Singapore-based fintech investment firm BitRock Capital is currently inching towards meeting its target to close a new US$$100 million fund, according to a Bloomberg report. This would more than double BitRock’s first fund close in 2021. The new fund will target software-as-a-service and digitalisation opportunities in China, fintech companies in Southeast Asia, as well as global startups in digital asset infrastructure and Web3. Backed by logistics real estate operator GLP, BitRock Capital is in discussion with family offices as well as longer-term limited partners with the aim to close the new fund by the third quarter of this year. Founded…
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Singapore proptech firm Ohmyhome announced that it had begun trading on the Nasdaq Stock Market in New York on 21 March under the ticker symbol “OMH”. Ohmyhome is selling 3,775,000 million shares at a price of US$4.00 per share in a bid to raise US$15.1 million. From these shares, Ohmyhome is offering 2,800,000 ordinary shares while the selling stockholder is offering 975,000 ordinary shares. Ohmyhome said that it will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholder. The offering is expected to close on 23 March (today) and is subject to the satisfaction of customary…
Open banking is steadily making its way into Asia-Pacific (APAC), and though the industry remains largely nascent compared with pioneers like to European Union, adoption is increasing at a stable pace, enabled by new regulatory frameworks and market-led initiatives. A report by Asia-focused fintech consulting firm Kapronasia, in collaboration with software engineering company EPAM, looks at the state of open banking across the region, exploring the evolution of the competitive landscape and how open banking solutions are currently being served in APAC. Southeast Asia embraces market-led approach According to the report, there is significant diversity across APAC on how open…
The climate crisis is a defining challenge for Southeast Asia, a region that’s among the most vulnerable to global warming but which also significantly contribute to its cause. Against this backdrop, a new generation of fintech startups are emerging out of the region, seeking to address these challenges and capture opportunities for transitioning to a more sustainable economy. A new report by Integra Partners, an early stage venture capital firm based in Singapore, looks at global warming risks in Southeast Asia and the climate change imperative, making a case for why climate fintech is poised to take off in the…
In 2022, cybercriminals became more methodical and innovative in their tactics, reviving old methods, introducing new advanced attack techniques, and continually coming up with more sophisticated ways to infiltrate networks, according to a new report by American cybersecurity firm Fortinet. The 2H 2022 Threat Landscape Report, released in February 2023, examines the cyberthreat landscape over the second half of 2022, identifying increased ransomware, wiper attacks, and botnet attacks during the period. According to the report, ransomware remained in full force in H2 2022, rising by about 16% in volume from the first to the second half of the year. This…
KASIKORNBANK (KBank) onboarded two million new users on its K PLUS online banking app in 2022, more than a million of them were new to the bank itself. The surging use of its digital platforms with 98% of all KBank’s transactions now being conducted online follows the launch of its challenger bank programme six months ago. The programme aimed to boost access to loans and services among Thailand’s approximately 30 million unbanked and underbanked population. The transactions on K PLUS had also grown rapidly and reached almost Baht 10 trillion in 2022. KBank said that it recorded more money transfers…
Inypay, a soon-to-be-launched Singaporean neobank, announced that it has appointed Kawin Boonyapredee as its Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). In his new role as CISO, Kawin will be responsible for overseeing the company’s information security programme and ensuring that all systems and data are protected against the ever-evolving threat landscape. Kawin has over 25 years of experience in the cybersecurity industry with a focus on information security, risk management, and compliance across North America and Asia. Prior to joining Inypay, Kawin served as the Regional Information Security Lead at Capital Group. He also served as the Global Head of Cyber…
Southeast Asian open finance platform Brankas announced that it has received payment licenses from Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP). The firm managed to secure the Payment Service Provider (PJP) Category 3 license in Indonesia and the Operator of Payment Systems (OPS) registration in the Philippines. The payments licenses equip Brankas to offer end-to-end open finance infrastructure to its bank partners, from local and cross-border payments, to new banking-as-a-service solutions like account opening and card issuing. With over 100 enterprise partners worldwide, Brankas’ payment APIs are used by companies offering e-wallets, online shopping checkout, lending services,…
Proxtera announced the first close of its seed funding round by Ant Group, CerraCap Ventures, and EDBI. Details of the fundraise was not disclosed. The funding will be used as working capital to further develop the company’s digital cross-border trade and financial services enabled by trusted credentials. The firm is looking to develop and release more digital products to cover the end-to-end digital trade journey for a B2B trade. Proxtera is the operationalisation of the Business sans Borders initiative led by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA). The company has so far launched…
Credit Suisse will continue operating in Singapore without any interruptions or restrictions following its takeover by UBS, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). MAS added that customers will continue to have full access to their accounts and Credit Suisse’s contracts with counterparties remain in force. “The takeover is not expected to have an impact on the stability of Singapore’s banking system”, according to the media release by MAS. UBS had agreed on Sunday to acquire its rival Credit Suisse for about US$3.2 billion. The deal, brokered by the Swiss government, is expected to be finalised by the end of…
