Tagged: southeast asia

February 4, 2021 @ 8:09 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the nation’s central bank and financial regulator, and the Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) have asked the general public to be on alert to the potential risks that may be involved in trading in securities incited by online discussion… Read More

February 3, 2021 @ 11:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Switzerland-based Sygnum Bank, a licensed digital asset bank founded on “Swiss and Singapore heritage” operating globally, and Fine Wine Capital, a privately-held specialist trading firm with a special focus on the fine wine market, have reportedly tokenized a range of premium investible wines. This initiative… Read More

February 2, 2021 @ 8:43 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Southeast Asian Fintech firm Grab has decided to upsize its term loan facility to $2 billion due to  growing interest from new investors. Grab, which is one of Southeast Asia’s largest “Super App” providers, confirmed the successful closing of its first senior secured term loan… Read More

February 1, 2021 @ 10:04 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore-based ECXX Global, an asset-based digital securities exchange, has revealed that it will be working with regional brokerage UOB Kay Hian in order to bring in deep tech startups to their network and give them the chance to list through Securitized Token Offerings (STOs) so… Read More

February 1, 2021 @ 8:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

We recently connected with Dr. Amrit Kumar, President and Chief Scientific Officer of Zilliqa, an enterprise-grade blockchain development platform. Many of the more popular iterations of blockchain are not sufficiently robust to handle the high transaction rates needed today – not to mention what businesses… Read More

January 31, 2021 @ 10:34 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Malaysia-based Versa, a digital cash management service provider, has confirmed the launch of its online platform through a partnership with Affin Hwang Asset Management. The all-digital platform may be accessed as a mobile application, Versa’s management noted. The app’s users are able to earn returns… Read More

January 31, 2021 @ 8:38 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A survey performed by UK-based TransferWise, a leading online money transfer service, has provided insights on how the Coronavirus crisis has impacted consumer behavior, particularly how remittance payments are handled by individuals residing in Malaysia. The survey revealed that approximately 50% of people in Malaysia… Read More

January 29, 2021 @ 9:05 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

The Monetary Board of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has reportedly reviewed and approved the applicable guidelines for virtual asset service providers (VASP) and other entities that facilitate financial services by using VASPs (also referred to as cryptocurrencies). The new guidelines have updated the… Read More

January 29, 2021 @ 7:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Finastra, a financial services software and Cloud-enabled solutions provider, has confirmed that it will be teaming up with HCL Technologies, an India-based multinational tech firm, in order to offer treasury management technology via the Cloud to smaller banks based in Europe, North America, India, and… Read More

January 28, 2021 @ 8:15 am By Omar Faridi  |  

This month (January 2021) has already been huge in terms of Fintech fundraising, with notably 13 mega-rounds valued at $100 million (or more) having been completed to start off the new year. These companies have acquired approximately $2.746 billion in capital. This figure does not… Read More

January 27, 2021 @ 11:49 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Malaysia-based CapBay, a peer to peer (P2P) supply chain financing platform, has reportedly acquired $20 million in capital via its Series A round. CapBay’s investment round saw contributions from existing investor KK Fund, a Singapore-headquartered VC firm that makes investments in startups or early-stage initiatives… Read More

January 27, 2021 @ 10:47 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Thailand-based Omise, a digital payments platform, has reportedly chosen the Netcetera 3-D Secure Server in order to secure its transactions in the APAC region. The update is expected to go live this month. Netcetera, a Switzerland-based software firm providing virtual payment solutions, offers certified products… Read More

January 27, 2021 @ 10:00 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

CIMB Bank Berhad and CIMB Islamic Bank Berhad have introduced CIMB CNY Go Digital for SMEs. This new product should help Asian businesses that are still facing challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, including those companies that are struggling to offer certain services because of… Read More

January 25, 2021 @ 10:54 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Temasek have teamed up to launch a joint venture that aims to enhance digital asset infrastructure through the use of blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT). SGX’s management stated that the joint project aims to be the Asia Pacific or APAC… Read More

January 25, 2021 @ 9:45 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Southeast Asia based StashAway, a digital wealth management firm focused on retail and accredited investors, recently revealed that it’s now managing over $1 billion in assets since launching operations back in 2017. StashAway’s management confirmed that they were able to generate these solid returns even… Read More

January 25, 2021 @ 8:36 am By Samantha Hurst  |  

Lendahand, a Netherlands-based for-profit crowdfunding platform for impact investing, announced over the weekend that it has agreed to provide Singapore-based Funding Societies with an up to €5 million debt facility to invest in underserved SMEs, predominantly in Indonesia, but also including Singapore and Malaysia. Lendahand reported… Read More

January 24, 2021 @ 8:55 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

GBG, a global identity data intelligence provider for businesses, has reportedly launched a dedicated Intelligence Center. The Center is meant for organizations to better or more accurately validate, verify and assess user profiles, behaviors, and the intent of individuals and entities across branch, web, mobile,… Read More

January 24, 2021 @ 8:51 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

TNG Digital, the digital wallet provider that was launched via a joint initiative between CIMB Bank and China’s Ant Financial (now Ant Group), is reportedly planning to secure $150 million in capital according to a recent report from Reuters. The Malaysian digital wallet operator, owned… Read More

January 24, 2021 @ 7:59 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Singapore-based iSTOX, a blockchain-powered digitized securities platform, has finalized a $50 million Series A funding round with participation from two state-backed investors based in Japan. As noted by the company’s management: “iSTOX is a future-ready capital markets platform set to usher in a new era… Read More

January 24, 2021 @ 4:38 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Malaysia-based Split, a Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) platform, recently revealed that it had handled RM 10 million (appr. $2.47 million) in total transactions for local businesses within months. Split allows merchants to provide up to 3 interest-free installments to their clients, who are able… Read More