Asia

May 1, 2018 @ 1:04 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Chinese search behemoth Baidu Inc, (NASDAQ:BIDU) has nabbed a $1.9 billion investment from firms including TPG, the Carlyle Group, Agricultural Bank of China Ltd. and Taikang Group, to ready itself to compete in the financial-services space, according to the WSJ. The transaction will reportedly value the unit at $4B,… Read More

April 30, 2018 @ 4:04 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Monday, Circle International announced it has formed a partnership with payment gateway platform Lakala to facilitate cross border payments between Malaysia and China.  While sharing details about the partnership, CEO and Founder of Circle, Dato’ Brian Tan, stated: “Through the partnership with Lakala, Circle International… Read More

April 30, 2018 @ 1:39 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

The Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS) announced last week the launch of the country’s new Fintech Fast Track initiative in order to accelerate patent application-to-grant processing. According to the organization, the initiative expedites patent application-to-grant process for fintech inventions and fintech patents can be expected to… Read More

April 30, 2018 @ 1:06 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The Asia Times has reported that Taiwan will introduce new rules for the regulation of crypto industries by November 2018. Taiwanese Justice Minister Chiu Tai-san announced the plans at an anti-money laundering conference hosted last week by the Taiwan Financial Services Coalition after the Coalition… Read More

April 30, 2018 @ 12:06 pm By JD Alois  |  

According to a report in Xinhua, eight people were arrested in Shanghai for an astounding Ponzi scheme that rivals the Ezubao fraud and the Madoff scandal. Allegedly, more than 60 billion yuan ( or US $9 billion) was stolen from investors by Shanlin Finance a peer… Read More

April 30, 2018 @ 9:05 am By JD Alois  |  

Stating that Cynopsis Solutions is already the largest provider of KYC services to blockchain and cryptocurrency based projects in Asia Pacific, the company has launched an initial coin offering (ICO) program via a subsidiary called traceto.io. This new entity seeks to expand its decentralized platform… Read More

April 29, 2018 @ 12:00 pm By Cali Haan  |  

#MeToo activists at Peking University have attempted to permanently log accusations of on-campus harassment on the Ethereum public blockchain, Quartz  reports. This story begins this year on April 5th, China’s national day for honouring the dead. Inspired by recent #MeToo activism in China, including numerous reports… Read More

April 28, 2018 @ 1:44 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

CoAssets Limited (ASX: CA8), an online crowdfunding platform based in Singapore, announced it has entered into a conditional Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) to sell the 21.6% interest that it currently owns in Fintech Pte Ltd (FPL) as well as a further 5.4% interest to be acquired… Read More

April 28, 2018 @ 10:45 am By Xu Gao  |  

Financial Inclusion Platform FINUP Plans Public Listing in Hong Kong On April 23, China’s leading financial inclusion platform FINUP filed a listing application for the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX). According to statistics, FINUP will be the fifth Fintech company from mainland China… Read More

April 26, 2018 @ 9:57 am By JD Alois  |  

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) in Japan has hit another cryptocurrency exchange with an enforcement action. According to the FSA’s site, “Everyone’s Bitcoin” has received an “administrative punishment” for not abiding by compliance rules for cryptocurrency exchanges. The FSA states that due to reports from… Read More

April 25, 2018 @ 9:29 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) have agreed to form a new partnership to encourage Fintech innovation while simultaneously strengthening cooperation in banking supervision. MAS has signed numerous bilateral Fintech agreements with many different jurisdictions. The strategy has… Read More

April 25, 2018 @ 8:50 am By Cali Haan  |  

Reporter Jang Hyeong-tae at Chosen Ilbo shared yesterday that a number of politicians running in Korean regional elections are promising to incorporate blockchain into governance if elected. At least twelve have proposed new cryptocurrencies, said Jang. Korean regional elections are set for June 13th. The Mayor… Read More

April 25, 2018 @ 7:53 am By JD Alois  |  

You would think it would be easy enough to create a new and interesting name in the cryptocurrency space but here is a case where one cryptocurrency entrepreneur is being challenged by an established business for a possible misconceived use of an established business name…. Read More

April 24, 2018 @ 11:43 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Abu Dhabi Global Market, the international financial centre of Abu Dhabi, UAE (ADGM) and Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), China’s largest securities exchange, have today entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to co-operate on the establishment of a “Belt and Road” Exchange in ADGM.  This… Read More

April 22, 2018 @ 2:41 pm By JD Alois  |  

This past week the Monetary Authority of Macau issued a warning that virtual currency is not legal currency. Stating that “recently, the media reported that companies had virtual currency subscription activities in Macau. The Macau Monetary Authority reminded local residents that virtual currency is a… Read More

April 21, 2018 @ 2:45 pm By Xu Gao  |  

Ant Financial and Bank of China Collaborate on Blockchain-based House Leasing Project in Xiong’an New Area On April 20th, Ant’s Xiong’an Digital Technology Co., Ltd. and the Xiong’an branch of Bank of China, signed a strategic cooperation agreement in Xiong’an New Area. In the future,… Read More

April 20, 2018 @ 9:22 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Blockchain asset private bank BitUN announced on Friday it has formed a partnership with Ping An Blockchain Research Institute to promote the development of the blockchain market. The duo reported that they have joined forces to conduct research in blockchain market analysis, project rating, blockchain innovative… Read More

April 19, 2018 @ 11:08 pm By JD Alois  |  

Bithumb recently had its audit report published in the Korean Financial Supervisory Services disclosure system and the information provided is enlightening. Bithumb was said to be holding just shy of $6 billion in crypto at the end of 2017. Sure, prices have fluctuated since that… Read More

April 19, 2018 @ 10:16 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Digital Financial Services Lab (DFS Lab), a fintech accelerator funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation,  announced on Thursday it will invest $200,000 in four separate startups that are building financial service products for low-income and unbanked consumers in developing markets. Cherehani Africa (Kenya), NALA (US), Nobuntu (South… Read More

April 19, 2018 @ 12:00 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (PolyU), announced on Thursday it has teamed up with AMTD Group Company and AMTD Foundation to launch a new university-industry collaborated fintech center. According to PolyU, the AMTD Fintech Center of PolyU Faculty of Business aims to enhance Hong Kong’s capabilities to… Read More