Asia

October 5, 2026 @ 3:27 am By Michael Wong  |  

Hong Kong-listed Web3 Meta Limited reported an 80% increase in annual revenue as it expanded its digitalization platform and cultural industry business, although higher operating expenses pushed its net loss wider. Revenue for the year ended June 30, 2026 rose to HK$80.1 million from HK$44.5… Read More

October 4, 2026 @ 10:14 pm By Michael Wong  |  

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) will make changes to its senior management team from Nov. 1, including appointing new leaders for corporate development, financial crime policy, and the development of Singapore as an international financial centre. Jacqueline Loh, currently deputy managing director for corporate… Read More

October 4, 2026 @ 5:58 am By Michael Wong  |  

FMO, the Dutch entrepreneurial development bank, will provide a $10 million equivalent loan in Vietnamese dong to Vietnam-based microfinance institution Tinh Thuong One Member Limited Liability Microfinance Institution (TYM), according to project information seen by CrowdFund Insider. The loan will support lending to rural micro-entrepreneurs,… Read More

October 3, 2026 @ 10:30 am By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korea’s financial regulator has taken the next formal step toward putting tokenized securities into the existing capital markets system, publishing draft subordinate rules that would let the framework start operating in early 2027. On October 1, 2026, the Financial Services Commission (FSC) proposed amendments to… Read More

October 2, 2026 @ 2:31 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Apple Pay from Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has arrived in India after a long wait, opening a narrow but high-profile lane into one of the world’s busiest digital-payments markets. From 30 September 2026, eligible Axis Bank Visa and Mastercard credit cards can be added to Apple… Read More

October 2, 2026 @ 1:21 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Kazakhstan is pursuing a new energy strategy that pairs unused gas from oil production with cryptocurrency mining, hoping to revive an industry that previously strained the national grid. Authorities want miners to generate their own electricity on site from associated petroleum gas that is now… Read More

October 1, 2026 @ 7:21 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

HSBC (NYSE: HSBC) has taken a visible step toward introducing a regulated Hong Kong dollar stablecoin, announcing that the token will be called HSBC RedCoin. The name was disclosed on 30 September 2026 as the bank prepares a commercial rollout later in the year. Officials… Read More

October 1, 2026 @ 12:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

ZA Bank is one of the first approved digital banks in Hong Kong. This week, the company reported “sustained profitability.” According to a release, for the 6 months ending in June, the bank generated a net profit of HKD 70.6 million (~USD 9million), an increase… Read More

October 1, 2026 @ 8:30 am By Michael Wong  |  

Asia Pacific businesses are demanding faster cross-border payments as a wider range of payment providers and methods reshapes the international payments market, according to new research from Nium and financial research firm Celent. The study found that 73% of businesses in the region want international… Read More

October 1, 2026 @ 12:44 am By Omar Faridi  |  

South Korea’s Financial Services Commission (FSC) is studying whether a formal market-maker regime should be written into the country’s next digital asset law after a yen-linked token listed on Upbit briefly traded at several times the value it is meant to hold. The catalyst was… Read More

September 30, 2026 @ 5:44 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Citigroup (NYSE: C) has extended its institutional blockchain liquidity platform, Citi Token Services, into Japan and the United Arab Emirates, bringing the network to seven live markets. The addition allows corporate and financial institution clients with accounts in those two jurisdictions to move funds around… Read More

September 30, 2026 @ 1:26 am By Michael Wong  |  

Singapore’s financial institutions should plan for their workforce alongside artificial intelligence adoption as AI changes jobs across the sector, Deputy Prime Minister and Monetary Authority of Singapore Chairman Gan Kim Yong said. Speaking at the Institute of Banking and Finance Distinction Evening on Sept. 24,… Read More

September 29, 2026 @ 8:06 am By Omar Faridi  |  

China’s top intelligence agency has recently issued yet another pointed reminder that cryptocurrency does not place users beyond legal scrutiny. In a public warning released on September 28, 2026, the Ministry of State Security argued that digital assets have been adopted by offenders seeking to… Read More

September 28, 2026 @ 11:30 am By JD Alois  |  

Tether is touting its countermeasures against the rogue regime of Iran in line with the ongoing sanctions being applied by the US. According to a post by Tether, nearly $550 million in Iran-linked USD₮ has been frozen since the beginning of the year. Around $344… Read More

September 28, 2026 @ 3:17 am By Michael Wong  |  

Global financial stability risks have increased as higher sovereign borrowing needs, an investment-intensive artificial intelligence cycle and geopolitical tensions push up the cost of capital, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said in its latest financial stability review. Long-term nominal and real sovereign yields have risen… Read More

September 28, 2026 @ 2:20 am By Michael Wong  |  

Private equity major Warburg Pincus is hard‑wiring artificial intelligence into every stage of its investment process, treating AI as a mandatory lens for both new deals and portfolio value creation. Senior managing director Vishal Mahadevia, speaking at DealStreetAsia’s Asia PE-VC Summit in Singapore, said the… Read More

September 28, 2026 @ 12:14 am By Michael Wong  |  

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) has set a minimum capital requirement of ₱1 billion (about $16 million) for thrift, rural and cooperative banks that shift to business models similar to digital banks, as the central bank moves to strengthen safeguards around digital transformation in… Read More

September 27, 2026 @ 7:05 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Artificial intelligence is changing how private equity and venture capital firms assess investments and monitor portfolios, but human judgment, proprietary relationships, and data remain critical to investment decisions, investors said at the Asia PE-VC Summit in Singapore. AI is increasingly being used to speed up… Read More

September 27, 2026 @ 4:30 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

Washington and Beijing have opened a formal conversation on advanced computing while stretching their latest commercial ceasefire, a pairing that looks modest on paper and more consequential in practice. After a three-day leadership visit in the US capital, the two governments said they would keep… Read More

September 27, 2026 @ 12:34 pm By Michael Wong  |  

Private equity firms operating in Asia are increasingly deploying artificial intelligence (AI) to boost portfolio company earnings and secure exits, executives said on Tuesday, as the region’s deal-exit environment splits sharply between favored and lagging sectors. Speaking at DealStreetAsia’s Asia PE-VC Summit in Singapore, senior… Read More