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LAGOS, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Several Nigerian digital investment platforms suffered outages as retail investors rushed to buy shares  ​in Dangote Petroleum Refinery, highlighting the strain Africa's largest-ever share sale is placing on fintech infrastructure. Regulators and market participants have urged first-time ‌investors to be cautious as the record $1.6 billion offering, launched this week by Aliko Dangote , seeks broad public participation through banks, mobile operators and fintech platforms. Neither Dangote nor the underwriters have provided any figures for demand for the shares. However, the disruptions point to strong retail investor interest in the offer and illustrate the growing role fintech firms may play in widening access to Nigeria's ​capital markets. When the IPO launched on Monday, Temi Popoola, CEO of NGX Group, said demand was so high that some investment apps crashed.  "I think ​this particular IPO is stress testing Nigeria's financi...

SEOUL, Sept 16 (Reuters) - South Korean President Lee Jae Myung hosted the country's first summit with the leaders of five Central Asian countries on Wednesday, putting critical minerals, energy and supply-chain cooperation at ​the centre of Seoul's push to deepen ties with the resource-rich region. The summit brought ​together the leaders of Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan and capped three ⁠days of bilateral meetings that produced more than 70 agreements and memorandums of understanding spanning ​energy, mining, infrastructure, technology and investment. Speaking at a business forum after the summit, Lee said South Korea ​was seeking to expand cooperation beyond resource imports and deepen industrial partnerships. "Beyond simple raw materials trade, we must strengthen cooperation across the entire critical minerals value chain, from exploration and refining to high-value materials processing and finished-product ​manufacturing,...

Prime Minister Mark Carney's high-stakes pitch for foreign investment drew a diverse crowd of protesters to Toronto on Monday evening as Indigenous leaders, environmental groups, union leaders and others marched together in opposition of his agenda. Hundreds of executives and global asset managers descended on the city for Canada's first-ever national investment summit. Carney has set an ambitious goal of attracting $1 trillion in new investment over the next five years. Protesters, including representatives of labour unions and climate and housing advocates, mobilized against the event at a downtown rally that grew bigger as demonstrators made their way to the summit's opening gala at the Art Gallery of Ontario, where they were met by a police barrier. The crowd chanted, drummed and waved signs that urged investments in people, health care and the environment. Protesters said they reject the idea of leaving Canada's economic future in the hands of CEOs and ...

HOUSTON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said on Monday that a ban on ​U.S. oil or fuel exports would be unlikely ‌to help lower energy prices for consumers amidst the Iran war . "We would consider an export ban if we thought that actually might lower ​prices, but that's not the case," Burgum told reporters ​at a G20 meeting on energy in Houston. Burgum, ⁠an appointee of President Donald Trump , said that bans on ​oil, gasoline or diesel exports could lead to retaliatory actions ​from other countries, which could hurt consumers in states like California, which depends partially on energy imports. "We stop exporting product, and then somebody ​says, 'We're not going to export to California,'" Burgum said. Burgum ​said that California already has shut several oil refineries, which over the ‌long ⁠term has helped raise fuel prices there. "California already (has) the highest prices in the country for gas and dies...

BRUSSELS, Sept 14 (Reuters) - European Union envoys have pushed back the expiry of EU Russia sanctions listings by seven days until September 22, ​a spokesperson for the EU's Irish presidency said on Monday, after failing to agree ‌on a six-month renewal. At issue is whether to de-list Russian-Uzbek billionaire Alisher Usmanov. France has joined Slovakia in a call to remove him, citing national security concerns, EU diplomats said. "France is one of the countries most committed ​to increasing pressure — by all means — on the Russian war machine, as well as ​to supporting Ukraine," a French diplomatic source said.  "We face a specific national security ⁠issue and wish to respond positively to international partners who have approached us regarding Mr. Usmanov." France's ​foreign ministry spokesperson declined to comment. The designations, which target nearly 3,000 companies and individuals with asset ​freezes and travel bans, had been due to expir...

ALEPPO, Syria, Sept 14 (Reuters) - A sharp rise in ​fuel prices at the weekend has sparked protests across Syria, in the country's most widespread demonstrations ‌since the toppling of Bashar al-Assad almost two years ago. Demonstrators burned tyres and blocked key roads, including the highway linking the capital Damascus to the industrial hub of Aleppo, after Syria's government on Saturday raised diesel prices by 40% to 175 Syrian pounds ($1.32) a ​litre. The price increases piled further pressure on Syrians facing years of economic crisis. The United Nations Development ​Programme estimates 90% of Syrians live below the poverty line, compared with about a ⁠third before the Syrian civil war began in 2011. In the steepest of several price hikes announced since the Iran ​war began, the government also raised household and industrial gas prices by about 9%, 95-octane gasoline by 28% to ​195 pounds and 90-octane gasoline by 26% to 185 pounds. Protesters also blocked co...

LONDON, Sept 11 (Reuters) - The pound rose slightly on Friday after data showed UK growth beat expectations  in July, continuing a string of relatively upbeat readings for the British economy. British gross domestic product ​grew 0.4% in July, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed, far ‌outstripping economists' forecasts that the economy would flatline. Sterling rose 0.1% to $1.352 and climbed a similar amount against the euro.  The euro zone's currency was down 0.1% against the pound to 85.84 pence. Growth was driven by the ​services sector, which expanded 0.4% month-on-month, the figures showed. Britain's economy expanded 1% in the ​first half of the year, the fastest growth in the G7, although some ⁠economists think issues with seasonal adjustments could mean the figure is overstated.  That means it ​could beat the Bank of England's forecast of 1.1% growth in 2026, although some analysts think ​the data could be revised lower. Investment ...