Author: Aiko Akihiro

OFX Group Limited (OFX) today announced it has completed its acquisition of Firma Foreign Exchange Corporation (Firma) for a total consideration of C$90m (A$98m). The transaction expands OFX’s capability and presence as a global foreign exchange and payments provider. OFX Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Skander Malcolm said: “We’re excited to complete our first major acquisition, and to welcome our new clients and colleagues. As we bring our businesses together, our first priority will be ensuring there is no disruption to Firma clients or employees. We look forward to building on our collective strengths and excellent service culture by…

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), the central bank of the Philippines, has started the phased issuance of P1,000 polymer banknotes to banks, with the release of a limited quantity last week. Ten million pieces, representing two percent of the total polymer banknotes to be circulated, has been initially made available to the public. This is equivalent to 0.7 percent of the estimated combined number of 1000-Piso paper and polymer banknotes in circulation. Prior to release, the BSP conducted technical briefings for bank personnel, machine suppliers, and cash-in-transit service providers to educate them on the design and security features of…

Thunes, a Singapore-based global payments company, announced that it has taken a majority stake in the anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance technology firm, Tookitaki Holding Pte Ltd (Tookitaki) by making an investment of over $20 million. The alliance of both firms empowers the banking and financial services industry to fight money laundering and offer safe and secure payments to customers. The deal brings enhanced synergies for both businesses to accelerate global growth. Thunes is able to extend Tookitaki’s industry-leading compliance and anti-money laundering (AML) capabilities to further safeguard the businesses and create more transparency around the payment flows of its…

Aquila Capital, a sustainable investment management and asset development company based in Hamburg, Germany, and TopInfra, a South Korean renewable energy asset development company, announced the establishment of their joint venture, Aquila Development Partners. The venture will employ a joint development team that will focus on the development and construction of solar PV, wind power, and BESS projects in South Korea. The partnership joins TopInfra’s vast local experience in the renewable energy space with Aquila Capital’s international expertise in investing in, developing, building, and operating renewable energy assets. This marks an important milestone for Aquila Capital since opening its regional…

Aloft Hotels, part of Marriott Bonvoy’s portfolio of 30 extraordinary brands, today announced the opening of Aloft Bali Kuta, the second Aloft hotel to open in Bali, the Island of Gods, according to a HotelNewsAsia.com report. Catering to the tech-savvy, music-loving crowd, the 175-room hotel animates the brand’s bold passion and sassy personality through intriguing dining space, varied music lineup, and eclectic live events to tune up the neighborhood of Kuta. “We are excited to unveil the second Aloft hotel in Bali. With international borders opening, we look forward to welcoming international travelers to one of the most popular leisure…

Singtel’s wholly-owned subsidiary Singapore Telecom International has monetised a 1.6% stake in Airtel Africa through a market placement, as part of its capital recycling strategy. It raised net proceeds of approximately S$150 million from the placement which was well oversubscribed. “We are pleased with the strong interest in the placement. This monetisation underscores our approach to actively pursue asset recycling opportunities and crystallise value from our assets to fund our new growth engines. It will also enhance the liquidity of Airtel Africa shares in the market and allow for more broad-based institutional investor participation,” said Singtel’s group chief financial officer…

Artificial Intelligence-based healthtech startup WISEYAK announced that it has secured funding of a quarter-million US dollars from Nepalese alternative investment firm Team Ventures. WISEYAK has developed an Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) technology-based platform that offers unique solutions to Clinical Decision Support across the healthcare industry in a unified platform. This technology is applicable to hospitals, doctors, healthcare workers, research organizations, pharmaceuticals, government, and non-governmental organizations as well as international organizations. Using cutting-edge technologies like AI and ML, WISEYAK envisions establishing itself as an AI-based global healthtech company offering innovative healthcare applications to the global marketplace. WISEYAK was…

PropertyGuru, Southeast Asia’s leading property technology (PropTech) company, today completed its previously announced business combination with Bridgetown 2 Holdings Limited, a special purpose acquisition company formed by Pacific Century Group and Thiel Capital LLC. The business combination was approved by Bridgetown 2 stockholders in an Extraordinary General Meeting of Company Shareholders held on March 15, 2022. PropertyGuru Group Limited’s ordinary shares are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) on March 18, 2022 under the ticker symbol “PGRU”. “We are thrilled to have successfully completed our business combination with Bridgetown 2, which provides additional capital to…

Taiwan-based conversation management tool Cooby today announced that they have raised  US$2.9 million to date led by Sequoia India’s Surge and Pear VC. In a messaging-first world, the tool helps businesses streamline engagement and individuals to organise their customer conversations and boost inbox productivity. Cooby is Surge’s first startup founded and based in Taiwan. With over two billion active users across the globe, WhatsApp is one of the world’s most popular apps. An increasing number of sales teams are using the platform to engage new prospects and existing clients. Sales conversations happen through messaging apps because customers prefer more collaborative…

Are you worried about hackers sabotaging your established business? If the answer is yes, you are certainly not alone, and we are fully aware of your worries. Although the market is filled with expensive solutions, a simple VPN can quickly fix most of your problems. Let’s see how a VPN can save your business from cybercrimes. How Can Hackers Affect Your Business? Hacking is the process of accessing a computer or a system without its owner’s permission, and it has the potential of leaving devastating results, especially on businesses. When a hacker gets inside a system, he can easily steal…

