Asia

March 8, 2016 @ 1:43 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Real estate crowdfunding software provider, Katipult, announced this week it is looking to establish its compliance solution in various countries outside the U.S. including UK, Singapore, Australia & Canada.  The announcement came at a private investor event facilitated by the Global Fintech Group, where the company… Read More

March 8, 2016 @ 2:29 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

Israel’s fintech scene is a can’t-miss these days. As a recent example, Chinese venture capital firm Pando Group has invested US$2 million (HK$15.53 million) in Israeli financial technology (fintech) hub The Floor in Tel Aviv, notes the South China Morning Post. The funds support the creation of… Read More

March 6, 2016 @ 11:06 am By JD Alois  |  

Last week global equity crowdfunding platform OurCrowd announced a significant partnership with United Overseas Bank (UOB).  The OurCrowd arrangement is part of the platforms deeper push into Asia and the robust startup scene. UOB is the third largest bank in Southeast Asia by total assets…. Read More

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

Thomson Reuters,  a leading source of global news and information for professional markets, announced its partnership with FinTech accelerator SuperCharger to bring technology and market data access to FinTech firms undergoing its Hong Kong based program. “Hong Kong continues to be a leading and dynamic… Read More

March 3, 2016 @ 6:07 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Mercari, a Japanese peer-to-peer marketplace, has raised around $75 million ( 8.4 billion yen) at a reported valuation of more than $1 billion, reported Red Herring. The company’s Series D investment round includes Mitsui & Co, Development Bank of Japan and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank’s Japan… Read More

March 2, 2016 @ 11:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

  United Overseas Bank (UOB) has formed a partnership with OurCrowd to provide equity crowdfunding in Southeast Asia. UOB is a leading Asian banking with over 500 offices in 19 different countries and territories around the world. Incorporated in 1935, UOB is based in Singapore… Read More

March 2, 2016 @ 3:51 pm By Samantha Hurst  |  

Yirendai Ltd. (NYSE: YRD),  an online consumer finance marketplace in China, announced this week it will be considered as the first online consumer finance marketplace in China facilitating consumer loan products with asset-backed security (“ABS”) structure. Yirendai reported that as part of its strategy to diversify and expand… Read More

March 2, 2016 @ 11:17 am By JD Alois  |  

As Fintech heats up around the world, a growing number of government’s are looking for ways to engender a vibrant Fintech entrepreneurial ecosystem.  Finance is a profoundly important industry and the entire sector is quickly moving online.  While the UK is broadly viewed as the… Read More

March 1, 2016 @ 10:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

DANAdidik has launched Indonesia’s first peer to peer lending platform for micro student loans. The new platform was described as a step to provide an equal education opportunity for Indonesian students. DANAdidik says it facilitates: (i) students that are looking for education loan and (ii) sponsors… Read More

February 29, 2016 @ 10:43 pm By Spencer Li  |  

Following the much-talked-about Ezubao $7.6 billion Ponzi scheme collapse at the end of last year, the perception and outlook of the Chinese online lending industry has grown increasingly negative both within and outside of China. Murmurs of regulation began floating around in early 2014 but… Read More

February 25, 2016 @ 6:49 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Just days after Kickstarter Alum & Mobile Wallet Provider LoopPay, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., announced that Samsung Pay, the mobile payment service, had reached a global milestone – nearly five million registered users processed over $500 million in its first six months, showing a strong adoption rate… Read More

February 25, 2016 @ 5:39 am By Erin Hobey  |  

LoanZen Pvt Ltd, which runs P2P lending marketplace LoanZen, has raised an undisclosed amount in seed funding from angel investors through Tracxn Syndicate, an angel network launched by Tracxn, reported VC Circle’s Nishant Sharma. Offering services in Bangalore, LoanZen provides SMEs with unsecured working capital loans against their pending invoices to MNC/listed… Read More

February 23, 2016 @ 10:09 pm By Midori Yoshimura  |  

    At the Continuum SF Innovation and Credit Conference in San Francisco I recently attended, those present listened to a solid lineup of speakers discuss business development and more in SF and across the Pacific in China. Speakers included SF Mayor Ed Lee; Rob Suber,… Read More

February 21, 2016 @ 3:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

The government crackdown on internet finance, probably best exemplified by the Ezubao collapse and incarceration of the P2P lenders executives, has slowed the growth of the online lending industry.  According to a report in China News, as of January, there were 2771 platforms in operations in… Read More

February 19, 2016 @ 6:07 pm By JD Alois  |  

Thai financial regulators including the SEC and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) are moving forward with supporting Fintech initiatives and equity crowdfunding specifically. Somkid Jatusripitak, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of Economic Affairs, recently declared 2016 Thailand’s “Investment Year”, as the southeast Asian country tries… Read More

February 15, 2016 @ 9:33 am By JD Alois  |  

International investment crowdfunding platform FundedByMe has announced a referral program that may provide a finders fee from €2000 to up to €20,000. Other investment crowdfunding platforms have enacted similar programs to the FundedByMe bounty. The launch of the partner program was described as giving the opportunity to… Read More

February 14, 2016 @ 1:01 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) has launched a website where investors may submit platforms where they have been swindled out of their money. The new site is said to be designed to aid authorities as they investigate dodgy platforms.  The announcement, published in China News,… Read More

February 12, 2016 @ 7:15 am By JD Alois  |  

CoAssets (NSX code: CAX), a Singapore based crowdfunding platform, has announced the appointment of two new directors that will be joining the young company in the coming weeks. CoAssets became a publicly traded company last year establishing itself as the first real estate platform to… Read More

February 12, 2016 @ 7:01 am By JD Alois  |  

Bank Sinarmas, a Jakarta based financial institution, has formed a partnership with recently launched peer to peer lender Modalku to more easily provide access to capital to SMEs joining a global trend of traditional finance partnering with innovative Fintech firms. The partnership with Sinarmas Bank… Read More

February 11, 2016 @ 4:34 am By Erin Hobey  |  

Mumbai-based P2P lending fintech startup, Capzest, has raised $200K in seed funding from LionVentures, a seed investment and innovation platform founded by Anurag Mehrotra founder of LionVentures; Varun Dua, co-founder and CEO of Coverfox; Amit Tambe, former senior partner of Trilegal India and Vikas Jhunjhunwala, a Mumbai-based textile businessman reported VC Circle…. Read More