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Category: Finance

Retail News Asia is committed to providing both local and global retailers with the latest Finance news throughout the Asian market. This on a daily base.

  • Citi’s Victor Alexiev to Take on New Global Role

    Citi’s Victor Alexiev to Take on New Global Role

    He will lead a global team of former entrepreneurs, innovation strategists, product managers and venture builders to accelerate the development of new solutions at Citi’s internal incubation program.

    Citi has announced the appointment of Singapore-based Victor Alexiev as head of D10X for its Institutional Clients Group (ICG), effective immediately, the firm announced on Friday.

    Alexiev joined Citi in 2018 as the Asia head of D10X, which was launched in 2016 under Citi Ventures, and is focused on the exploration of new strategic opportunities for growth and value creation for the bank. His initial remit was focused on Citi’s markets and securities services business and in 2020, it was expanded to include all of Citi Ventures’ ICG-relevant programs and strategic partnerships across Asia.

    He will relocate next summer for the new role, which reports to Valla Vakili, global head of venture innovation for Citi Ventures. He will also have a matrix reporting line to Gulru Atak, managing director, ICG business development, innovation.

    Under his leadership, the D10X team in Asia has launched three products to market, with a combined obtainable market value of over $500 million, Citi said. One of the projects includes a fully automated securities lending solution for asset aggregators in partnership with fintech Sharegain.

    The D10X team in Asia has also supported industry initiatives such as the development of a blueprint for securities tokenization led by the Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA), and has also been actively involved in the continuous development of the entrepreneurial ecosystems in Asia.

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  • StanChart Inks Buy-Now-Pay-Later Deal in Indonesia

    StanChart Inks Buy-Now-Pay-Later Deal in Indonesia

    The bank’s branch in Indonesia has announced a partnership to offer Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) loans to the mass market segment via digital channels.

    Standard Chartered will offer small-ticket loans to customers in Indonesia via its partnership with Kredivo – one of the country’s largest and fastest-growing digital credit platforms, the bank announced on Thursday.

    While Standard Chartered already enjoys a strong position in the retail affluent segment, we are strengthening and expanding our distribution channels to serve mass-market customers more efficiently,» Jeffrey Tan, Standard Chartered head of Consumer, Private and Business Banking (CPBB), Indonesia, said,

    Customers can enjoy a fully digital onboarding and credit application process, with no face-to-face verification requirement, via Kredivo’s coverage of retailers and AI-driven credit scoring capabilities.

    The bank hopes to ride on the accelerating adoption of digital financial services in Southeast Asia’s most populous nation, as well as improving market sentiment and retail sales as vaccination and pandemic-related metrics continue to improve, leading to higher demand for loans.

    This announcement follows Standard Chartered’s recent partnership with BNPL platform Atome to deliver a wide range of financial services to consumers and merchants across key markets in Asia.

    Kredivo has also been expanding of late – in August, the company launched in Vietnam through a joint venture with Phoenix Holding, a family investment company based in the country. FinAccel, Kredivo’s parent company also announced plans to go public via a $2.5 billion SPAC merger. The firm had raised US$90 million in 2019 during a Series C funding round to double down on its Southeast Asian expansion plans.

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  • Citi Names Regaional Co-Heads of BCMA

    Citi Names Regaional Co-Heads of BCMA

    They will replace David Biller, who will be relocating to Europe at the end of the year to take on a broader role as co-head of industrials for EMEA, Asia and Japan.

    Citi has appointed Matthew Nimtz and Jonathan Quek as co-heads of Asean banking, capital markets and advisory (BCMA), effective immediately, according to an internal memo seen.

    Nimtz and Quek are long-time Citi veterans and have worked together in Singapore for the past 10 years, Citi said. Nimtz leads the ASEAN M&A franchise, while Quek is co-head of real estate investment banking, Asia, as well as head of investment banking, Singapore.

