one could only obtain following membership of a City Guild/Livery (or, by courtesy, as widow of a freeman). That changed as a result of Government pressure in the 1830s. Gradually, people stopped …

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Background:Steel might exist as a crucial product in modern societies, but it's also a major source of CO2 emissions. So what kind of a role could green steel play in the path towards net zero and what is being done in the Industry?Steel manufacturing produces more CO2 than any other …

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Background:The popular astronomer and scientist Carl Sagan claimed, ‘You have to know the past to understand the present.’ This address is given with that in mind. The effect of the early railway age, which identified here as 1825 to 1875, upon the development of our law is little acknowledged now …

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Background: We shall be discussing the role AI and technology are playing in our lives, especially when it comes to health. We’ll unravel how this might be able to help us age better, and delay the onset of disease, so enjoy longer “healthspans”. Technological advancements are changing the game when …

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The Esop Centre is set to return to Guernsey for its annual conference on employee share schemes and trustees. Held in conjunction with STEP Guernsey, we look to emulate the success of the 2023 event, building on the achievements of this industry-leading networking and learning opportunity.The seminar will be on …

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Background: The relationship between Britain and China has shaped the modern world. Chinese art, philosophy and science have had a profound effect upon British culture, while the long history of British exploitation is still bitterly remembered in China today. But how has their interaction changed over time? From the early …

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Background: The global battle among the three dominant digital powers, the United States, China, and the European Union, is intensifying. All three regimes are racing to regulate tech companies, with each advancing a competing vision for the digital economy while attempting to expand its sphere of influence in the digital …

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Background: In this 45-minute webinar, employee share schemes expert David Craddock will consider the empowerment of the employee voice through employee participation. His talk will include a case history and the principles developed to promote the wider involvement in the company. David’s deliberations will also take into consideration employee representation, …

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In this webinar, we launch the tenth edition of the Smart Centres Index (SCI 10). The SCI is designed to track the development of technology and financial centres across the world in their support for and readiness for new technology applications.Investors, entrepreneurs, scientists, media, academics, governments, and regulators can attune …

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The Director of Busan Finance Center (BFC), Mr Youngho Park, together with others from BFC, are visiting London in November and will hold a mixer event to build connections between Busan and London. We will hear from Mr Youngho Park about latest developments in Busan and some of the opportunities …

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Background: Martin Wolf, the 2024 author of “The crisis in Democratic Capitalism” does not believe that the crises can be “fixed”. Instead, he sees the need for them to be managed to avoid autocracy, plutocracy, or climate catastrophe. Professor Colin Mayer believes otherwise. His 2024 book is about “Capitalism and …

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Background: A regular speaker at the FS Club, EU Regulatory Expert David Doyle is back to give a new year update on the EU financial services regulatory agenda. More to follow...Speaker:Dr David Doyle is known across Europe as a leading expert on EU financial services regulation and long-standing speaker at …

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The Global Financial Centres Index has been tracking the development of the world’s financial centres since 2007 and is the authoritative guide to financial centre success.In this webinar, Z/Yen will formally launch the 37th edition of the index.Programme:09:00 Introduction & Welcome – TBC09:05 Opening Remarks - TBC09:15 GFCI 37 Results …

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Background: The fifteenth edition of the Global Green Finance Index provides the world’s most authoritative measure of the performance of financial centres in delivering green finance services.The report, assembled by combining the views of financial professionals from around the world, with quantitative data commissioned and curated from over 130 sources, …

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In this webinar, we launch the eleventh edition of the Smart Centres Index (SCI 11). The SCI is designed to track the development of technology and financial centres across the world in their support for and readiness for new technology applications.Investors, entrepreneurs, scientists, media, academics, governments, and regulators can attune …

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Background: Zodia Markets is the UK’s only bank-backed cryptoasset company, being majority-owned by Standard Chartered Bank. Indeed, it is one of the few in the world. In this webinar we will explore its path to being established including the risks that the Bank was concerned about. We will also give …

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The Global Financial Centres Index is produced in partnership with the China Development Institute. We are very grateful to our colleagues at the Institute for their support and their assistance in translation of the GFCI 36 Report into Chinese.

