Asia

August 11, 2020 @ 10:15 am By JD Alois  |  

Incomlend, an online invoice trading platform facilitating trade finance, has raised a substantial $20 million in a Series A funding round led by Sequoia India, according to a note from the firm. Global shipping and logistics firm CMA CGM Group also participated in the round… Read More

August 10, 2020 @ 11:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Miljan Stamenkovic, the Regional Director at Mambu, a multinational software-as-a-service (SaaS) banking platform, notes in a blog post published on Trade Arabia that during the last few years, many Gulf or Middle East region countries have been increasingly adopting digital platforms and services. Middle Eastern… Read More

August 10, 2020 @ 9:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

An Israel-based AI technology firm is planning to help MUFG Bank, which is Japan’s largest financial institution, with assessing the operations of Asian startups in order to determine the feasibility of issuing loans to them. The $80 million 50-50 joint initiative between Tel Aviv based… Read More

August 10, 2020 @ 7:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

China and India had the highest Fintech adoption rate (at 87%) out of all emerging markets, as of March 2020, according to a Research and Markets report. The Fintech sector has been expanding during COVID-19 because more consumers and businesses are conducting transactions online. Many… Read More

August 10, 2020 @ 7:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

  MoneyTap, a Fintech described as India’s first App-based credit line, has enlisted the assistance of Upgrade founder and CEO Renaud Laplanche to the company’s advisory board. Laplanche is also the founder and former CEO of LendingClub, the first marketplace lending platform to go public… Read More

August 10, 2020 @ 12:17 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Invest Hong Kong (InvestHK) announced on Monday its new Global Fast Track Program, which is a business-driven program within Hong Kong Fintech Week (HKFW). According to InvestHK, the Fast Track program plugs fintech enterprises directly into Hong Kong’s diverse ecosystem of world-class regulators, business leaders,… Read More

August 9, 2020 @ 4:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A division of China’s state-owned power grid has reportedly introduced a blockchain-enabled blackout insurance policy that’s issued to the chairman of a local firm that had to compensate for a recent loss due to a power outage. The Zhejiang Ningbo Power Supply Company has teamed… Read More

August 9, 2020 @ 12:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, is reportedly open to exploring potential investment deals from Qatar. According to a BSP representative, these deals will focus on digital banking and Fintech projects. Arifa A Ala, the MD at BSP, noted that… Read More

August 7, 2020 @ 10:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the nation’s central bank that controls the issue and supply of the Indian rupee, is reportedly working on an offline digital transactions pilot, in order to get more consumers in rural areas, without internet connections, to adopt virtual payments…. Read More

August 7, 2020 @ 11:26 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

OneConnect Financial Technology Co. Ltd. (OneConnect), an associate company of China’s insurance giant Ping An Group, announced earlier this week it has joined forces with Swiss Reinsurance Company Ltd. (Swiss Re) to co-develop a digital end-to-end solution for motor claims handling for the European market, based… Read More

August 7, 2020 @ 1:52 am By Omar Faridi  |  

UOB Indonesia has introduced TMRW, its virtual bank to serve the local market as part of its strategy to accelerate growth of its business operations in the region. The launch of the digital bank has come after UOB established its business in Thailand in 2019…. Read More

August 6, 2020 @ 11:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Qatar has substantial capital that has been invested by local entities into the nation’s economy, which is more diversified than most other countries in the Middle East. However, foreign direct investment (FDI) may still serve a key role in developing the nation’s knowledge-based economy and… Read More

August 6, 2020 @ 11:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Clik, a Cambodia-based Fintech firm, has reportedly acquired $3.7 million in seed funding. The company has also hired new staff members. Clik’s management noted that the funds raised would be used to expand its business operations, including its product engineering and customer service teams, in… Read More

August 6, 2020 @ 8:15 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

GoBear, a Singapore-based finance services and data platform, announced on Thursday it has formed a partnership with Southeast Asian digital bank UnionBank to launch a lending as a service offering in the Philippines. The launch of the partnership comes just a few months after GoBear… Read More

August 5, 2020 @ 11:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Approximately $1.47 billion was invested into businesses operating in the Fintech sector in India between January to June 2020, according to the latest MEDICI Report covering Indian financial technology markets. The amount invested into India’s Fintech industry during H1 2020 was 60% greater than the… Read More

August 5, 2020 @ 10:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Southeastern Asian ride-hailing service, Grab, has extended its business into the financial services sector, by introducing a micro-investment platform, a third-party loan service, and also a “Buy Now, Pay Later” product for digital commerce sites. Introduced in August 2020, AutoInvest allows consumers based in Singapore… Read More

August 5, 2020 @ 4:08 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Indonesia-based fintech Ayoconnect announced on Wednesday it raised $5 million through its pre-Series B financing round, which included participation from BRI Ventures, Tokyo Exchange-listed internet company Kakaku.com, Inc., and Brama one Ventures. Existing investors that also participated in the round were Finch Capital and Amand… Read More

August 5, 2020 @ 11:19 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

TradingScreen Inc. (TS) subsidiary MARKTS, a digital asset order and execution management system (OEMS), announced on Wednesday it has teamed up with OSL, an Asian digital asset platform, to launch OSL Exchange and OSL intelligent Request for Quote (iRFQ) trading services on MARKTS. According to… Read More

August 4, 2020 @ 11:44 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) is seeking feedback on a regulatory framework for digital asset wallet providers. The review is expected to complement the existing frameworks for Digital Asset Exchange (DAX) and Initial Exchange Offering (IEO). The SC notes that digital asset wallet providers, now… Read More

August 4, 2020 @ 11:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bursa Malaysia Berhad, the stock exchange of Malaysia, has partnered with Hashstacs Pte Ltd, based in Singapore, regarding a bond on blockchain proof-of-concept (POC). The project has been labeled “Project Harbour” and it aims to explore distributed ledger technology and tokenization of assets while boosting… Read More