Asia

July 11, 2026 @ 10:17 am By Michael Wong  |  

The total value of deposits covered by Hong Kong’s Deposit Protection Scheme rose to a record HK$3.656 trillion in 2025, up from HK$3.492 trillion a year earlier, according to the Hong Kong Deposit Protection Board’s annual report. The increase followed the raising of the protection… Read More

July 10, 2026 @ 8:23 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Korea Fair Trade Commission (KFTC) on July 9, 2026, approved Mirae Asset Consulting’s plan to acquire a controlling interest in Korbit, one of the country’s established cryptocurrency exchanges. The decision marks the first time a major domestic financial conglomerate will gain direct ownership of… Read More

July 8, 2026 @ 7:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Swiss digital assets firm Bitcoin Suisse has taken a major step in its international growth by securing full regulatory authorization for operations in Abu Dhabi. Its regional subsidiary, BTCS (Middle East) Ltd., received the Financial Services Permission from the Financial Services Regulatory Authority of the… Read More

July 6, 2026 @ 8:28 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Xiaomi, the consumer electronics and smart manufacturing company, has chosen Adyen (AMS: ADYEN) to handle payment processing for its consumer electronics division in 18 markets worldwide. The partnership gives Xiaomi a single integration point to manage both online and physical store transactions efficiently as it… Read More

July 5, 2026 @ 11:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Inveo Kripto and iChain Investment Holding, the blockchain-focused entities within Turkey’s Inveo Investment Holding group, signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Moca Network. Moca Network is the flagship decentralized digital identity initiative developed by Animoca Brands. The agreement establishes a collaboration aimed at expanding regulated… Read More

July 5, 2026 @ 2:42 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and China’s securities regulator have signed a staff exchange agreement to deepen regulatory cooperation as the two authorities expand collaboration on capital markets, digital assets, and cross-border investment initiatives. The agreement was signed during the 10th annual supervisory roundtable… Read More

July 5, 2026 @ 12:45 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and Golomt Bank have signed a $64 million loan agreement to expand sustainable finance and increase lending to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), including women-owned businesses, in Mongolia. The financing package comprises $60 million from ADB’s ordinary capital resources… Read More

July 4, 2026 @ 9:53 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Companies across Asia-Pacific are accelerating investments in artificial intelligence, but many are doing so with limited evaluation of returns as competitive pressure and fear of falling behind outweigh proven business outcomes, according to an IDC InfoBrief commissioned by Expereo. The survey of 800 technology leaders… Read More

July 2, 2026 @ 2:05 am By Omar Faridi  |  

PitchBook’s research team released its June 2026 Global Markets Snapshot on June 30, providing a clear view of performance across public equities, private capital, debt, real estate, and commodities. The report captures a month of solid equity gains amid regional differences, continued deployment in private… Read More

July 1, 2026 @ 10:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Qatar Islamic Bank (QIB) has rolled out a significantly improved version of its Corporate App, delivering a more intuitive and efficient mobile banking platform tailored for corporate and small-to-medium enterprise (SME) clients across Qatar. The upgraded application introduces a completely refreshed user interface designed to… Read More

July 1, 2026 @ 2:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tabby, the MENA region financial technology platform, has obtained two significant licenses from the Saudi Central Bank (SAMA). The consumer finance license and SME finance license mark an important step forward, allowing the company to provide more flexible payment solutions for larger purchases and support… Read More

July 1, 2026 @ 8:32 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs has recently released a detailed report concluding that CoinEx has emerged as the dominant conduit linking Iran’s domestic cryptocurrency ecosystem to international markets. Through extensive on-chain tracing spanning more than seven years, TRM identified over $3.84 billion in verified transaction… Read More

July 1, 2026 @ 1:53 am By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korea’s memory chip producer SK Hynix has formally submitted a registration statement with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to list American Depositary Shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. The move marks a major push by the company to broaden its investor… Read More

July 1, 2026 @ 12:51 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Tencent Holdings, the Chinese technology firm behind the widely used WeChat ecosystem, has started limited internal testing of a new mobile application called TenPayGo. The move comes as international tourism to China continues to rebound strongly, creating fresh demand for user-friendly financial tools tailored to… Read More

June 30, 2026 @ 10:16 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mynt Inc., the parent company of the Philippines’ dominant digital wallet GCash, has formally filed paperwork for what would become the country’s largest-ever initial public offering. The move positions the fintech unicorn to raise as much as $1.5 billion by selling up to roughly 12… Read More

June 30, 2026 @ 9:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korean brokerage firm Kiwoom Securities is pursuing an equity investment in Bithumb, the country’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume. The two parties are currently said to be negotiating a deal structured as a third-party private placement of newly issued shares. Under the proposed… Read More

June 29, 2026 @ 10:11 am By Omar Faridi  |  

A recent development within India’s cryptocurrency sector has highlighted how the country is not yet full prepared to enable responsible digital assets adoption. The local premium on Tether‘s USDT stablecoin has climbed above 8.5 percent. This marks a sharp increase from the typical range of… Read More

June 29, 2026 @ 8:34 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Philippines is accelerating its shift toward digital financial inclusion by integrating fintech platforms into government assistance programs. A key example is the recent collaboration between the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and Maya, which enables the electronic delivery of fuel subsidies to… Read More

June 29, 2026 @ 3:35 am By Omar Faridi  |  

SBI Holdings has agreed to acquire bitbank, one of Japan’s cryptocurrency exchanges, in a deal valued at approximately ¥46.7 billion (around $289 million). The transaction, announced on June 25, 2026, positions the financial services giant to significantly expand its footprint in the domestic digital asset… Read More

June 29, 2026 @ 1:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks in Singapore have jointly published the Phase 1 report of the PayNow Generation 2 initiative, charting a clear path to evolve the nation’s flagship instant payments platform. Released on 25 June 2026, the document… Read More