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Hong Kong Hosts Lions International Convention for the Third Time

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Hong Kong

Over Ten Thousand International Delegates Gather in Hong Kong Confirming City’s Status as World’s Meeting Place
HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach Newswire – 4 July 2026 – The Hong Kong Tourism Board is proud to support the 108th Lions International Convention 2026 in Hong Kong. Having previously hosted the convention in 1992 and 2005, Hong Kong has once again been chosen by Lions Clubs International as the venue for its flagship event, attracting around 17,000 delegates from across the globe. Hong Kong has thus become one of the very few cities among more than 200 Lions member countries and regions worldwide to have secured hosting rights three times. This underscores Hong Kong’s status and appeal as the Events Capital of Asia and the World’s Meeting Place.

Hosting Same High-Profile Event for the Third Time Cements Hong Kong’s Title as Asia’s World City

HKTB Chairman Dr Peter Lam said, “HKTB is delighted to partner with the Lions Clubs International District 303 Hong Kong and Macao, China, to bring this Convention to Hong Kong for the third time. Its return affirms Hong Kong’s position as the World’s Meeting Place and a top-of-mind destination for MICE tourism. It also showcases Hong Kong’s integrated strengths in world-class MICE infrastructure, global aviation connectivity, diverse and distinctive tourism offerings, and quality hospitality services. These are the key factors in attracting international MICE events and encouraging business travellers to return time and again. We extend our warmest welcome to Lions from around the world and, together with our industry partners, have curated exclusive itineraries and experiences to encourage delegates to stay longer and discover the unique appeal that can be found only in Hong Kong.”

Lions Clubs International is one of the world’s largest service organisations, with more than 1.4 million members and around 50,000 district clubs across over 200 countries and regions. Since 1917, the organisation has supported communities worldwide through a wide range of social service and community aid initiatives.

Lions International Convention 2026 Honorary Chairman and Past International President Dr Tam Wing-kun said, “Hong Kong is an international metropolis where Eastern and Western cultures converge. With its well-developed professional services and comprehensive MICE infrastructure, Hong Kong is an ideal host for this international mega event. I am delighted that the Convention has returned to Hong Kong. This year’s edition will provide Lions from all corners of the world with a broad and diverse platform to explore the future development of international services. Delegates will also be able to experience first-hand Hong Kong’s world-class cuisine and rich cultural appeal. I am confident they will be the best ambassadors possible when they return home, telling the good stories of Hong Kong to the world.”

Lions Attempt Tai Chai World Record in Hong Kong
The 108th Lions International Convention is being held for five consecutive days from 3 to 7 July at AsiaWorld-Expo. To celebrate its return to Hong Kong and promote traditional Chinese culture, the organiser will attempt to set a world record with thousands of international Lions practising Tai Chi simultaneously. The activity aims to promote exercise for all and deepen participants’ understanding of the Sustainable Development Goals, creating a meaningful finale to the convention.

HKTB Teams Up with the Trade to Offer Unforgettable Cultural Tourism Experiences
As a supporting organisation of the 108th Lions International Convention, HKTB has teamed up with the local travel trade and major attractions to curate a series of exclusive tourism itineraries and offerings for convention delegates. These include transport offers, attraction tickets and shopping mall discounts, gift redemptions, and theme park deals to encourage delegates to stay in Hong Kong after the convention and explore more of the city’s diverse culture, cuisine, and unique tourism appeal.
HKTB will continue to bring more influential large-scale international MICE events to Hong Kong, further strengthening the city’s competitiveness and appeal as world-class, top-of-mind destination for both business and leisure tourism.

 

Energy

Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) Deepens Angolan Investment Drive as Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) 2026 Elite Sponsor

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Africa Finance Corporation

With close to $1 billion invested in the country and a growing role in energy and infrastructure financing, the institution is positioning itself as a strategic financial partner for Angola

Multilateral finance institution the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) is expanding its role in Angola’s energy and infrastructure sectors, having invested close to $1 billion across the country’s power, rail, logistics and critical minerals industries. Reflecting its growing commitment to the market, the institution has joined the Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) Conference & Exhibition as an Elite Sponsor ahead of this September’s event in Luanda.

