Geely Group buys out Saxo Bank stake in joint fintech venture
Saxo Fintech was launched in 2019 to bring Saxo’s tech solutions to FIs in Mainland China.
China
The latest fintech news, resources and expert analysis in China by the leading intelligence provider for the worldwide fintech community.
Singapore’s MVGX launches carbon SaaS subsidiary, appoints ex-BSI exec to take the lead
Frank Zhang, “a fintech, ISO standard certification and sustainability veteran”, will lead the new subsidiary.
Hong Kong fintech Micro Connect raises $458m Series C funding
According to Forbes Asia, the funding round values the start-up at $1.7 billion, making it Hong Kong’s latest unicorn.
Vijay Shekhar Sharma buys 10% stake in Paytm worth $628m from Antfin
Sharma’s shareholdings in Paytm will increase to 19.42%, while Antfin’s shareholdings are reduced to 13.5%.
Huawei launches F2F2X data infrastructure architecture to help FSI build and manage modern data centres
F2F2X (Flash-to-Flash-to-Anything) was unveiled at the recent Huawei Intelligent Finance Summit.
Global fintech investment falls over H1 2023 amid economic turbulence but sector remains resilient
According to Innovate Finance data, $27.3bn was injected into the industry globally during H1 2023 through 1,714 deals.
UnionPay connects with Cambodia’s central bank over QR code interoperability
The agreement was confirmed by the signing of a MoU in Phnom Penh, Cambodia’s capital city, this week.
China imposes hefty fines on Ant Group and Tencent as it looks to normalise supervision
Ant Group and its subsidiaries have received a penalty of $984.3m, and Tenpay has been slapped a fine of $413m.
DBS launches e-CNY merchant collection solution in Mainland China
With the solution, corporate clients of DBS China will be able to collect payments from their customers in e-CNY.
Ant Group enables Alipay+ mobile wallet integrations in Thailand
The mobile wallets include Alipay HK (Hong Kong SAR), Kakao Pay (South Korea), and Touch ‘n Go eWallet (Malaysia).
Demystify Podcast: Demystifying China, CDBCs and cashless with Richard Turrin
Based out of China, Richard Turrin has a ringside seat on how China is transforming into a cashless society.
Jack Ma to cede control of Chinese fintech Ant Group
After the restructuring, “no shareholder, alone or jointly with other parties, will have control over Ant Group”, the firm says.
MICT completes acquisition of African agri-fintech firm Tingo
MICT owns “100% of the operating business and assets” of Tingo after snapping up Tingo Mobile.
Jack Ma’s Alibaba and Ant Financial leave Paytm Mall
The Indian firm’s valuation fell from $3 billion in 2020 to $13 million now – a drop of almost 99%.
Bank of China’s Luxembourg arm picks ERI’s Olympic Banking System
The core banking system will be used to support BOC’s custody and clearing business.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 22 April 2022
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Ant Group snaps up majority stake in 2C2P to drive digital payments adoption
Ant Group will become a majority shareholder of 2C2P.
AI-focused fintech Qraft Technologies secures $146m SoftBank investment
Qraft’s US CEO says investment management is “ripe for disruption” thanks to AI.
Finastra offloads Fusion Summit treasury business in China, Macau and Hong Kong
The buyer is CloudWing Network Technologies, a subsidiary of Hundsun Technologies.
Asia Digital Bank partners Bianjie for blockchain-powered digital banking
The bank’s new digital infrastructure is designed to bridge the gap between centralised and decentralised finance.
Goldman Sachs gets green light for total ownership of Chinese venture
Goldman becomes the second US bank to buy out its Chinese mainland joint venture partner.
BIS finds CBDC-blockchain combo outclasses correspondent banking
Its new project, mBridge, experiments with new CBDC combinations.
China Bohai Bank taps Bairong for AI-powered digital upgrade
China Bohai Bank will utilise Bairong’s fraud and loan monitoring systems.
European neobroker Scalable Capital raises $180m in Tencent-led funding round
This latest funding round brings the firm’s total capital raised to over $320 million.
Bitcoin tumbles below $37,000 following Chinese ban on crypto services
Chinese financial firms can’t offer clients products involving cryptocurrency.
HSBC on track to hire 1,000 wealth managers in Asia before year end
In 2020, the bank’s Asian business reported $12.8 billion in profits.
PayPal to avoid Chinese competition with new cross-border wallet
US giant aims to create a bridge into China with its new service.
Tencent suffers $65bn market value blow, analysts put fintech business at “zero”
Tencent, like Ant, holds a financial foothold in China which rivals banks.
Fintech funding deals globally 15-21 February 2021
Featuring Public, Webull, Blockchain, GoCardless, and Personetics.
Huawei to acquire Xunlian Zhipay for its payments licence
The deal is yet to be officially announced.
Ant plans for IPO as it reaches restructure deal with regulators
Ant has until November 2021 to register a new financial holding.
TikTok’s Chinese version Douyin adds payments app
Douyin Pay (Douyin Zhifu) has been added to the app’s options.
Ant sets up working group to overcome Chinese regulatory requirements
Companies like Ant have until November 2021 to register a new financial holding.
Trump bans transactions through Chinese apps including Alipay
The applications have 45 days to prepare for the ban.
JP Morgan in talks with China Merchants Bank over another wealthtech venture
JP Morgan already holds a majority stake in a Chinese venture.
China’s central bank issues Ant Group ultimatum after blocked IPO
The Peoples’ Bank of China wants Ant to overhaul its business or face the consequences.
Chinese regulator continues to clamp down on dominant fintech players
The CBIRC’s Liang Tao warned fintech lenders at a conference in Beijing this week.
Hong Kong and China pair up on digital currency experiment
The two have joined with Thailand to promote commerce in Southeast Asia.
Owner of Hong Kong robo-advisor Aqumon lands Alibaba-backed $30m
Aqumon offers B2C and B2B solutions.
Chinese regulator approves Hong Kong leg of Ant’s $30bn IPO
The company still needs approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange’s listing committee.