The ninth edition of the Smart Centres Index was published on 30 May 2024. SCI 9 rates the innovation and technology offerings of leading commercial centres, tracking their ability to create, develop, and deploy technology.The SCI is a factor assessment index, combining a number of instrumental factors - data measures …

The thirteenth edition of the Global Green Finance Index (GGFI 13) was published on 23 April 2024. GGFI 13 evaluates green finance offerings from 96 major financial centres around the world. The GGFI serves as a valuable reference into the development of green finance for policy and investment decision-makers.There appears …

Focus On Bussan 2024 provides an update on developments in the Busan Finance Center (BFC). BFC is a member of Z/Yen’s Vantage Financial Centres network. The aim of this update is to provide readers with news about developments in Busan’s business and financial services activity.Since 2009, Busan Metropolitan City has …

The thirty-fifth edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 35) was published on 21 March 2024. GFCI 35 provides evaluations of future competitiveness and rankings for 121 financial centres around the world. The GFCI serves as a valuable reference for policy and investment decision-makers.China Development Institute (CDI) in Shenzhen …

MEA Finance spoke to Leevyn Isabel, Business Development Director, Private Client from Ocorian's award winning team about the dynamic landscape of succession and estate planning in the Middle East. Technical insights: diversity & inclusion in the financial sector: On the 25th of September, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) released Consultation Paper CP23/20 which outlined their continued efforts towards achieving a set of minimum standards for diversity and inclusion (D&I) within the UK’s financial services industry. The FCA believe that greater diversity and inclusion can create better outcomes for both consumers and markets and by understanding diverse consumer needs, firms can create healthier working cultures. 7 key factors to consider when navigating trust administration: In the intricate world of trust administration, poor management can have serious consequences. When contemplating the establishment of a trust or the replacement of an existing trustee, there are crucial que

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Managed by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, is currently inviting esteemed overseas financial institutions to join our global financial epicenter in Yeouido, Seoul. Benefit from exclusive office space, expert consultation on market entry, and unparalleled networking opportunities.

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Our latest collaboration with Consult Hyperion delves deep into why FIs need to change their mindset when it comes to #payments ecosystem modernisation. Instead of fixating solely on the front-end, it's time to invest more in your core technology and embrace a future-proof strategy. In our latest white paper, we dissect the payment system architectures that #FIs, #banks and #processors utilise today, highlighting their benefits, disadvantages, and where they should sit in your tech stack. This white paper is a must-read for C-level execs and payments professionals seeking to break free from the chains of the past.

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In a strategic move towards enhancing its technological capabilities, Kumari Bank, one of Nepal's leading commercial banks, has selected Compass Plus Technologies as its processor. The collaboration marks a pivotal moment for Kumari Bank as it transitions from its previous local processing company to a global processing partner with cutting-edge, adaptable technology that will elevate its capabilities and empower it to bring new products and services to the market at pace.

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C2Zero’s Carbon Cancellation Service (C4S) is a platform giving customers the power to prevent - not remove, not offset - CO2 (carbon) emissions from some of the world’s largest polluters. C4S helps businesses neutralise their unavoidable carbon footprints, or it can be seamlessly added as an “ingredient” to products, services, activities, events and more. Part of the Lord Mayor’s Connect to Prosper program, C4S enables businesses to make a positive environmental impact while fostering engagement with customers, employees, and other stakeholders. For a deeper understanding of how carbon cancellation works visit our website. You can also purchase your first carbon cancellation certificate online at https://carbon.uk.c2zero.net/. Carbon cancellation with C4S adds value to your business and to the environment.

