Asia

September 6, 2016 @ 1:30 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Lenddo, an Asia-based fintech company that uses non-traditional data for credit scoring and online verification, announced last week it formed a partnership with Korea credit scoring consulting company FKBCG to launch its new company, Lenddo Korea. Lenddo Korea will reportedly provide Korean financial institutions with real-time… Read More

September 6, 2016 @ 3:57 am By Erin Hobey  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has unveiled a series of policy initiatives for banks to embrace technology, and changed the city’s tax regime to attract corporate treasury departments, as it sharpens its edge to compete with Singapore and Tokyo as Asia’s financial centre, reported… Read More

September 5, 2016 @ 10:52 am By JD Alois  |  

At the most recent count, China-based peer to peer lender Yirendai (NYSE:YRD) has at least eight class-action lawsuits filed against the company following the enactment of new regulations directed towards the booming online lending industry in China. The firms that have made public proclamations are as… Read More

September 5, 2016 @ 8:11 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Singapore-based crowdfunding platform CoAssets announced on Monday it has officially listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Ltd (ASX). This news comes after the funding portal raised  S$6.72 million (A$6.55 million)1 under its Public Offer at an issue price of S$0.41 (A$0.40) per share. The company revealed… Read More

September 2, 2016 @ 2:29 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Delhi-based One97 Communications, which runs mobile payment and ecommerce platform Paytm, has received Rs 400 crore ($60 million) from Taiwanese semiconductor maker MediaTek’s Mountain Capital Fund, reported the India Times.  The deal, which was ratified by the board of directors earlier this week, more than doubles Paytm’s… Read More

September 1, 2016 @ 7:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

The list of approved and regulated Regulation CF platforms is growing. The roster now stands at 15 FINRA regulated crowdfunding platforms.  The most recently approved platform, ‘Mr. Crowd’ has an interesting progeny as it is being launched by Allen Au and his Ksdaq, Inc. corporation…. Read More

August 31, 2016 @ 4:09 pm By Spencer Li  |  

After nearly eight months since the original draft was first issued, the China Banking Regulatory Commission (“CBRC”) announced the official rules for the online lending industry on August 24, 2016. The unveiling came accompanied with a few policy curveballs that few industry participants were expecting…. Read More

August 30, 2016 @ 2:51 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

On Tuesday, crowdfunding giant Kickstarter announced Hong Kong and Singapore project creators may now launch campaigns on its funding portal. This news comes nearly one month after the Kickstarter team revealed their plans for the two countries. ? Creators in Singapore & Hong Kong can… Read More

August 30, 2016 @ 10:18 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Last week, Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE: 6501, Hitachi) announced it has teamed up with Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. (BTMU) for a blockchain technology project to check digitalization in Singapore. Both companies reported that they had started Proof of Concept (PoC) testing. During the PoC testing,… Read More

August 30, 2016 @ 9:56 am By JD Alois  |  

South Korea is claiming a “world’s first” in launching the Fintech Open Platform designed to boost Fintech development in Korea, according to the Financial Services Commission (FSC). The Fintech Open Platform is described as a combination of a website where Fintech firms can download program… Read More

August 29, 2016 @ 12:14 pm By JD Alois  |  

Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister in charge of MAS, was questioned earlier this month on the policy measures incorporated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), in regards to investment crowdfunding. The query came from Ms. Foo Mee Har, an MP from the West… Read More

August 29, 2016 @ 10:46 am By JD Alois  |  

China is the largest alternative finance market in the world and Fincera (OTCQB: AUTCF) is a fast growing internet finance platform that is providing an increasing portfolio of services online.  But Fincera started in an entirely different business sector: commercial auto-leasing under the name of… Read More

August 27, 2016 @ 11:52 am By JD Alois  |  

The several law firms have filed class-action lawsuits on behalf of shareholders of Yirendai (NYSE:YRD) who acquired shares at some point during 2016 – some of the filings are specifying date ranges. The reason this is interesting is that these law firms are faulting Yirendai… Read More

August 25, 2016 @ 11:50 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Indian SME lender Lendingkart announced new hires plucked from Amazon and PayU India, reported Pymnts.com. Vishal Chopra, a former Amazon India exec, will join Lendingkart’s team as CRO, while Nihit Nirmal, formerly of PayU India, will join as SVP of products. “Lendingkart Group NBFC has emerged as… Read More

August 25, 2016 @ 10:05 am By JD Alois  |  

Announced earlier this week, China has finally revealed its regulatory approach to online lending. To put this into perspective, peer to peer lending is huge in China – the largest online lending market in the world. The rapid ascension of P2P lending was driven by… Read More

August 25, 2016 @ 9:21 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has published a consultation paper on a payments regulatory approach. Simultaneously MAS has created a “National Payments Council” to help foster digital payments and the ascension of Fintech. Noting that presently there are multiple regulatory environments and legislation action,… Read More

August 24, 2016 @ 10:01 am By JD Alois  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has opened its Fintech Innovation Lab which has been given the name Looking Glass @MAS.  The reference to the Looking Glass is a nod to Lewis Caroll’s classic novel “Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found in There”…. Read More

August 24, 2016 @ 8:06 am By JD Alois  |  

A report in ChinaNews is saying The China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC), along with partner agencies, will release rules regarding online lending that will include lending caps. According to the report, individuals will be able to borrow up to 200,000 CNY (USD $30,000) from any… Read More

August 23, 2016 @ 12:05 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda said the central bank may finally apply fintech to its future operations  given its growing influence on global payments, settlements and financial services, reported Reuters. Signaling that the BOJ is ready to initiate research to promote Japanese fintech given it has “various… Read More

August 23, 2016 @ 10:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week S. Iswaran, Minister for Trade & Industry, made the statement; “FinTech is … a critical differentiator for Singapore to remain a leading financial hub in the region. Our finance and insurance sector has been a key growth contributor in recent years, and the… Read More