Asia

December 22, 2016 @ 7:23 am By Jessica Pham  |  

During the first half of 2016, regulators feared that Fintech would become all too powerful.  Then, in November, they concluded that the Fintech sector was not threatening.  At the cusp of 2017, it also appears that other observers have concluded that the FIintech boom is… Read More

December 21, 2016 @ 1:42 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Earlier this month, tech giant Microsoft announced it formed a partnership with AMIS and the Industry Technology Research Institute of Taiwan to create Asia’s consortium blockchain network on Azure. The company also revealed it is collaborating with banks such as Fubon Financial, Cathay Financial Holdings, MegaBank, KGI, Taishin,… Read More

December 21, 2016 @ 4:56 am By Xu Gao  |  

PPmoney Secures a ¥375 Million B Round Funding & Announces Strategy of Group Operation. On December 12th, online wealth management platform PPmoney secured ¥375 million in B round funding. Investors included Ants Capital, Yang Jianxin (actual controller of KJT.com) and Yuetai holding group. Meanwhile, PPmoney… Read More

December 20, 2016 @ 9:16 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Hong Kong is set to host the Next Money Fintech Final 2017 as part of the StartmeupHK Festival. The event, which is brought to the community by credit card giant Visa, will be held on January 18-19th 2017 at the PMQ and is expected to host… Read More

December 20, 2016 @ 5:03 am By Erin Hobey  |  

“India has seen a spectacular growth in the alternative investment market. Numerous HNI Investors have been putting money into Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) for the past 3 years,” assessed Association of International Wealth Management of India CEO Aditya Gadge. ah! Ventures, aiming to be a major player… Read More

December 19, 2016 @ 10:08 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Yirendai (NYSE: YRD) announced on Monday it appointed Chaomei Chen as an independent director. Chen has reportedly been part of the Chinese marketplace lender’s Advisory Committee since January 2016 and been providing strategic advice and insight to the senior management team on a range of issues such… Read More

December 16, 2016 @ 11:28 am By JD Alois  |  

The trial against Ezubao, once a high-flying peer to peer lending platform, has commenced.  The Beijing People’s Protectorate has started proceedings against Ezubao and its parent company Yucheng Holdings and Yucheng Global.  This is according to a report in China News. Apparently, 10 individuals will… Read More

December 15, 2016 @ 9:54 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Yello Financial Group, a Korean fintech company backed by Formation Group, announced a corporate name change to DAYLI Financial Group (“DFG”). In less than two years since founding, the company launched over 30 fintech products and onboarded dozens of marquee clients including AXA, SK Securities,… Read More

December 15, 2016 @ 7:00 am By xu gao  |  

China Insurance Regulatory Commission Calls Halt to Online Insurance business of Foresea Life Insurance & Five Other Insurance Companies On the of 5th December, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) called a halt to the online insurance business of Foresea Life Insurance for irregularities and… Read More

December 14, 2016 @ 8:18 am By JD Alois  |  

Global investment crowdfunding platform Eureeca has funded its first Dutch company. Adtech firm Cabture has raised €212,051 from 44 investors from eight different countries after 64 days of campaigning and pitching via Eureeca. The Cabture crowdfunding offer is still open as it has shifted into over-funding mode…. Read More

December 13, 2016 @ 7:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Singapore-based Kapital Boost, an Islamic SME crowdfunding platform, has received a Shariah pronouncement from the Financial Shariah Advisory & Consultancy (FSAC) on its “Murabaha” crowdfunding structure. Murabaha is an acceptable form of credit sale under Islamic religious law. Financial Shariah Advisory and Consultancy (FSAC) was introduced… Read More

December 12, 2016 @ 11:04 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Mediapreneur and FundedHere have formed a strategic partnership to provide seed funding for media-related startups through FundedHere’s crowdfunding platform. The two companies stated that through the partnership, Mediapreneur-supported startups would be listed on FundedHere, which is expected to give them a wider platform to attract capital…. Read More

December 11, 2016 @ 2:03 pm By Jessica Pham  |  

In a grand mashup of investment and politics, President-elect Donald Trump and Tokyo-based SoftBank Group Corp.‘s CEO Masayoshi Son announced their plan this week to create 50,000 new jobs in the U.S. via a $50 billion investment namely in startups. Deal Street Asia reported that the… Read More

December 10, 2016 @ 3:19 pm By JD Alois  |  

HelloGold recently launched in Malaysia, is the first online gold platform to be endorsed as Shariah compliant by the Shariah Supervisory Board of Amanie Advisors. The approval is predicted to give the company access to millions of Muslim customers around the region. The gold savings… Read More

December 10, 2016 @ 3:10 pm By Jessica Pham  |  

Malaysia’s Securities Commission (SC) announced last month that six P2P platforms were registered and would continue to be overseen by the Government of Malaysia, making Malaysia the first ASEAN country to regulate P2P financing.  The six platforms include B2B FinPAL, Ethis Kapital, FundedByMe Malaysia, ManagePay Services, Modalku Ventures,… Read More

December 9, 2016 @ 6:06 pm By Xu Gao  |  

China Minsheng Financial Holding Corporation Limited (CMFH) Plans to Acquire a Fintech Company. On the 30th November, China Minsheng Financial Holding Corporation Limited (CMFH) announced its intent to acquire a Fintech company. CMFH believes that such an acquisition will improve its capacity in Fintech development,… Read More

December 8, 2016 @ 5:25 am By Erin Hobey  |  

According to the new report “The Rise of Fintech in China” by DBS and EY, China has outpaced London, New York and Silicon Valley to become the world’s undisputed global fintech leader. Neal Cross, DBS chief innovation officer, indicated that favorable government policies and regulations contributed… Read More

December 8, 2016 @ 5:07 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Mambu, the SaaS banking platform provider, announced the opening of its first office in the APAC region. Mambu’s APAC clients are spread across China and South East Asia as well as Australia and New Zealand, accounting for nearly a third of the company’s total business to date…. Read More

December 7, 2016 @ 10:53 am By Jessica Pham  |  

Economic migrants rely on remittances to ensure that their families are well off at home and to maintain ties to their home countries.  Fees imposed by big banks and traditional remittance institutions eat into foreign workers’ hard-earned incomes, however, so startups focused on money transfers… Read More

December 7, 2016 @ 9:17 am By JD Alois  |  

The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has signed a new collaboration agreement. This time the FCA has formed a co-operation agreement with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).  The arrangement is for the two securities regulators to collaborate on promoting financial innovation and is similar… Read More