Author: Fintech News Singapore

SGX recently provided clarifications for public listed companies seeking to raise ICOs. An Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is an offer of digital tokens or coins to investors which are paid for either with fiat currencies or other crypto-currencies. Given that many companies all over the world are conducting ICOs to raise funds, it is to be expected that some issuers listed on Singapore Exchange (SGX) are also considering conducting ICOs to finance business growth. Questions have therefore arisen as to the regulatory obligations of these listed companies when they offer ICOs. SGX’s CEO, Tan Boon Gim stated that first off…

There’s almost no better time to be a tech startup in South East Asia with VC and PE investment soaring to record levels. According to Bain & Company, 2017 saw a sharp spike of recorded venture capital deals which quadrupled from its 2012 amount. Image Credit: Bain & Company Technology companies attracted the bulk of new capital, rising to 40% of deal count in 2017 from 20% in 2014. The region also has produced its first set of unicorns. Since 2012, 10 unicorns including Grab, Go-Jek and Traveloka have created a combined market value of $34 billion, ranking Southeast Asia…

Ping An, a well-known China-based insurance group officially launches OneConnect in Singapore this month, a SaaS platform providing higher-tier tech to SMES, in the fields of blockchain and a few AI innovations like facial recognition, cloud platforms, biometrics, voice print, blockchain and AI-based credit risk tools. While Ping An is usually known for their insurtech work in China, the company has been known to diversify their offering, even working with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to produce a blockchain-powered trade finance platform. A OneConnect business entity in Indonesia is also in the pipeline with its own data centre to handle…

As we slowly but surely move towards a global village into a reality, the overall value of cross-border payments is also expected to rise by 5.5% yearly, increasing from US$22 trillion in 2016 to US$30 trillion in 2022. Yet, according to a report published by KPMG , active correspondent bank numbers are at a slow decline. These factors are important to the development of cross-border money transfers, which even today are still expensive, slow, and lack transparency. Yet, because different nations come with their own individualised legacy systems, it has been a struggle not only to get involved countries onto…

The 2018 Singapore Fintech Festival, which took place from November 12 to 16, 2018, brought together more than 40,000 participants from over 100 countries in the biggest gathering of the global fintech community ever. This year’s agenda was rich in content, with topics focused on the ASEAN market, financial inclusion, artificial intelligence (AI) in fintech, insurtech, and more. Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), kicked off the event by sharing about the regulator’s ambitions for a Smart Financial Centre and Singapore’s fintech journey since 2015. 6 key areas of focus Menon said that in…

Thailand has set out to become a major regional center for blockchain, thanks in large part to the government which has instigated several initiatives to facilitate the growth of the local blockchain ecosystem and implement the technology in areas such as voting and tax compliance. Since the beginning of the year, the Thai government has been increasingly outspoken and welcoming of cryptocurrency and blockchain projects. In just a few months, regulators have made notable strides in embracing blockchain and cryptocurrency, drawing up a regulatory framework for cryptocurrency activities and initial coin offerings (ICOs) in an effort to encourage investment and…

The Finlab announced the launch of its Smart Business Transformation Programme to help Thailand-based small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) transform their businesses via digital solutions. The programme is supported by United Overseas Bank Thailand (UOB Thai) and the Digital Economy Promotion Agency (DEPA) of Thailand. Thailand is the first market outside of Singapore where Finlab will offer its SME business transformation programme. The Thai launch follows a similar Singapore programme that opened up in August 2018 where 11 Singapore-based SMEs piloted the use of technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics process automation. Finlab will be running the three-month programme…

Singapore, which has set out to become one of the leading fintech hubs in the world, has witnessed the establishment of dozens of innovations labs in recent years as banks and foreign tech firms are looking to capitalize on the city state’s large pool of IT specialists, established financial center and supportive government to build the next generation of financial services. An innovation lab is a facility launched with the ultimate goal to create new revenue streams or bolster existing ones by improving productivity or speed, there is much more to consider. Innovation labs engages diverse participant, on a long-term basis,…

Blockchain has the potential to radically transform trade finance by erasing current bottlenecks and streamlining international trade transactions. The technology could potentially increase global trade volumes by US$1.1 trillion by 2026, from the current base of US$16 trillion, according to a new Blockchain Trade Finance report by Bain & Company and HSBC. Blockchain proven to speed up processes and reduce costs dramatically While to the uninitiated, blockchain for trade finance seems like a pipe dream, but to those who are privy like Sen Ganesh, they are well aware that these innovations are already taking place. “Blockchain has the potential…

It appears that Grab is not the only one that is honing in their focus on mobile cross-border remittances, incumbents seems to be unwilling to be left out of the game. UOB announced that they have successfully completed a cross border P2P fund transfer proof-of-concept which they claim is the first in ASEAN. In this payments experiment, UOB stated that the transfer was made real-time between bank accounts linked to the account holder’s mobile number. The success of this demonstration was shown at Singapore Fintech Festival where the bank conducted multiple fund transfers between a UOB Singapore account and a…

