AGP Executive Report

Power & Infrastructure: NGCP warned Visayas grid alerts are driven mainly by unplanned outages, with the region still importing 650 MW to meet peak demand—highlighting the need for more reliable baseload generation and transmission investment. Aviation MRO Investment: Lufthansa Technik broke ground on a Clark, Philippines MRO hub on a 157,000-sq-m site, targeting up to 1,200 skilled jobs and expanding capacity in phases through 2028. Markets Watch: Philippine stocks edged down as investors waited on GDP data and weighed Middle East tensions; meanwhile, gold and silver slipped as oil, yields and the dollar firmed. Wealth & Capital Markets: Ascot Lloyd Investment Management will move to a single-manager model using BlackRock strategies, while Lighthouse Canton closed an $11m private credit deal in India. Investor Participation: Pakistan’s PSX crossed 600,000 investors, driven by Gen Z and first-time retail. Legal/Shareholder Actions: New securities class-action deadlines and notices continued across multiple public companies, including Cogent Communications, Bloom Energy, and Capricor Therapeutics. AI Infrastructure: UAE is considering up to $6.3bn for a major AI data center in Japan, potentially expanding into a much larger $12.6bn development footprint.

Market Mood: Philippine stocks slipped 0.13% as investors waited for GDP data and stayed cautious amid Middle East uncertainty. Energy & Shipping: Oil held steady as traders weighed Iran-Oman talks on Strait of Hormuz reopening, with supply-risk concerns still pricing in volatility. AI & Markets: A record-breaking US rally is back, but analysts say it still needs to prove itself as investors defend breakout levels and reassess AI-related risk. Corporate Turnaround: Diageo shares jumped after CEO Dave Lewis pledged up to $850m in cost savings, aiming to stabilize sales and lift profit. Private Capital & Policy: Malaysia pitched its investment climate and data-centre momentum, while India’s Lok Sabha passed a tax bill to extend incentives for foreign investors and electronics supply chains. Banking: Ukraine’s Deposit Guarantee Fund completed liquidation of Bank National Investments, ending the bank’s legal entity status. Investable Themes: China’s nuclear build saw record private investor participation (up to 20% equity stakes), while Ras Al Khaimah reported strong H1 investment inflows and new investor registrations.

Banking & Healthcare Costs: Bank of America says it now spends $250M+ a year on GLP-1 weight-loss drugs for employees, arguing it’s a “good investment” as GLPs rise to ~13% of its healthcare spend. Sports & Capital Markets: LIV Golf secured a “lead investor” after Saudi PIF pulled funding, with terms approved by the board and a September close expected—though star players Bryson DeChambeau and Jon Rahm still haven’t committed. Investor Alerts & Litigation: Rosen Law Firm launched/expanded securities investigations and class-action pushes tied to Suja Life (SUJA) and BellRing Brands (BRBR), adding to a busy week of shareholder-rights notices. Public Markets & Crypto Flows: Grayscale’s XRP fund showed Q2 share creations that partially offset earlier contraction, but investment losses still dragged net assets. Policy & Investing Rules: Ontario municipalities move toward broader “prudent investor” standards via ONE Joint Investment Board, widening what cities can invest in beyond the old “legal list.” Global Investment Push: Ireland venture capital rose 61% in Q2, while Indonesia and Saudi Arabia signed an MoU to boost direct investment. Climate & Land Deals: DENR plans to open 1.18M hectares of forest lands to “climate-smart investments,” projecting up to P38T in production value over 25 years.

