Asia

March 13, 2021 @ 4:37 pm By Xu Gao  |  

E-signature Service Provider Fadada Completes 900-million -yuan D round financing led by Tencent  On March 11th, Chinese leading e-signature service provider Fadada declared the completion of a 900-million-yuan D round of financing. The investment was led by Tencent, followed by ZWC Partners and Centurium Capital…. Read More

March 12, 2021 @ 10:31 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Capital confirms that India has been going through a major regulatory process related to the nascent cryptocurrency markets. The Capital notes that the advancements in other areas of crypto such as the innovation in decentralized finance (DeFi) in the 21st century might have taken… Read More

March 12, 2021 @ 10:01 am By JD Alois  |  

Ant Group CEO  Simon Hu has resigned from the Fintech according to multiple reports. Ant Group has seen its trajectory diminish in recent months following the decision of securities regulators to halt a pending initial public offering. Some reports linked the halted IPO to comments… Read More

March 11, 2021 @ 11:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korean authorities have stated that they’re planning to impose heavy penalties or fines on individuals and businesses violating applicable guidelines for cryptocurrency transactions. The Korean financial regulator stated that it would impose a fine on virtual currency exchanges if they fail to report suspicious… Read More

March 11, 2021 @ 8:26 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

India’s Fintech industry is on track to reach a valuation of $150-$160 billion by 2025, according to a new report. The report, titled “India Fintech: A $100 Billion Opportunity,” pointed out that over the last 5 years, India-based Fintechs have acquired around $10 billion in… Read More

March 9, 2021 @ 11:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Vietnamese banks are becoming a lot more aware of Open Banking policies and are beginning to realize that they should look into leveraging open APIs in order to remain relevant in the evolving digital financial services sector. There are at least two local banks in… Read More

March 9, 2021 @ 11:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesia’s digital wallet platform LinkAja has chosen Indian software firm PureSoftware’s Arttha digital payments suite which will be powering the wallet provider’s core systems. The move is said to be consistent with LinkAja’s goal to further expand and strengthen its market presence as a payment… Read More

March 9, 2021 @ 10:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Indian government may not completely ban (or attempt to) the use of decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). During a recent interview (conducted on March 5, 2021), India’s finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified that she intends to support innovative crypto initiatives. #CNBCTV18IBLA… Read More

March 8, 2021 @ 11:58 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

United Arab Emirates’ first “independent” virtual banking platform has just launched with more than 25,000 applicants that had pre-registered during the past few months in order to use the bank’s Fintech app. UAE-headquartered digital bank YAP will be allowing locals to open a bank account… Read More

March 8, 2021 @ 10:59 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Fintech industry experts from Qatar and Bangladesh recently talked about potential opportunities in the financial services sector during a webinar.  Bangladesh Forum Qatar (BFQ) had organized the webinar on “An Exploration of the Qatar – Bangladesh Startup and Fintech Opportunities” along with assistance from the… Read More

March 8, 2021 @ 10:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Chinese authorities have increased their scrutiny of the nation’s Fintech sector. China’s regulators have now cracked down on JD Technology’s (potentially) $3 billion initial public offering. JD Technology, the Fintech division of Chinese digital commerce giant JD.com Inc., is reportedly looking into withdrawing its application… Read More

March 8, 2021 @ 10:22 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

WeLab, an established Asian Fintech firm, has finalized its Series C-1 $75 million funding round, which was led by Allianz X. Allianz X is the digital investment division of Germany’s Allianz Group, one of the world’s largest insurance service providers and fund managers. Since launching… Read More

March 7, 2021 @ 6:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

There are no extensive regulations yet on Open Banking in Thailand, however, the government’s digital transformation strategy (and the Thailand 4.0 strategy) along with the introduction of the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA) in 2020 indicate that the country may soon offer an Open Banking… Read More

March 6, 2021 @ 7:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

China’s regulatory authorities have reportedly been telling local banking institutions to “trim” their loan books during 2021 to guard against potential risks resulting from bubbles in domestic capital markets. This, according to an update from Reuters which cited sources familiar with the matter (on March… Read More

March 6, 2021 @ 11:02 am By Xu Gao  |  

Chinese Fintech Companies Need to Meet Capital Adequacy Requirements with a Maximum of Two Years On March 2nd, Guo Shuqing, Chairman of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) said at a press conference of the Information Office of the State Council that Chinese… Read More

March 5, 2021 @ 11:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

  Singapore-based Symbo Platform Holdings, an Insurtech platform, has finalized a $9.4 million funding round that was led by the CreditEase Fintech Investment Fund. Symbo’s investment round included contributions from San Francisco’s investment company Think Investments along with investments from existing investors AJ Capital, Insignia… Read More

March 5, 2021 @ 10:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

GHL Systems Berhad’s Malaysia-based business operations have reportedly added the ShopeePay mobile wallet to their digital payments acceptance options. The new payments service has been added after a recent partnership with ShopeePay Malaysia Sdn Bhd. Through the partnership, GHL will enable its offline merchant base… Read More

March 5, 2021 @ 9:07 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Thailand is reportedly backing off its initial draft plan that would have required a 1-million-baht (appr. $32,800) minimum annual income and various other requirements for local crypto investors. The Thai SEC clarified that the draft bill was meant… Read More

March 5, 2021 @ 8:15 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesia-based Fintech firm PAYFAZZ has revealed that it invested $30 million in Xfers, a Singapore-headquartered business. The investment was made to establish a new financial entity, known as the Fazz Financial Group (FFG). PAYFAZZ stated that the companies will be keeping their respective names while… Read More

March 5, 2021 @ 6:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

When discussing wealth management strategies and how Fintech solutions can help investors better manage their portfolios, analysts often talk about how to create new wealth. They may discuss goal setting, risk profile management, and investment management. Dr. Sekar Jaganathan, Director of Digital Strategy at Kenanga… Read More