Grab just announced its wallet-to-wallet remittance function slated for a 2019 launch, as part of its Grab Financial arm, and putting the company one step closer towards its dream of becoming an all-encompassing app. Rather than the usual underserved or underbanked target market, this time around Grab identified the middle-class consumers and micro-entrepreneurs as the target for this function, though the company did spend a lot of time detailing its potential value for foreign workers as well. Grab is also looking at a Southeast Asian opportunity that was worth US$70 billion in 2017. The often time-consuming and expensive process of cross-border…

Following on the lead of other “super apps,” Zalo has been integrating new functions into its app, including a payment platform called Zalo Pay, which was introduced last year. Launched in 2012, Zalo is Vietnam’s premier chatting platform, with more than 100 million users worldwide. On a daily basis, people send about 900 million messages, make 50 million minutes of calls, and deliver 45 million pictures through the app. Zalo was a latecomer in the mobile payment game, introducing the Zalo Pay feature only in 2017. Zalo Pay did however achieve great success at the beginning of 2018 by running…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and The Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) today awarded 12 FinTech companies a total of SG$1.2 million divided for 12 different companies at the Fintech Awards, which took place at the third Singapore FinTech Festival. This time around, the awards featured a greater ASEAN representation, with a focus on financial inclusion,  spanning different business areas like credit-scoring, mobile security, anti-money laundering, and digital investment. The Fintech Awards, supported by PwC, recognises innovative FinTech solutions that have been implemented by FinTech companies, financial institutions and technology companies. This year, 40 finalists were shortlisted from more…

China’s 4th largest bank, Bank of China has announced that Singapore will be home to its Bank of China Innovation Lab in their bid to propel the bank to a new era. This lab intended to serve the following purposes – research & development, collaboration with fintech, talent development and innovation showcase. Visitors to the lab’s showcase at Bank of China Building on Battery Road can experience ‘ABCD’ technologies – Artificial Intelligence, Blockchain, Cloud and Big Data. They will also be greeted by a robotic customer service officer equipped with facial recognition capabilities that Bank of China claims will quickly…

In keeping with their messaging of being open to experimentation the Monetary Authority of Singapore is exploring an “express version” of their fintech regulatory sandbox which was introduced in 2016. Dubbed the “Sandbox Express” the regulator is proposing  the creation of pre-defined sandboxes to complement the current approach.  The aim is to enable firms which intend to conduct certain regulated activities – where the risks are generally low and well understood – to embark on their experiments more quickly within pre-defined sandboxes. The proposed Sandbox express will initially look at creating 3 pre-defined sandboxes for the following; insurance broking , recognised…

While not often said in the same sentence, Singapore and Kazakhstan have inked a Cooperation Agreement for increased fintech collaborations in earnest. The Astana Financial Services Authority (AFSA), Astana International Financial Centre Authority (AIFCA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have signed a tripartite Cooperation Agreement. The tripartriate agreement provides a framework for cooperation between AFSA, AIFCA and MAS in fintech innovation, allowing the three authorities to explore joint participation in innovative projects and sharing of information on innovation in their respective markets. The Cooperation Agreement was signed by Mukhtar Bubeyev, Acting Chief Executive Officer of the AFSA, Nurlan Kussainov,…

The often spoken about APIX has finally come to fruition, something the Monetary Authority of Singapore has been quite vocal about. It was launched following Narendra Modi’s keynote speech at the Singapore Fintech Festival, said to be one of the biggest fintech-based festivals in the country. APIX here is a platform designed to facilitate collaboration between financial institutions and fintechs, by putting different fintech offerings into a democratised marketplace, and allowing all fintech-affiliated firms—be it financial institutions to startups—to access a service that suits their needs, regardless of distance. This project is a collaborative effort between ASEAN Bankers Association, the…

During her speech at Singapore Fintech Festival 2018, Christine Largarde, IMF’s Managing Director expressed the need for states to consider the possibility to issue digital currency, adding that there may be a role for the state to supply money to the digital economy. Ms Lagarde is of the opinion that a central bank backed cryptocurrency could achieve the following goals financial inclusion, security and consumer protection; and to provide what the private sector cannot — privacy in payments. How a central bank backed cryptocurrency could aid financial inclusion She shared during her speech that cryptocurrencies offer great promise through its…

If you’ve always wanted to try to out a robo-advisory service but costs have got you hesitant, now’s a good time to give a shot. During the Singapore Fintech Festival, Kristal AI rolled the “Free for Life- Starter solution” which charges investors zero advisory fees. This service is made available to both retail and accredited customers based in Singapore. Consumers can get started from as little as SGD 100 onwards and there are no restrictions if the client wishes to withdraw all their money. They have also enabled customers to sign up using MyInfo (SingPass) to their KYC and Risk Profile.…

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the launch of a new US$5 billion (SG$6.91 billion) worth private market programme. MAS will be allocating this amount of its own funds as its investment portfolio in the private markets asset class. The funds will be managed by global private equity and infrastructure fund managers who would like to expand to Singapore, or establish a more significant presence in the nation. This was announced at the Singapore Fintech Festival happening right now by Peter Ong, member of the Monetary Authority of Singapore. He opened the Global Investor Summit with his keynote that…