Asia

February 8, 2017 @ 11:26 pm By Jessica Pham  |  

John Tsang, a former Financial Secretary of Hong Kong who has had a long government career, declared last month that he is running for Chief Executive of Hong Kong.  His crowdfunding campaign launched five days ago on FringeBacker, and he has raised thus far HK$4,519,604 (approximately $583,000)… Read More

February 7, 2017 @ 6:35 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Lending startup SlicePay has bought Delhi-based P2P lending platform Trustio in an all equity deal which the former hopes will strengthen its team, product portfolio and infrastructure. Trustio, launched last year, enables alumni of a select number of colleges access to short-term credit sourced from their… Read More

February 7, 2017 @ 4:00 am By Jessica Pham  |  

Singapore-based company Grab, self-described as “Southeast Asia’s Leading Ride-Hailing Platform”, is investing $700 million in Indonesia to make the country ASEAN’s most digital economy.  Grab’s project will focus on mobile fintech features in the country, and in particular, on mobile payment. According to the company, the… Read More

February 6, 2017 @ 11:56 pm By Jessica Pham  |  

Bhume Bhumiratana works on blockchain in Thailand and in an interview with the Bangkok Post, he said that the country is poised to see the technology take over banking and financial services in the near future. “The adoption of blockchain technology is expected to be widely… Read More

February 6, 2017 @ 11:02 pm By JD Alois  |  

A report in China News says there was a “surge in problematic peer to peer online lending” during 2015 and 2016. Referencing financial news portal Finance.ifeng.com, the report said there were 478,000 cases at the end of January of individual investors filing complaints against problematic… Read More

February 3, 2017 @ 11:58 pm By Jessica Pham  |  

In a follow-up to Australia’s National Fintech Cyber Security Summit in May 2016, Data61 published a new report called “Startup Secrets: How Australia Can Create New Businesses with Fintech and Cyber Security Industry Collaboration”.  The report highlights how the government and private sector can invest… Read More

February 3, 2017 @ 12:29 am By Jessica Pham  |  

Latipay is an online payments service between China and New Zealand, and it has raised $3 million in Series A funding from Jubilee Capital Management, a Singaporean VC firm.  New Zealand VC firms Tuhua Fund and Zino Fund also participated, according to e27. The company intends to… Read More

February 2, 2017 @ 10:08 am By JD Alois  |  

Software AG, a publicly traded company based in Germany, has published a list of predictions for the banking industry for 2017. Yes, we all know that banking is moving to our smartphones and the corner bank branch is going the way of the dinosaur. The… Read More

January 30, 2017 @ 9:40 pm By Jessica Pham  |  

Indonesia’s largest private bank, Bank Central Asia (BCA), is investing 200 billion rupiah (approximately $15 million) in fintech, according to the Nikkei Asian Review.  The BCA acquired Central Capital Ventura, which will invest in fintech companies that are deemed most beneficial to BCA’s financial service… Read More

January 29, 2017 @ 9:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month, Ireland sent a delegation of public officials to visit Hong Kong and advocate on behalf of the country as a “gateway” for China to the European market.  The delegation participated in the 10th Asian Financial Forum. Eoghan Murphy TD, Minister of State for… Read More

January 29, 2017 @ 11:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Singapore-based MC Payments has acquired a controlling stake in Genesis Payment Solutions.  Genesis is a company that is used by Alipay, part of Alibaba, to acquire merchant accounts on its behalf. Genisis helps retailers process payments from Chinese tourists using Alipay – the country’s leading… Read More

January 27, 2017 @ 8:41 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Joint Electronic Teller Services Limited (JETCO) announced a partnership with 7 Macau banks  to offer dual-currency JETCO Pay P2P mobile fund transfer. The service allows the participating banks’ customers to transfer both Hong Kong dollars (HKD) and Macau Pataca (MOP) to account holders of all local participating banks… Read More

January 27, 2017 @ 1:30 am By Jessica Pham  |  

Citi’s latest report, “Digital Disruption – Revisited: What FinTech VC Investments Tell Us About a Changing Industry”, explores the evolving fintech industry.  In exploring different regions around the world, the report concludes: China’s rapid digitalization and rise of the middle class — combined with declining… Read More

January 26, 2017 @ 9:45 am By JD Alois  |  

China’s richest man, Jack Ma, has boosted his USA presence with the acquisition of MoneyGram (NASDAQ: MGI) – a Dallas-based money transfer service. Ant Financial Services Group, part of the fast-growing Alibaba Group and parent of AliPay, has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase MoneyGram at… Read More

January 25, 2017 @ 9:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

Credit China Fintech has started 2017 with a blitz of deals.  Today Credit China Fintech announced a $30 million deal with BitFury group and the establishment of a joint venture focusing on the China market. BitFury Group is a leading Bitcoin and private Blockchain infrastructure… Read More

January 25, 2017 @ 11:43 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Thai FinTech Association has called upon the Thailand government to assist local tech startups and financial institutions to enhance local competition and prevent foreign companies from monopolizing in the country’s fintech market, according to the Bangkok News. During a recent interview, chairman of the Thai Fintech Association,… Read More

January 23, 2017 @ 10:54 pm By JD Alois  |  

Wecash Group, one of China’s top Fintech firms, has entered the Indonesian market via a joint venture with JAS Kapital and Kresna Investments. Wecash is a big-data credit evaluation platform. Founded in 2014, Wecash was the first Chinese startup to leverage data to detect fraud and appraise consumers credit…. Read More

January 23, 2017 @ 9:45 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

CoAssets Limited, a Singapore-founded Fintech firm that is listed on the ASX (ASX: CA8), announced over the weekend it has invested RMB 1 Million (approx. A$194,000) in Fujian’s Da Xian Bing Internet Technology Ltd (“Da Xian Bing”).  The company stated that the investment, for 10% of Da… Read More

January 22, 2017 @ 3:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

Finvasia is an India-based Fintech firm that hit the radar last year when it raised an undisclosed sum of investment capital at a valuation of around $22 million. The company’s mission is to become the brokerage of choice by providing zero commission trading. Yep free… Read More

January 20, 2017 @ 9:16 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Philippine-based startup Ayannah, a provider of affordable and accessible digital financial services for the world’s unbanked, was named Best in Show by the judges at the Fintech Finals 2017 (FF17) pitch competition at PMQ in Hong Kong on Thursday night. The second annual event, which was… Read More