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The basic plan is aiming to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2018. The plan consists of 101 tasks across 8 sectors, with a vision to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and to become a global hub city, free from the climate crisis. The major sector-specific greenhouse gas reduction measures, which will see an investment of 19.87 trillion won by 2030, include ?the expansion of renewable energy to improve energy self-sufficiency in buildings, ?the distribution of eco-friendly vehicles such as electric and hydrogen cars, ?the provision of energy reduction devices in agriculture, fisheries, and aquaculture, ?Waste Valorization, ?hydrogen cluster construction, ?expansion of blue carbon, ?carbon dioxide capture, storage, and utilization. The Basic Plan includes carbon-neutral policies that leverage Busan's strengths, such as creating a ?'15-minute carbon-neutral urban space,' ?becoming a 'global green city in the hydrogen economy,' ?leading a 'carbon-neutral circular

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Join Heart of the City for an online Lunch and Learn: How to Get Started on Your Net Zero Journey, on 7 August, hosted by Climate Programme Officer, Katie Rogers. This free online session is specifically tailored for small to medium-sized enterprises with an interest to learn how to measure their carbon footprint and navigate through the complexities of achieving net zero. Find out more and secure your place in the link provided..

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Roger Cohen – CEO and Founder of C2Zero will be in London from July 1 to July 15. To arrange a meeting or to find out more, reach out on LinkedIn or email link.

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Dr. Dong-Hae Lee commenced his career at the Korea Development Bank in 1989, ultimately ascending to the position of Head of the Maritime Finance Division. He has extensive working experience in international finance, having served at the Korea Development Bank with assignments in both London and New York. In regard of maritime finance, Dr. Lee led the establishment of the "KDB Let's Together Shipping Fund," with a scale of USD 800 million (approximately KRW 1 trillion) in 2009, and was also involved in large-scale shipping finance. Under his directorship, shipping finance volume reached more than USD 2.3 billion (approximately KRW 3.15 trillion), contributing to the construction of 20 ships for HMM as part of the South Korean government's "Five-Year Plan for Shipping Recovery. Before joining Busan Finance Center, Dr. Lee served as a deputy director of the Korea University Maritime Law Centre. Dr. Lee obtained his Ph.D. in Business Administration …

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The Mauritius International Financial Centre offers an attractive framework for Payment Intermediary Services (PIS), regulated by the Financial Services Commission, Mauritius. Leveraging Mauritius’ strong regulatory environment and reputation, the PIS licence empowers businesses to establish payment gateways for global online payment processing. PIS licensees can provide a range of services, including payment initiation, acquiring payment transactions, execution of payment transactions and money remittance, exclusively outside Mauritius. There are currently 29 PIS Licence holders operating from Mauritius. Mauritius has recently announced the extension of the Partial Tax Exemption Regime to holders of the PIS licence, provided they meet the substance requirements. As such, in respect of the year of assessment commencing on 1 July 2025 and every subsequent year of assessment, a PIS licence holder will be able to avail itself of a tax exemption of 80% on its income, hence benefiting from

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Lymington storage networking technology innovator, Bridgeworks, has signed its first global distributor – Nuvola Distribution. Nuvola is a leading Technology and Services Distributor based jn the UK and Republic of Ireland. This partnership brings together the award-winning and patented WANrockIT and PORTrockIT WAN acceleration technology, to be delivered by an experienced distribution specialist in the networking and data communications space. Nuvola is pleased toto enhance its portfolio with a focus on pure WAN acceleration, for both TCP/IP and block storage traffic. This addition to the Nuvola vendor range is via Bridgeworks’ award winning and intelligent AI-based high-speed routing. Bridgeworks technology is distinct from and complementary to the SD-WAN and Backup and Replication categories. It can be used uniquely or in combination with these technologies by any of the world’s medium and large enterprises to increase throughput across the WAN. The partnership demonstrates Bridgewo

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Valloop partners with GFT to build platform that helps accelerate and scale employee ownership: GFT has partnered with Valloop to design, build and support a digital platform that uses modern technologies such as AI, to automate and accelerate the processes to inclusive ownership for businesses. The Valloop Exchange is a single marketplace for businesses going through the transition, providing an easy-to-use model for employees and business owners to access tools and information about the process. Read our press release here.

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