On location

Ascend Money, a Thailand-based homegrown fintech company, announced Wednesday that it has secured $195 million investment from Japanese lender Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) and Thailand-based Finnoventure Private Equity Trust I Fund.

Malaysian hypermarket and retail chain Mydin Mohamed Holdings Bhd has on Wednesday launched a brand new mobile ewallet to further enhance the use of digital technology among consumers.

Singapore's state investor Temasek has backed Australian enviro-tech firm Samsara Eco in $65 million funding round. The round is also led by Australian deep tech investment fund, Main Sequence.

Chinese automakers are ramping up their investments in emerging EV markets overseas, especially in regions such as Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, at a time when competition remains intense at home and the US and Europe are imposing punitive tariffs on China-made EV imports.

Indian workflow automation platform Rocketlane has on Tuesday announced $24 million Series B funding round as it expands the opportunity for professional services teams with artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities.

US tech giants including Microsoft Corp, Google and Nvidia Corp had already announced plans to build data centers in Malaysia in the past year, and Chinese firms are interested in developing more to serve the nation’s tech companies which want to enter the Southeast Asian market

Zed, a credit-led neobank, announced Wednesday it has received its certificate of authority to operate as a standalone credit card issuer from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP).

OSK-SBI Venture Partners Ltd. (OSK-SBI) has on Wednesday announced the launch of its second venture capital fund to invest in category-defining companies across Southeast Asia. Active fundraising for Fund 2 is ongoing with the target to hit final close of capital commitments of $40 million.

Malaysian clean energy solutions provider Gentari Sdn Bhd (Gentari), a subsidiary of Malaysia’s Petronas Group, is collaborating with Finland-based electric vehicle (EV) charging business solution provider Virta through its subsidiary Gentari Green Mobility to expand the EV charging network across Southeast Asia.

To catalyze a viable blue finance market while fostering green bonds and supporting smaller businesses in Vietnam, International Finance Corporation (IFC) is providing a financing package of $150 million to Southeast Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SeABank).