General News

September 26, 2023 @ 8:47 pm By Michael Wong  |  

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

September 26, 2023 @ 8:35 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

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

September 26, 2023 @ 3:06 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Umpqua Bank, a subsidiary of Columbia Banking System Inc. (Nasdaq: COLB), today announced the findings of its 6th annual Business Barometer ― an in-depth study of the mood, mindset, and strategic priorities “of 1,250 leaders of small and midsize businesses across the U.S.” Business leaders… Read More

September 26, 2023 @ 10:44 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Assemble users can now view Carta Total Compensation benchmarking data and cap table information within the Assemble platform, making it easier to “build a startup compensation strategy.” In the past, Assemble customers had “to log in to Carta separately to access Total Comp or their… Read More

September 26, 2023 @ 9:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

High interest rates, continued uncertainty and low productivity could see the UK struggle to keep its head above water “in the second half of the year – with GDP growth forecast at 0.4% in 2023 and 0.3% in 2024,” according to KPMG’s latest UK Economic… Read More

September 25, 2023 @ 11:57 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

KPMG has shared its economics report which finds house / property prices are expected “to rise gradually over next nine months and then surge in FY25.” In Australia, home / real estate prices will “rise nationally by 4.9% over the next 9 months and then… Read More

September 25, 2023 @ 10:59 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $500 million loan to bolster Indonesia’s progressive endeavors in streamlining investment climates, fortifying trade, and advancing enterprises. The approval is an extension of the Competitiveness, Industrial Modernization, and Trade Acceleration Program (CITA), following the success of its… Read More

September 25, 2023 @ 10:34 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Online pension provider, PensionBee, is pleased to announce the appointment of Matthew Cavanagh as Chief Legal Officer and General Counsel. In 2015, Matthew served “as General Counsel to PensionBee.” He now rejoins as head of PensionBee Group’s legal function, “with responsibility for the provision of… Read More

September 25, 2023 @ 9:36 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Dawn Capital notes that this year, software spend globally topped $1 trillion. Less than a decade ago, this figure was reportedly half and by 2050 Gartner estimates it will reach $7 trillion. According to Dawn Capital, It has been “a challenging 18 months for tech,… Read More

September 25, 2023 @ 8:46 am By Omar Faridi  |  

British Business Bank is supporting more than £12.4bn of finance through its core programs and meets its objectives, but “reports a loss for 2022/23 due to falls in market valuations.” Louis Taylor, CEO, British Business Bank, said: “The British Business Bank has continued to build… Read More

September 24, 2023 @ 10:24 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Metro Bank’s ‘Scam of the Month’ for September 2023 is a warning to drivers about the influx of second-hand car scams “as approximately a million drivers take possession of their new 73 licence plate cars from September.” Purchase scams can take many forms; “with the… Read More

September 24, 2023 @ 10:23 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Smart Pension, one of the UK’s workplace pension providers, announces its investment in the AMX-DWS Global Low Carbon Stewardship Fund. The fund is a new low-carbon global equity index strategy that “offers innovative stewardship voting capabilities, being one of the first pooled funds to offer… Read More

September 24, 2023 @ 10:18 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The “chill” in startup fundraising is having major ripple effects on startup employee compensation, according to a comprehensive update from Carta. Startups on Carta collectively raised “about $28 billion through the first half of 2023.” That was less than half of the total funds “raised… Read More

September 24, 2023 @ 10:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Pitchbook introduces their research series: Country Snapshots in which they provide an overview of macroeconomic and microeconomic trends in various regions spanning both private and public markets. Here is what Pitchbook highlighted for Q2 in France: Contrary to VC, PE deal value in France “came… Read More

September 24, 2023 @ 7:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Hitting their Covid lows, tech M&A deal volume dropped to its lowest level since 2020, according to a report from CBInsights. The CBInsights report also reveals that risk-off strategic acquirers are the primary drivers of “a slowdown in tech M&A activity.” The report further notes… Read More

September 24, 2023 @ 4:11 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Indonesian President Joko Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, raised concerns regarding the influence of social commerce platforms like TikTok Shop on the operations and sales of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) and traditional market merchants. He opined that platforms like TikTok should stick to… Read More

September 24, 2023 @ 12:33 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Nation-state cyber threat activity will push the boundaries of war exclusion language, warns cyber risk analytics specialist CyberCube. In a report examining selected nation-state cyber hot zones to gain insight into the potential cyber (re)insurance impacts of future cyber wars, CyberCube monitors these hot zones… Read More

September 24, 2023 @ 9:22 am By Omar Faridi  |  

The latest edition of Accenture’s (NYSE: ACN) China Digital Transformation Index shows that just 2% of Chinese companies are “undertaking the holistic, continuous digital transformation steps needed to drive long term, sustainable growth.” Samantha Zhu, chairperson of Accenture Greater China, said: “A convergence of external… Read More

September 24, 2023 @ 6:01 am By Omar Faridi  |  

As part of a multi-year effort to transform trade finance, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) is launching CashPro Supply Chain Solutions, a platform that will offer participants in a supply chain the benefits of digitization with improved process efficiency and working capital optimization. CashPro is… Read More

September 23, 2023 @ 6:16 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

Fintech firm Arta Finance this week named Tomas Arlia its chief investment officer and head of alternative investments. A former CIO of GE Asset Management, Arlia brings more than 25 years of experience to further the company’s offerings in alternative assets, including private equity, private credit, venture capital,… Read More