Demystify Podcast: Demystifying China, CDBCs and cashless with Richard Turrin
Based out of China, Richard Turrin has a ringside seat on how China is transforming into a cashless society.
China
The latest fintech news, resources and expert analysis in China by the leading intelligence provider for the worldwide fintech community.
Jack Ma to cede control of Chinese fintech Ant Group
After the restructuring, “no shareholder, alone or jointly with other parties, will have control over Ant Group”, the firm says.
MICT completes acquisition of African agri-fintech firm Tingo
MICT owns “100% of the operating business and assets” of Tingo after snapping up Tingo Mobile.
Jack Ma’s Alibaba and Ant Financial leave Paytm Mall
The Indian firm’s valuation fell from $3 billion in 2020 to $13 million now – a drop of almost 99%.
Bank of China’s Luxembourg arm picks ERI’s Olympic Banking System
The core banking system will be used to support BOC’s custody and clearing business.
FinTech Futures: Top five stories of the week – 22 April 2022
Here’s our pick of five of the top news stories from the world of finance and tech this week.
Ant Group snaps up majority stake in 2C2P to drive digital payments adoption
Ant Group will become a majority shareholder of 2C2P.
AI-focused fintech Qraft Technologies secures $146m SoftBank investment
Qraft’s US CEO says investment management is “ripe for disruption” thanks to AI.
Finastra offloads Fusion Summit treasury business in China, Macau and Hong Kong
The buyer is CloudWing Network Technologies, a subsidiary of Hundsun Technologies.
Asia Digital Bank partners Bianjie for blockchain-powered digital banking
The bank’s new digital infrastructure is designed to bridge the gap between centralised and decentralised finance.
Goldman Sachs gets green light for total ownership of Chinese venture
Goldman becomes the second US bank to buy out its Chinese mainland joint venture partner.
BIS finds CBDC-blockchain combo outclasses correspondent banking
Its new project, mBridge, experiments with new CBDC combinations.
China Bohai Bank taps Bairong for AI-powered digital upgrade
China Bohai Bank will utilise Bairong’s fraud and loan monitoring systems.
European neobroker Scalable Capital raises $180m in Tencent-led funding round
This latest funding round brings the firm’s total capital raised to over $320 million.
Bitcoin tumbles below $37,000 following Chinese ban on crypto services
Chinese financial firms can’t offer clients products involving cryptocurrency.
HSBC on track to hire 1,000 wealth managers in Asia before year end
In 2020, the bank’s Asian business reported $12.8 billion in profits.
PayPal to avoid Chinese competition with new cross-border wallet
US giant aims to create a bridge into China with its new service.
Tencent suffers $65bn market value blow, analysts put fintech business at “zero”
Tencent, like Ant, holds a financial foothold in China which rivals banks.
Fintech funding deals globally 15-21 February 2021
Featuring Public, Webull, Blockchain, GoCardless, and Personetics.
Huawei to acquire Xunlian Zhipay for its payments licence
The deal is yet to be officially announced.
Ant plans for IPO as it reaches restructure deal with regulators
Ant has until November 2021 to register a new financial holding.
TikTok’s Chinese version Douyin adds payments app
Douyin Pay (Douyin Zhifu) has been added to the app’s options.
Ant sets up working group to overcome Chinese regulatory requirements
Companies like Ant have until November 2021 to register a new financial holding.
Trump bans transactions through Chinese apps including Alipay
The applications have 45 days to prepare for the ban.
JP Morgan in talks with China Merchants Bank over another wealthtech venture
JP Morgan already holds a majority stake in a Chinese venture.
China’s central bank issues Ant Group ultimatum after blocked IPO
The Peoples’ Bank of China wants Ant to overhaul its business or face the consequences.
Chinese regulator continues to clamp down on dominant fintech players
The CBIRC’s Liang Tao warned fintech lenders at a conference in Beijing this week.
Hong Kong and China pair up on digital currency experiment
The two have joined with Thailand to promote commerce in Southeast Asia.
Owner of Hong Kong robo-advisor Aqumon lands Alibaba-backed $30m
Aqumon offers B2C and B2B solutions.
Chinese regulator approves Hong Kong leg of Ant’s $30bn IPO
The company still needs approval from the Hong Kong stock exchange’s listing committee.
Chinese lender Lufax set for US IPO despite Trump’s delisting plans
The IPO could raise between $2 billion and $3 billion.
Global card spend grows 13% in 2019, mostly down to China’s UnionPay
That’s according to a new report by Retail Banking Research (RBR).
Sibos 2020: CBDCs must compensate for Big Tech failures
“Those in the private sector definitely have their own lifecycle,” says PBOC.
Sibos 2020: Chinese central bank processes CBDC worth $162m in 2020
Some 113,300 personal digital wallets have been opened.
Does Europe really need its own Big Tech?
Almost a third of consumers find the idea of banking with a Big Tech appealing.
Citigroup first US bank to snag Chinese custody licence
Citi China can now open up custodian banking services.
China’s wealthiest turn to crypto to transfer $50bn in assets abroad
Stablecoin Tether has accounted for 93% of stablecoin usage across East Asia in recent years.
Chinese insurtech Waterdrop raises $230m & plans US IPO
Known as Shuidihuzhu in China, its Series D round was led by Swiss Re and Tencent.
China culls almost 6,000 P2P lenders in industry crackdown
A two-year programme has left only 29 firms in the country.
China expands digital currency experiment across major cities
More than 400 million people are able to trial the digital system.