Climate-smart forestry push (Philippines): DENR says it will open 1.18 million hectares of forest land to “climate-smart” investments under DAO 2026-34, targeting ₱38T in production value from 2027-2052 while creating jobs and rural livelihoods. Investor-friendly trade talks (Malaysia-EU): European business leaders urge Malaysia to keep momentum on a high-quality EU free trade deal for 2027, focusing on regulatory barriers, customs streamlining, and investment conditions. Public spending + long-term investment (India/Tamil Nadu): TVK’s first budget balances welfare with education, infrastructure, and human capital, including school modernization, digital libraries, and hostel upgrades. Mortgage growth outlook (Armenia): UBA head says mortgage loans are 20.3% of banking assets and expects ~16% annual growth by 2026. Healthcare rebound (US markets): Investors are returning to US healthcare stocks as earnings and deal activity improve; the S&P 500 healthcare index is up 11.2% over three months. SEBI enforcement (India): SEBI says Modulus Alternatives Investment Managers breached pro-rata drawdown rules in an AIF and reached a settlement after non-compliance. Wealth/market risk (hedge funds): Citadel reportedly snapped up a distressed AI-focused fund’s $16B portfolio in about 24 hours, aiming to prevent broader semiconductor selloff fallout. FX product tweak (Maldives): Bank of Maldives revised its FX Investment scheme so both principal and returns are paid in US dollars, with maturity requiring conversion back to MVR. Energy grid warning (Southeast Asia): Analysts flag weak grid maintenance as a bottleneck for clean power investment, citing recent blackout failures in Indonesia’s Sumatra. Port/logistics deals (South Africa): TNPA invited investors to develop two 25-year logistics sites at Durban’s Ambrose Park, targeting warehousing and distribution expansion.

Market Volatility Playbook: Federated Hermes’ deputy CIO says recent pullbacks are more like “turbulence” than a crash, arguing long-term investors can use dips to build. Portfolio Prep: Empower’s strategist pushes investors to diversify beyond AI, pointing to healthcare as a defensive growth diversifier. Banking Response: Korean banks are rolling out themed deposit products as retail money swings back from stocks, helping lenders lock in steadier funding ahead of possible rate hikes. Crypto/Tech Movers: Cipher Digital shares slid after earnings missed expectations, while Arista Networks rallied on results that beat forecasts and lifted its 2026 outlook. Global Deals & Policy: FIFA abandoned its private investment plan after backlash; China–Turkey ties face strain after BYD’s collapsed EV investment. Sukuk & Clean Energy: IILM hit a record $7.4B outstanding sukuk portfolio; Evren signed a 750MW renewable PPA with NTPC, expanding its clean energy pipeline. Investor-Litigation Radar: Multiple securities class actions and lead-plaintiff deadlines were announced across names including Rollins, Primoris, Photronics, Zillow, and IBM.

Space & Markets: SpaceX heads into its first public earnings test after a sharp post-IPO selloff, with investors focused on whether AI-driven contracts can turn promises into profits. Crypto Flows: Hashdex plans to liquidate its spot bitcoin ETF as inflows fade and investors rotate toward AI-linked returns. Regulation & Investor Access: India’s SEBI is considering easing offshore fund investor-disclosure rules for “high-risk” funds to attract longer-term foreign capital. Real Estate Investing: CBRE says Romania’s retail market stays resilient, with investment activity picking up despite a slower start to 2026. Capital Markets & Tax: India’s tax bill restores dividend tax relief for REIT and InvIT investors, aiming to protect income-focused portfolios. Infrastructure & Growth: Pakistan’s SIFC cleared lease issues for a $200m barite-lead-zinc mining project in Balochistan, unlocking implementation. Deal Watch: Fusemachines secured an additional $10.66m total from existing investor Meteora via convertible note and warrants. Global Investment Climate: Kazakhstan jumped 17 spots in an investment risk and resilience ranking, signaling improved perceived stability.

