Asia

March 25, 2024 @ 7:42 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

China witnessed the announcement of a total of 416 venture capital (VC) funding deals of worth $6.4 billion during the first two months of year 2024, which is a year-on-year (YoY) decline of 18.9% in terms of deal volume and 4.9% in terms of funding… Read More

March 25, 2024 @ 2:47 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Thunes, a Singapore-based cross-border payments company, announced its enhanced strategic partnership with Visa, the global titan in digital payments. This collaboration is set to introduce new payment endpoints across vital markets in Asia and Africa, marking a significant step forward in the expansion of digital… Read More

March 24, 2024 @ 7:50 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Coupa, the AI-driven platform that helps you operate smarter and grow faster, today announced the launch of its first data center in the Middle East, to be inaugurated in collaboration with the Amazon Web Services (AWS) team in Dubai. The new data center highlights Coupa’s… Read More

March 23, 2024 @ 3:39 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

DBS Bank, together with J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPMAM), has debuted Asia’s first global investment portfolio that not only automatically calibrates its asset allocation to an individual’s life stage and retirement timeline (also known as a “glidepath”), but also allows investors to automate their drawdowns… Read More

March 23, 2024 @ 3:38 pm By Michael Wong  |  

KuCoin, a global cryptocurrency exchange and ranked within the top seven, has announced its achievement as the first Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) compliant global crypto exchange in India. This landmark accomplishment highlights a crucial moment in the dynamic landscape of Indian cryptocurrency amidst recent regulatory… Read More

March 21, 2024 @ 11:04 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Mastercard (NYSE: MA) continues to expand its cross-border payment solutions with a new connection to Alipay, China’s digital open platform under Ant Group. The move comes as consumers increasingly “look for ways to send money across the globe quickly and securely.” Insights from Mastercard’s Borderless… Read More

March 20, 2024 @ 9:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Graviton, one of India’s Web3-focused accelerators, has unveiled a list of teams that have been accepted into the second edition of its 16-week program. This update comes nearly a month after the syndicate-backed fund stopped accepting applications, and was preceded by “a nationwide hunt for… Read More

March 19, 2024 @ 9:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Eazy Financial Services, a Bahraini financial institute specialized in Point-of-Sale (POS) and online payment gateway acquiring services, announces is collaboration with Tabby, MENA’s e-commerce and financial services apps. This partnership marks a significant milestone as EazyPay becomes “the provider of buy now pay later (BNPL)… Read More

March 19, 2024 @ 4:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Tonik, the digital bank in the Philippines, announces the appointment of Mr. Cesar O. Virtusio as a new Independent Director on the Board of its regulated bank subsidiary, Tonik Digital Bank Inc. Mr. Virtusio, an experienced professional in the Philippine and foreign banking and finance… Read More

March 19, 2024 @ 1:56 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has recently introduced Phase 2 of the e-HKD Pilot Program. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) confirmed the launch of Phase 2 of the e-HKD Pilot Program, with a view to further “exploring innovative use cases for an e-HKD… Read More

March 18, 2024 @ 10:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A total of 1,843 deals (mergers & acquisitions [M&A], private equity and venture financing deals) were announced in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region “during January-February 2024, which is a year-on-year (YoY) decline of 19.6% compared to the 2,292 deals announced during the same period in previous… Read More

March 17, 2024 @ 5:27 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Central Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have inked a pivotal loan agreement valued at $23 million as part of efforts to bolster the country’s fintech ecosystem. This landmark deal was signed at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT-City), setting the… Read More

March 16, 2024 @ 3:13 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Starting in 2025, Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) plan to unify QR code payment systems to simplify transactions and avoid the need for currency exchange, especially benefiting tourists. This move, as reported by Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and announced by Japan’s… Read More

March 15, 2024 @ 3:04 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

International insurtech bolttech recently announced its expansion into the Middle East with the launch of its partnership with stc Group, the telecommunications company acting as the engine of digital transformation in the region. bolttech’s collaboration with stc Group will “provide stc’s customers with innovative, embedded… Read More

March 15, 2024 @ 11:34 am By JD Alois  |  

ByBit is a crypto exchange that has been granted the Minimum Viable Product (MVP) Preparatory License by Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA), following the Provisional License it received in March 2022, has been noted as a “suspicious virtual asset trading platform” by the Hong… Read More

March 13, 2024 @ 10:01 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

In a significant development for the remittance sector, TerraPay, a global cross-border payments network, has announced a partnership with Alfardan Exchange. Based in Qatar, Alfardan Exchange provides exchange services as well as commodities like gold and coins. This collaboration aims to leverage TerraPay’s advanced digital… Read More

March 13, 2024 @ 9:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bank Muamalat Malaysia Berhad (Bank Muamalat) announced a multi-year collaboration with Google Cloud to accelerate its transformation into a leading digital Islamic bank. This collaboration aims to leverage Google Cloud’s integrated capabilities in modern infrastructure, data analytics, security, and generative AI (gen AI) to “deliver… Read More

March 13, 2024 @ 5:52 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

OKX has reportedly secured an in-principle approval for a Major Payment Institution (MPI) License from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). OKX claims that it is “among the most trusted crypto platforms in the world.” OKX‘s management notes that millions of customers feel safe accessing… Read More

March 13, 2024 @ 12:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

  Do we need to brace ourselves for liquidity strains? Liquidity dried up in 2022, and while analysts expect the 2024 BTC ETF approval will help boost trading volumes, the truth is that the ‘Alameda Gap’ remains, according to Ben Roth from Auros. Even as… Read More

March 12, 2024 @ 11:19 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Animoca Brands, the company advancing digital property rights for gaming and the open metaverse, announced that it has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST) to collaborate to advance the Web3 and gaming ecosystem in the… Read More