Asia

Hong Kong Card Payments Expected to Rise Nearly 5% in 2025 : Research

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

Global Inflation Eased in 2025 But Economic Growth Still Uneven Heading into 2026 : Analysis

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

21X, SOOHO.IO Partner to Explore Stablecoin FX

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

N Korea ‘Behind’ Over Half of 2025’s $2.7bn Crypto Theft: Report

  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

China VC Funding Declines YoY During Jan-Nov ’25 But Deal Volume Surges, Report Reveals

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

Hana Securities Introduces Digitally Native Note Space with Standard Chartered

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

Vietnam’s Saladin Secures Series A to Expand Digital Insurance Push

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

North Korea Drives $2B Crypto Theft Year, Pushing All-Time Total to $6.75B : Research

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

Sweden’s Swedfund Backs Vietnam MSME Lender EVF With $20m Facility

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

Hong Kong Credit Card Use Jumps in Q3 as Transactions, Spending Rise

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

Singapore and China Strengthen Financial Cooperation via RMB and Capital Market Initiatives

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

Crypto.com Improves Fiat Payment Capabilities in Singapore with DBS Bank

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

Aberdeen Investments Expands Japan Real Estate Portfolio with Acquisitions in Prime Tokyo Districts

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

10x, audax Unite to Help Banks’ Modernization Pushes

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

SEAX Takes Major Stake in Thailand’s Interlink Telecom as ASEAN Data Demand Rises

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

APAC Deal Activity Declines Slightly YoY During Jan – Nov 2025, Report Reveals

The Asia-Pacific deal ecosystem has reportedly experienced a slowdown in activity during January-November 2025, reflecting a “broader trend of cautious deal-making.” The total number of deals (comprising mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity and venture financing deals) announced in the APAC region “decreased by 5%… Read More

Olea Announces Series A Funding to Enhance Global Trade Finance

Olea Global Pte Ltd, a platform enabling global trade, announced the completion of its $30 million Series A round. The funding round was led by BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, S.A), with participation from XDC Network, theDOCK, others, as well as existing shareholder SC Ventures,… Read More

Animoca Brands Teams Up with GROW, Invests in GROW Digital Wealth

Animoca Brands, a digital assets leader building blockchain and tokenized assets to advance the future of Web3, announced it entered into a term sheet with GROW Investment Group , China’s investment and asset management platform backed by Julius Baer. Under the term sheet, Animoca Brands… Read More

Indonesia Online Loan Debt Hits $5.6bn in Oct

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

Proxymity, Deutsche Bank Introduce Digital Proxy Voting Service in Thailand

Proxymity, the digital investor communication platform, announces the expansion of its partnership with Deutsche Bank, one of the global financial institutions, with the rollout of Proxymity Vote Connect Access in Thailand. Deutsche Bank is said to be one of the first adopters of Proxymity’s digital… Read More

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