True Global Ventures 4 Plus (TGV4 Plus) Fund has invested US$8.3 million into Chronicled, a company that focuses on establishing trust and automating transactions between trading partners in the Life Sciences Industry vis-a-vis the MediLedger Network. The Life Sciences Industry is uniquely complex in how pharmaceutical drugs move from manufacturers to serving patients. Beyond the supply chain there are regulatory requirements, complicated pricing and contracting relationships, and a long list of exceptions to every industry standard for how trading partners do business together. Blockchain presents an opportunity where the contracts, data, and transactions exchanged between trading partners can be recorded…

Singapore-based tech startup RIMM Sustainability has raised a total of $3 million in its pre-series A round on its quest to make sustainability accessible and actionable to SMEs. RIMM’s automated platform, launched in 2021, was built to address the needs of SMEs for simplified and affordable sustainability guidance and solutions. Since its v1 launch, RIMM has secured key clients and partnerships, as well as being awarded a $1 million Green Finance grant by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and a grant from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The $3 million funding round was led by venture capital fund BEENEXT and one…

Funding Societies (which goes by Modalku in Indonesia), Southeast Asia’s largest SME digital financing platform, today announced that it has raised US$144 million in an oversubscribed Series C+ equity round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2, with new investors notably Vietnamese tech giant VNG Corporation, Rapyd Ventures, Asia-based global investor EDBI, Indies Capital, K3 Ventures, and Ascend Vietnam Ventures. The company also received US$150 million in debt lines from institutional lenders across Europe, the United States, and Asia, some of which have been drawn down since 2021. This comes on the back of its US$45 million Series C raised between 2020 and 2021. The funds solidify Funding Societies’ position as a market…

The Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) has partnered with the Department of Agriculture (DA) and Go Negosyo to support their existing coaching program and service the financial requirements of eligible farmers, fishers, and micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) nationwide. Under the Kapatid Agri Mentor Me Program (KAMMP), LANDBANK will facilitate loan applications and provide credit assistance to graduate-mentees coached and trained by Go Negosyo and DA. The Bank will also assist in the development of new training and mentorship modules for startup and expanding agribusiness ventures. During the virtual Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signing ceremony on 20 September…

Megaworld-sponsored MREIT is planning to grow its office assets size to 1 million square meters within the next five to ten years as it aims to be the ‘country’s fastest growing REIT with the longest expansion pipeline’ amongst listed REITs on the Philippine Stock Exchange. Next year, MREIT’s sponsor is planning to inject an additional 100,000 square meters of prime office assets that will increase MREIT’s portfolio to around 324,000 square meters by end-2022. “We are committed to reaching half a million square meters by 2024, and are highly confident of our ability to reach 1 million square meters in…

In anticipation of a strong economic bounce back in the South, leading developer in VisMin Cebu Landmasters Inc. (CLI) broke ground today, September 14, on its Php4 billion mixed-use Masters Tower Cebu which will boost its hotel and Grade A office portfolio. Located at the Cebu Business Park, Masters Tower Cebu will house the 195-room Sofitel Cebu City. The luxury hotel will be a cornerstone of the growing CLI hotel portfolio projected to grow to 1,433 rooms by 2025 when Sofitel Cebu City will be completed. This is in line with the listed company’s strategy to grow its recurring revenue…

K&L Gates Straits Law LLC, the Singapore office of global law firm K&L Gates LLP, welcomes Ed Bennett as a partner to the firm’s asset management and investment funds practice. Bennett joins the firm from Morgan Lewis Stamford, where he was a partner and co-leader of its Singapore investment management practice group. Bennett has extensive experience advising on a wide range of investment fund and corporate transactional matters, including direct and co-investments by funds, private equity, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, secondary buyout, refinancing and fund formations. He regularly works with fund managers and institutional investors across the globe on…

The Philippines’s unemployment and underemployment rates are starting to recover following record low rates attained by the country at the onset of the Duterte administration, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III has said. Bello reported the accomplishments of the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) during President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s Talk to the People on COVID-19 aired Tuesday morning. “Pagpasok ng inyong administrasyon, nakamit natin ang pinakamababang lebel ng unemployment rate of 5.1 percent at underemployment rate of 14 percent. Nadale lang po tayo noong pandemya noong Marso 2020, Mr. President,” Bello said. “Ganunpaman ay unti-unti na nating nababawi ang mababang…

On the second quarter of 2021, Philippine gross domestic product (GDP) posted an 11.8% growth, according to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA). The construction industry is one of the main contributors to the growth together with manufacturing, wholesale and retail trade as well as repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles. Among the major economic sectors, industry recorded the fastest growth at 20.8% . This was followed by services with a growth of 9.6 percent. Agriculture, hunting, forestry and fishing (AHFF) registered a negative 0.1% growth. Construction posted the highest growth rate for the quarter at 25.7% followed by manufacturing at…

Ritchies Transport Limited, a leading transportation operator in New Zealand with an 86-year heritage, and KKR, a global investment firm, today announced the signing of definitive agreements under which KKR will acquire Ritchies. The investment – which marks KKR’s first infrastructure investment in New Zealand – will be used to advance the Company’s mission to better connect local communities, support the country’s expanding public transport network and promote greener transportation solutions. Founded in Temuka in 1935, Ritchies is one of the largest transport providers in New Zealand, with a fleet of more than 1,600 vehicles and a network of 42…