Business
RSG, S’Korea Partner On Greater PH Dev
The Rivers State Government has assured South Korean investors of its readiness to partner with them in the development of the new Greater Port Harcourt Authority.
Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi gave the assurance on Friday when he received a delegation of South Korean businessmen led by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Ufot Ekaete at Government House, Port Harcourt.
Governor Amaechi said “we need you to partner with us to develop the new city and we want to see you as investors and not as contractors”, noting that his administration has enough political will to protect investors in the state.
He emphasized that Port Harcourt has the natural resources that could propel its economy as most oil and gas companies operating in the country have their headquarters in Port Harcourt in view of the status of the state as the hub of oil and gas business in Nigeria.
The governor assured the South Korean business delegation that they would derive maximum benefit from their investment if they took advantage of the opportunities presented by their visit.
The State Chief Executive said his government had carried out a comprehensive masterplan of the new city expected to be fully developed in 50 years and expressed happiness at the gesture by the Korean investors that the work target in the new city was achievable in less than 50 years through collaboration with the private sector.
He thanked the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Ufot Ekaette for facilitating the visit of the South Korean business delegation to the state, assuring that the State Government was prepared to do its maximum best to place quality in its projects.
Earlier, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Chief Ufot Ekaette, said the South Korean business delegation was in Nigeria to explore investment opportunities and they have come to the Niger Delta to utilize their capacity to help develop the region.
The Head of the South Korean business delegation Mr Philip Yun, expressed gratitude to the Rivers State Government for accepting to collaborate with them and made presentation on the possible areas of partnership in the development of the Greater Port Harcourt City.
Cornerstone of Financial Services
A survey of more than 1 000 global finance leaders undertaken by digital payment network Ripple shows that 72% of respondents believe they need to offer a digital asset solution to remain competitive.
According to Ripple, leaders from the banking, fintech, corporate and asset management sector have made it clear that the “digital asset revolution is happening now”.
“Digital assets are quickly becoming a cornerstone of financial services, underpinned by progressive regulation, growing interest from Tier-1 banks, a steady consumer shift from banks to fintech providers, and booming stablecoin adoption,” Ripple says.
The survey was conducted in early 2026 and the findings released in March.
Stablecoin Boon or Bane?
Ripple has experienced significant success in the stablecoin sector since launching its Ripple USD (RLUSD) stablecoin in 2024.
With a market cap of $1.56 billion, it is considered a major regulated player in the market.
No doubt the platform was pleased to learn through its own survey that financial leaders were most bullish about stablecoins.
Roughly three-quarters of respondents believed they could boost cash-flow efficiency and unlock trapped working capital.
Ripple noted that finance leaders were thinking about stablecoins as more than “just a new way to execute payments”; instead, they viewed them as effective tools for treasury management.
In March 2026, Ripple began testing a new trade finance model built around RLUSD in a bid to increase the speed of cross-border payments.
The pilot initiative, developed alongside supply chain finance company Unloq [https://unloq.com], is running on the XRP Ledger inside a testing framework developed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Asian city-state is one of the platform’s biggest growth markets.
The idea behind the project is to see whether stablecoin-based settlement can streamline trade finance, too often hampered by reliance on intermediaries and slow reconciliation.
The only potential drawback is that if the initiative takes off, the Ripple to USD price could be negatively affected.
Ripple has always championed its native XRP token as a bridge asset, the “middleman” in the process of a financial institution turning dollars in the US into pounds in the UK, for example.
Ripple converts dollars into XRP and then back into pounds.
If RLUSD can do exactly the same thing, questions will be asked about XRP’s relevance.
That is a bridge Ripple will have to cross if it gets to that point.
Tokenisation Partners
Another interesting finding from Ripple’s survey is that most banks and asset managers are seeking tokenisation partners to help execute their strategies.
Some 89% of respondents said digital asset storage and custody were top priority. “Token servicing/lifecycle management also ranks highly for banks at 82%, while asset managers place greater emphasis on primary distribution at 80%,” Ripple found.
The survey also revealed that just more than half of fintechs and financial institutions want an infrastructure provider that can offer a “one-stop-shop solution”. This rose to 71% among corporate financial leaders.
Ripple attributes this to institutions and firms wanting uncomplicated, cohesive systems.
Infrastructure Rules
In its final analysis, Ripple says companies across the board are looking for partners and solutions that are “secure, compliant, battle-tested and that enable growth and execution”.
“The message is clear: infrastructure decisions made today will shape competitive positioning tomorrow.”
No surprise that this is precisely where Ripple is placing much of its focus.
