Asia

April 12, 2025 @ 6:06 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

Haball, a Pakistani supply chain financing and payments fintech, has closed a $52 million pre-Series A funding round comprising equity investment and a strategic financing allocation. Financing is focused on efforts in Pakistan and an expansion into the GCC. The round’s equity component of US$5… Read More

April 12, 2025 @ 5:51 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong Investment Corporation Ltd (HKIC) and fintech platform WeLab announced a strategic partnership to accelerate artificial intelligence (AI)-driven financial services, aiming to promote digital financial inclusion across Asia. The collaboration will enable WeLab to expand its exploration of AI applications, including developing innovative AI… Read More

April 12, 2025 @ 11:13 am By Michael Wong  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF), and The Hong Kong Association of Banks (HKAB) jointly announced a series of measures aimed at enhancing the prevention and detection of financial crime, including fraud and money laundering. Authorities are responding to a… Read More

April 11, 2025 @ 3:48 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Weixin Pay users can now receive cross-border transfers from Xoom, a PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL) service and a digital remittances provider. This new partnership between Tenpay Global, Tencent’s cross-border payment platform, and Xoom allows Weixin Pay users to “receive money directly into their Weixin Pay Wallet… Read More

April 11, 2025 @ 2:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), the world’s derivatives and securities exchange network, announced the expansion of its Derivatives Market Intelligence team with the hiring of Wei Liao as Director, Derivatives Market Intelligence. Based in Hong Kong, Ms. Liao will lead the “buildout of Cboe’s… Read More

April 11, 2025 @ 2:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Checkout.com, a global digital payments company, announced its intention to expand its card issuing capabilities in the UAE. Checkout.com aims to roll out domestic card issuance “in the region in 2026, pending regulatory approval.” This will enable businesses to launch branded cards, whether physical or… Read More

April 11, 2025 @ 12:03 pm By JD Alois  |  

Institutional participation in crypto markets is key to their success and ability to scale. While many established institutions are already participating in this sector of finance, the growth will take some time. This week, global bank Standard Chartered and crypto exchange OKX revealed a partnership… Read More

April 10, 2025 @ 10:59 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Airwallex, a payments and financial platform, reported FY2024 performance in Singapore. According to a release from global Fintech Airwallex, FY2024 revenue in Singapore more than doubled, growing 153% YoY, fueled “by strong transaction volumes and a standout Q4.” Lucy Liu, President and Co-founder, Airwallex said:… Read More

April 8, 2025 @ 11:48 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Euroclear is pleased to announce its participation in the Hong Kong Monetary Authority’s (HKMA) Project Ensemble. Project Ensemble, launched in March 2024, is a HKMA initiative aimed at fostering and “shaping the tokenization ecosystem in Hong Kong.” This project brings together professionals and industry veterans… Read More

April 7, 2025 @ 9:59 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) released statistics for the second quarter of 2024 on stored value facility (SVF) schemes, showing continued growth in both usage and transaction value. By the end of Q2 2024, the total number of SVF accounts in use reached 75.36… Read More

April 7, 2025 @ 8:00 am By JD Alois  |  

Digital asset platform Fasset has partnered with Dinari to tokenize $1 billion of US equities, which are available to investors, according to a company statement. Fasset is a Dubai-based blockchain firm. Dinari, through its blockchain-based tokenization technology, aims to enable investing in anything from anywhere…. Read More

April 6, 2025 @ 12:59 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Schroders Capital’s Infrastructure team in Asia announces the first close of a China renewable energy strategy following a $100 million anchor investment commitment from Apple. The actively-managed strategy targets renewable infrastructure investments in late-stage development and construction wind and solar assets “across China, aiming to… Read More

April 5, 2025 @ 6:37 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Thailand’s Digital Economy and Society (DES) Ministry will present two draft laws — the Royal Decree on Digital Assets and the Royal Decree on Cybercrime Prevention and Suppression — for Cabinet approval on April 8, with expectations that the laws could come into force before… Read More

April 3, 2025 @ 8:37 am By JD Alois  |  

Fuse, founded by TrueLayer veterans, has raised $6.6 million in a funding round led by Northzone. Other investors include Flourish Ventures, Alter Global, and angel investors. Fuse is a payments Fintech targeting the MENA region. The company says it is focusing on the “payments bottlenecks”… Read More

April 2, 2025 @ 8:37 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The PwC Global Crypto Regulation Report 2025 offers a comprehensive analysis of the evolving regulatory environment for digital assets across more than 50 jurisdictions. The PwC research report underscores significant policy shifts and emerging trends, reflecting a global push to balance innovation with financial stability… Read More

April 2, 2025 @ 8:33 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Fireblocks, a digital asset security and infrastructure provider, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC Group), one of Japan’s largest banks, alongside Ava Labs and TIS Inc. This collaboration aims to explore the potential of stablecoins for wholesale payments,… Read More

April 1, 2025 @ 11:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

PitchBook noted that China’s latest move to bolster its technological capabilities has arrived in the form of a 1 trillion yuan (approximately $138 billion) high-tech fund, unveiled during the 2025 Two Sessions. The report from PitchBook added that this state-backed venture capital (VC) initiative targets… Read More

March 31, 2025 @ 9:28 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

HashKey, an Asian digital asset financial services group, and Bosera announced the launch of the tokenized money market ETFs, Bosera HKD Money Market ETF (tokenized class) and Bosera USD Money Market ETF (tokenized class). Both were approved by the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)… Read More

March 30, 2025 @ 10:20 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has launched a public consultation on a proposed regulatory framework to expand retail investors’ access to private market investment funds, the central bank said. Under the current regulations, retail investors in Singapore have limited opportunities to invest in private… Read More

March 30, 2025 @ 10:12 pm By Michael Wong  |  

South Korea’s cryptocurrency market continues to grow, with the number of virtual asset investors surpassing 16 million, nearing the total number of stock investors in the country, news agency Yonhap reported. Data submitted to Rep. Cha Gyu-geun of the minor opposition Rebuilding Korea Party indicated… Read More