36Kr, a Chinese company operating a media platform covering startups and technology in China, is planning an initial public offering (IPO) in the US as soon as this year and is targeting to raise at least US$100 million, people with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg. Deliberations are still at an early stage and details of the offering and listing venue could change, according to the same report. 36Kr’s CEO and founder Liu Chengcheng told Bloomberg that the company is open to exploring opportunities in the capital market and does not have a specific IPO timeline. Often referred to the…

The virtual banking race is on for different regions across the globe, and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has put its hat in that race with the virtual banking license, as part of a larger plan to turn Hong Kong into a smart city. To that end, HKMA announced three recipients of the coveted license that allows licensees to offer a full-range of banking services without needing to set up any physical branches. However, Hong Kong’s iteration of this license is not without its controversy. Now, another rejected applicant for Hong Kong’s virtual banking license has broken their silence…

Despite its meteoric rise in popularity, cryptocurrency has yet to gain global mainstream adoption. Crypto.com, a Hong Kong-based startup, is attempting to change that and it is doing so through three of its key products. Multi-currency Wallet and Pre-paid Visa Card One of the company’s key products is the MCO Visa Card, a card with no annual or monthly fees that allows customers to easily and conveniently spend their cryptocurrencies after converting these into fiat money. The card is tied to a multi-currency digital wallet that enables its users to track their finances, cryptocurrency prices, and trade cryptocurrencies. While it…

James Lau, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) in a letter to the President said that misleading cryptocurrency activity is subject to a HK$500,000 fine or five years prison time. The following actions by virtual currency traders are prohibited under the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (TDO) that passed in 2012—false trade descriptions, misleading omissions, aggressive commercial practices, bait advertising, bait-and-switch and wrongly accepting payments. The statement was made regarding the sale of mining machines or other products related to virtual assets, due to the variety of fraudulent activities happening in the Hong Kong market right now. Enforcement of the TDO…

InvestHK recently dropped hints that we should be expecting a significant expansion of the annual Hong Kong Fintech Week. Anticipating to pull in a larger audience than last year’s 8,000 attendees, the agency stated they needed to host the event in a bigger venue. Hong Fintech Week 2019 now in its fourth year will be held at AsiaWorld Expo from the 4th to the 8th of November and is expected to feature a larger variety of programmmes. Recent initiatives by the HKMA will ranging from the issuance of 3 virtual banking licenses, open API framework and the launch of the…

The fintech startup Neat, a digital banking alternative, has been granted a Money Lender’s License in Hong Kong, which marks their first step in their pursuit of global financial regulation. The move also marks Neat’s full turn away from virtual banking license that has been hotly discussed in Hong Kong’s fintech scene—and has most recently been granted to three licensees, including companies affiliated with ZhongAn and Standard Chartered. Neat is also applying for a Money Service Operator (MSO) license, and a Trust and Corporate Service Provider license (TCSP) license, soon to be followed by a HKMA license in Hong Kong. Neat’s…

P2P lending and digital lending has been on the rise lately, with many countries moving to regulate the space. Conventional digital lending has been met with far less controversy than its counterpart P2P lending. While P2P lending has been created in the spirit making it easier to access capital and as an alternative form of investment, it has morphed into something quite ugly of late. The poster boy of that is of course China, with hundreds of platform crashing and leaving many of its user stranded. In some instances it destroyed the lives of some families and tragically even led…

The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong(SFC) issued a statement today on the Security Token Offerings (STO) regulations in Hong Kong. STOs typically involve the us Security Tokens which are digital representations of ownership of assets (eg, gold or real estate) or economic rights (eg, a share of profits or revenue) utilising blockchain technology. The regulator emphasized STOs in most cases are subject to the securities laws of token due to its nature. As such the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong stressed that it is a criminal offense for any individual to issue STOs without regulatory approval.…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced today that three companies have been granted virtual banking licences: Livi VB, SC Digital, and ZhongAn Virtual Finance. As rumoured in our previous report, some of the companies granted licenses are joint ventures that include ZhongAn Online (tied with ZhongAn Virtual Finance), Bank of China (co-owner of Livi VB) and SC Digital (Standard Chartered) According to their business plans, these three newly licensed virtual banks intend to launch their services within 6 to 9 months, and thus, bring the grand total of licensed operational banks in Hong Kong to 155. The virtual bank license was announced by…

Airwallex, a cross border payment company announced today that they have closed Series C fund raising at $US 100 million. The round brings Airwallex’s total capital raised to over US$200 million.  With that Airwallex is now valued at over $US 1 billion, confirming its position as a newly minted fintech unicorn alongside 9 other fintech unicorns in Asia. Headquartered in Hong Kong and founded in Melbourne the cross-border payments company has an illustrious list of clientele which includes the likes of JD.com, Tencent and Mastercard. Its meteoric rise from an emerging challenger to a fintech unicorn in three year is…

