🌎 Frontier Markets News, July 17th, 2026

Africa

Egypt formalizes military-linked authority as powerful economic body

Egypt’s parliament gave final approval on Tuesday to a law placing the military-linked Future of Egypt Authority under direct presidential oversight and granting it powers to absorb state land and companies, Reuters reports. The group will also will also run tax-exempt development zones and operate two new funds—a sovereign wealth vehicle and a social-spending fund.

The legislation cements the authority’s rise under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi from a 2017 land reclamation project into a sprawling conglomerate spanning strategic commodity imports, agriculture, fisheries, real estate and construction, shielded from standard procurement and civil-service rules. The law passed just two weeks after IMF staff reached a $1.64 billion staff-level agreement on the seventh review of Egypt’s $8 billion Extended Fund Facility, which called explicitly for reducing the role of the state and expansion of state owned enterprises.

*Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. Photo: Yoan Valat via Getty Images*

The authority is the most visible node in a broader architecture. A Carnegie Endowment analysis documents roughly 100 formally registered military companies operating across manufacturing, retail, mineral extraction and services, describing a system in which select military agencies monetize state-owned land and infrastructure.

US firms push to map DRC’s mineral wealth

US-based Dynamic Aviation is planning to collect and analyze geological data across the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of a push by US firms to take a more active role in the country’s extractive sector, Semafor reports. The technique uses low-flying aircraft equipped with sensors that measure magnetic, gravitational, and electromagnetic signatures beneath the surface to identify mineral deposits without drilling.

*Miners in DRC. Photo: Zohra Bensemra/Reuters*

If its plan is approved, Dynamic would join Spain’s Xcalibur, and US investment firm Atlas Park, which stuck deals with Kinshasa for similar airborne and AI-enabled mapping endeavors. All three firms said the resulting data would belong to the Congolese government.

Namibia secures China deals on minerals, energy and agriculture

Nambia is set to deepen its trading relationship with China in the wake of a seven-day state visit to Beijing by President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Reuters reports. The two countries agreed to cooperate on key sectors including green minerals and agriculture.

Of the $1.3 billion in Namibian goods China purchased last year, uranium accounted for 85%.

*Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photo: Ng Han Guan/Reuters*

Among the deals signed during Nandi-Ndaitwah’s trip was an agreement to allow producers of table grapes—a key agricultural export for Namibia—to ship their products to China. The move opens a new market beyond Europe, which currently absorbs most of the country’s roughly 45,000 metric tons in annual table grape exports. The agreement follows China’s removal of tariffs for imports from 53 African countries in May.

Asia

Malaysian leader weakened in local elections

A coalition that could challenge Malaysia’s prime minister swept a closely-watched local election last weekend, giving it momentum as the country weighs whether to call snap national elections.

The Barisan Nasional coalition won 48 of the 56 seats in the Malaysian state of Johor, up from the 40 it held before the election, CNA reports. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s Pakatan Harapan coalition won the remaining eight, a decline from the 12 it previously held.

*Barisan Nasional Chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (left) celebrates the election results with Johor BN chairman Onn Hafiz Ghazi. Photo: CNA/Zamzahuri Abas*

Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan are historical rivals that came to govern together in 2022. But cracks are emerging between the two groups, Bloomberg reports. Anwar has warned that if they continue to widen Malaysia could host early general elections, which are required to be held by early 2028.

Indonesia at risk of market downgrade

Another major index provider has warned that it could soon downgrade Indonesia to a frontier market. S&P Dow Jones Indices said that it had added Indonesia to a downgrade watchlist.

A previous MSCI warning to the same effect led investors to flee the Indonesian market. Indonesia’s benchmark stock index has fallen more than 30% this year, making it the worst performing globally. Goldman Sachs estimated that a downgrade of Indonesia could prompt up to $13 billion in outflows from the Southeast Asian country.

Indonesia’s top anticorruption watchdog steps down after $20mn in cash and gold bars is found in his home (Bloomberg)

S&P said it would watch Indonesia’s efforts to improve transparency of ownership ahead of its next review in 2027. The country recently moved to require shareholders to disclose holdings of more than 1% of a company’s stock, down from 5% previously.

Middle East

Iraq explores investment push with Turkish and US backing

Iraq this week announced plans to establish a joint investment fund with Turkey to finance development projects, part of Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi’s flagship economic policy of deepening regional trade ties, AGBI reports. Also announced during the meeting was an agreement to replace the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline agreement, which had been terminated by Turkey last year, with a new pact.

*Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi, who unveiled the plans for a joint fund during talks with the Turkish minister of energy and natural resources in Baghdad last week. Photo: Ahmed Saad/Reuters*

The fund is expected to primarily focus on energy infrastructure, especially the development of new oil and gas fields and export routes. Al-Zaidi indicated he’d like to greatly increase Iraq’s oil production when he threatened withdrawal from OPEC, prompting fresh talks with the cartel on increasing Iraq’s output quota.