Securities Class Actions: A fresh wave of investor-rights filings hit the tape, with Rosen and others flagging lead-plaintiff deadlines for Wix (Sept. 22), Photronics (Sept. 4), Hertz (Sept. 22), and multiple IPO-era cases including Via (Aug. 10) and Zillow (Aug. 10), while Hagens Berman pushed GRAIL (Aug. 4) and PicS (Aug. 4) claims tied to alleged misstatements and omissions. Corporate/Market Moves: SpaceX’s post-IPO lockup is set to let early holders sell 911.5M shares, raising questions about near-term pressure even as some investors bet on profitability next year; Amazon also topped $3T market cap after a strong Q2, with AWS growth in focus. Investing & Capital Flows: Mubadala said it’s committing 44% of its portfolio to U.S. interests; BlackRock deepened its push into tokenized real-world assets with two funds. Real Economy: BlueCross Healthy Place added a $10M investment to Chattanooga’s Riverfront Parks NEXT, and Virginia’s childcare plan analysis claims $1.68B in annual funding could generate $1.79B in annual returns. Defense/Tech Deal: XTEND and JFB Construction agreed to a $1.5B all-stock merger to build a Nasdaq-listed defense robotics platform.

Foreign Investment & Markets: RHB IB expects Iskandar Malaysia’s Special Economic Zone blueprint and master plan to be unveiled by year-end, with sentiment boosted by the Johor Bahru–Singapore RTS Link completion in December; it also flags steady manufacturing and data-centre interest supporting property demand. Renewables Deal: TotalEnergies agreed to buy Shell’s 4GW onshore renewables business in Europe and also sell a 50% stake in a 1.2GW onshore solar-and-wind portfolio to a KKR-managed insurance account, with both deals targeted for 2026 subject to approvals. Corporate Earnings: Avista reported Q2 2026 results and confirmed 2026 non-GAAP utility earnings guidance of $2.52–$2.72 per diluted share. ETF Flows & Income: YieldMax announced weekly distributions for MSST, NVIT and TEST, with investors reminded payouts can vary. Legal & Shareholder Action: A wave of securities-fraud class actions and investigations continues, including Utz Brands (take-private deal scrutiny), Rackspace (AI-related drop), Capricor (clinical data), and multiple other tech/biotech names with lead-plaintiff deadlines in August–September. Policy Watch: France tightened foreign investment screening, lowering the trigger to 10% for sensitive-sector listed firms to close a national-security gap.

FIFA Governance Shock: UEFA has threatened FIFA with legal action and demanded document preservation tied to FIFA’s scrapped World Cup private-investment plan, escalating a leadership fight around Gianni Infantino. Shareholder Watch: Roblox is under a new securities-law investigation after a Morningstar report flagged weak results and suspended guidance, while SkyWest saw multiple insider stock sales from executives (including the CEO) that long-term investors will be watching for signals. Market Pulse: Singapore property remains flush with capital but short on standout deals, with Q2 investment sales hitting $15.6B and commercial assets leading. Rates & Investment Climate: Bangladesh Bank cut its repo rate by 50 bps to 9.50% to spur private credit and investment, and Qatar’s MoCI and QDB ran a workshop to improve the legal framework for foreign partnerships. Real Economy Moves: Egypt launched a lease-to-own industrial land system to reduce upfront costs for manufacturers, and Nigeria’s NGX ended the week down as investors took profit, shedding about N1.26T in value.

Governance & Independence: The Social Security Investment Fund says its investment decisions follow an integrated, multi-stage corporate process, with the Social Security Board setting policy while an Investment Committee reviews deals—insisting decisions are professional and independent of government calls. Retail Investor Risk: South Korea’s KOSPI slid 22% in a month, with retail investors reportedly exiting record volumes after extreme volatility, while stablecoin outflows from major exchanges hit $10.4B over 18 months—raising investor-protection and FX concerns. Market Structure & Scams: A Malaysian woman lost RM290,910 to an online investment scam after 16 payments into multiple accounts; meanwhile, UK Government Investments faced a data breach exposing details of 51 officials for nearly 40 hours. Policy & Capital Flows: India’s Semicon 2.0 push targets 12 semiconductor units and about $20B investment, with three already producing chips. Global Finance Watch: FIFA scrapped its World Cup private investment plan after backlash, with UEFA saying it lost confidence in Infantino.

