TAMCHY, Kyrgyzstan, July 4, 2026/APO Group/ –The President of the Kyrgyz Republic, Sadyr Japarov, has inaugurated the Tamchy Special Financial Investment Territory (SFIT) (www.TamchySFIT.com), a new international jurisdiction on the shores of alpine Lake Issyk-Kul. The first residents of Tamchy, who joined during the launch ceremony, were companies from South Korea, the UAE, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Kazakhstan. Twenty companies from across the globe are in the process of establishing residency at Tamchy SFIT.

 

The ceremony culminated with President Japarov symbolically activating a geotag-shaped switch, thus putting Tamchy SFIT, quite literally, on the global financial map.

“Changes in the global economy are driving demand for new centers of business activity where international standards are supported by true freedom of innovation and long-term investment. Tamchy SFIT is our national project and our response to the needs of international businesses. We are building a financial center from scratch — with an independent court, a modern regulator, and rules that won’t change with shifting trends.I have no doubt that Tamchy SFIT will open a new chapter in the history of Kyrgyzstan,” said President Japarov.

Operating on the principles of English common law, Tamchy SFIT has its own financial regulator, an International Dispute Resolution Centre, and a single-window digital registrar. A special tax regime guarantees a 0% rate of tax on profits, dividends, capital gains, and VAT for 49 years and allows 100% foreign ownership and unrestricted profit repatriation.

 

Covering an area of about 6,000 ha, Tamchy SFIT can already boast a fully operational business center, while hotels and residential buildings are under construction. Issyk-Kul International Airport is within walking distance.

 

“Great financial centres are built by understanding what international capital and businesses require. Tamchy SFIT offers exactly that — a trusted, flexible, and investor-ready platform for businesses seeking sustainable growth. Benchmarked to international gold standards, grounded in English common law, and positioned at the intersection of five EAEU economies and the Eurasian corridor, it offers a jurisdiction that is neutral, independent, and built to last,” said Ali Ijaz Ahmad, First Deputy Chairman of the Tamchy SFIT Management Council.

 

One of the first executives who decided to set up in Tamchy SFIT was Seo Dong Hyun, CEO of Serim.

 

“Over the past thirty years of investing in the semiconductor industry, high technology, and energy, I have come to appreciate that legal certainty and trust in the regulatory system are the foundation of long-term investment. These are the very principles on which the Tamchy SFIT was established. What is particularly remarkable is that a project of this scale was delivered in just one year—faster than in any other jurisdiction I know. Today, I registered my family holding company here. For me, this is not an investment for years, but for generations,” he said.

 

By 2035, Tamchy aims to attract around 4,000 resident companies and create over 10,000 jobs. The expected contribution of Tamchy to the country’s economy between 2026 and 2035 is estimated at $20 bn.

NAIROBI, Kenya, July 6, 2026/APO Group/ –The African Trade & Investment Development Insurance (ATIDI) (www.ATIDI.Africa) will convene its 26th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Nairobi, Kenya, from 30 June to 3 July 2026, bringing together heads of state, government officials, investors, development finance institutions and private sector leaders from across Africa and beyond.

 

Held under the theme “Empowering Africa: Risk Managed, Growth Unlocked”, the AGM comes at a pivotal moment for the continent as African institutions seek to mobilise greater levels of investment, strengthen economic resilience and accelerate sustainable development.

 

The 2026 gathering also marks a significant milestone in ATIDI’s history, celebrating 25 years since the organisation’s establishment and recognising a quarter century of supporting trade, investment and economic transformation across Africa.

 

Hosted by the Government of Kenya, the event will provide a platform for high-level dialogue on the future of African development finance, bringing together leaders from across the public and private sectors to explore how innovative financing, risk mitigation solutions and stronger African institutions can unlock investment and accelerate growth across the continent.

 

A central feature of the programme will be the Leaders’ Panel, which will examine how Africa can build a more resilient and self-sustaining development finance ecosystem in response to shifting global capital flows, rising debt pressures and growing demand for infrastructure and industrial investment.

 

Bringing together senior political leaders, development finance institutions and trade and investment organisations, the discussion will explore how governments, regional institutions and multilateral partners can work together to mobilise domestic and international capital, reduce the cost of financing and support investment in the sectors that will define Africa’s next phase of development, including energy, manufacturing, SMEs and green infrastructure.

 

The Opening Ceremony will feature addresses from senior government officials and ATIDI leadership, including Professor Kelly Mua Kingsly, Chairman of the Board of Directors, and Manuel Moses, Chief Executive Officer of ATIDI. Delegates will also hear from senior representatives of the Government of Kenya, including Cabinet Secretaries responsible for finance, trade and investment.

 

As part of the celebrations marking ATIDI’s 25th anniversary, the programme will recognise the institution’s founding members and reflect on the organisation’s evolution over the past quarter century. Since its establishment, ATIDI has facilitated over USD93 billion in critical economic sectors across Africa.

