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Standard Chartered GBA Business Confidence Indices reveal steady business sentiment amid persistent external uncertainties; Hong Kong outperforms its peers Over half of respondents eyeing business expansion in the Middle East

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Standard Chartered and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) jointly released the latest Standard Chartered Greater Bay Area Business Confidence Index (GBAI), which revealed the business sentiment for most companies in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) remained steady amid persistent external uncertainties in Q4-2025.

Following a rebound in the previous quarter, the GBAI indices showed a moderate quarter-on-quarter retreat in the fourth quarter of 2025. This has been seen as the diminishing returns from front-loading activities as well as from a more cautious investment, financing and capacity utilisation amid ongoing external uncertainties.

The “current performance” index for business activity in Q4 retreated to 50.3 from 54.7 in the previous quarter, while the “expectations” index dropped to 51 from 55.7. Despite the drop, both indices remained in expansionary territory, a clear indication that GBA businesses still maintained a broadly positive outlook.

Turning to the sub-indices, something of a mixed picture in terms of both “current performance” and “expectations” was evident for the quarter overall. More specifically, with regard to “current performance”, the “new orders”, “fixed asset investment” and “profit” sub-indices all fell below the 50 watershed level. This, however, was seen as a correction following the end of the front-loading process that had occurred in earlier quarters. Subdued growth in loans and fixed asset investment in the Chinese Mainland also added to this slight downward tendency.

On the contrary, the “expectations” remained relatively positive, with sub-indices for “production/sales”, “new orders” and “profits” all staying in expansionary territory in the fourth quarter last year. Taken together, these upbeat outcomes can be seen as indicating the strong likelihood of robust demand persisting through the first quarter of 2026 and beyond.

In terms of individual GBA city evaluations, the readings for Hong Kong were well above the survey average. This confirmed that the city’s economic rebound remained very much on course at year-end, with the “current performance” sub-index up 5.7 points to 57.9 and its “expectations” reading up 1.8 points to 55.4. Overall, this sustained recovery in growth momentum was seen as being driven by the city’s “professional services” and “retail/wholesale” sectors.

Wing Chu, Deputy Director of Research, HKTDC, said: “Following the extension of the trade truce between the US and China, business sentiment in Hong Kong continued to improve, allowing the city to outperform its peer cities across the GBA. This strength stands in contrast to the broader moderation seen in the overall GBA indices amid persistent external uncertainties. This recovery momentum in Hong Kong is expected to remain intact, supported by buoyant business activities and solid performance of the professional services sector – one of the key factors that underscore the city’s solid recovery trajectory. The HKTDC will continue to proactively support GBA enterprises in leveraging Hong Kong’s professional services to ‘go global’ and capitalise on opportunities in emerging markets, including those in the Middle East.”

In order to get a greater understanding of the wider aspirations of GBA businesses, the survey also examined their interest in the expansion into the Middle East. Encouragingly, over half of the respondents (54.8%) had an active interest in expanding into the Middle East, with the UAE (53.9%) and Saudi Arabia (53.2%) selected as the top two priority markets.

Digging deeper into these findings, of the companies that have already started or are interested in expanding into the Middle East, nearly 60% were engaged in trading/ distribution activity. This was followed by manufacturing (42.7%) and logistics/ storage (28.3%).

Despite the widespread optimism over the emerging opportunities in the Middle East, many GBA businesses were also aware that they faced a number of challenges when it came to ensuring success. Overall, the top three concerns here were: “lack of understanding of local laws and regulations” (50.4%), “opaque local regulatory environment and restrictions on foreign investment” (43.1%) and “cultural and business differences” (42%).

Crucially, in order to help manage such challenges, some 99.2% of respondents saw Hong Kong’s world‑class services as set to play pivotal roles in ensuring the success of their Middle East expansion plans. Particular emphasis was placed on the decisive contribution of the city’s professional services sector, especially when it came to successfully navigating local regulatory and compliance requirements.

Hunter Chan, Economist, Greater China, Standard Chartered, said: “With increasingly complex geopolitical risks, global corporates not only actively diversify their supply chains but also explore new markets in recent years, thereby giving rise to numerous emerging trade corridors. The thematic survey found that the GBA corporates are interested in entering the Middle East, which aligns with Hong Kong Government’s policy focus to set up the ‘GoGlobal Task Force’ to leverage Hong Kong’s advantages as a ‘go global’ platform, and deepen economic ties with the Middle East. The survey also found that almost all respondents indicate that Hong Kong services are needed to help in expansion into the Middle East to address the challenges posed by local regulations and cultural differences. With its advantage in professional services, Hong Kong can further leverage its unique position as a ‘super-connector’, becoming a springboard for enterprises to develop overseas markets.”

