FinTech

Bank of China, DBS & HSBC join GSBN to form Trade Finance Advisory Group to transform global trade

The advisory group will explore the technical, legal, and regulatory frameworks needed to break the siloes between the global supply chain and financial institutions.

Malaysia-listed payment firm GHL teams up with BNPL startup Atome to expand across ASEAN

In Malaysia and Singapore, merchants who opted for Atome’s BNPL experienced an average 17 percent increase in their ticket order size.

Singapore’s Broctagon Fintech Group launches WorldBook, a global crypto liquidity movement

The WorldBook combines the orderbooks of all connected exchanges to create a unified orderbook that enables multilateral liquidity flow.

Indonesia wealth tech firm Pluang raises $55M round led by Square Peg

With the fresh capital, the company will continue to democratize access for Indonesian retail investors to grow their wealth via its digital savings and investing products.

Carsome

Carsome spots a gap in auto-financing for graduates, aims to introduce similar product in Indonesia, Thailand after Malaysia

Carsome plans to introduce auto-financing for graduates in Indonesia and Thailand, as it targets a loan size of at least MYR 100M ($24.17M) for its auto-financing business in 2022.

Malaysia SPAC AEI CapForce II Investment plans to raise $100M from IPO

At the proposed deal size, AEI CapForce II Investment would command a market value of $129 million.

PayPal to acquire Japan BNPL unicorn Paidy for $2.7B

The acquisition will expand PayPal's capabilities, distribution and relevance in the domestic payments market in Japan, complementing the company's existing cross-border ecommerce business in the country, PayPal said.

The future of MSME financing will be collaborative, says IFS Capital’s Renchun Zeng [Q&A]

The future of SME financing will be increasingly tech-driven, inclusive, and accessible. Innovative financial solutions by traditional financial institutions and fintech firms will emerge.

SGX-listed iFAST Corp to continue digital bank ambition in Malaysia [Q&A]

It will target B40 segment while eyeing low-cost deposits globally.

Central banks of Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa to test central bank digital currencies for international settlements

Led by BIS Innovation Hub’s Singapore Centre, the project, dubbed Project Dunbar, aims to develop prototype shared platforms for cross-border transactions using multiple CBDCs.