November 17, 2025 @ 10:09 pm By Michael Wong  |  

StraitsX, a Singapore-based stablecoin settlement firm, has secured a $10 million strategic investment from cross-border payments provider UQPAY to fund regional expansion, while existing backer NTT Docomo also joined the round, the company said on Wednesday. StraitsX said the funding strengthens its ability to link… Read More

November 17, 2025 @ 11:18 am By Michael Wong  |  

Bonside, a New York-based credit platform that finances brick-and-mortar businesses, has secured a $100 million capital partnership with private investment firm i80 Group to expand funding for service companies with physical locations. The facility will back Bonside’s use of its Repeatable Revenue Agreement, or RRA,… Read More

November 16, 2025 @ 9:54 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Singapore and Cambodia have launched a cross-border QR code payment link that allows Cambodian visitors to pay at merchants across the city-state using their home-grown Bakong system and other mobile banking apps, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) said. Under the first phase, Cambodian travellers… Read More

November 16, 2025 @ 4:45 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Cursor, an artificial intelligence-powered software development platform, has raised $2.3 billion in a Series D funding round that values the company at $29.3 billion, as investors bet that AI-assisted coding will reshape how software is built. The round drew continued backing from existing investors Thrive… Read More

November 16, 2025 @ 4:44 pm By Michael Wong  |  

National Bank of Kuwait (NBK) has rolled out a new suite of fintech infrastructure services for licensed e-wallet providers and digital businesses, seeking to embed itself more deeply in Kuwait’s fast-evolving digital payments market, according to an announcement. The “FinTech Services” package includes virtual IBANs… Read More

November 16, 2025 @ 1:28 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said Antonia M. Apps, a deputy director in its enforcement division who oversees the regulator’s Northeast offices, will leave the agency on Dec. 1, 2025. Apps, a former federal prosecutor and law firm partner, has served as Deputy Director… Read More

November 16, 2025 @ 1:19 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Ghanem, a Saudi digital real estate platform focused on fractional ownership, has raised $7.1 million from Al-Romaih Group to fuel expansion and product development as the kingdom pushes to broaden investment access under its Vision 2030 agenda. Al-Romaih Group, described by Ghanem as one of… Read More

November 15, 2025 @ 11:43 am By Michael Wong  |  

Singapore’s central bank has completed a live trial of using a wholesale central bank digital currency (CBDC) to settle overnight interbank loans, moving its experiments with tokenised assets onto an operational test network. The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the trial, conducted on its… Read More

November 9, 2025 @ 11:43 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Singapore’s Global Finance & Technology Network (GFTN) and US payments company Ripple said they are launching a capacity-building programme to help policymakers and regulators navigate digital assets, starting in Asia Pacific before expanding globally. The “Decoding Digital Assets” initiative plans to train more than 200… Read More

November 9, 2025 @ 6:12 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Nasdaq-listed Freedom Holding Corp said it has signed an agreement with Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development to build a $2 billion “Sovereign AI Hub,” positioning the Central Asian nation to host one of the region’s largest dedicated artificial-intelligence facilities. The project will… Read More

November 9, 2025 @ 3:27 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Credit conditions for Hong Kong’s small and medium-sized enterprises were broadly stable in the third quarter of 2025, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) said. However, more firms perceived that banks had turned cautious compared with the previous period. Excluding respondents who said they had… Read More

November 8, 2025 @ 5:21 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Video Rebirth, a Singapore-headquartered artificial intelligence video startup, has raised $50 million to develop software aimed at professional content producers, shifting away from consumer-grade generative tools that have dominated the market. The company did not disclose its valuation or identify investors, describing them only as… Read More

November 3, 2025 @ 6:29 am By Michael Wong  |  

Switzerland-based QAI Ventures has partnered with Enterprise Singapore to launch a venture-backed accelerator and an IP-led venture builder targeting QuantumAI startups and advanced computing. The partnership expands a model QAI Ventures has run in Europe and North America, according to an announcement. The initiative adds… Read More

November 2, 2025 @ 12:38 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Global law-enforcement officials and financial-crime experts said authorities must move faster and set clearer, common rules to curb crypto-enabled crime, as the 9th Global Conference on Criminal Finances and Crypto-assets closed in Vienna this week. The two-day meeting, co-organised by Europol, the UN Office on… Read More

November 2, 2025 @ 12:35 pm By Michael Wong  |  

International boxing champion Manny Pacquiao has launched a new payments platform under 7th Pillar Integration Systems Corp., moving to compete in the Philippines’ fast-growing but crowded digital finance market. The service, branded Manny Pay, is starting as a payment gateway and aims to expand into… Read More

November 1, 2025 @ 11:25 am By Michael Wong  |  

Vietnam is leaning on digital finance to lift productivity and widen access to credit as it chases high-income status by 2045, with regulators and lenders turning sandboxes and open-banking trials into near-term policy tools rather than distant ambitions. The two-day Digital Finance Inclusion Conference 2025,… Read More

November 1, 2025 @ 11:02 am By Michael Wong  |  

HSBC’s push into startup banking in Asia is gathering pace, adding competition for venture lenders in a market where funding has tightened and founders are leaning more on non-dilutive capital. The bank launched “HSBC Innovation Banking” in Singapore, earmarking a $1.5 billion pool to finance… Read More

November 1, 2025 @ 5:21 am By Michael Wong  |  

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) moved to streamline the shift to central clearing of Treasuries, launching a one-stop page with updates, staff statements and guidance for brokers and buy-side firms. The initiative builds on rule changes adopted in December 2023 and subsequent extensions… Read More

October 26, 2025 @ 11:46 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Al Baraka Bank Egypt said it signed a final agreement to acquire full ownership of Amlak Finance Egypt SAE from Amlak Finance PJSC of the United Arab Emirates, as the lender moves to expand in real estate mortgage finance and non-bank financial services after receiving… Read More

October 26, 2025 @ 7:51 pm By Michael Wong  |  

An Egyptian–Saudi partnership has launched a platform in Cairo to back property technology startups, aiming to speed digital adoption across Egypt’s real estate sector as the market undergoes major structural shifts, the companies said. Coldwell Banker Commercial Advantage and Modern Solutions, a subsidiary of Prime… Read More