Asia

March 10, 2015 @ 2:38 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

Whether you have an eye–or a nose–for good design, Sniffr, a new crowdfunding platform for Singapore designers, has just soft-launched, according to Channel NewsAsia. Founded by Otto Solutions, the platform offers aspiring designers a launch pad to share and showcase their designs, as well as solicit funding… Read More

March 5, 2015 @ 11:57 pm By JD Alois  |  

The National Development Council (NDC) of Taiwan is pushing forward with investment crowdfunding. According to a report in the Taipei Times, crowdfunding platforms will allow investors to purchase stakes in startups and small companies as soon as May of this year. “Startups are the fruits… Read More

March 5, 2015 @ 11:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

Online finance has been booming in China.  Today the country claims to be the largest market in the world for peer to peer lending with an estimate value of $18 billion for 2014. The Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) opened their meeting in the… Read More

March 5, 2015 @ 3:32 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

If the Chinese characters on your bottle of very fine wine recall bygone basketball games, here’s to Yao Ming. Luxury wine brand Yao Family Wines, founded by Yao Ming, retired basketball star with the Houston Rockets and a global humanitarian, is now crowdfunding on Crowdfunder, with a $3 million goal…. Read More

March 2, 2015 @ 11:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

Singapore’s first true equity crowdfunding platform, FundedHere, launched today its platform to facilitate equity-based funding and venture debt for start-ups in the region from as low as S$5,000 (US$3,700). The new investment platform is viewed as a “springboard to fund projects in the region”. FundedHere… Read More

February 27, 2015 @ 11:01 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Mambu, a cloud banking technology platform provider that works with more than 100 financial innovators worldwide, including Banco Macro, Opportunity International  and Yale University, uniquely sits at the nexus of the transformation and financial inclusion markets, where new applications and the cloud’s agility offers a particularly compelling value proposition for… Read More

February 27, 2015 @ 9:25 am By JD Alois  |  

  Media conglomerate TOM Group is moving into the online finance space.  The entity, controlled by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing, is set to expand its ecommerce operation, Ule, into peer to peer lending and online banking in an “aggressive” push via a partnership with… Read More

February 25, 2015 @ 3:41 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

One of China’s largest lenders, and potentially one of the world’s largest, based on the number of branches, is in talks with potential investors about selling a minority stake before a possible listing, according to a recent article in the South China Morning Post. The Postal… Read More

February 24, 2015 @ 3:48 pm By JD Alois  |  

Crowdfunding Asia held its second Asian conference to review the power and potential of new forms of finance. Sponsored by the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission, the sold out event saw several hundred attendees from Thailand and surrounding countries in Asia and the United States…. Read More

February 23, 2015 @ 10:50 am By JD Alois  |  

Peer to peer lending is booming in China.  There are an estimated 1575 lending platforms, according to Wangdaizhijia.  But most of these P2P companies are targeting the urban and sub-urban markets.  The exception to this is  CreditEase and Eloancn, according to a recent report. Ning… Read More

February 20, 2015 @ 8:10 am By Erin Hobey  |  

 Azimo, the online money transfer service, has announced the launch of its world-class money transfer service to China, enabling customers to send money to friends and family at low-cost. The company introduced its wiring service to Thailand earlier this month.  The new service will provide Azimo’s potential 350… Read More

February 20, 2015 @ 3:58 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

The competition is down to just a few finalists in Channel News Asia’s “Start Up” TV show, and Andrea Loubier is one of them. Loubier is the CEO of Mailbird, a tech startup headquartered in Bali, with offices in Bandung, Indonesia, and Copenhagen, Denmark. Three judges… Read More

February 18, 2015 @ 12:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

The largest social networking site in China RenRen is at it again and they are investing this time in Sindeo – a mortgage marketplace that seeks to fix the broken mortgage loan system. RenRen has been playing a growing role in funding fintech as they expand… Read More

February 16, 2015 @ 8:42 pm By JD Alois  |  

Many countries around the globe are pushing forward with investment crowdfunding  viewing the new form of finance as a powerful tool to boost economic growth by funding small companies. It is a new world order though with little precedent to guide.  The British have spearheaded… Read More

February 16, 2015 @ 5:31 pm By JD Alois  |  

Earlier this month Hongling Chuangtou Ecommerce, which operates my089.com P2P lending site, disclosed that an $11 million (70 million yuan) debt had gone bad.  Now the platform explains it will publicly trade shares by using a “backdoor” listing with a listed clothing company in Fujian… Read More

February 16, 2015 @ 12:13 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has released a document outlining the proposals to introduce investment crowdfunding in Singapore.  Comments are being accepted on the consultation paper until March 18th.  The widely expected publication is in recognition of the shift from traditional forms of finance… Read More

February 14, 2015 @ 5:35 pm By JD Alois  |  

Jimubox, a peer to peer lending platform, has formed an arrangement with China Minsheng Bank to help protect investors funds.  The bank will now be used to conduct all financial transactions and will hold investors funds.  RenRenDai and Minshengyidai, two other peer to peer lending… Read More

February 12, 2015 @ 11:46 am By Erin Hobey  |  

CoAssets, a crowdfunding site from Singapore that lists properties from around the world, has raised S$1 million (US$733,000) in series A funding from undisclosed investors. This values the company, believed to be the first real estate crowdfunding platform in Southeast Asia, at S$13 million, or… Read More

February 11, 2015 @ 2:55 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

The number of foreign and domestic crowdfunding portals is expected to rise in Thailand once the regulations to govern crowdfunding in the country will be out. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand said the rules are now being finalized and could be out… Read More

February 11, 2015 @ 9:09 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Azimo, the online money transfer service, has announced that customers can now send money to Thailand, direct to a personal or business bank account. “Great weather and the cost of living being 40% less than in Western Europe makes Thailand a popular destination for Europeans… Read More