Asia

September 2, 2026 @ 10:12 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore’s central bank has taken a further step toward turning its long-planned stablecoin regime into law. On 1 September 2026 the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) published a consultation on proposed changes to the Payment Services Act 2019. The package would give legal force to… Read More

September 2, 2026 @ 3:53 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Five years on from Asia-Pacific’s venture capital surge, most startups funded at the peak remain in business, but far fewer have kept advancing through new rounds, later stages or exits. A PitchBook resaerch study published in late August 2026 tracks the 24,602 unique APAC-headquartered companies… Read More

September 2, 2026 @ 1:07 am By Michael Wong  |  

Ant International’s Alipay+ has connected with the Philippines’ national QR payment system, allowing international visitors to pay merchants through supported overseas e-wallets and banking apps. The integration with QR Ph means participating merchants can accept payments from Alipay+ partner users through their existing QR codes… Read More

September 1, 2026 @ 9:49 am By Michael Wong  |  

Malaysia’s Forest City Special Financial Zone is offering a 5% corporate tax rate to eligible fintech companies and payment-system operators, as the development seeks to attract technology-enabled financial services businesses near Singapore. The preferential rate is available for 10 consecutive assessment years and may be… Read More

September 1, 2026 @ 9:43 am By Michael Wong  |  

Singapore-based payments platform HitPay has integrated its payment infrastructure with Superbench, allowing business-to-consumer service providers to manage customer inquiries, bookings, and payments through a single system. The partnership adds embedded payments to Superbench’s AI-powered customer engagement platform, covering transactions from online deposits to in-person point-of-sale… Read More

September 1, 2026 @ 9:17 am By Michael Wong  |  

Deposits held with Hong Kong banks increased in July, while renminbi deposits and cross-border trade settlements recorded stronger growth, according to data released by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). Total deposits with authorized institutions rose 0.9% in July 2026, with Hong Kong dollar and… Read More

September 1, 2026 @ 7:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Vietnam is reportedly building a supervised market for tokenized real-world assets, treating blockchain not as a speculative venue but as a new channel for raising capital against tangible economic activity. The core legal instrument is Government Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP, signed on 9 September 2025. It launched… Read More

August 31, 2026 @ 9:04 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Commission says the following platforms now fall under the Digital Securities Act (DSA). According to an EU statement, ChatGPT, Reddit, and Roblox now qualify as Very Large Online Platforms (VLOPs) or Very Large Online Search Engines (VLOSEs) because they have topped 45 million… Read More

August 31, 2026 @ 1:51 am By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong-listed Virtual Mind Holding Company Limited has entered into an investment cooperation agreement with Gauss Technology (HK) Limited to establish a joint venture focused on artificial intelligence (AI) and continuous learning. Under the agreement signed on Aug. 28, Virtual Mind and Gauss Technology intend… Read More

August 30, 2026 @ 5:31 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Chinese AI company AInnovation Technology Group acquired a 51% equity interest in industrial software company Qingdao AInnovation ALP Intelligent Industrial Technology Co., Ltd. for a total consideration of RMB122.4 million ($17.1 million), according to a Hong Kong Stock Exchange filing seen by CrowdFund Insider. AInnovation… Read More

August 30, 2026 @ 9:22 am By Michael Wong  |  

The International Finance Corporation (IFC) has proposed investing up to $500 million in a risk-sharing facility with Japan’s Mizuho Bank to expand supply chain financing in emerging markets. The proposed facility will have a total size of $1 billion and cover a portfolio of supply… Read More

August 30, 2026 @ 8:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Dunamu, the company behind South Korea’s digital-asset platform Upbit, has formed a strategic alliance with Visa (NYSE: V) to build new payment and financial products at the intersection of stablecoins, cross-border transfers, and artificial intelligence. The two firms presented a joint roadmap at Visa’s Global… Read More

August 30, 2026 @ 2:20 am By Michael Wong  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO), the Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) and The South East Asian Central Banks Research and Training Centre (SEACEN Centre) held their fourth Financial Leadership Training Program in Hong Kong from Aug. 25 to… Read More

August 29, 2026 @ 2:27 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Fintech investment in Singapore fell sharply in the first half of 2026 as investors became more selective and capital was concentrated in a smaller number of larger transactions, according to KPMG’s latest Pulse of Fintech report. Singapore fintech companies attracted more than $499 million across… Read More

August 29, 2026 @ 2:24 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Chinese technology giants are rapidly increasing spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure but face greater financial constraints than their U.S. counterparts, whose larger and more profitable core businesses provide stronger cash flow and greater capacity to sustain heavy investment, Moody’s Ratings said. Capital expenditure by leading… Read More

August 28, 2026 @ 11:21 am By JD Alois  |  

China-based bots are seeking to create political and social havoc in the US. This is according to a statement distributed by X Global Government Affairs. According to a post on X: “The X Safety team conducted an investigation into suspected Chinese inauthentic accounts involved in… Read More

August 26, 2026 @ 10:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Japan is preparing to develop a financial infrastructure that would allow near-instantaneous, around-the-clock settlement of stock and Japanese government bond transactions through distributed ledger technology (DLT), commonly known as blockchain. According to reports, this initiative aims to modernize the country’s payment and securities settlement systems,… Read More

August 26, 2026 @ 10:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Visa (NYSE: V) has joined a Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)-supported effort aimed at bridging conventional financial payment systems with those built around stablecoins. The initiative, known as BLOOM (Borderless, Liquid, Open, Online, Multi-currency), seeks to expand the settlement options available to banks and other institutions… Read More

August 25, 2026 @ 8:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Global asset management firm Franklin Templeton has joined forces with Hong Kong-based digital asset platform HashKey Exchange to make a tokenized money market fund available to investors throughout Asian markets. The collaboration marks another significant step in bringing traditional finance products onto blockchain infrastructure while… Read More

August 25, 2026 @ 8:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

India is set to introduce its inaugural tokenized corporate bonds in September, marking a significant step toward integrating blockchain technology into the country’s debt markets for near-instant transaction settlements. According to multiple sources familiar with the plans, this pilot initiative will be led by REC… Read More