Tagged: southeast asia

August 29, 2021 @ 11:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ethis Global Sdn Bhd, which operates “regulated” Shariah-compliant, “ethical” and impact focused investment crowdfunding platforms in Indonesia and Malaysia and social finance platform GlobalSadaqah, recently revealed that it finalized an RM6.8 million (appr. $1.62 million) pre-Series A round. The proceeds have will be allocated towards… Read More

August 27, 2021 @ 4:39 pm By Tony Zerucha  |  

Digital Horizon Venture Fund this week was among the investors in Singapore Fintech Honest Bank’s Series A financing round. The company raised a total of $19.7 million, with the round led by Insignia Ventures Partners and Digital Horizon VC. Digital Horizon contributed $5.5 million of… Read More

August 26, 2021 @ 11:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

This month in August 2021, five years after issuing their very first loan to an SME borrower in Singapore, the Validus team reports reaching a notable milestone of cumulatively having financed over SGD 1 billion in SME loans via the Validus marketplace. As they look… Read More

August 26, 2021 @ 3:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore-based Thunes, a Fintech firm and an industry leader in global cross-border payments, reveals that it has teamed up with Bank Alfalah, which is one of Pakistan’s largest banking institutions. Through the partnership, the organizations aim to support real-time, cost-effective international  payments made to consumers… Read More

August 25, 2021 @ 10:12 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Matrixport, Asia’s digital assets financial services platform, has introduced “ETH2.0 Staking Earn,” an offering that enables clients to take part in Ethereum 2.0 (ETH 2.0) staking at a “low threshold,” while earning yield from Ethereum “lock-up rewards.” Through the ETH 2.0 Staking Earn program, participants… Read More

August 24, 2021 @ 11:17 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

On Monday (August 23, 2021), the US Treasury Department and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) confirmed the finalization of a bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cybersecurity Cooperation. This announcement has been made during Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent trip to Singapore, where the… Read More

August 23, 2021 @ 11:27 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Virtual banks in Indonesia must have minimum paid-up capital of IDR 10 trillion (appr. $694 million). But the capital deposit needed when submitting an application is only IDR 3 trillion. Indonesia’s OJK (Financial Services Authority), the nation’s financial regulator, has shared an update to its… Read More

August 23, 2021 @ 11:11 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Kiplepay, a wholly owned division of Green Packet, has teamed up with Visa (NYSE: V) in order to offer the Kiple Visa Prepaid Card. Through the partnership, which was first announced last year, Kiplepay and Visa have introduced the prepaid card which aims to support… Read More

August 23, 2021 @ 10:10 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

HSBC Malaysia reveals that it has introduced the DuitNow Request feature for corporates so they can improve the collection of recurring payments from their clients. This secure, real-time payment solution will aim to do away with the requirement for companies to constantly follow up with… Read More

August 23, 2021 @ 5:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Ojamu, which aims to bring AI-enhanced MarTech (marketing technology) to the blockchain by harnessing the power of DLT and NFTs, says it wants to help with “predicting” the “most effective” digital marketing strategy for major brands. Founded in 2019, Singapore-based Ojamu notes that they plan… Read More

August 22, 2021 @ 10:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, recently confirmed  that it will no longer be accepting applications for new virtual banks including firms seeking to  convert their current status, starting from September 1, 2021. Virtual banking applications sent to the nation’s… Read More

August 22, 2021 @ 9:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has introduced its plans (after an extensive study) to start testing a retail central bank digital currency (CBDC) during Q2 2022. The BOT had carried out a research study on the implications and feasibility of issuing a retail CBDC, as… Read More

August 22, 2021 @ 7:28 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Indonesia’s Lifepal, a digital direct-to-consumer (D2C) insurance marketplace, reveals that it has acquired an oversubscribed $9 million through a Series A round, bringing the total capital secured by the firm to $12 million. As noted by its management, Lifepal is the largest insurance marketplace in… Read More

August 22, 2021 @ 7:20 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Malaysian Insurtech company VSure.life has reportedly acquired a RM12 million (appr. $2.83 million) investment from ACE market-listed Revenue Group via its wholly-owned subsidiary Revenue Harvest (as well as being approved by Bank Negara Malaysia’s or BNM, the nation’s central bank to take part in its… Read More

August 22, 2021 @ 7:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Investment management company Investcorp and Singapore’s private capital exchange ADDX have teamed up to further expand the use of digital securities in the private markets. The first product that been introduced under the partnership is a diversified portfolio of US residential properties from the Sunbelt… Read More

August 22, 2021 @ 4:36 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Philippine Digital Asset Exchange (PDAX), a virtual currency exchange that’s licensed by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the nation’s central bank, revealed earlier this week that it had secured $12.5 million in capital. PDAX‘s investment round has reportedly been led by an unnamed… Read More

August 19, 2021 @ 8:29 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Union Bank of the Philippines (UnionBank) has teamed up with crypto-asset custodian Hex Trust in order to test out its digital asset custody services – which are compliant with the guidelines provided by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the nation’s reserve bank. Through… Read More

August 19, 2021 @ 7:25 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Touch ‘n Go Group (TNG) and Principal Asset Management revealed on August 18, 2021 that they’re introducing the Principal e-Cash Fund, which is the underlying fund for Touch ‘n Go’s GO+. This product is now Shariah-compliant, the update confirmed. TNG’s management noted that this makes… Read More

August 19, 2021 @ 7:45 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Zilliqa, the Singapore-headquartered “high-performance,” enterprise-grade blockchain platform has unveiled its 2021-2022 cohort of ZILHive Accelerator projects. The ZILHive Accelerator is a 6-month program that’s focused on launching blockchain or DLT-powered initiatives from concept to commercialization. As mentioned in the release shared with CI: “The accelerator… Read More

August 18, 2021 @ 4:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

GOtyme, which is a joint initiative between Philippines-based conglomerate Gokongwei Group and Singapore’s virtual banking group Tyme, has reportedly acquired the fifth digital banking permit from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the nation’s central bank. GOtyme is set to introduce its services during Q2… Read More