Ping An is investing 7.77 billion yuan ($1.16 billion) in technology research and development this year with artificial intelligence as the focus; the firm's Ping An Technology division is supporting the efforts; the group has been focusing on solutions for finance and healthcare with plans to expand to other industries; the company's goals are also in line with a government initiative announced by China's State Council; current efforts for Ping An have been centered around recognition software for identity and claims management. Source
The regulator says, "digital tokens in Singapore will be regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) if the digital tokens constitute products regulated under the Securities and Futures Act"; if digital tokens fall under the definition of securities in the Securities and Futures Act then issuers are required to register a prospectus with MAS and other requirements may also apply to associated parties; overall the statement from the MAS increases the level of compliance needed for an initial coin offering. Source
Alibaba payment affiliate Ant Financial has announced the acquisition of helloPay; the company is based in Singapore and will help support Alipay's strategic growth initiatives in Southeast Asia; its primary payments focus is on serving e-commerce platforms; helloPay will be rebranded as Alipay following the acquisition. Source
A study by Citigroup shows China as the world's investment leader in fintech; says investment is being led by success from "Chinese dragons" including Ant Financial, Lu.com, JD Finance and Qufenqi; in the first nine months of 2016 fintech venture capital investment increased to 46% of the global total; the full Citi report can be found here. Source
OpenTap has begun to offer marketplace loans in India targeting low to middle income consumers; company seeks to meet the market demand for borrowers who are creditworthy yet don't qualify for traditional loans; estimates the target market for low to middle income consumers at 12,000; loans will be available for up to Rs 50,000 ($730); average loan size has been approximately Rs 25,000 ($365). Source
Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission has entered into a cooperation agreement with the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to establish a framework to help each other develop the fintech industry; the two regulators will work together on information sharing, innovation projects and referrals of fintech firms seeking to enter one another's markets. Source
Alibaba’s Ant Group Plans Hong Kong IPO At $200B+ The Startup Movement Is Globalizing: New Report Proves It Global Digital...
Korea's Financial Services Commission just issued a guideline that limits most individual investors from committing more than 10 million won ($8,750) to P2P investments in a year; those individuals who have earnings over 100 million won ($87,500) can still commit up to 40 million won to P2P; Korean P2P platforms are complaining that investments in any equity project or loan portfolio tend to be skewed to a few individuals who invest more than 10 million won (60% of investors fall into this category on average across platforms there), therefore the new regulation will drive up funding costs; regulators say this over-concentration of funds from few investors is precisely the trend they hope to curtail. Source
Two of the Co-Founders from Google Pay in India have launched a new neo-bank aimed at millennials in India; epiFi...
Australian based digital bank Xinja has raised a massive $260mn investment round from Dubai-based investor Emirates World Investments; Eric Wilson,...