Asia

June 8, 2016 @ 9:51 am By Erly Witoyo  |  

The spirit of entrepreneurship has always been a part of Islam. Nine out of ten companions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) who were guaranteed heaven were businessmen. Today, entrepreneurs continue to be a driving force of the economy. The lack of financial support for small and… Read More

June 7, 2016 @ 8:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

Lendit is expanding its portfolio of activities this year by launching Lang Di Fintech, their inaugural Chinese conference.  Lang Di means “enlighten” or “inspiration” thus representing the future of finance in the largest Fintech market in the world. Lang Di Fintech will take place in… Read More

June 7, 2016 @ 3:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Eureeca is the very first investment crowdfunding platform to set up shop in the Middle East. The home office in Dubai has been complimented with offices in both London and Kuala Lumpur.  Eureeca is a truly global platform seeking to help smaller companies raise capital in… Read More

June 7, 2016 @ 1:55 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has issued a consultation paper proposing a regulatory sandbox for fintech startups and pilot schemes, according to a release. The proposal aims to enable firms to experiment with new technology in an environment of relaxed rules and appropriate safeguards. The consultation will… Read More

June 2, 2016 @ 3:12 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

myPINpad, UK based fintech company which enables multi-channel and multi-factor authentication via the Cardholder PIN, has today appointed Morten Hofstad as Head of the company’s Asia Pacific business.  “We are delighted to welcome Morten to the myPINpad team,” cited myPINpad Executive Chairman and CEO Philip… Read More

June 2, 2016 @ 1:49 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

The Malaysian wedding and baby e-commerce platform, Nuren Group, today announced the public launch of its Crowdo Equity Crowdfunding (ECF) offer with a target amount of MYR200,000. Nuren notes that it is the first Venture Capital Quality ECF Offer in South East Asia.  Nuren also recently announced the completion… Read More

June 1, 2016 @ 9:12 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Wednesday, Asian investment research and analysis marketplace, Smartkarma, announced that it has raised $4.7 million during its second  strategic funding round. The new funds will go towards further expand Smartkarma’s investment research offering. The company noted that the latest round brings the total capital raised to $7.5million… Read More

May 31, 2016 @ 2:42 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

The Swiss fintech provider for investment and pension solutions Leonteq AG (SIX: LEON), announced the launch of its Teqlabs innovation lab facility in Singapore’s Central Business District at Asia Square. The innovation lab will foster its fintech research and development to benefit of the financial services… Read More

May 31, 2016 @ 10:33 am By JD Alois  |  

It was reported earlier this month that billionaire Tianqiao Chen, founder of Shanda Interactive Entertainment, had taken a significant stake in Lending Club (NYSE:LC).  Shares of Lending Club have cratered since the resignation of former CEO Renaud Laplanche. The move by Chen appeared to be an… Read More

May 31, 2016 @ 9:02 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, real estate crowdfunding platform CoAssets (NSX:CAX) announced it is expanding its operations by opening a second office in Singapore. This news comes just a couple months after the portal revealed details about its Australia expansion. Co-founder and CEO of CoAssets, Getty Goh, stated: “A series… Read More

May 30, 2016 @ 9:02 am By JD Alois  |  

Speaking at a financial forum this past weekend, Chen Yulu, Deputy Governor of the People’s Bank of China, warned of higher risk with financial institutions as internet finance, including peer to peer lending, become more intertwined. According to a report in ChinaNews, the situation has… Read More

May 29, 2016 @ 11:59 am By JD Alois  |  

The peer to peer lending industry in India has been slow to evolve in contrast to many other nations. Yet India is the second most populous country with more than 1.2 billion people and is the most populous democracy in the world. The opportunity for… Read More

May 27, 2016 @ 5:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

FinPlus, backed by Fugel Holdings, launched today claiming to be China’s first angel fund and accelerator focusing specifically on Fintech. In a release, Fugel Holdings stated they believe now is the right time to develop Fintech in China. In many ways China is the largest… Read More

May 26, 2016 @ 2:23 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Add Esudai to a growing list of fraudulent Chinese P2P lending platforms that are being shut down by the Chinese government.  Today Reuters reported that police in the Huizhou, Guangdong province, had detained 13 executives including legal representative and chairman Jian Huixing from the Guangdong Huirong… Read More

May 24, 2016 @ 2:56 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Jirnexu, a bank and insurance company tech solution provider formally known as Saving Plus, raised $3M in Series A funding, according to a release. Funding will be used to drive product development, geographic expansion and recruitment across Southeast Asia, with Malaysia and Indonesia as priority… Read More

May 23, 2016 @ 10:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

Most people understand that rewards based crowdfunding platforms can be an effective tool to test a new product or service. If it is a hit in presales, it bodes well for a larger market roll out. The same can be said for Chinese companies seeking… Read More

May 23, 2016 @ 10:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

P2P lender i2iFunding has raised 2 crore (about $300,000 USD) from unnamed angel investors to expand their operations.  Several weeks back, the Reserve Bank of India released a consultation paper on peer to peer lending indicating potential capital requirements. The additional funding should help i2iFunding… Read More

May 23, 2016 @ 4:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

Lending Club (NYSE:LC) has been pounded by bad news this month. Following the announcement that founder and CEO Renaud Laplanche had resigned for alleged improprieties at the online lender, the bad news avalanche began.  One day it was a subpoena, the next it was a… Read More

May 23, 2016 @ 8:27 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

CoAssets (NSX:CAX), launched as a real estate crowdfunding platform in Singapore, announced on Monday its new risk-free crowdfunding that is available for Aussie investors. Following last month’s launch of the CoAssets Australia website in April 2016, CoAssets revealed it is offering new users the chance to trial… Read More

May 22, 2016 @ 10:59 pm By JD Alois  |  

Singapore-based EthisCrowd has closed a S$500,000 seed round for their Islamic real estate crowdfunding platform.  The funding round may be the first of its kind in Southeast Asia. The new capital was led by Azmi Global, a subsidiary of Asmi & Associates – a top… Read More