FIFA Backlash Hits Investors: Gianni Infantino scrapped FIFA’s plan to sell minority stakes in a World Cup commercial subsidiary to private investors after UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC rejected it, with UEFA saying Infantino has “lost confidence” and demanding a deep governance reset. EU Governance Pressure: Germany’s DFB called for a full investigation and a “fundamental cultural change” at FIFA, escalating scrutiny ahead of Infantino’s re-election push. Telangana Investment Push: India’s Revanth Reddy plans a US/UK/Canada trip to attract capital for Telangana, spotlighting “Bharat Future City” and sectors like AI, data centers, semiconductors and green energy. Apple Investor Reaction: Apple beat earnings expectations but warned supply constraints (advanced chipmaking) and softer services momentum, sending shares lower after hours. HSBC Portfolio Sale: HSBC agreed to sell its A$36bn Australian home and personal loan book to Blackstone, closing in 1H 2027 pending approvals. Energy Capex Decision: Eni and TotalEnergies backed a final investment decision for the Cronos Block 6 offshore Cyprus gas field, targeting LNG exports via Egypt. Market Credit Tightening: Loan investors pushed back on borrower-friendly terms amid AI disruption fears, widening spreads and delaying debt deals. Investor Legal Deadlines: Rosen and other firms issued multiple securities class-action notices (including Bloom Energy and Hertz), urging affected shareholders to seek lead-plaintiff roles before late-summer deadlines.

World Football Governance: FIFA has scrapped its $4.2bn plan to bring private investors into World Cup commercial rights after UEFA, CONCACAF and the AFC pushed back hard, with UEFA calling it a “secret” and “opaque” deal and saying trust in Gianni Infantino is badly shaken. Regulatory/Legal Risk: India’s CBI registered an FIR against Reliance Capital and Anil Ambani over an alleged EPFO-linked debenture fraud, citing a claimed wrongful loss of Rs 1,816.22 crore tied to defaults on secured NCDs. AI & Infrastructure Investment: Goldman Sachs says AI infrastructure spending is broadening beyond big tech, with more enterprise adoption and sovereign initiatives, plus growing “GPU backstop” support from neocloud providers. Corporate/Market Watch: SpaceX’s first earnings-call prep is drawing retail questions as the stock slides near its IPO-era lows, while Coinbase’s results boosted trading-volume share but still sent shares down after a net loss. Fixed Income Flows: Nepal’s debenture trading surged 927% in 2025/26, reflecting investor appetite for steadier returns. Regional Capital Markets: Foreign investors returned as net buyers on Pakistan’s PSX in July after nearly two years of selling. Renewables Growth: CleanMax reported Q1 FY27 revenue up 107% to INR 832 crore and expanded its contracted renewable portfolio to 6.8 GW.

Philippines EV Push: President Marcos signed EO 121 to operationalize the P60B Electric Vehicle Incentive Strategy (Evis), offering up to P15B per EV maker for producing at least 10,000 units—aimed at pulling more manufacturing investment into Southeast Asia. Cambodia-Philippines Ag Trade: The Philippines and Cambodia plan to expand agri and fisheries trade to attract investment and build more resilient regional supply chains after $15.9M in bilateral trade in 2025. FIFA Investor Backlash: FIFA defended its plan to sell minority stakes in World Cup commercial rights via FIFA Forward Enterprise, insisting “nobody is selling football,” as UEFA and CONCACAF escalated opposition and threatened boycotts. Renewables Financing: Avaada Group secured about $1.3B financing closure for a 2.15 GW renewable portfolio, backed by major Indian lenders, signaling continued bank appetite for utility-linked clean projects. Semiconductor Expansion: Oregon’s Strategic Investment Program is set to support Lam Research’s up-to-$1.7B Tualatin expansion through 2041, targeting R&D and high-wage jobs. Market/Investor Watch: Canada’s CIRO halted trading in Helius Minerals (HHH) pending news, while gold sentiment stayed range-bound near $4,000 as investors watch upcoming jobs data.