 

Alongside the policy discussions, the AGM will place a strong emphasis on investment promotion and business development. The Investor Showcase will bring together representatives from government, commercial banks, multilateral development banks and the private sector to highlight investment opportunities and strengthen engagement between investors and African markets.

 

The programme will also include a series of curated Business-to-Business (B2B) and Business-to-Government (B2G) meetings designed to connect investors, businesses and public sector stakeholders, helping to facilitate partnerships, unlock opportunities and support long-term economic growth.

 

Professor Kelly Mua Kingsly, Chairman of the Board of Directors, ATIDI, said: “This is a good opportunity to celebrate 25 years of delivering African solutions to African challenges. As the continent seeks to mobilise greater levels of investment and accelerate development, African institutions have an increasingly important role to play. This AGM will bring together leaders from across the continent and beyond to explore how partnerships, innovation and risk mitigation can help unlock the capital needed to support Africa’s future.”

 

Manuel Moses, Chief Executive Officer of ATIDI, said: “African Solutions for Africa reflects our belief that the continent’s development ambitions will be achieved through strong institutions, innovative thinking and effective collaboration. This AGM provides a unique opportunity for policymakers, investors and development partners to come together and discuss practical solutions that can help mobilise investment at scale, strengthen resilience and support sustainable economic transformation across Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, July 6, 2026/APO Group/ –South Africa has entered a critical phase in its upstream development. With new petroleum legislation in place, a national petroleum company established and the Karoo shale gas moratorium lifted, the country has taken important steps toward unlocking its oil and gas potential. The key question now is whether South Africa can translate policy momentum into investment, and Angola’s reform experience provides a practical roadmap for doing so.

 

In Crude Oil: Power, Turnaround and Transformation in Angola, NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, documents how coordinated legal, fiscal and structural reform reversed years of production decline in the country. The two countries operate in different contexts: Angola reformed a mature producing sector while South Africa is working to establish one. There is, however, a transferable lesson in the sequencing and institutional commitment that made Angola’s reforms effective.

Angola Prioritized Structural Reform
When President João Lourenço took office in 2017, his administration conducted a 30-day sector review that led to sustained regulatory change. The newly-established National Agency for Petroleum, Gas and Biofuels (ANPG) took over upstream regulation, a function previously housed within state oil company Sonangol alongside its commercial portfolio. This coincided with the creation of a dedicated downstream regulator, Instituto Regulador dos Derivados do Petróleos, strengthening governance across the entire hydrocarbon value chain.

On a policy front, the 2018 Natural Gas Law gave Angola its first standalone framework for gas exploration and commercialization across an estimated 11 trillion cubic feet of reserves. The Permanent Offer Regime, introduced in 2021, opened acreage for negotiation on a rolling basis rather than through periodic bid rounds, resulting in 27 block awards. Following that, the Incremental Production Law came into effect in November 2024 and targets recovery of an estimated 500 million barrels from mature assets while extending their productive life by as much as 20 years.

These reforms quickly yielded strong results. Foreign direct investment rose by $2.59 billion in the same year Angola improved from 167th to 146th on Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index. Hydrocarbon production has now been sustained above one million barrels per day, while $70 billion in planned upstream investments signal rising international confidence in Angola’s oil and gas opportunities.

“Angola’s regulatory reforms demonstrate that political will, matched with clear fiscal and legal frameworks, can transform an upstream sector within a single policy cycle. These reforms offer critical lessons for countries such as South Africa, which has the opportunity to be a first-mover in establishing a strong regulatory environment,” states Ayuk.

South Africa’s Regulatory Window is Open
South Africa has begun moving in a similar direction. The Upstream Petroleum Resources Development Act (UPRDA) was enacted in late 2024, consolidating upstream licensing and establishing a 20% mandatory carried interest for the state. The South African National Petroleum Company (SANPC) launched in May 2025, merging PetroSA, iGas and the Strategic Fuel Fund. In October 2025, the government lifted a 13-year moratorium on shale gas exploration in the Karoo Basin – estimated to contain up to 300 trillion cubic feet of shale resources.

The challenge for South Africa is implementation. Environmental litigation has blocked or delayed offshore exploration by TotalEnergies and Shell since 2022. In August 2025, the Western Cape High Court rescinded the environmental authorization for Block 5/6/7 off the southwest coast. The Brulpadda and Luiperd gas-condensate discoveries in the Outeniqua Basin, which an FTI Consulting analysis estimates could contribute up to R25 billion per year to the balance of payments, remain undeveloped.

Angola’s experience suggests that legislative reform alone does not produce investment outcomes. The country’s upstream investment trajectory followed from how quickly and consistently those reforms were applied – from the ANPG’s operational launch through to the rolling award of blocks under the Permanent Offer Regime.

With the UPRDA, the SANPC and the Karoo moratorium lift, South Africa has put its own legislative foundation in place. Whether it can match that pace of execution will determine if the current wave of exploration interest in southern Africa’s offshore basins finally extends south of the Namibian border.