Banking
Mobile Payments Market : Alibaba’s Ant Financial Invests 20% in Thailand’s True Money
Asia Pacific is estimated to account for 50% of global payments revenue growth in 2015, when total payments revenues worldwide reached $898 billion, according to a 2012 McKinsey report.
Ant Financial, the financial affiliate of Chinese e-commerce group Alibaba, announced yesterday that it has formed a strategic partnership with Bangkok-based digital payment company Ascend Money, tapping the multi-billion-dollar online and mobile payments market in Southeast Asia.
Ant Financial didn’t disclose the size of its investment in Ascend Money. It said it would help Ascend grow online and offline payments and financial services business. However, a statement posted in June by China’s Ministry of Commerce said Ant Financial intended to buy a 20% stake in Ascend, with an option to increase its holding to 30%.
Online and mobile-based purchases in Southeast Asia are expected to exceed $22 billion last year, according to a Forrester report citing data from Singapore-based mobile payment company MatchMove Pay.
Asia Pacific is estimated to account for 50% of global payments revenue growth in 2015, when total payments revenues worldwide reached $898 billion, according to a 2012 McKinsey report.
Its partner Ascend was separated from communication conglomerate True Corporation and is now a subsidiary of True’s parent company, Thailand’s Charoen Pokphand Group, which has businesses in agriculture, retail and telecommunications.
The company operates the True Money electronic wallet service and the Ascend Nano online lending platform. It has key licenses to operate in six Asian countries including Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar and Cambodia. True Money had 800,000 users as of February, according to the company.
Source: Alibaba’s Ant Financial Taps SE Asia’s Multibillion-Dollar Mobile Payments Market
Asean
12 Things to Know about the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility (ACGF)
The ACGF is an ASEAN Infrastructure Fund initiative managed by ADB’s Southeast Asia Department Innovation Hub. It helps Southeast Asian governments prepare and finance infrastructure projects promoting environmental sustainability and contributing to climate change goals.
Southeast Asia faces an infrastructure investment shortfall of more than $100 billion a year, which may have worsened amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Banking
Thai cabinet approves 350 billion baht Aid for COVID-hit Businesses
Thailand unveiled new measures to help small and medium COVID-hit businesses in the tourism industry hit by a liquidity crunch.
The Thai cabinet has approved assistance worth 350 billion baht($11 Billion) to help businesses affected by COVID-19 with soft loans and asset warehousing.
Banking
APAC Banks to Face Portfolio Valuation Losses As Yields Rise
The latest data suggest that Fitch-rated banks in Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Taiwan have the largest AFS securities portfolios, and display particular sensitivity to changes in yields.
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