While Sweden is trialling inserting microchips into its citizens as a new way to pay, China is opting for a less invasive method — your face. In Shenzhen, a local subway operator is testing several advanced technologies powered by the 5G network, including facial recognition payments, according to a report by the South China Morning Post. At the Futian station, instead of presenting a ticket or scanning a QR bar code on their smartphones, commuters are now able to scan their faces on a tablet-sized screen mounted on the entrance gate and have the fare automatically deducted from their linked…

TNG Fintech Group has just teamed up with Visa to launch TNG Wallet-integrated solutions into six markets across Asia. The goal of this move is to capitalise on areas with growing digital wallet traction. They officially revealed their partnership during Money 20/20 Asia in Singapore. TNG Wallet is eyeing launch of prepaid solutions into Southeast Asian markets, primarily Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The partnership’s solutions are reportedly geared towards enabling secure payments for the underserved and unbanked segments in the region, and it aims to do so by offering Visa-powered payments via the TNG Wallet. Alipay and WeChat…

Just in January, EMQ was named the first fintech startup to be accepted into Taiwan’s Regulatory Sandbox to provide a more convenient and lower cost remittance service for migrant workers sending money home to Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines. Now, EMQ has moved away from branding themselves as a service catering to migrants, and partnered with Visa to offer cross-border remittances across Asia Pacific for both individuals and businesses. The partnership will leverage off EMQ’s existing cross-border settlement network and Visa Direct,  which would utilise the company’s scale and reputation in real-time payments. The end result according to the press release,…

2019 promises to be an exciting year for fintech in South Korea as the country’s financial regulator pushes for fintech innovation by taking on a series of ambitious initiatives. It is already home to some promising fintech startups and vibrant blockchain scene. Earlier this month, South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) laid out a financial policy roadmap for 2019 aimed at promoting financial innovation as well as ensuring trust in finance and securing financial stability. Here are 5 key regulatory initiatives that the Financial Services Services Commission is betting on to boost fintech in South Korea Reviewing over 200 Regulations…

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA)’s decision to set up the virtual license is often seen as a strategic move, if a tad overdue. Reportedly, the regulator saw over 29 applications, which rumour has it, includes companies like Ant Financial, Tencent, Standard Chartered, Xiaomi, Hong Kong Telecom, Zhong An with Citic Bank as its partner. Neat, a Hong Kong-based virtual bank targeted towards SMEs, is not one of these 29 banks. Despite expressing intentions last May to apply for the virtual bank license, Neat has changed their tune recently, apparently once Neat co-founder David Rosa realised that “it was going…

China continues to lead the fintech revolution, and unsurprisingly, be a preferred location for fintech and blockchain-focused events in the region. The following events are some of the top upcoming fintech, digital finance and blockchain conferences to take place in 2019 in China. Events will take place in Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, Hangzhou and Xi’an. Fintech World Forum – Shanghai April 18 – 19, 2019 Shanghai The Fintech World Forum – Shanghai promises to bring together the fintech ecosystem, help build relationships, share knowledge, and create business opportunities. The multi-format conference will cover technology topics such as authentication, advanced sensors,…

Tiger Broker who recently joined the illustrious list of chinese fintech unicorns late 2018 has announced its plans to raise up to US$ 91 Million an IPO on NASDAQ , according to prospectus filed with US Securities and Exchange Commission. Founded in 2014, Tiger Brokers is an online brokerage that allows Chinese investors at home and abroad, to trade stocks in the US, Hong Kong and mainland China markets. It’s backed by the like of smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi who owns 14.4% of UP Fintech which runs the platform and American investor Jim Rogers. The company first announced its intention to…

In 2018, Asia made a run at the US as the top market for fintech deals with a surge in early-stage and mega-round investments. The region recorded the biggest boost in fintech deals, raising US$22.65 billion across 516 deals, including Ant Financial’s US$14 billion investment, which accounted for 35% of global fintech funding in 2018, according to CB Insights’ 2019 Fintech Trends to Watch report. 2018 was a key year for the Asian fintech industry. In particular, Southeast Asian fintech startups attracted bigger financings and foreign investors with notable deals that include Thailand’s Masii US$2.4 million Series A, Vietnam’s Momo…

When one considers China’s influence on the rest of Asia, it is often seen as a benchmark; how China’s dramatic move into a cashless society has financially emboldened more of its populace, created more financial inclusivity for the underserved thus inspiring many other Asian nations to strive towards similar cashlessness. Time and time again, the republic proves its fintech caliber. Despite rising tensions with the USA, China took the lead in global fintech investments in 2018, retaking the same title they  held in 2016. However, China’s influence in Asia extends more than just as a role model. For many fintechs…

According to a study conducted by JD Power, 54% of customers don’t fully trust their primary banks, which the study marks as notable sinceconsumers often consider banks their trusted adviser for financial planning. The study finds that four in five (83%) customers say their bank representatives do not spend enough time identifying their specific needs before offering products and services. The cause and effect here seems apparent, as level of trust is at 69% for those whose needs were identified, in contrast with the 43% for those who do not experience the same. Furthermore, with hyper-personalisation as a big factor…