Happy Wednesday!
In this edition:
Why India is on the Cusp of a New Fintech Revolution
Fintech firm Bairong readies Hong Kong IPO
Chinese fintech giant Ant Group CEO resigns over ‘personal reasons’
Receivables Finance – Fraud Risk and How to Deal with it Effectively
Stripe valuation soars to $95bn after latest fundraising
Stripe Valuation Soars to $95bn After Latest Fundraising
Founded in 2010 by Irish brothers Patrick and John Collison — now aged 32 and 30 — Stripe’s valuation has almost tripled in less than a year, surpassing those achieved by Facebook and Uber before they went public.
Stripe has become the most valuable private company Silicon Valley has produced, after investors struck a deal valuing the online payments processor at $95bn.
The company’s rising valuation reflects a boom in ecommerce and digital payments activity that has boosted the values of listed rivals such as Adyen and Square, as well as Checkout.com, a London-based payments start-up that was valued at $15bn in January.
Receivables Finance – Fraud Risk and How to Deal with it Effectively
Financing banks in the commodities and trade sector hit some strong headwinds in 2020 in the shape of some substantial commodity and trade receivables finance losses in Singapore, the Middle East and other regions. Any sequence of events that shakes confidence in the international trade market and how it is financed is a potential concern for the wider market as the global economic effect of the global pandemic continues to hit many economies hard. Robert Parson, head of Clyde & Co's Trade and Commodity Finance team, looks at the background to last year's commodity finance losses and considers how the manner in which those losses are perceived to have arisen will impact trade lending generally and, in particular, the financing of trade receivables for both large and SME businesses as the global economy emerges from COVID.
Chinese Fintech Giant Ant Group CEO Resigns Over ‘Personal Reasons’
Chinese fintech giant Ant Group’s chief executive has stepped down for "personal reasons," a spokesperson from the Alibaba-affiliated online payment provider said Friday, amid growing regulatory scrutiny.
Simon Hu has been replaced as CEO by Ant Group executive Eric Jing, according to the company's updated website, just months after Chinese authorities pulled the plug on the company's colossal Hong Kong IPO.
"The Ant Group Board of Directors has accepted Mr. Simon Hu's resignation request, due to personal reasons," a spokesperson said in a statement.
New CEO Jing also previously held the role from 2016 to 2019.
Fintech Firm Bairong Readies Hong Kong IPO
Chinese financial technology company Bairong has set its Hong Kong listing in motion after winning approval from the city’s bourse.
The issuer operates an artificial intelligence-powered fintech platform. It uploaded a post-hearing information pack to the HKEX on March 14, having passed the listing hearing committee through sponsors CICC, CMBC Capital and Morgan Stanley.
The fintech platform offers products and services that can be embedded in financial service providers’ businesses, such as customer acquisition, loan origination, insurance underwriting, portfolio management and non-performing loan management.The fintech platform offers products and services that can be embedded in financial service providers’ businesses, such as customer acquisition, loan origination, insurance underwriting, portfolio management and non-performing loan management.
Why India is on the Cusp of a New Fintech Revolution
India has emerged as one of the fastest growing fintech hubs in recent years. Concepts like paperless lending, mobile-first banking, secure payment gateways, mobile wallets, etc. are no longer a distant dream, it’s already happening. Thanks to fintech companies for understanding consumer requirements, pain points and serving them more seamlessly than ever before.
A recent report by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Ficci that stated India will realize a fintech sector valuation of USD 150-160 billion by 2025, further reinstates the country’s strong growth potential in the coming years.
The report, titled ‘India FinTech: A USD 100 Billion opportunity’, noted that over the past five years, Indian fintech companies have raised about USD 10 billion from investors all over the world, catapulting the sector’s total valuation to an estimated USD 50-60 billion. However, the study also brought to light that to meet this ambition, India’s fintech sector will need investments of USD 20-25 billion over the next five years,” it added.
Thank you for the time!
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