 

The sponsorship comes as AFC and Angola continue to strengthen their partnership. In 2025, Angola became a sovereign shareholder in AFC through a landmark $184.8 million equity investment commitment, reinforcing the institution’s role in mobilizing capital for strategic projects across the country. Angola’s Sovereign Wealth Fund also invested $25 million in AFC, further demonstrating the country’s confidence in the pan-African infrastructure financier.

That partnership is already translating into major transactions. In July 2026, AFC reached financial close on a $753 million financing package for the Lobito Corridor Railway Project, serving as Co-Financial Adviser alongside Eaglestone. The financing includes $553 million from the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation and $200 million from the Development Bank of Southern Africa and will support the rehabilitation, upgrade and long-term operation of the 1,300-km railway linking the Port of Lobito with the Democratic Republic of Congo border.

Beyond transport infrastructure, AFC is also supporting Angola’s upstream oil and gas industry. The Corporation invested $60 million as part of a $190 million debt facility backing Angolan independent Etu Energias’ acquisition of interests in offshore Blocks 14 and 14K. The transaction enabled Etu Energias to acquire a 20% stake in Block 14 and a 10% stake in Block 14K, doubling its net production at the time from approximately 9,000 to 19,000 barrels per day.

AFC’s participation at AOG 2026 reflects its expanding footprint in Angola and creates new opportunities to engage with project developers, operators and government stakeholders. As the country’s premier oil and gas event, AOG has established itself as the leading platform for advancing investment, financing and partnerships across Angola’s hydrocarbon value chain.

Taking place on September 9-10, with a pre-conference program on September 8, AOG 2026 will bring together government officials, financiers, operators, service companies and investors to examine the opportunities shaping Angola’s energy future. As an Elite Sponsor, AFC will showcase its expertise in structuring and mobilizing capital for large-scale African infrastructure and energy projects while reinforcing its long-term commitment to Angola’s economic development.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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Energy

Gold Sponsor Chevron Brings Senior Executive Delegation to Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) 2026

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AOG

Senior leadership across exploration, commercial strategy and regional operations will shape discussions on Angola’s next phase of oil and gas investment

LUANDA, Angola, July 29, 2026/APO Group/ –International energy company Chevron will bring a senior executive delegation to Angola Oil & Gas (AOG) 2026, with leaders spanning global exploration, regional operations and commercial strategy participating at the conference. As a Gold Sponsor, the company’s presence reflects both the scale of its investment in Angola and its long-term commitment to exploration, production growth and lower-carbon development across the country.

The delegation includes Kevin McLachlan, Vice President of Exploration; Emmanuelle Garinet, Director of Exploration for the Americas and Sub-Saharan Africa; Toni Henning, Commercial General Manager, Chevron Southern Africa; and Frank Cassulo, Southern Africa Managing Director. Bringing together global decision-makers responsible for exploration strategy alongside regional executives leading Chevron’s Angolan portfolio, the delegation underscores the strategic importance of Angola within the company’s international upstream business.

Chevron remains one of Angola’s largest international oil and gas investors, with a portfolio spanning mature offshore assets, new production projects, frontier exploration and non-associated gas development. The company continues to balance production from established operations with investment in new resources, supporting Angola’s objective of sustaining crude output while unlocking new gas opportunities.

Production growth remains a key pillar of Chevron’s strategy. In late 2025, the company achieved first oil from the N’dola Sul development in Block 0, a project designed to maximize recovery from one of Angola’s longest-producing offshore concessions. The development forms part of Chevron’s broader brownfield investment strategy, demonstrating how tiebacks to existing infrastructure can deliver additional production while improving capital efficiency.

