Asia

December 28, 2025 @ 9:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Thailand’s aggregate card payments market is now being projected to grow by 2.7% in 2025 to reach THB2.3 trillion (appr. $65.4 billion), supported by the ongoing expansion of digital payment acceptance infrastructure, government-led financial inclusion initiatives, and the growing adoption of contactless payments, according to… Read More

December 28, 2025 @ 11:58 am By Omar Faridi  |  

In a significant new development in the fight against growing incidents of cybercrime, Indian authorities have now apprehended a former customer support representative linked to Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN). The arrest reportedly took place in Hyderabad and stems from a major security incident at the exchange that was… 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 @ 10:07 am By Omar Faridi  |  

India’s venture capital market strengthened its global standing in 2025, recording year-on-year double-digit growth in both deal volumes and values during January-November despite persistent volatility across major economies. The divergence from declining trends in other key markets signals rising investor conviction in India’s startup fundamentals,… Read More

December 25, 2025 @ 9:41 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Hong Kong (China SAR) payment card market is now considered to be fairly mature, however, despite this, the total card payment value is forecast to grow considerably by “4.5% in 2025 to reach HKD1.32 trillion ($168.4 billion),” supported by the ongoing efforts to promote… Read More

December 24, 2025 @ 2:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

GlobalData noted that as 2025 progressed, the world’s economy had largely moved beyond post-COVID distortions, however, growth still remained somewhat uneven and the path into 2026 looks a bit fragile. A comparatively strong first half of 2025, helped by firms advancing imports, quick supply-chain reconfiguration,… Read More

December 24, 2025 @ 1:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

21X – Europe’s DLT trading and settlement system under the EU DLT Regime – and SOOHO.IO – the Korean blockchain fintech powering Project Namsan, an institutional consortium building a stablecoin ecosystem for FX and programmable payments – announced they are exploring a collaboration. This tie-up… 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 23, 2025 @ 8:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

China’s venture capital funding ecosystem has experienced a significant decline in deal value, despite showcasing “resilience in terms of volume.” The total number of VC deals announced in China increased by 8% during January-November 2025 compared to the same period in the previous year whereas… Read More

December 23, 2025 @ 4:36 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Hana Securities announced it gained exposure to a Digitally Native Note (DNN) through a Total Return Swap (TRS) structure, marking their entry into the digital bond market. The investment aligns with their strategy to participate in tech-driven capital-market innovation. Standard Chartered acted as the TRS… 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 21, 2025 @ 6:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The crypto sector faced yet another challenging year in 2025, with stolen funds continuing their upward trajectory, according to an update from Chainalysis which noted that their close examinations reveals a significant shift in crypto theft patterns, characterized by several key developments: the persistence of… 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 19, 2025 @ 1:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced financial and capital markets initiatives to deepen financial cooperation with China. The initiatives were announced at the 21st Joint Council for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC) meeting in Chongqing, China, which was “co-chaired by Singapore Deputy Prime Minister and Minister… Read More

December 19, 2025 @ 1:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Crypto.com announced a strengthening of its fiat payment capabilities with DBS Bank, which is reportedly Southeast Asia’s largest bank by assets.  This highlights Crypto.com’s commitment to working with banks to deliver services under the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) framework. Crypto.com users in Singapore may… Read More

December 19, 2025 @ 6:00 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Aberdeen Investments, a specialist asset manager, announced real estate acquisitions: WORVE Yokohama Isezakicho, a recently completed build-to-rent property, along with a portfolio of various residential properties across some of Tokyo’s districts. It now comes after the strategic acquisition of WORVE Isezakicho, “completed in Feb ’25;… Read More

December 18, 2025 @ 11:56 am By Tony Zerucha  |  

10x Banking, a cloud-native core banking platform, has partnered with audax, a digital banking technology solutions provider, to help banks in Asia Pacific, Europe and the Middle East scale new digital offerings and modernize their core banking services. Research from 10x Banking shows banks now… 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