Thailand

Feb 24 2021

MC Payment Ltd becomes First Digital Payments Company to be Listed on Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) Catalist

MC Payment Limited has revealed that it’s now listed on the Singapore Exchange’s (SGX) Catalist. The company claims that it’s the first digital payments platform to be listed on Catalist.

With a market cap of around S$139 million (appr. $105.4 million), the listing of MC Payment Limited brings the total number of firms listed on Catalist to 218, with a total market cap of about S$11 billion ($8.34 billion).

Based in Singapore, MC Payment Ltd is a Fintech firm that offers merchant payment services and e-commerce enabling solutions, with a special focus on servicing clients who are merchants in the retail, transportation and food and beverage sectors.

MC Payment Ltd maintains a business presence in several different Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand.

Anthony Koh, CEO at MC Payment Limited, stated:

“As the first digital payments company to be listed on SGX, today marks an exciting start to MC Payment’s new growth chapter. Our listing comes at an opportune time, with digital payments in the region surging amidst the rise in online transactions, following safe-distancing measures imposed by the Covid-19 outbreak.”

Mohamed Nasser Ismail, Global Head of Equity Capital Markets, SGX, noted that they are pleased to welcome the listing of MC Payment Limited on SGX Catalist and will be supporting the “growth ambitions” of Singapore’s homegrown tech firm.

Ismail added that as a payment processing platform with properly developed infrastructure and the appropriate licenses across Southeast Asia, MC Payment is “well-positioned to tap on SGX’s fundraising platforms and Singapore’s technology hub status as a launchpad into the region.”

Founded in 2005, MC Payment Pte Ltd is an e-payment solution provider with headquarters in Singapore.

The company mainly works with acquiring banks and solution providers to provide merchants a “secure” and “compliant” processing platform.

MC Payment says it aims to solve all our payment problems. The company processes payments locally and globally with its wide range of payment methods, cross-border processing services and international payment network.

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Feb 23 2021

Asian Banks Collaborate on Cross-Border CBDC Project

Global regulators continue to work on strategies in a bid to regulate their prospective crypto markets. One topic that continues to pop up even in regions that are averse to cryptos is CBDCs. In Asia, some major banks are planning to join hands to launch a pilot on the blockchain.

Apex Banks Look To Control Crypto Rise

Financial regulators from four Asian economies have announced that they intend to create cross-border central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) in the coming years.

The project rightly named the Multiple Central Bank Digital Currency (m-CBDC) is an ongoing partnership between four major Asian countries. The project aims to resolve challenges like the traditional cross-border payments system’s inefficiencies, high transaction cost, and complex regulatory guidelines. The body of regulators hopes to attract more apex banks to join in the study of blockchain technology.

The m-CBDC sees the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Bank of Thailand, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates, and the Digital Currency Initiative of the People’s Republic of China collaborate to develop a prototype leveraging blockchain technology.

The m-CBDC project builds upon the Inthanon-LionRock project set up in 2019 to facilitate cross-border payments. The new efforts will see the Asian nations further explore the potential of DLT by developing a proof-of-concept (PoC) prototype. The bridge project will also look to investigate “business use cases in a cross-border context using both domestic and foreign currencies.”

Pilot Tests Are Underway On CBDC

As Bitcoin prices rose up to $50K, global capital markets are seeing an outflow of funds into the crypto markets. Financial regulators are left in dire straits as digital assets continue to court attention and generate juicy returns for investors despite their associated risks.

In response, many countries have been on the march to create a digital version of their fiat currencies. Pilot programs launched in China and some parts of Europe have seen significant progress in this field. Although CBDCs do not address the inflationary question, world governments see it as a way to put a cap on cryptocurrencies’ rise.

While several developed countries are making progress, the world’s largest economy, the United States of America, has continued to drag its feet on the CBDC question. Although regulatory agencies like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SECC) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have been doing their bit marshaling the crypto space, no official announcement has been made concerning a CBDC program.