Alongside production optimization, Chevron is advancing a frontier exploration campaign. The company is progressing exploration activities in Blocks 49 and 50 in the Lower Congo Basin, where seismic acquisition was completed in 2025 before moving into data processing and interpretation. The program is expected to strengthen geological understanding of the offshore acreage and support future drilling decisions as Angola seeks to unlock new reserves through frontier exploration.

Beyond oil, Chevron continues to play a leading role in establishing Angola’s gas industry through the New Gas Consortium. The consortium spearheaded development of the Quiluma and Maboqueiro fields, Angola’s first non-associated gas project, which now supplies feedstock to the Angola LNG plant in Soyo. The project represents a major milestone in the country’s gas commercialization strategy, supporting LNG exports while creating opportunities for future domestic industrial development.

Chevron is also expanding its lower-carbon portfolio in Angola. Earlier this year, the company renewed its memorandum of understanding with the Angolan government to advance collaboration on lower-carbon initiatives, building on previous work related to carbon management, renewable fuels and other technologies that support the country’s broader decarbonization objectives.

The participation of Chevron’s senior leadership team at AOG 2026 reflects the breadth of the company’s Angolan portfolio and its continued confidence in the country’s upstream potential. With executives responsible for global exploration strategy, regional commercial operations and Southern African business leadership, the delegation will contribute high-level perspectives on frontier exploration, production optimization, gas monetization and the next generation of investment opportunities.

As Angola continues to advance exploration, develop new gas resources and maximize production from existing assets, Chevron’s leadership at AOG 2026 reinforces the company’s position as a long-term partner in the country’s oil and gas industry.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital & Power.

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Energy

Nigeria Mining Week promises high-level engagement on critical minerals and industrialisation roadmap

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Nigeria

“New Critical Minerals Forum will focus on needs for global energy transition”

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, July 28, 2026/APO Group/ –Hot on the heels of Nigeria’s unveiling of a strategic roadmap designed to convert the country’s mineral wealth into investments in clean energy manufacturing and domestic value addition, the organisers of the Nigeria Mining Week conference and expo have revealed this year’s packed and topical programme.

Convening at the Abuja Continental Hotel in the Nigerian capital from 13 to 14 October, this longstanding mining gathering of note supports Nigeria’s ambition to become a regional refining and processing powerhouse. The theme of this year’s event is “Unlocking Investment and Growth through Partnerships.”

DOWNLOAD THE BROCHURE (https://apo-opa.co/4yPtbdV)

Unveiling strategic roadmaps

Says Samukelo Madlabane, Event Director – Mining Portfolio, VUKA Group: “The Nigerian government has sought to boost beneficiation and industrialisation in its mining sector by mandating local processing, opening large scale mineral plants and unveiling strategic roadmaps that link critical minerals to clean energy manufacturing. Recent initiatives focus on lithium, copper and bauxite, aiming to move beyond raw exports and build integrated value chains.”

Earlier this month, the Council for Critical Minerals Development in the Global South presented a Critical Minerals Roadmap to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr Dele Alake, outlining strategies to harness Nigeria’s lithium, copper and bauxite resources in order to strengthen local industries, advance mineral beneficiation and draw investment into green manufacturing.

Madlabane adds: “Nigeria Mining Week is perfectly timed for this defining moment in this nation’s mining sector. Our new Critical Minerals Forum will focus on the minerals needed for the global energy transition, such as lithium, REEs, graphite, copper, and other battery or tech minerals, and how Nigeria must position itself to attract serious investment and unlock the country’s rapidly expanding opportunities.”

The Nigeria Mining Week programme highlights include:

Critical Minerals Forum: 13 October

  • Strategic Leadership in the Critical Minerals Race

This session will focus on positioning Nigeria with US and EU MSP initiatives and Asian cathode makers, ensuring bankable offtake term sheets, scaling REE projects responsibly, building infrastructure and traceability rules, and securing independent assurance to strengthen buyer confidence.