About the GBAI

The GBAI is the first forward-looking quarterly survey in the market that looks at the business sentiment and synergistic effects in cities and industries across the GBA. It is compiled based on a survey of more than 1,000 companies in the GBA covering the manufacturing and trading, retail and wholesale, financial services, professional services and innovation and technology sectors. The index enables investors and businesses to better understand the current business climate, gauge future performance prospects and formulate their market strategies for the GBA.

Related materials

Standard Chartered GBA Business Confidence Index Report:

https://www.sc.com/hk/gba/gba-index-report/

HKTDC Research: https://research.hktdc.com/en/article/MjIzMTk3MzQwOA

Photos download: https://bit.ly/4qFlJNT

 

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ChimpX AI Raises $2.8 Million Seed Round to Make DeFi Simple for Everyone

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Funding will accelerate development of Mojo AI – the agent that turns plain-English intent into on-chain DeFi execution

ChimpX today announced the close of a $2.8 million seed round at a $24 million fully diluted valuation. The round was led by Waterdrip Capital and MetaLabs Ventures, with participation from Mindfulness Capital, NEURALHASH Capital, Marshland Capital, Maven Capital, Attention Venture, and BRINC.

mojo1 ChimpX AI Raises $2.8 Million Seed Round to Make DeFi Simple for Everyone

Proceeds will be used to expand ChimpX’s core infrastructure, enhance the Mojo AI execution agent, and support the $CHIMP token launch.

The Problem ChimpX Is Solving

DeFi remains inaccessible to most people. Not because the technology is unproven – yields are real, ownership is real, and the underlying protocols are world class. The problem is UX. Gas tokens on every chain. Nine different apps for one strategy. Forty-five minutes for a $500 trade. The average person tries DeFi once and never comes back.

mojo2 ChimpX AI Raises $2.8 Million Seed Round to Make DeFi Simple for Everyone

ChimpX was built to close that gap.

How It Works

At the core of ChimpX is Mojo, an AI execution agent that lets users interact with DeFi through natural language. A user types “optimise yield on my USDC” and Mojo handles the rest – interpreting intent, selecting protocols, constructing the strategy, routing the transaction, and executing on-chain. Automatically. Without requiring the user to manage gas tokens, navigate separate interfaces, or understand the underlying protocols.

mojo3 ChimpX AI Raises $2.8 Million Seed Round to Make DeFi Simple for Everyone

A key component is ChimpX’s gas abstraction layer, which allows users to pay fees in stablecoins such as USDC or USDT while the system handles native token requirements in the background.

Traction

ChimpX has demonstrated strong organic adoption since launch, with organic user growth

  • 56,000+ unique wallets connected
  • $3.9M+ in transaction volume
  • 100,000+ AI prompts executed
  • 15,000+ active users

mojo4 ChimpX AI Raises $2.8 Million Seed Round to Make DeFi Simple for Everyone

The platform supports trading, lending, borrowing, bridging, and derivatives – unified under a single AI-driven interface across BNB Chain, with a Solana launch planned for Q2 2026.

What Mojo AI Does Next

The next phase of development expands the intelligence and autonomy of the Mojo AI agent with:

  • Natural-language strategy composition – complex intent converted automatically into executable multi-step strategies
  • Advanced order automation – limit orders, stop-loss, take-profit, and DCA scheduling
  • Risk-aware execution – dynamic position sizing based on real-time market signals
  • On-chain intelligence – whale tracking, behavioural signals, and sentiment inputs
  • Agent-to-agent transactions – autonomous economic interactions between AI agents

 

To ensure trust and safety, ChimpX integrates verifiable on-chain agent identity, full auditability of agent actions, user-configurable controls, and a guardrail system preventing prompt injection.

Investor Perspective

“We see AI agents becoming the primary interface for financial systems. ChimpX is early in building that layer for DeFi — where users express intent, and intelligent agents execute autonomously. This is not just a UX improvement, it’s a paradigm shift.”
Partner, MetaLabs Ventures

Founder Statement

“Most people who tried DeFi once never came back. Not because DeFi is bad – the protocols are genuinely extraordinary. The experience of using them is just broken. We built ChimpX because we believe that problem is completely solvable. Mojo is the proof.”
Akshay Nassa, CEO & Co-Founder, ChimpX

$CHIMP Token

The $CHIMP token serves as the coordination layer within the ChimpX ecosystem, enabling fee participation, staking, and governance. The token is designed to support sustainable ecosystem growth.

mojo5 ChimpX AI Raises $2.8 Million Seed Round to Make DeFi Simple for Everyone

About ChimpX

ChimpX is building Mojo AI – making DeFi simple for everyone. Users tell Mojo what they want in plain English. Mojo handles everything else. No gas tokens. No fragmented apps. Just done.

chimpx.ai | app.chimpx.ai | x.com/chimpxAI | t.me/chimpxofficial | discord.gg/8Fq4nt3Xwh

Media Contact

Akshay Nassa, CEO

[email protected]

chimpx.ai

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Bloomberg Profile: Brian Ferdinand — May 2026

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A Bloomberg-style profile feature has spotlighted Brian Ferdinand for his work in systematic trading and multi-asset portfolio management at EverForward Trading.

