Financial Services
Deal focus: LeapFrog seals debut Indonesia deal
Indonesia's middle class is expected to jump from 70 million in 2012 to more than 140 million by 2020 – representing more than half of the country’s population – according to the Boston Consulting Group. Financial services should benefit from this...
Deal focus: 2C2P plots regional expansion
Southeast Asia-focused payments provider 2C2P has made substantial progress in Myanmar over the last 12 months. It has introduced the country’s first mobile-based point-of-sale payment solution, issued prepaid cards that link to a mobile app, and launched...
KKR makes partial exit from China’s Far East Horizon
KKR has made a partial exit from Far East Horizon, a financial leasing company that is part of the Chinese trading conglomerate Sinochem Group.
IDG, Goldman back US bitcoin start-up's China expansion
IDG Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs have invested $50 million in US-based bitcoin start-up Circle with a few to funding its expansion into China.
China's Fosun to acquire remaining interest in Ironshore
China's Fosun International is seeking to fully acquire US insurer Ironshore, offering $1.8 billion for an 80% stake.
LeapFrog to invest in Indonesia's Reliance Capital Management
Microfinance-focused investor LeapFrog Investments will lead a $45 million commitment to Reliance Capital Management, an Indonesian financial services provider. This is its first investment in the country.
Scaling up in financial comparison
Moneysupermarket.com started out in 1993 as an offline provider of mortgage information to financial intermediaries. It went online six years later as a retail business, allowing UK consumers to search and compare different mortgage products. Credit cards,...
Southeast Asia payment platforms: Who pays?
When Philippine Long Distance Telephone (PLDT) bought a 10% stake in e-commerce incubator Rocket Internet for $444 million last year, the agreement had a notable addendum: the companies would develop a payments and remittance infrastructure for Rocket’s...
Southeast Asia payments provider 2C2P gets Series C round
Southeast Asian payment services provider 2C2P has raised $7 million in Series C funding from investors including Amun Capital and GMO Venture Partners.
Bangladesh-based SureCash gets $7m Series B round
Bangladeshi mobile banking and payments operator SureCash has raised a $7 million Series B round of funding from Asian frontier market investor Osiris Group.
DBS, Hong Kong’s Nest to launch fintech accelerator
DBS Bank has partnered with Hong Kong-based seed investor Nest to launch a financial technology (fintech) accelerator program.
Financial comparison site CompareAsiaGroup gets $40m round
CompareAsiaGroup, a primarily Southeast Asia-focused service that allows consumers to compare different financial products, has completed a $40 million round of funding that will be used to support further expansion.
Bamboo Finance reaches $31m first close on financial inclusion fund
Impact private equity investor Bamboo Finance has reached a $31 million first close on its second financial inclusion-focused fund with commitments from Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA-CREF) and AXA-IM.
Investec Bank leads $84m round for China P2P lending site
South African-based Investec Bank has led an $84 million Series C round of funding for Jimubox, a Chinese peer-to-peer (P2P) online lending platform, with participation from Haitong Kaiyuan, a PE arm of Haitong Securities.
BlueRun commits $10m to China securities trading site
BlueRun Ventures has committed $10 million in a Series A round of funding to Mazhan.com, a Chinese online margin trading platform.
VC-backed Chinese credit card management app raises $50m
U51.com, a VC-backed credit card management mobile app, has raised $50 million from Shanghai-listed property developer Xinhu Zhongbao.
Temasek completes acquisition of SVB India
Singapore's Temasek Holdings has completed its acquisition of SVB India Finance for INR3 billion ($48 million) and renamed the company. It will now be known as InnoVen Capital India.
China's Renren leads $70m round for US mortgage marketplace
Chinese social networking platform Renren has led a $70 million Series C round for US-based mortgage marketplace LendingHome, bringing the total raised by the company to $109.3 million.
CITIC Capital raises $140m via Cinda sell-down
CITIC Capital has exited its entire holding in China Cinda Asset Management, selling a 1.96% stake in the Hong Kong-listed non-performing loans manager for HK$1.09 billion ($140 million).
China installment payment platform Qufenqi raises $100m
Qufenqi, a Chinese electronics retailer that allows buyers to pay in installments, has raised approximately $100 million in a new round led by Shenzhen-listed games developer Beijing Kunlun Tech.
India digital wallet app MobiKwik gets $25m Series C round
India-based digital wallet app developer MobiKwik has raised $25 million in a Series C round led by Tree Line Asia.
Chinese online finance site 9fbank secures $110m
9fbank.com, a Chinese internet finance platform, has raised a new round of funding worth $110 million.
Legend Capital, SIG lead Series C for China’s PPDai
Legend Capital and SIG Asia Investment have led a Series C round of funding for PPDai, which claims to be the first and largest peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platform in China.
Mandala backs Indian agriculture finance business
Mandala Capital has invested INR1.1 billion ($17.9 million) in Sustainable Agro-commercial Finance (SAFL), a agriculture-focused non-banking financial company (NBFC) controlled by India's Jain Irrigation Systems (JISL).