  • Building Reliable Pathways from Nigeria to Global Battery, Magnet & EV Markets

International buyers demand clear technical specifications, impurity thresholds and QA/QC standards before agreements with Nigerian projects. Success depends on structuring long term supply contracts, strengthening traceability and ESG documentation, and building credibility with partners across Asia, Europe, the US and the Gulf to secure sustainable supply chain integration.

Exploration & Geological Data:

Unlocking Nigeria’s Exploration Potential

This session explores how investment grade datasets, AI driven discovery and geoscience portals can unlock capital for Nigeria’s mining sector. Experts highlight data standards, licensing simplification and environmental safeguards to accelerate investor confidence and global competitiveness within 12 months.

Financing & Investment:

Financing Exploration & Junior Mining Companies

This session examines Nigeria’s data room requirements, capital structures and licensing reforms to attract investment. Experts highlight clean titles, ESG credibility, traceability and offtake signals as essential for DFIs, investors and global buyers to commit confidently within tight timelines.

Our new Critical Minerals Forum will focus on the minerals needed for the global energy transition, such as lithium, REEs, graphite, copper, and other battery or tech minerals

Industrialisation:

From Ore to Industry – Beneficiation & Refining

This session focuses on commissioning strategies for Nigeria’s lithium and gold projects, contracting for feed security, realistic OPEX benchmarks, and training partnerships. Experts outline pathways from first product to battery grade chemicals and value added metals supported by regulatory adjustments.

Gemstones:

Developing Nigeria’s Gemstone Value Chains

Exploring the formalisation of Nigeria’s artisanal gemstone mining through cooperatives, traceability and certification, experts will highlight international grading standards, models from Tanzania and Zambia, domestic gemstone clusters and incentives to attract global buyers, processors and jewellery manufacturers.

Policy, Regulation & Governance:

Building a Clear, Predictable and Competitive Policy Environment

Nigeria’s mining sector needs regulatory reforms to strengthen licensing predictability, improve contract stability, enhance transparency through NEITI and MCO, align beneficiation and ASM formalisation with global standards, and draw lessons from Zambia, Namibia, Botswana and Ghana to boost investor confidence.

ESG & Sustainability:

ESG that Wins Investments

This session will focus on how Nigeria must define evidence grade traceability for US and EU buyers, adopt global water and tailings practices, apply CDA designs from Ghana Botswana and Peru, meet gender inclusion KPIs within 12 months, and secure independent assurance to strengthen financing and offtake terms.

Infrastructure & Power Integration:

Power to Mines & Logistics for Industrialisation

This session will examine IPP and cogen models from India Australia and Brazil, lessons from the Lobito Corridor for Nigerian rail port power integration, ballast and aggregate standards, digital logistics tools to reduce losses, and PPP structures enabling long tenor corridor financing.

Side events and forums

Other well-known side events and forums that make a welcome return to Nigeria Mining Week and always add to the engaging atmosphere include:

  • The Gold Forum
  • The Steel & Industrial Minerals Forum
  • The Women in Extractive Industries Forum
  • The CEO Roundtable
  • The Deal Room
  • – Project Showcase & Private Capital Engagement

Industry support

Over the last 11 years, Nigeria Mining Week has become thé gathering place for many mining pioneers and suppliers, and many have become longstanding partners of the Abuja gathering. Titan Minerals Ltd is returning as the diamond plus sponsor; KMDC, Kursi, Lovol, Sinogrand, and XCMG have already signed up as diamond sponsors; and SMT Nigeria is back as a platinum sponsor.

The event will gather 3,000+ attendees, 75+ world class speakers and 150+ exhibitors and solution providers. Countries that are expected to have a strong presence with international pavilions are UK, EU, US, China, UAE, Canada, South Africa and India.

The Nigeria Mining Week conference and expo is organised by the Miners Association of Nigeria, in partnership with PwC, VUKA Group and Mining Review Africa, with the Nigerian Ministry of Mines and Steel Development as official host. NEITI is the event’s transparency partner.

DOWNLOAD THE BROCHURE (https://apo-opa.co/4yPtbdV)

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of VUKA Group.

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