June 2, 2026 @ 5:40 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong’s monetary authority said it will develop a Digital Asset Platform later this year to support the issuance and settlement of digital bonds and, in the future, other digital assets. The move comes as the city looks to deepen its role as a “super… Read More

June 1, 2026 @ 7:07 am By Michael Wong  |  

Ascend Bank, the virtual bank backed by Charoen Pokphand Group, is expected to debut in July, CP Group senior vice-chairman Suphachai Chearavanont said. The planned launch comes after rival Clicx Bank announced earlier this week it plans to launch its mobile app on June 19,… Read More

June 1, 2026 @ 2:36 am By Michael Wong  |  

Southeast Asia’s AI infrastructure market is still young, uneven, and heavily concentrated in Singapore. The sector has drawn about $1.2 billion in disclosed equity funding across Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand from 2015 to 2026, according to a report by private market data platform Tracxn…. Read More

May 31, 2026 @ 7:21 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Insurtech startup Corgi has doubled its valuation to $2.6 billion just three weeks after reaching unicorn status, underscoring investor demand for AI-driven commercial insurance infrastructure. The San Francisco-based company said it raised $106 million in a Series B1 round led by TCV, with participation from… Read More

May 31, 2026 @ 11:55 am By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong’s monetary authority said regulated stablecoins in the city are expected to be launched in the next few months, as it moves digital finance initiatives from experimentation to real-value transactions. Howard Lee, deputy chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, said Hong Kong’s… Read More

May 31, 2026 @ 3:05 am By Michael Wong  |  

Singapore’s central bank said it has issued a circular guiding financial institutions to establish a client’s source of wealth in a risk-proportionate way, as part of efforts to make account opening in the wealth management industry more efficient while maintaining sound regulatory standards. The Monetary… Read More

May 31, 2026 @ 12:44 am By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong’s banking system recorded a broad increase in deposits in April, with renminbi deposits rising mainly on corporate fund flows even as cross-border trade settlement remittances declined from the previous month. Total deposits with authorized institutions increased by 1.5% in April, according to statistics… Read More

May 30, 2026 @ 8:31 am By Michael Wong  |  

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, and the Insurance Commission highlighted the potential of bundling parametric insurance with credit in enhancing lending to climate-exposed sectors. Parametric insurance provides automatic payouts once predefined weather thresholds are met. When bundled with… Read More

May 25, 2026 @ 11:15 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Despite the ongoing regional tensions and uncertainty in the global market, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) drew strong investor demand in its latest local-currency bond sale. In a statement, the UAE’s Ministry of Finance said it raised 1.1 billion dirhams, or about $300 million, through… Read More

May 25, 2026 @ 5:13 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming the latest battleground in wealth management, as startups race to replace the patchwork software systems long used by financial advisors. New York-based wealth management platform Farther announced raising $150 million in a Series D funding round anchored by growth equity… Read More

May 25, 2026 @ 11:19 am By Michael Wong  |  

A Nasdaq-listed fertility services company is making a bet on one of the internet’s more speculative frontiers: AI-powered prediction markets. NewGenIVF Group has made an initial $2 million strategic investment in K25.ai, a Singapore-based AI-native live streaming and watch-to-predict platform, as part of a Pre-A… Read More

May 24, 2026 @ 6:44 pm By Michael Wong  |  

USDKG, a gold-backed stablecoin issued by a state entity in Kyrgyzstan, announced its official listing on OSL HK, the Hong Kong-licensed digital asset exchange of stablecoin payment and trading platform OSL Group. The listing allows professional investors to trade the token against Tether’s USDT through… Read More

May 24, 2026 @ 2:43 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Chinese autonomous driving company UISEE Technologies has raised about HK$870 million ($111 million) in a Hong Kong initial public offering, adding to signs of improving investor appetite for AI-linked technology listings in the city. The Beijing-based company began trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange… Read More

May 24, 2026 @ 8:47 am By Michael Wong  |  

The Singapore government is taking another step to position itself as a carbon markets hub, this time partnering with the World Bank Group to launch a carbon markets program, according to an announcement. The initiative, dubbed Singapore Carbon Markets Program, aims to help countries build… Read More

May 23, 2026 @ 8:22 am By Michael Wong  |  

For Edward Robinson, deputy managing director for economic policy and chief economist at Monetary Authority of Singapore, the gains from artificial intelligence (AI) are unlikely to arrive quickly due to a mix of shocks from tariffs, energy, and geopolitics. During the 13th Asian Monetary Policy… Read More

May 18, 2026 @ 1:24 am By Michael Wong  |  

US startup Sprouts.ai has raised $9 million in a pre-Series A funding round led by True Global Ventures and Accel, as investors continue backing companies building autonomous tools for enterprise sales and marketing teams. The latest round brings Sprouts.ai’s total funding to $14 million since… Read More

May 18, 2026 @ 12:23 am By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong regulators and market participants have released a sector-focused transition finance guide for the technology industry, as the city seeks to give banks, investors, and issuers more practical tools for assessing climate transition plans in digital infrastructure and ICT financing. The Hong Kong Green… Read More

May 18, 2026 @ 12:19 am By Michael Wong  |  

Singapore’s central bank will ease some rules governing the sale of complex investment products to retail investors, as regulators seek to balance investor protection with growing demand for self-directed investing platforms and digital financial services. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said it will proceed… Read More

May 17, 2026 @ 7:06 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Qatar has launched a $30 million deep-tech venture fund that will invest in early-stage startups headquartered in the country that are developing tech with measurable social or climate impact. The fund adds to a wave of state-backed investment vehicles across the Gulf aimed at attracting… Read More

May 17, 2026 @ 3:29 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Australia’s NEXTDC has opened a $720 million data center in Malaysia, betting on rising demand for AI infrastructure and cloud services in Southeast Asia as governments and companies race to expand digital capacity. The facility, known as KL1 Kuala Lumpur, marks NEXTDC’s first international expansion and comes… Read More