Indian digital payments company PhonePe announced that it has secured an additional US$200 million from Walmart, bringing its total funds raised for this tranche to US$650 million. The raise places PhonePe’s pre-money valuation at US$12 billion. PhonePe said that it expects further investments for its ongoing fundraise of up to US$1 billion in capital and that the announcements will be made in due course. The fintech made a domicile shift from Singapore to India and had to fork out INR 8000 crores (approximately US$18.35 million) in taxes for the move. PhonePe plans to deploy these funds to scale up its…
Vietnamese digital bank TNEX’s CEO Bryan Carroll announced that he will be stepping down from his position and will stay on as a board member in a LinkedIn post. Carroll was one of TNEX’s co-founders in 2019 which is a digital bank spinoff from the Maritime Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MSB), one of Vietnam’s leading commercial banks. He spearheaded the digital bank’s growth which now has over 1.6 million users through partnerships with Mambu, Amazon Web Services (AWS), TopeBox, TechX, and iConnect. Bryan said, “I have made the very difficult decision to step down as CEO of TNEX at the…
Cover Genius, an Australian insurtech for embedded protection, announced that it has acquired US-based embedded warranty provider, Clyde Technologies. Details of the transaction was not disclosed. The insurtech said that the assets acquired will assist its continued expansion into the medium-sized e-commerce segment. Cover Genius expects there to be no impact on servicing and sales for Clyde’s partners. “Data shows that adding protection within the checkout experience increases purchase conversion rates 8%‡, but 58% of customers were not offered warranties for their most recent purchase, a gap caused by traditional insurers who – beset by legacy systems – have been…
Shopee’s integrated mobile wallet ShopeePay is now available as a payment method for Apple services in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Customers can use their ShopeePay account to pay for App Store, Apple Music, Apple TV app, iTunes Store purchases, iCloud storage and more. The addition of ShopeePay as an Apple ID payment method offers a new way to pay for Apple services without needing a credit card. Payments can be done through a secure one-tap purchasing from Apple products. Customers can manage their Apple ID payment information on their iPhone, iPad, Mac or PC. Agatha Soh, Director…
Stripe, a payments and financial services providers for businesses, has raised more than US$6.5 billion in a at a US$50 billion valuation, a sharp decline from its 2021 valuation of US$95 billion. Despite the 47% discount from its record valuation, the company said in a press release that “Stripe does not need this capital to run its business”. The fundraise from existing investors Andreessen Horowitz, Baillie Gifford, Founders Fund, General Catalyst, MSD Partners, and Thrive Capital as well as new investors GIC, Goldman Sachs Asset and Wealth Management, and Temasek will instead be used to provide liquidity to current and…
DBS and Singapore-based investment company Heritas Capital announced the first close of the Asia Impact First Fund (AIFF) with over US$20 million raised to support innovative and high-growth social enterprises in the region. The fund was led by anchor investor DBS, which committed US$ 10 million, and joined by impact-focused family offices, foundations, corporates and high-net-worth individuals including Tsao Family Office, IMC Group, Ishk Tolaram Foundation, ANF Family Office, Pang Sze Khai (Chairman of Octava Foundation and Octava), and others. Launched last August through DBS Foundation’s partnership with Heritas Capital, the AIFF has a target fund size of US$ 50…
Tenity, a fintech accelerator formerly known as F10, has selected 10 early-stage startups from 3 countries for the 5th edition of its incubation programme running out of Singapore. The pre-seed startups, selected from nearly 250 applications, will receive an initial SGD 70,000 investment from the Tenity Incubation Fund I. The newest edition of the Tenity Incubation Programme in Singapore started this week where the participants will receive extensive support over the next four months to refine and validate their business ideas and go-to-market strategies. As participants in the programme, they will benefit from guidance and support provided by Tenity’s distinguished…
Singapore-based fintech MetaVerse Green Exchange (MVGX) announced that it has appointed Meyer “Sandy” Frucher as its Vice Chairman. In his new role, Sandy will be responsible for guiding the company toward establishing an interconnected global carbon infrastructure network with national registries, trading, clearing platforms, and enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Previously, Sandy served as the Vice Chairman of NASDAQ for over 15 years where he was responsible for maintaining and managing global exchange relationships. Launched in 2018 and headquartered in Singapore, MVGX is backed by its proprietary digital technologies and green exchange, and its subsidiaries are licensed by the Monetary…
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has enabled its customers in Singapore to transfer funds to and from their account using any local bank through FAST (Fast And Secure Transfers) for free. Additionally, Coinbase has made the onboarding process for its users simpler with a secure “2-click” experience through the integration of Singpass. Coinbase’s Country Director for Singapore Hassan Ahmed wrote in a blog that the crypto exchange’s upgraded retail platform as well as its new strategic banking partnership with Standard Chartered, aims to provide its users with a seamless, safe, and convenient experience when trading digital assets. Coinbase’s platform offers the crypto trading…
MariBank, a digital bank licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and wholly-owned subsidiary of Sea, is now available to the public on an invite-only basis as it is in the midst of rolling out its services progressively. Interested parties who have received the invite from the digital bank can set up a Mari Savings account by downloading the app from Apple App Store, Google Play Store, or Huawei AppGallery. The Mari Savings account offers 2.5% p.a. interest earnings credited to the user’s account daily which does not require any minimum deposit, salary credit requirement or minimum spend amount. The earnings calculated…