Asia

September 10, 2023 @ 10:55 am By Michael Wong  |  

Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) and the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) signed a commitment letter for a bilateral loan valued at $300 million. The loan, with a tenure of seven years, is primarily targeted at enhancing financial accessibility for small- and… Read More

September 9, 2023 @ 4:35 pm By Michael Wong  |  

In a notable demonstration of faith in Central Asia’s growth potential, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has invested and mobilized a staggering $1.6 billion in the region during fiscal year 2023 (FY23). This investment, the highest ever for… Read More

September 9, 2023 @ 3:43 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX), a top-tier exchange group globally, marked the inauguration of its latest office in London this week, further amplifying its international influence. A celebratory reception was held in The City of London. Nicolas Aguzin, HKEX Chief Executive Officer, alongside… Read More

September 9, 2023 @ 3:38 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The global trade finance gap soared to an unprecedented $2.5 trillion in 2022, escalating from $1.7 trillion two years prior, reveals the 2023 Trade Finance Gaps, Growth and Jobs Survey presented by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) today. This gap represents the discrepancy between requests… Read More

September 9, 2023 @ 3:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Faruk Fatih Özer, the former Chief Executive of collapsed Turkey-based cryptocurrency exchange Thodex, has reportedly been sentenced to 11,196 years in prison on Thursday (September 7, 2023). Stealing around $2 billion from his clients led to the CEO of one of Turkey’s biggest virtual currency… Read More

September 9, 2023 @ 12:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Central Asian fintech Alif makes its mark in the UAE with Alif Pay, providing financial services and global remittance for UAE residents. Digital transformation professional Shafique Ibrahim takes on the role as Alif Pay’s CEO, spearheading the launch and “reinforcing the platform’s innovative approach to financial… Read More

September 9, 2023 @ 10:34 am By Michael Wong  |  

Tokyo-based intelligent robotics startup Mujin has announced raising $85 million in its Series C funding round, further boosting its market share in the realm of AI-powered robotics for manufacturing, logistics, and supply chain operations. The funding round saw participation from top investors, including Japan’s SBI… Read More

September 8, 2023 @ 4:38 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Inpay, which claims to be one of Europe’s fastest-growing fintech companies, and Cambodia Post Bank Plc. (CPBank), one of Cambodia’s commercial banks, have “entered into a partnership to introduce international money transfer services in Cambodia.” Through the partnership, CPBank’s customers in Cambodia and abroad “will… Read More

September 8, 2023 @ 4:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

HAYVN, a digital asset-focused financial institution delivering Payments, Trading, Custody, Asset Management and Research, announced a partnership with crypto hardware manufacturer, Ledger. The partnership will see HAYVN “provide safe and robust off-ramping rails to users of Ledger’s Ledger Live service.” Ledger Live allows users “to… Read More

September 8, 2023 @ 11:43 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Uppsala Security, which claims to be a pioneer in providing top-tier security tools and services for Crypto Anti-Money Laundering/Counter-Terrorist Financing (AML/CTF), Transaction Risk Management, Regulatory Compliance, and Transaction Tracking, is pleased to announce the signing of an industry-academia joint MOU with Hoseo University’s Department of… Read More

September 7, 2023 @ 10:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mastercard (NYSE: MA) and Fintech Saudi have announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding during Seamless Saudi Arabia 2023 “to advance the growth and development of the Saudi Arabia fintech industry.” The announcement marks another step “towards powering an inclusive digital economy and advancing… Read More

September 7, 2023 @ 11:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

China’s cryptocurrency crackdown continues as Weibo has reportedly banned around 80 crypto influencers. Weibo’s management stated that these decisions were made in order to comply with domestic regulatory requirements, which aim to discourage speculation, trading, and promotion of digital currencies. The Beijing-headquartered company said that… Read More

September 6, 2023 @ 10:37 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Airwallex, a global payments and financial platform for modern businesses, today announced the launch of “Airwallex for Startups”, a business readiness campaign “exclusively for Hong Kong entrepreneurs to support their global growth ambitions.” With the support of Hong Kong flagship incubators, and in collaboration with… Read More

September 6, 2023 @ 9:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Emirates NBD has announced it invested in Komgo, a software development and technology services company transforming the trade finance industry. The equity investment was “made by Emirates NBD‘s Innovation Fund, the bank’s corporate venture fund.” Emirates NBD’s corporate venture capital arm will “enable the Group… Read More

September 5, 2023 @ 6:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tokeny and Klaytn Foundation unite for “massive” RWA tokenization adoption in Asia Tokeny, the global tokenization platform, announces its strategic alliance with Klaytn Foundation, an EVM-compatible public blockchain “developed by the renowned Korean IT giant, Kakao.” This strategic alliance is set “to catalyze the widespread… Read More

September 5, 2023 @ 5:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Cashfree Payments, a payments and API banking solutions company, has partnered with Jamboree, an educational consultancy, “to simplify fee payments for Indian students studying overseas.” The partnership leverages Cashfree Payments’ cross-border payment solution, which streamlines and “digitizes the entire payment process from KYC verification, payment… Read More

September 5, 2023 @ 2:46 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced that the President of the Republic of Singapore has appointed Chia Der Jiun “as Managing Director (Designate), MAS from 1 November 2023 to 31 December 2023, and as Managing Director, MAS from 1 January 2024 to 31 May 2026.”… Read More

September 5, 2023 @ 11:51 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Merchant commerce omnichannel platform, Pine Labs has announced the launch of Mini, a revolutionary QR and Card acceptance device. Expected to be available at nearly one-third of the cost of a regular Point of Sale (PoS) terminal, Pine Labs Mini is described as “an ideal… Read More

September 5, 2023 @ 12:40 am By Michael Wong  |  

Malaysia’s Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA) to facilitate increased regulatory, enforcement, and supervisory cooperation between the two regulatory bodies. The MoU was signed virtually by Nik Mohamed Din Nik Musa, Director-General… Read More

September 4, 2023 @ 11:50 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong’s Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po cautioned in his weekly blog on Sunday that merely lowering the tax on securities trading would not necessarily breathe new life into city’s lethargic stock market, and added that piecemeal measures could be counterproductive. This is his first… Read More