News
QR payments value to exceed $8t in 2029
QR payments value to exceed $8t in 2029
Standardisation of national QR schemes and Apple’s NFC are key factors that will influence this space.
EWA fintech Payd raises $400,000 in seed extension round
Its Malaysian partners include McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Banyan Tree.
Bank Mandiri slated for lower interest margins in 2025: analyst
But asset quality will improve thanks to new retail loans having better quality.
Bank Central Asia profitability, asset quality to be stable in 2025: analyst
Capitalization and liquidity may decline, however.
Overall loan demand in India to “moderate” in Jan-Mar 2025: survey
Terms and conditions for the mining sector are expected to become stricter.
China, Indonesia renew bilateral swap agreement
The agreement is valid for 5 years.
Norinchukin Bank enhances CET-1, Tier 2 capital
The move comes with “strong support” from its member cooperatives, the Japanese bank said.
DBS’ 2024 net profit up 11%; plans quarterly capital return dividend
DBS will also set aside S$32m for a one-time bonus of S$1,000 to all staff.
Xtransfer ink MOU to offer cross-border financial services to African SMEs
Xtransfer will make use of Ecobank Group’s network in the continent.
Netbank partners with Jia Financing to offer SME loans
Jia will assign their invoice financing loans to Netbank.
Bank Negara Indonesia profitability to hover at 1.8% to 1.9% in 2025
Credit costs are expected to remain modest at the current 1.3% level.
Hong Kong green financing steering group unveils 2025 priorities
The group group is led by the HKMA and the SFC.
Ant International names Jiang-Ming Yang as chief innovation officer
Yang led development of A+ Rewards, CoPilot, and EasySafePay for Antom.
Singapore named 9th best city for fintech startups globally
Bangalore ranked 5th and New Delhi was 10th globally.
India’s scheduled commercial banks’ profits up 12.5% in Q3 FY2025
Operating expenses, treasury gains, and fee income all rose.
Five M&A themes in the banking sector in 2025
Smaller banks may seek M&As to solve or mitigate compliance costs.
Weixin Pay users flock to Hong Kong, Japan for Spring Festival holiday
The use of promotions or “mini programs” doubled in Japan.
Commentary
From automation to agency: Asia’s wealth leaders can reinvent, not just streamline
Singapore aced its FATF evaluation — now comes the hard part
Are Asia’s digital banks prepared for the stablecoin era?
Why APAC is building home-currency stablecoins
Why Southeast Asian wealth managers must design the business before buying the technology
Why trust in Asian banking increasingly gets built off the record
Hong Kong cleared stablecoins for take-off. Getting them to work across Asia is the hard part
The financing challenge behind Asia’s wealth transfer