In terms of fintech news, the highlighted topics for this week are: merged fintech startups and trading platform from Meal Temple Group and Fintech Acquisition Corp, the valuation of China’s Ant group, the crash for Tencent Holding stocks, Stripe reaching a $95bn valuation, and the latest policy updates from India and China regarding digital assets and virtual platforms. Dive into the news flash and enjoy the selection of materials!
Cambodia delivery startup Meal Temple goes into fintech with new merger
Kiwi Pay Group, a Hong Kong-based fintech firm, and Meal Temple Group, a startup in Cambodia focused on food and grocery delivery, have announced a strategic merger to tap frontier markets with a new super app called KiwiGO. KiwiGO, to be headquartered in Singapore, will aggregate curated content, e-commerce, logistics and financial services. In 2019, Laos-based MyDelivery, a unit of fintech firm Kiwi Group was acquired by Meal Temple Group. Read more
Trading platform eToro will merge with the FinTech V SPAC
FinTech Acquisition Corp V will merge with Robinhood’s rival, eToro, in a $10.4 billion deal. eToro is looking to expand in the US as interest in amateur trading booms. Along with that, shares in the FinTech V SPAC jumped in pre-market trading as investors warmed to the news. The merger will create a company worth around $10.4 billion, implying a value of around $9.6 billion for eToro. Read more
China’s Ant Group reaches $200 billion valuation after IPO halt
Ant Group’s global investors have valued the Chinese fintech firm at over $200 billion based on its 2020 performance. For example, Warburg Pincus LLC valued Ant at about $220 billion at year-end based on 2020 earnings and comparable company analysis. Moreover, at the IPO pricing, Ant’s valuation soared to about $315 billion, or over 31 times its forecast 2021 net profit. Read more
Call for stronger regulations on tech sector in Beijing
Chinese President Xi Jinping called for the acceleration of laws and rules for so-called “platform” companies since some platform companies’ development is not standard and risks exist. Beijing has so far cracked down on billionaire Jack Ma’s empire. Firstly, Ant Group, Alibaba’s financial affiliate, was forced to halt its $34.5 billion initial public offering in Hong Kong and Shanghai. Read more
India moves on cryptocurrency ban and penalties
India will propose a law banning cryptocurrencies, fining anyone trading in the country or even holding such digital assets. In that sense, India would be the first major economy to make holding cryptocurrency illegal. Even China, which has banned mining and trading, does not penalise possession. It is not yet clear whether the new regulation includes jail terms as well as fines, or offer further details but said the discussions were in their final stages. Read more
Tencent Loses $62 Billion
The stock of Tencent Holding Ltd fell more than 4% in Hong Kong this week, following a 4.4.% drop on Friday last week. China’s top financial regulators see Tencent as the next target for increased supervision after the clamp down on Jack Ma’s Ant Group Co. As a result, Tencent will probably be required to establish a financial holding company to include its banking, insurance and payments services. Read more
Stripe boosted the net worth of its co-founders to about $11.5bn (€9.63bn) each & reaches a $95bn (€79bn) valuation
With the latest funding round received by Stripe, a digital payments firm, the company has reached a $95bn valuation. Furthermore, Stripe has boosted the net worth of its co-founders, Patrick and John Collison, to about $11.5bn (€9.63bn) each, catapulting them into the top bracket of the world’s millennial billionaires. Read more
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