Asian Banks Collaborate on Cross-Border CBDC Project

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Feb 19 2021

Southeast Asia’s Funding Societies, an Online Capital Formation Platform, Reports S$2 Billion in Business Financing Disbursals

Southeast Asia-based Funding Societies, a digital financing platform, has revealed that it has made S$2 billion (appr. $1.5 billion) in disbursals of business financing to SMEs across the region as the company enters its sixth year of offering loans.

Funding Societies’ management noted that the amount is partly crowdfunded by more than 200,000 retail investors on its platform and has been disbursed through 3.7 million+ different loans.

Funding Societies reported S$ 850 million (appr. $640 million) in disbursals last year, meanwhile, its platform default rate managed to stay below 2% during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In an effort to reduce its portfolio risk during 2020, Funding Societies had tightened up its credit underwriting criteria so that only quality notes would get crowdfunded. The platform also focused on companies that were likely to do well during the pandemic.

These high-performing industries include healthcare, medical supplies, transportation, among several others. Funding Societies reported an 18% growth in platform investors since January 2020.

Big Four auditing firm Ernst & Young’s 2020 ASEAN SME Transformation Survey has revealed that 68% of the surveyed 1,200 SMEs across the six major ASEAN nations (Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Vietnam) are open to doing business with non-traditional lending platforms.

Non-traditional lenders may be appealing because of their greater speed and convenience. Small and medium-sized enterprises may prefer the faster and more flexible loan approval process and the digital know-your-customer (KYC) processes, which usually don’t require asset security or visiting physical bank locations.

At present, there’s an annual trade financing gap of approximately $150 billion in Asia, according to estimates provided by the Asian Development Bank. Around 60% of firms have had their applications rejected when applying for trade financing, the bank noted, while pointing out that these businesses did not proceed with the trade due to the lack of funding.

Kelvin Teo, Co-founder and Group CEO of Funding Societies, stated:

“We’re thrilled to reach this major milestone before we even realised it. It is a momentous occasion and encouragement for us. There is much more to do, as we continue to serve the needs of SMEs and Investors in the region. We’re grateful to raise Series C funding last year, enabling us to further help SMEs even amidst uncertain times.”

As reported earlier this month, Singapore based Funding Societies had announced the expansion of operations into Thailand. The online capital formation platform will operate under a crowdfunding license authorized by the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission.

According to a note from Funding Societies, the company worked for more than a year with regulators to set up operations in the country.

Funding Societies currently operates in Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Thailand will be the fourth country where the marketplace will operate in its six years of activity. Funding Societies notes that it is the only SME digital financing platform in Southeast Asia to be licensed in four countries.

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Dec 05 2020

Stellar Wants to Transform the Agric Sector Using Real-live Farming Models

Blockchain technology is gradually taking top priority in several industries, including agriculture. There are now hundreds of startups setting up a proof of concept project. Task, a mobile-first software services provider, recently launched software that uses blockchain to remit payments across borders.

Although it was a trial project, it shows that the Stellar blockchain has the capability of driving sustainability in real-life farming models.

Stellar is an open-source decentralized technology that is utilized to connect banks, payment systems, and people. The platform was designed to facilitate secure, low-cost, and fast cross-border transactions.

Driving sustainability in the Agric sector

It was founded by Joyce Kim and former Ripple co-founder Jed McCaleb in 2014, and supported by the non-profit Stellar Development Foundation.

On the other hand, Task enables users to create initiatives on the platform and set credits like stablecoins on the project’s wallet. After the initiative, the program manager will now establish the activities that will track.

The tracking includes requiring certain documents or images to show that a particular task has been complete. After the remote ream finishes the assigned task and submits the proof of concept, the tTask portal immediately credits their wallets.

