December 20, 2025 @ 10:55 am By Michael Wong  |  

FINNY AI Inc, an AI prospecting and marketing platform for financial advisors, has raised $17 million in Series A funding as firms seek to automate client acquisition for registered investment advisers. The round was led by venture firm Venrock, with participation from former Vanguard chairman… Read More

December 18, 2025 @ 8:59 am By Michael Wong  |  

SEAX Global, a privately held Southeast Asian wholesale connectivity provider, has acquired a major stake in Thailand’s Interlink Telecom Pcl (ITEL), expanding its footprint in one of the region’s biggest network markets, the companies said. The deal adds ITEL’s domestic fibre network and telecom licences… Read More

December 17, 2025 @ 2:04 am By Michael Wong  |  

Outstanding debt in Indonesia’s online lending industry climbed to 92.92 trillion rupiah ($5.6 billion) in October, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) said, as growth accelerated while credit quality held broadly steady. The regulator said online-loan balances rose 23.86% from a year earlier, picking up from… Read More

December 15, 2025 @ 5:17 pm By Michael Wong  |  

South Korea’s push to tighten rules for virtual assets is moving into a second legislative phase focused on stablecoins, as policymakers and financial firms step up discussions on how won-linked tokens could be issued and used, according to organisers of an industry forum. The second… Read More

December 14, 2025 @ 12:37 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Capital A Berhad and Standard Chartered Bank Malaysia have signed a letter of intent to explore the development and testing of a ringgit-denominated stablecoin, joining a growing list of firms looking to build regulated digital-asset rails for payments and settlements. The project would be pursued… Read More

December 13, 2025 @ 2:37 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) has signed a strategic partnership with private investment firm Bain Capital to support Bain’s expansion in the emirate, linking the move to the launch of a new financial-services cluster aimed at fintech, insurance, digital assets and alternative investments. The… Read More

December 13, 2025 @ 2:31 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Exor, the investment company controlled by Italy’s Agnelli family, said on Saturday its board had unanimously rejected an unsolicited approach from cryptocurrency group Tether to buy Exor’s stake in Juventus, keeping the Turin club under its long-time owners. Exor said it had received a proposal… Read More

December 10, 2025 @ 1:03 am By Michael Wong  |  

Malaysia will intensify efforts to enter new markets in Europe, Latin America and Africa to boost trade and strengthen its position as a competitive trading nation, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Sunday, according to state news agency Bernama. Speaking at the closing ceremony of… Read More

December 8, 2025 @ 9:02 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Boursa Kuwait has signed a partnership with INJAZ Kuwait, a youth-focused non-profit, to support financial literacy and entrepreneurship programmes expected to reach more than 800 students in the first half of 2026, the exchange and INJAZ said. The collaboration will fund a set of classroom-style… Read More

December 8, 2025 @ 8:02 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission has sought public comment on proposed rules that would set a regulatory framework for sukuk, as Manila tries to broaden funding options and deepen its capital markets through Islamic finance. In a draft memorandum circular issued on Nov. 26,… Read More

December 7, 2025 @ 6:57 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Pakistan said it is pressing ahead with plans to regulate digital assets after senior officials met a delegation from cryptocurrency exchange Binance led by global CEO Richard Teng, as the South Asian nation tries to bring oversight to one of the world’s most active retail… Read More

December 7, 2025 @ 7:55 am By Michael Wong  |  

Turkmenistan has passed a law legalising and regulating digital assets, including licensing for cryptocurrency exchanges and crypto mining companies, a rare policy opening in one of the world’s most closed economies. The state media said President Serdar Berdymukhamedov signed the “Law on Virtual Assets” on… Read More

December 7, 2025 @ 5:53 am By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong’s banking industry will roll out additional relief steps for residents and workers affected by the Tai Po fire, including emergency loan offers, fee waivers tied to a government support fund and fast-tracked handling of bank accounts belonging to people who died in the… Read More

December 6, 2025 @ 11:09 am By Michael Wong  |  

Embed Financial Group Cayman Holdings (EFGH), a Singapore-headquartered provider of digital infrastructure for embedded financial services in emerging markets, has agreed to go public in the US through a merger with WinVest Acquisition Corp, a special purpose acquisition company. EFGH said the agreement implies a… Read More

December 2, 2025 @ 8:30 am By Michael Wong  |  

Emirates Gold and Malaysia’s Public Gold have installed a bullion vending machine in Dubai that the companies say is the first in the UAE to combine a Fintech account platform with automated dispensing of physical gold and silver. The firms unveiled the “Gold ATM” on… Read More

December 2, 2025 @ 1:24 am By Michael Wong  |  

French business software provider Cegid has agreed to buy European Fintech Shine, as the accounting and payroll specialist pushes deeper into payments and prepares for a wave of mandatory e-invoicing reforms across the region. The companies said they had signed a definitive agreement to combine,… Read More

November 30, 2025 @ 10:46 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Beyon Solutions, part of Bahrain’s Beyon Group, has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bahrain Fintech Bay to collaborate on cloud adoption and wider digital transformation in the kingdom’s financial services sector, the organisations said. The agreement is aimed at giving fintech startups, scale-ups, and… Read More

November 30, 2025 @ 4:38 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Coupang, South Korea’s biggest online retailer, apologised on Sunday after a breach exposed personal information from 33.7 million customer accounts, prompting government scrutiny and warnings of follow-on scams. The US-listed company said the leak involved customers’ names, email addresses, phone numbers, shipping addresses and some… Read More

November 30, 2025 @ 1:27 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Harmonic, a Palo Alto-based artificial intelligence startup backed by Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev, said it raised $120 million in a Series C funding round that values the company at $1.45 billion post-money. The round was led by Ribbit Capital, with significant participation from Sequoia Capital,… Read More

November 29, 2025 @ 6:26 am By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong’s banking industry has rolled out a package of emergency relief measures for residents affected by a No. 5 alarm fire in Tai Po, including a six-month repayment grace period on mortgages and other consumer loans, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said. The… Read More