Asia

July 17, 2021 @ 5:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) has issued a notice that Binance may be offering stock token offerings to Hong Kong investors. The SFC stated that Binance is not licensed to offer regulated activity in Hong Kong. Binance has recently been the target… Read More

July 16, 2021 @ 9:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Geidea, one of the largest Fintechs in Saudi Arabia in terms of market share, has reportedly appointed the global financial services and Fintech-focused professional Nick Ogden to the company’s Board of Directors. Geidea’s management states: “Supporting small businesses to succeed is at the heart of… Read More

July 16, 2021 @ 6:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hong Kong-based digital life insurance firm Blue has confirmed the launch of its WeMedi Top Up (Outpatient) Protector, which is a top-up outpatient plan offered as part of the digital life insurance market. As noted by its management: “Blue is Hong Kong’s first digital life… Read More

July 16, 2021 @ 5:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

SCB 10X, the venture division of Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank or SCB (BKK: SCB), has confirmed its most-recent investment into the decentralized finance (DeFi) space through asset aggregator and portfolio dashboard provider, Ape Board. The firm, which currently has over 350,000 users, acquired within 4… Read More

July 16, 2021 @ 2:49 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hong Kong’s digital technology park Cyberport confirms that it has invested HKD 14.87 million (appr. $1.92 million) into the operations of four of the startups in its network. The companies include Lynk, Rice Robotics, Dash Living and Hex Trust. These investments have been made during… Read More

July 16, 2021 @ 8:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Spendwisor, a US-headquartered mobile payment app with business offices and service locations in Qatar and the United Kingdom, has confirmed a QAR 190 million ($50 million) investment commitment from GEM Global Yield, a $3.4 billion Luxembourg-headquartered private alternative investment group. The company plans to use… Read More

July 15, 2021 @ 11:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore-headquartered financial services tech firm, CrediLinq.Ai, reveals that it has acquired SGD 1.35 million through a new funding round. The Fintech lender says that it plans to transform how credit is underwritten to SMEs using advanced tech solutions that will be integrated within its lending… Read More

July 15, 2021 @ 8:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore-based Syfe, a digital or online wealth management company, has secured SGD 40 million through a Series B round. Syfe‘s investment round has been led by US-headquartered Valar Ventures, the VC fund co-founded by Peter Thiel, which led Syfe’s Series A round and was the… Read More

July 15, 2021 @ 7:50 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revealed on Wednesday (July 14, 2021) that it has decided to indefinitely ban Mastercard Inc (NYSE: MA) from providing any new debit or credit cards to local clients for allegedly violating data storage guidelines. This move appears to be… Read More

July 15, 2021 @ 5:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Exactpro, an independent provider of software testing solutions for “mission-critical” financial technology, will establish new subsidiaries in Lithuania as well as Sri Lanka. Alexey Zverev, Co-CEO and Co-founder at Exactpro, notes that it’s been a great honor for the company to serve its customers globally… Read More

July 15, 2021 @ 9:18 am By JD Alois  |  

Eurora Solutions, an Estonian firm that offers an AI/ML service for cross-border transactions, has raised a $3 million seed round, according to a note from the firm. The seed round was led by Change Ventures which was joined by angels including the founders of Printify,… Read More

July 15, 2021 @ 8:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Boubyan Bank has introduced a mobile-only, Sharia-compliant banking solution in the United Kingdom. The platform will aim to address the requirements of individuals residing in the Middle East who may have international banking needs. As noted in the announcement, Nomo will be providing a new… Read More

July 15, 2021 @ 8:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Brian Barnes, the Founder and CEO at M1 Finance, notes that he’s pleased to confirm the company’s $150 million Series E round, led by Softbank’s Vision Fund 2 along with participation from existing investors. M1 Finance‘s latest investment round brings the company’s valuation to $1.45… Read More

July 14, 2021 @ 2:38 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Thunes, a global payments network, has teamed up with ABA Bank so that they can enable Cambodians overseas to send funds back home “quicker and cheaper from around the world.” As noted in a release shared with CI: “Previously, customers making international money transfers to… Read More

July 13, 2021 @ 11:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Kredent InfoEdge Private Limited (KIPL), an entity that operates the Indian brands StockEdge and Elearnmarkets, has acquired growth capital of INR 10 Crore (appr. $1.35 million) from Kotak Securities Ltd in order to expand their existing product capabilities while growing their user base. This is… Read More

July 13, 2021 @ 10:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE) is currently seeking regulatory approval to begin offering cryptocurrency trading, PSE President and CEO Ramon Monzon thinks that the bourse can offer an ideal platform for facilitating digital currency trading because of its robust trading infrastructure and established customer safeguard… Read More

July 13, 2021 @ 10:26 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

The COVID-19 pandemic helped drive further growth in India’s e-commerce sector, new research from GlobalData shows. According to the firm’s E-Commerce Analytics, e-commerce payments in the country grew by 12.2 percent in 2020 and should reach $61.5 billion this year. Between now and 2025 sales… Read More

July 13, 2021 @ 10:16 pm By Priyanka Pani  |  

The Fintech sector in India is getting greener by the day. At least four large Indian fintechs are readying themselves for a big bang public listing this year as the Covid-triggered pandemic has accelerated the growth of these companies. Together, these startups could raise anything… Read More

July 13, 2021 @ 4:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The research analysts at BitOoda have published their Weekly Hash report, dated July 12, 2021. The report reveals that cryptocurrency miner economics have improved despite the range-bound Bitcoin (BTC) price. The BitOoda team writes in a blog post that China’s Bitcoin mining ban “continues to… Read More

July 13, 2021 @ 1:55 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Indian neobank Razorpay recently shared payroll compliance mistakes that businesses should try to avoid. The RazorPay team explains that payroll compliance is one of the “most important” processes a business performs so that it can maintain operations. All businesses in India and globally have to… Read More