SINGAPORE - A venture between Southeast Asian ride-hailing firm Grab and Singapore Telecommunications and internet platform company Sea Ltd have each won licences to run Singapore's first digital banks, in the city-state's biggest banking shakeup in two decades.
Alibaba Group affiliate Ant Group and a consortium comprising China's Greenland Financial Holding Group also won licences, Singapore's banking regulator said on Friday.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) expects the new digital banks to start operations from early 2022 after meeting the necessary pre-conditions of Singapore, one of the world's top financial centres.
"We expect them to thrive alongside the incumbent banks and raise the industry's bar in delivering quality financial services, particularly for currently underserved businesses and individuals," said Ravi Menon, managing director of the MAS.
Analysts have said the development is likely to have little impact on incumbents DBS Group Holdings, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp and United Overseas Bank, although licensees could use the opportunity as a step towards expanding into larger Southeast Asian markets.
Grab's venture and Sea have won digital full bank licences that will allow them to take deposits from and offer services to both retail and non-retail customers.
Ant Group and the Greenland consortium were awarded digital wholesale banking licences.
Source: TodayOnline
Razer to push Youth Bank, undeterred by failure of Singapore bid
(Bloomberg) -- Gaming company Razer Inc. will stick with a strategy of expanding into digital-banking services, undeterred by its failure to win a license in Singapore following a closely-watched contest.
Razer will push on with a plan to roll out Razer Youth Bank, targeting millennials in countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines, Razer Fintech Chief Executive Officer Lee Li Meng said in a statement. Other markets may include Europe, the Mideast or Latin America, where regulators are supportive, he said.
His comments come after Singapore on Friday awarded two digital full-bank licenses. A Grab Holdings Inc.-Singapore Telecommunications Ltd. venture and gaming-to-online shopping giant Sea Ltd. were each awarded a license to provide retail banking, beating a Razer-led group and other applicants.
Razer is based in Singapore and San Francisco, with shares listed in Hong Kong.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore also awarded two digital wholesale-bank licenses to Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co. and a group that includes Greenland Financial Holdings and Linklogis Hong Kong. The category allows virtual lenders to target small and medium-sized businesses and other non-core segments.
https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/razer-to-push-youth-bank-undeterred-by-failure-of-singapore-bid-081301809.html
When Delhi Bank of Sinathamby can't even get 花开富贵 right, you know it has been overrun by CECA-ians.
In other news, Singapore's national bank just got CECA-ed after ingesting ailing Lakshmi Vilas lock, stock, and barrel.
[Recap] Singtel may pour $441m in digital bank JV with Grab, report says
In a note released last week, Citigroup said that the total amount can be delivered over several years instead of all at once. “As such, we don’t believe that the digital bank will materially weigh down on Singtel’s free cash flow or dividend payment potential,” the financial services firm said.
In late 2019, Grab and Singtel announced that they have formed a consortium to apply for a digital full bank license in Singapore. They centered their pitch around catering to the needs of digital-first consumers and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Both DBS and Citigroup also expect that the Grab and Singtel-led team may be one of the favorites in the city-state’s digital bank race. Other contenders include an Enigma Group-led consortium, Razer’s financial arm Razer Fintech, and internet giant Sea, among others.
DBS analyst Sachin Mittal said that the Singtel and Grab JV has the potential to secure 2% to 4% of Singapore’s consumer market in five years, excluding mortgages. It may also reach break even in four to five years, he added.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore is expected to hand out as many as five licenses before the end of 2020.
https://www.techinasia.com/singtel-pour-441m-digital-bank-jv-grab-report
FYI HK's 8 digital banks have already commenced operations, SG has lots of catching up to do.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_banks_in_Hong_Kong#Virtual_banks_incorporated_in_Hong_Kong
Jack Ma gets fixed in tiongland, but over here he is welcomed with open arms. GXGX!
Hah Razer got jack shit, jin song!