WhatsApp Image 2026 04 29 at 10.54.43 AM Bloomberg Profile: Brian Ferdinand — May 2026

The feature highlights Ferdinand’s structured approach to building risk-managed strategies designed to navigate volatility and shifting macroeconomic conditions. His work is centered on consistency, execution discipline, and the application of quantitative frameworks.

Brian Ferdinand is an active member of the Forbes Finance Council, portfolio manager, and trader at EverForward Trading. He focuses on structured, risk-managed multi-asset strategies designed to deliver consistent performance across shifting macroeconomic and volatility regimes, with an emphasis on capital efficiency, drawdown control, and systematic execution.
Ferdinand has earned multiple industry awards recognizing his performance and innovation, including the Global Systematic Trading Performance Award (GSTPA) for sustained, model-driven results and strong risk-adjusted returns, and the Global Quantitative Trading Excellence Award (GQTEA), reflecting his ability to generate systematic alpha through disciplined execution. As a trader with Everforward, he has also been honored with the European Apex Trader Award, recognizing sustained excellence across European markets, and has been inducted into the Forbes Finance Council, an invitation-only network of senior finance leaders.
Additional honors include the Institutional Trading Strategy Innovation Award and the Portfolio Performance Consistency Distinction, reflecting a focus on repeatability, execution precision, and robustness through varying liquidity and volatility environments. In 2026, he was named “Breakout Trader of the Year,” highlighting strong performance and adaptability during complex market conditions.

As an active Forbes Finance Council member, Ferdinand contributes insights on portfolio construction, systematic frameworks, and risk management, with a focus on building resilient strategies that scale across asset classes and market cycles.

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Slotozilla Strengthens Global Affiliate Network After iGB Barcelona

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Slotozilla has reported an impressively strong start to 2026. In Q1, the company significantly accelerated its expansion and established numerous partnerships, with iGB Barcelona serving as a key catalyst.

Slotozilla is a leading online casino review and bonus comparison platform, offering promotions, tutorials, reviews, and hosting a large number of demo slots.

iGB Barcelona Drives Growth

iGB Barcelona played a pivotal role in shaping Slotozilla’s first quarter. As one of the most influential gatherings in the industry, it provided direct access to affiliate partners. Many of Slotozilla’s strongest collaborations originated from discussions held during the event.

Expanding Affiliate Network: Key Partnerships

The first quarter of 2026 saw a significant expansion of Slotozilla’s affiliate portfolio, with new and existing partners contributing to a total of 54 bonuses. These include:

  • Riventa Partners: 13 bonuses
  • Spikeaff: 9 bonuses
  • Goldbet Partners: 6 bonuses
  • Axel Partners: 4 bonuses
  • Zizobet: 4 bonuses
  • Wicked Affiliates: 4 bonuses

 

Additional collaborations involved 7Oasis, Grapeaffiliates, Graffiti Partners, Spininio Partners, Go2Affiliates, VJGroup Affiliates, Maxcasino Partners, Nospartners and Sierra Affiliates.

The diversity of these partners adds depth to the Slotozilla portfolio and, in turn, more variety for consumers. Each partner organisation contributes something unique to the roster, whether it’s access to new territories or expertise and experience within a particular category of bonuses.

Bonus Expansion Enhances User Experience

These new partnerships not only position Slotozilla more strongly within the global marketplace, but they also directly translate into an improved user experience. The varied spread of bonus types has been driven by player demand:

hary Slotozilla Strengthens Global Affiliate Network After iGB Barcelona

No deposit bonuses make up a significant number of the promotions added to the Slotozilla platform in the first quarter of 2026. This reflects players’ growing desire for lower levels of risk.

Global Expansion Across Nine Markets

The quarter demonstrated strong international coverage across DACH (Germany, Austria and the Swiss Confederation), Australia, Poland, Canada, Italy, the UK, Sweden, Finland and New Zealand. DACH (20 bonuses) was the most productive region in the period. This was followed by Australia, Poland and Canada.

Slotozilla Confident About Future

“Our first quarter of 2026 reflects how strategic partnerships and industry events can genuinely translate into real user value and a stronger, global position,” said one Slotozilla spokesperson.

Slotozilla enters the second quarter of the year with a bolstered affiliate base and an even stronger bonus ecosystem. Insights and partnerships gained at iGB Barcelona continue to shape growth and collaborations, and to benefit the organisation long after the event itself.

About Slotozilla

Slotozilla is a casino review and affiliate platform. It offers game insights, bonus comparisons and unbiased reviews.

Onwards and Upwards

Slotozilla will be celebrating its recent successes, but also capitalising on the new data that these provide. With this data, the organisation will be better positioned for an even stronger second quarter.

Media Contact:

Tim Cline

Email: [email protected]

Phone: +12678000083

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