IsDB looks for expanding investment in Africa

The Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) is holding its annual meetings in Algeria for the first time in 24 years from Monday to Thursday, with a focus on expanding investment in Africa.

The Saudi-based bank's annual meeting brought to the Algerian capital Algiers investors from across the Muslim world looking for business opportunities in the region.

Pursuing its sustainable development goals, Algeria announced dedicating one million hectares of land in its south to foreign investment in agriculture.

"Food processing and food industries are also within our priorities. Another sector that has shown great demand for is renewable energy. We are proceeding to give major investment opportunities in this field. Tourism is an industry that is very promising. It's a foreign currency generator with a massive added value to our economy," said Omar Rekkache, director general of the Algerian Investment Promotion Agency.

The IsDB and Algeria together are eying to boost intra-African trade through investing in infrastructure required to enhance continental connectivity.

"We are working on logistics to intensify all that is related to aviation and maritime transportation. We even have major projects underway to expand the local Algeria rail network and also possibly connect it to rail networks in neighboring countries. Another major project is a road that will connect the Mediterranean Sea and the Gulf of Guinea, going through Niger and Nigeria," said Soufiane Mazari, head of Islamic Finance Division at Algerian Popular Loan (Credit Populaire d'Algerie).

The Islamic Development Bank is made up of the 57 member states forming the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, 20 countries of which are African, thus making the continent's development essential for the bank's mission.

"Africa has been one of the largest beneficiaries of our services both on the insurance side and the financing side. We see still huge potential to support this area because the demand in Africa is huge, especially for infrastructure that connects intra African countries, which is still a big challenge and this is key for any investment to come to any African country," said Khalid Khalafallah, CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Insurance of Investment and Export Credit (ICIEC).

One billion U.S. dollars-worth of agreements were signed during the meeting, which involve a wide scope of developmental projects from agriculture projects in the Gambia to flood dams in Oman.

IsDB looks for expanding investment in Africa

IsDB looks for expanding investment in Africa

China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, reached 2.5141 trillion kilowatt-hours in the first quarter of 2026, up 5.2 percent year on year, according to data released by the National Energy Administration on Monday.

A breakdown of the data shows robust growth across various sectors, as the country's economy got off to a good start in the first quarter with new growth drivers.

From January to March, China's primary industry saw an increase of 7.1 percent in power consumption, bringing total power used to 33.6 billion kilowatt-hours. The secondary industry consumed nearly 1.6 trillion kilowatt-hours, up 4.7 percent from a year ago. Within this sector, the high-tech and equipment manufacturing industry posted particularly strong growth, with electricity consumption increasing 8.6 percent year on year.

The tertiary industry recorded 8.1-percent growth in power use, totaling 483.3 billion kilowatt-hours. Notably, the battery charging and swapping service sector consumed 37.6 billion kilowatt-hours, surging 53.8 percent, while the internet data service sector used 22.9 billion kilowatt-hours, up 44 percent. The power consumption of urban and rural residents was 398.5 billion kilowatt-hours, increasing by 3.4 percent year on year.

In March alone, electricity consumption reached 859.5 billion kilowatt-hours, up 3.5 percent year on year.

China's economy grew five percent in the first quarter, outpacing expectations of some overseas institutions and reinforcing the country's role as a stabilizing force in an increasingly volatile global economy.

China's power use up 5.2 percent in Q1