Asia

Hong Kong: HKIMR Joins the ASEAN+3 Finance Think-Tank Network

The Hong Kong Institute for Monetary and Financial Research (HKIMR), the research arm of the Hong Kong Academy of Finance (AoF) has officially joined the ASEAN+3 Finance Think-Tank Network (AFTN) as a founding member institution. The ASEAN+3 Finance Think-Tank Network is a coalition established to… Read More

Hong Kong Monetary Trends: Deposits Grow, Loans Shrink in August

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has revealed in its recent publication on 29 September that there has been a slight increment in total deposits with authorized institutions by 0.6% in August 2023. The deposits consisted of Hong Kong dollar deposits, which saw an increase… Read More

Three Arrows Capital Founder Arrested at Singapore Airport

Three Arrows Capital (3AC), a digital asset hedge fund, co-founder Su Zhu has been arrested at the Changi Airport in Singapore, according to multiple reports. 3AC was a catalyst in the crypto collapse of 2022. Things took a dramatic turn for the worse when TerraUSD/LUNA… Read More

London-based Elliptic, MaiCoin, MAX Exchange to Enhance AML Capabilities in Taiwan

Elliptic – the global leader in cryptoasset risk management – is partnering with MaiCoin and MAX Exchange, which are both integral platforms of MaiCoin Group in Taiwan. The collaboration will further MaiCoin Group’s commitment “to advancing digital assets into the mainstream, while providing its clientele… Read More

Global Fintech Currencycloud Reports Steady Business Growth in China and APAC Region

Currencycloud, the Fintech focused on simplifying business in a multi-currency world, has more than tripled its Chinese customer growth rate across Asia-Pacific since establishing its APAC headquarters in 2021, “with its Chinese client base expanding from four to 12 organisations across the region.” As one… Read More

Digital Asset Firm Gemini to Expand Business Operations in India, with Plans to Invest in Gurgaon Engineering Hub

Pravjit Tiwana, CEO APAC and Global CTO at Gemini, notes that in May, they announced the launch of Gemini’s Gurgaon technology development center in India. Now, Gemini are pleased to build on that announcement and reveal that they have opened their office “within the Cyber Hub… Read More

Global Fintech Rapyd Expands Card Acquiring Solutions to Singapore

Rapyd, a global fintech firm, announced the expansion of its card acquiring solution to Singapore. This solution, when combined with Rapyd’s core Fintech as a Service platform, equips local businesses with the tools “to elevate their market presence locally and extend their global reach to… Read More

Estateguru Partners with Crowd Credit in Japan, Commits to Invest Up to €10 million

  European online investment platform EstateGuru has signed an agreement with Crowd Credit in Japan, where the platform will invest up to €10 million in projects listed on the EstateGuru platform. EstateGuru, based in Estonia, is an online lending platform that allows any investor to… Read More

Funding in Southeast Asia’s Tech Ecosystem Plunges to Five-year Low in Q3

Startups in Southeast Asia continue to struggle with funding as ecosystem funding falls to a five-year low for the third quarter of this year, according to a report released by SaaS-based market intelligence platform Tracxn. The report said the tech startup ecosystem in Southeast Asia… Read More

Blockchain Adoption: South Korean Entertainment Platform Supports Ticketing Platform with Avalanche

Dreamus, the entertainment events and streaming pioneer supporting globally known K-pop stars and most South Korean concert ticket sales, is now using Avalanche. The 21M loyalty users of its popular ticketing app, OK Cashbag, “can now buy Avalanche-backed tickets in just a few clicks.” Dreamus,… Read More

MENA Region Crypto Report: UAE Leads the Way in Supporting Regulatory Clarity for Digital Assets

The MENA region reportedly has the sixth largest crypto economy of any region studied this year, “with an estimated $389.8 billion in on-chain value received between July 2022 and June 2023,” according to an update from Chainalysis. Chainalysis also mentioned that this “represents nearly 7.2%… Read More

Hong Kong Survey Shows Shifts to Investments in Money Market Funds

A survey jointly conducted by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) showed money market funds were the top-selling collective investment schemes (CIS) as reported by the city’s licensed corporations (LCs) in 2022. It accounted for 61% of the… Read More

Crypto Exchange Bybit Launches Million-Dollar Hackathon in Dubai

Global crypto exchange Bybit and the Dubai Multi Commodity Centre (DMCC) have announced the launch of “Web3 Unleashed: Crypto Innovation Challenge” hackathon in Dubai. The event promises $100,000 prize pool and comes on the heels of a partnership that has already seen Bybit contribute AED500,000… Read More

Indian Fintech PhonePe Launches Indus Appstore Developer Platform

PhonePe announced the launch of the Indus Appstore Developer Platform. With this launch, Indus Appstore is inviting all Android app developers to register and upload their apps using the self-serve developer platform. These apps will be listed on the soon to be launched “Made-in-India” Indus… Read More

Fintech: Digital Finance Platform Funding Societies Secures $27m in Debt

Funding Societies, also known as Modalku, Southeast Asia’s largest unified SME digital finance platform, has successfully secured $27 million in debt funding, led by private credit financier AlteriQ Global. Multi-family office Aument Capital Partners (ACP) and sustainability-focused fund Orange Bloom also contributed to this funding… Read More

Asia Pacific Is Top Source of Global Capital in H1, According to Colliers

The Asia Pacific region continues to hold on to its position as the top source of global capital in H1 2023, with Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan seizing spots among the top five global deployers of capital. Colliers’ recently published Global Capital Markets: Insights &… Read More

Singapore: iStudio Partners with Triple-A to Accept Crypto Payments

iStudio, an Apple Premium Reseller in Singapore, has recently partnered with Triple-A, a crypto payment gateway sanctioned by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to allow customers to make purchases using cryptocurrencies at selected iStudio stores. The iStudio stores include those in Jurong Point, Tampines… Read More

APAC Deal Activity Including Private Equity and VC Investments Down Considerably – Report

A total of 9,527 deals (mergers & acquisitions (M&A), private equity, and venture financing deals) were announced in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region during January to August 2023, which was “a decline of 21.5% over the 12,142 deals announced during the same period in 2022,” according… Read More

Singapore: OCBC to Discontinue Pay Anyone App in October

Singapore multinational banking and financial services firm OCBC has announced that the OCBC Pay Anyone app will be retired in October, with the exact date to be confirmed soon. This is part of OCBC’s commitment to offer an enhanced app experience by integrating the features… Read More

Hackers Steal $200m from Hong Kong Crypto Firm Mixin

Hong Kong-based crypto firm Mixin announced that hackers have managed to steal around $200 million from its database. In a post on social media platform X, the company, which describes itself as a network for transferring digital assets, said the database of Mixin Network’s cloud… Read More

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