December 29, 2025 @ 10:20 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Malaysia drew 54.13 billion ringgit ($13.3 billion) in approved Malaysia Digital (MD) investments in the third quarter of 2025, projects expected to generate 21,815 high-value jobs across 402 digital companies, according to the Malaysia Digital Economy Corporation (MDEC). MDEC said the investment pipeline underscored sustained… Read More

December 29, 2025 @ 11:27 am By Michael Wong  |  

Mirae Asset Group is in talks to acquire Korbit, South Korea’s fourth-largest cryptocurrency exchange, in a move that would mark a rare push by a mainstream financial group into the country’s tightly regulated digital-asset market, according to people familiar with the matter. The discussions are… Read More

December 28, 2025 @ 10:43 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong regulators launched an intellectual property (IP) financing sandbox aimed at helping banks and companies test how patents, trademarks and copyrights can be used as collateral, as the city looks to widen funding options for innovation-led businesses. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority, working with… Read More

December 28, 2025 @ 11:46 am By Michael Wong  |  

CIMB Group is laying the groundwork to issue tokenised bonds and Islamic sukuk in Malaysia, positioning itself early as regulators move to modernise capital markets through the use of distributed-ledger technology. The bank said it will develop tokenised financial services covering assets, settlement and payment… Read More

December 27, 2025 @ 5:22 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong’s card payment market is expected to expand further in 2025, even as it remains one of Asia’s more mature payments landscapes, with total card spending forecast to rise 4.5% to HK$1.32 trillion ($168.4 billion), according to data and analytics firm GlobalData. The forecast… Read More

December 27, 2025 @ 10:09 am By Michael Wong  |  

Bhutan has unveiled a national Bitcoin Development Pledge that will allocate up to 10,000 bitcoin, worth about $860 million at current prices, to support the build-out of Gelephu Mindfulness City, marking one of the clearest moves yet by a sovereign to treat bitcoin as a… Read More

December 27, 2025 @ 5:15 am By Michael Wong  |  

The United Arab Emirates has issued a federal decree-law aimed at tightening online protections for children, setting out new duties for internet service providers, digital platforms and caregivers as the Gulf state prepares to designate 2026 as the “Year of the Family”. The decree-law creates… Read More

December 23, 2025 @ 9:43 pm By Michael Wong  |  

  North Korea-linked hackers stole more than half of the over $2.7 billion taken in cryptocurrency hacks in 2025, as the country’s cyber operators increasingly targeted the operational infrastructure of major exchanges and outsourced the “cash-out” stage to a web of Chinese underground brokers, blockchain… Read More

December 22, 2025 @ 8:59 am By Michael Wong  |  

US lawmakers released a bipartisan discussion draft aimed at bringing clarity and consistency to how digital assets are taxed, as Congress faces growing pressure to modernise rules written largely before cryptocurrencies entered mainstream finance. The proposal, dubbed the Digital Asset Protection, Accountability, Regulation, Innovation, Taxation,… Read More

December 22, 2025 @ 3:00 am By Michael Wong  |  

Vietnamese digital insurance broker Saladin has raised an undisclosed amount in a Series A funding round led by SBI Ven Capital, as the startup looks to broaden its product mix beyond non-life policies and push deeper into segments that have traditionally relied on offline sales…. Read More

December 22, 2025 @ 12:01 am By Michael Wong  |  

The Philippines’ Securities and Exchange Commission has ordered Trading Point Holdings Ltd, which operates under the XM brand, to immediately stop soliciting investments, saying it was offering products to the public without the required registrations and licenses. In a cease-and-desist order, the regulator directed Trading… Read More

December 21, 2025 @ 4:27 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Beycome has raised $2.5 million in seed funding as the Miami-based real estate technology firm looks to expand a flat-fee, direct-to-consumer model at a time of strained housing affordability in the United States, according to an announcement. The round was led by InsurTech Fund, with… Read More

December 20, 2025 @ 3:15 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Sweden’s development finance institution Swedfund has agreed to lend up to $20 million to Vietnamese non-bank lender EVF General Finance JSC (EVF) to expand credit to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, with a sizable portion of the funding earmarked for climate-related projects and women-owned businesses…. Read More

December 20, 2025 @ 10:58 am By Michael Wong  |  

Credit card usage in Hong Kong rose sharply in the third quarter of 2025, with both the number of cards in circulation and transaction volumes climbing, while debit card activity declined, data released by the territory’s central banking authority showed. Figures published by the Hong… Read More

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