To carry out the trial project, a U.K.-based program manager who has farming communities in Thailand was invited by Task. The trial project was developed on the Stellar blockchain, which allows remittance of the funds at a significantly improved speed of fewer than 5 seconds and very low fees of $0.00002.

While speaking about the choice of the company on Stellar, Task founder and chief executive officer Steve Walker stated that one of the reasons for choosing the Stellar technology was the platform’s focus on low-cost cross-border payments. Generally, Stellar is set up to make fiat money more accessible and useful.

Transformation of the Agric sector using Stellar

And with Task payments done via stablecoins, it can suppress the volatile nature of crypto coins. As it stands, the Task platform offers support for BRLT stablecoins, Circle Internet Financial’s USDC token, as well as AnchorUSD’s USDX token.

During the trial project, Task enabled the administrator to set up an initiative to incentivize Biochar production. The company offered support for local dialects, which enable less-tech savvy farmers to have smooth interaction with the platform.

After producing the Biochar, the farmer can easily upload the document and images as evidence on the Task platform. After the platform has received the evidence, payment is released by the administrator. The system is a simple one that intends to carry all farmers along.

Stellar Wants to Transform the Agric Sector Using Real-live Farming Models

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Aug 14 2020

Bank of Thailand Signs Fintech focused MoU with UK Government, Aimed at Supporting Sustainable Economic Growth

The United Kingdom and the Bank of Thailand (BoT) have reportedly committed to a Memorandum or Understanding (MoU) on financial services, in order to support inclusive economic growth and development.

The UK government and the BoT signed the MoU on August 7, 2020, according to a release.

The two countries have entered a strategic partnership on financial services which aims to support Thailand’s inclusive economic recovery (following COVID-19) and “green growth.” The plans are consistent with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which most countries have failed to achieve.

Under the terms of the MoU, the UK and the BoT have committed to working towards implementing stricter accounting standards. They’ve also agreed to enhance corporate governance and maintain greater transparency.

Both nations will also focus on initiatives aimed at accelerating Fintech adoption. These projects will support an ecosystem that will enable improved access to key finance and business opportunities for Thailand’s Fintech sector. Per the MoU, the UK and BoT will support sustainable finance; while aiding in the development of a more resilient financial system.

As noted in the release, the collaboration is an initiative that’s part of the United Kingdom’s ASEAN Economic Reform and ASEAN Low Carbon Energy Programs.

The collaboration aims to share relevant knowledge and expertise on emerging financing developments, regulatory policies, and Fintech products and services. The partnership will focus on supporting financial inclusion and will aim to address issues related to climate change, while working on projects that serve the disadvantaged members of society.

Veerathai Santiprabhob, Governor of the Bank of Thailand stated:

“Fintech can enhance financial inclusion by scaling up accessibility and convenience with product offerings that can be tailored to [each] individual’s needs. Technological advancement in financial services has prompted regulators to embrace an organizational culture that nurtures innovation.”

However, this has also worsened the negative effects of climate change which must be addressed, Santiprabhob noted. He added that financial institutions need to work on reducing the risks involved with issuing loans via lending platforms.

Santiprabhob further noted:

“Our cooperation [aims to] preserve financial stability as we pursue our journey of digital transformation. … it will [also] facilitate financial service providers to better embed the concept of sustainability, particularly the environment aspect, into their organizational culture and business [practices.]”

H.E. Brian Davidson, the British Ambassador to Thailand, remarked:

‘This MoU comes at a critical moment as we seek to manage and recover from the Covid-19 pandemic. Financial services can help deliver stimulus that will create jobs; support businesses; and empower societies to be more resilient by transforming economies from grey to green.”

He added:

“Fintech has been critical to the lives of so many during the pandemic – facilitating everything from government payments to the population to online deliveries. Consequently, I’m very proud that we are signing this MoU with the BoT to facilitate cooperation through the Prosperity Fund ASEAN Economic Reform Program and the ASEAN Low Carbon Energy Program.”

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