World Football Finance: UEFA has voted to boycott FIFA competitions unless FIFA drops its plan to sell stakes in a new commercial entity, escalating a backlash over the proposed $20bn World Cup investment structure. Corporate Deals & Capital Markets: Amazon shares jumped after a blowout Q2, with AWS growth and AI/custom-chip revenue cited as investors’ focus shifts back to monetizing capex. Consumer Finance Product Push: Apple rolled out an “Upgrade” device leasing program via Klarna, signaling a new way to drive upgrades and higher-priced purchases. AI Infrastructure Investment: Estonia’s largest data centre is set for nearly €200mn expansion to boost AI computing capacity, aligning with EU “AI gigafactory” ambitions. Renewables Project Finance: Avaada secured about $1.3bn financing for a 2,150MW renewable portfolio backed by major Indian lenders, targeting supply to state utilities. Securities Litigation Watch: A wave of U.S. securities-fraud class actions and investigations continues, including ADMA, IBM, Hub Group, Insulet, and others, with multiple August deadlines for lead plaintiffs. Policy & Trade: Malaysia’s minister urged foreign investors to deliver tangible economic benefits as the trade surplus narrows.

M&A Watch: Philippines’ Energy Development Corp. (EDC) says it’s open to talks after Indonesia’s Barito Group floated a $5B takeover offer, though it’s still “no obligation” to respond. Policy & Investment Climate: The Philippines’ PEZA backed a Marcos-approved lift of a Metro Manila IT park moratorium, arguing it won’t drain provincial investment and could expand into Luzon hubs. Sports Finance Backlash: UEFA and CONCACAF rejected FIFA’s plan to sell World Cup stakes to private investors, citing governance and process concerns; UEFA threatens a boycott of FIFA competitions. Big Tech Capex Signal: Amazon’s earnings beat sent shares higher as AWS grew 37% and the company raised 2026 capex to $220B, despite dipping free cash flow. Real Estate Capital Markets: Caldwell Investment Management plans to migrate its U.S. Dividend Advantage Fund ETF units from the TSX to the CSE. REIT Update: Omega Healthcare Investors expanded skilled nursing holdings and reshaped operator mix, while Ventas boosted 2026 senior living investments to $4.5B. Market Pulse: Nigeria’s NGX slid again, losing about N1.0T in value as selling pressure dominated.

Renewables Push: Brookfield launched Lumara in India with ~$600m to develop 6GW+ of solar, wind and battery storage, aiming to cut PPA, grid and land delays. Battery Pivot: Acme Solar’s Q1 call signals storage is now the margin and growth lever, with upgraded BESS commissioning guidance and locked-in battery revenue. Chip Deal Watch: Intel is licensing Atom processor tech to RosaicLabs, a rare move tied to CEO Lip-Bu Tan’s co-investor network. Investor Transparency: CoinShares confirmed a voluntary quarterly reporting cadence and seeks shareholder approval for buyback authority. Market Stress in Korea: South Korea’s leveraged-fund crackdown may not fully calm volatility after a $2tn+ rout, with regulators capping single-stock leveraged fund exposure and raising ETF trading costs. Fraud & Enforcement: CBI secured deportation of INTERPOL Red Notice subject Rahul Kalokhe over alleged investment fraud. Cybercrime Warning: Malaysia’s Terengganu police report rising commercial crime losses, led by cyber scams and love scams. Gold Demand Signals: India’s gold demand fell 6% YoY in Q2, while gold investment demand stayed resilient amid inflation and FX concerns. Football Finance Clash: CAF urged members to review FIFA’s plan to sell minority stakes in major competitions, as backlash grows over commercialization and governance.