Malaysia’s respond.io raises $7M funding led by Headline Asia

Respond.io, a Malaysia-based social to conversational commerce software as a service (SaaS) platform, has closed $7 million in Series A funding. The round was led by Headline Asia…

Singapore’s Cargobase closes growth financing round from Lufthansa Innovation Hub and Trestle Partners

Cargobase, a Singapore-based logistics software firm, said Tuesday it has raised funds from Lufthansa Innovation Hub and Trestle Partners, reinforcing their joint commitment to…

UOB Malaysia partners SJPP to provide $219M in green financing to SMEs

In addition to providing financing, UOB Malaysia will also be collaborating with the Malaysian Research Accelerator for Technology and Innovation (MRANTI) to establish an ESG…

Singapore’s Tower Capital Asia collects $379M in maiden fundraise

Singapore-based private equity firm Tower Capital Asia has on Tuesday concluded the final closing of its maiden blind-pool private equity vehicle, TOWER CAPITAL PE FUND I, LP. A…

Allianz Malaysia joins Gobi Partners’ Malaysia-focused SuperSeed II Fund

Pan-Asian venture capital (VC) firm Gobi Partners announced Tuesday the closing of its $10 million Gobi SuperSeed II (Gobi SSII) Fund following the participation of Allianz…

Carro expands to Japan through partnership with Softbank

Singapore-based used car marketplace Carro on Tuesday announced its expansion into Japan through a joint venture with SoftBank Corporation (SoftBank). As part of its entry, CARRO…

China’s Weixin Pay offers digital payment to nearly 10,000 hawkers in Singapore

Weixin Pay, the mobile payment function of Tencent's popular social platform Weixin, has increased access for Weixin Pay travellers exploring Singapore to the nation’s unique…

Sequoia India and Southeast Asia’s Surge back US’s TrueFoundry $2.3M seed funding

TrueFoundry, a United States-based machine learning (ML) developer platform, announced Tuesday its $2.3 million seed funding led by Sequoia India and Southeast Asia’s Surge. Other…

Vietnam’s homegrown carmaker VinFast’s in high gear to win US & European EV markets

VinFast, on the other hand, is taking a different approach. It is building a global EV brand. Besides its manufacturing complex in Hai Phong, Vietnam, VinFast will build a plant…

The cost-benefit analysis of database backup strategies

In Southeast Asia, data protection as a business culture is still gaining awareness, and with remote working becoming more common, greater urgency and action are needed. Data…

Indian EdTech firm upGrad acquires corporate training solutions provider Centum Learning

UpGrad, an India-based higher edtech company has announced the 100 percent acquisition of corporate training solutions leader Centum Learning (Centum) in a share swap deal.

WeLab and Astra complete Bank Jasa Jakarta acquisition

WeLab, a Hong Kong-based fintech platform, announced Monday the completion of the acquisition of an Indonesian commercial bank, PT Bank Jasa Jakarta (BJJ), together with PT Astra…

Singapore’s Nutrition Technologies closes $20M equity round led by PTT Ventures

Singapore-based agri-biotech company Nutrition Technologies has on Monday completed an equity venture round of $20 million led by PTT Ventures. The round was supported by Sumitomo…

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MAS and IFSCA to pursue cross-border FinTech innovations

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) on Monday signed a FinTech co-operation agreement (CA) to facilitate…