US confirms military withdrawal from Iraq by September 30 (AP)

Al-Zaidi also apparently seeks stronger ties with the US, this week meeting with President Donald Trump in Washington to discuss reducing Iran’s regional influence—especially by disarming its proxy militias—and greater economic cooperation. The meeting was apparently successful, as Trump stated in a joint press conference that US firms will commit to some $60 billion in commercial deals—primarily in the oil and gas industry.

US strengthens support for Syria

Syria this week received US diplomatic support for two key issues: a proposed oil pipeline connecting Iraqi producers to the Mediterranean via Syria, and the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Syrian territory. According to Reuters, a US official confirmed that American companies will play a major role in constructing the Kirkuk-Baniyas pipeline, which has been out of commission since the 2003 US invasion of Iraq.

*Oil infrastructure near Kirkuk, Iraq. Photo: Alaa Al-Marjani/Reuters*

Chevron is expected to participate in the project, which will likely carry oil from the new oilfield projects it is currently negotiating with the Iraqi government to develop.

US President Donald Trump also personally urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to pull Israeli forces from southwest Syria, saying their presence raises tensions. The move is a part of the US’s months-long effort to negotiate a security agreement between the neighbors, Axios reports.

Europe

Albania’s PM pledges to unwind laws allowing Kushner resort

Edi Rama, Albania’s prime minister, this week promised to repeal a law that downgraded the country’s environmental safeguards to enable accelerated property development, including a proposed €1.4 billion resort backed by US President Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared Kushner. The proposed development, sited in a formerly protected area, sparked mass protests across the country, igniting the so-called “Flamingo Revolution.”

*Albania’s Prime Minister Edi Rama (R) with EU Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos. Photo: Malton Dibra/EPA*

Protesters celebrated Rama’s pledge as proof that weeks of demonstrations have forced the government to move—but few believe it ends the fight. Rama has refused to abandon the resort itself, a stance Dutch member of the European Parliament Tineke Strik warned could still derail Albania’s EU accession.

Latin America

El Salvador’s Bukele secures ruling-party nomination for third term

El Salvador’s ruling Nuevas Ideas party ratified President Nayib Bukele as its candidate in the February 2027 election, clearing him to seek a third consecutive term after constitutional changes removed presidential term limits, Reuters reports. Bukele ran unopposed in the party primary and will again campaign with Vice President Félix Ulloa as his running mate.

*Bukele speaks during a ceremony in Antiguo Cuscatlan, El Salvador. Photo: Jose Cabezas/Reuters*

The nomination follows a July 2025 constitutional reform that permits indefinite presidential reelection, extends the presidential term from five years to six, and brings the next election forward to 2027. The Associated Press reports that Nuevas Ideas holds a supermajority in the Legislative Assembly, while Bukele continues to benefit from high approval ratings linked to his government’s security campaign.

Chile and Peru expand spending to support flagging economies

Chile raised its 2026 bond-issuance plan by $6.2 billion to $23.6 billion after Congress authorized additional borrowing, increasing the sovereign’s planned supply in international and domestic markets. The finance ministry said $9.6 billion is allocated to international issuance and $14 billion to the local market, with about $4.4 billion of the international total already placed in January.

Separately, Peru’s Congress approved a $2.8 billion budget expansion, providing additional fiscal support before President-elect Keiko Fujimori takes office on July 28. Reuters reports that about half the funds will complete public works and protect essential services, while the balance will cover public-sector salaries, anti-crime programs, and infrastructure intended to reduce damage from El Niño flooding.

What We’re Reading

Nigeria overtakes South Korea to become world’s best-performing equity market (Business Insider)

Nigeria’s Dangote oil refinery switches to dollar pricing (Business Insider)

Senegal bondholders start grouping as rumors circulate that government taps Lazard (Bloomberg)

Cameroon sees mining revenue ‘overtaking oil at $1.75bn’ (Reuters)

Locked out of Western skies, Air Tanzania turns East for growth (The East African)

Vietnam looks to tap international markets for $1.5 trillion infrastructure plan (Nikkei)

Nepal jails 2 former government ministers in corruption crackdown (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis trade strikes, rupturing years-long ceasefire (WSJ)

Lebanon and Israel agrees to implement pilot zones for IDF withdrawal (AP)

Bulgaria turns to foreign workers to offset growing labor shortage (Balkan Insight)

Hungary’s MPs oust president in purge of Orbán loyalists (FT)

NATO logistics and Ukrainian troops are ‘top subjects’ of Russian camera hacks (The Record)

Argentina approves $709mn lithium expansion project (ESS News)

Power grid collapse plunges Cuba into darkness (Reuters)

Costa Rica’s currency hits record high against dollar (Tico Times)

Bahamas’ energy reform program boosted by Shell LNG plant commitment. (Oil & Gas Journal)

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