    The pair will report to Jan Metzger for BCMA and Amol Gupte for ASEAN.  They will also maintain their existing roles in M&A (reporting to Colin Banfield) and real estate (reporting to Tom Flexner), respectively. Asean corporate banking country heads will report into Nimtz and Quek, in addition to their current reporting lines into Kaleem Rizvi for corporate banking and the respective CCOs, According to an internal memo seen.

    Matt and Jon’s leadership will be instrumental in continuing the strong momentum in the increasingly important Asean market,» Citi said.

    We are running at record levels for capital raising and advisory for clients across Asean. This is a mix of balance sheet strengthening and financing to support growth. There is massive transformation happening across all industries in Asean and with a global network, this has helped sharpen our dialogue with clients as they increasingly want a global perspective,» said the memo.

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  • UBS Chases New Group with Old Idea

    UBS Chases New Group with Old Idea

    UBS is reviving an old idea as it targets a new client segment in the U.S. The move brings back memories of a robo advisor, which the bank ditched a few years ago.

    UBS is targeting the U.S.’ mass affluent individuals with a digital product, which offers wealth management advice from humans remotely, according to a presentation by CEO Ralph Hamers during Tuesday’s third-quarter results. The hybrid offering will be rolled out to clients with a range of $100,000 to $1 million in liquid financial assets.

    Until now UBS was focused on capturing the U.S.’s super-rich. With its new push, the Swiss bank will be going after clients which are sought after by the likes of Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan and Bank of America.

    These U.S. wire houses were quick to understand that retail banking and mass affluent business was the most vulnerable to the onset of financial start-ups and other digitized competitors. UBS made a foray into the affluent market with robo advisor Smartwealth, which it pulled the plug on three years ago, just 18 months after launching the pilot in the U.K.

    Now the bank is reviving and elaborating the idea behind Smartwealth under its new CEO Hamers, who was hired by UBS with a digitization mandate. «We are a trusted brand in the U.S. We see the opportunity to deliver our expertise and our content to a much broader set of clients,» Hamers said.

    UBS already counts two million U.S. clients in the affluent category from its employee stock and retirement plan platform. Since buying U.S. broker Paine Webber in 2000, it has continuously attempted to target higher segments of wealth than the traditional brokerage client. The U.S. unit now manages the wealth manager’s biggest chunk of assets.

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  • Citi Names Regaional Co-Heads of BCMA

    Citi Names Regaional Co-Heads of BCMA

    They will replace David Biller, who will be relocating to Europe at the end of the year to take on a broader role as co-head of industrials for EMEA, Asia and Japan.

    Citi has appointed Matthew Nimtz and Jonathan Quek as co-heads of Asean banking, capital markets and advisory (BCMA), effective immediately, according to an internal memo.

    Nimtz and Quek are long-time Citi veterans and have worked together in Singapore for the past 10 years, Citi said. Nimtz leads the ASEAN M&A franchise, while Quek is co-head of real estate investment banking, Asia, as well as head of investment banking, Singapore.

    The pair will report to Jan Metzger for BCMA and Amol Gupte for ASEAN.  They will also maintain their existing roles in M&A (reporting to Colin Banfield) and real estate (reporting to Tom Flexner), respectively. Asean corporate banking country heads will report into Nimtz and Quek, in addition to their current reporting lines into Kaleem Rizvi for corporate banking and the respective CCOs, According to an internal memo.

    Matt and Jon’s leadership will be instrumental in continuing the strong momentum in the increasingly important Asean market, Citi said.

    We are running at record levels for capital raising and advisory for clients across Asean. This is a mix of balance sheet strengthening and financing to support growth. There is a massive transformation happening across all industries in Asean and with a global network, this has helped sharpen our dialogue with clients as they increasingly want a global perspective, said the memo.

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  • Singapore Expands Travel Lane Scheme to Switzerland

    Singapore Expands Travel Lane Scheme to Switzerland

    Singapore will be adding two countries to the Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) scheme, under which travelers will only need to take a Covid-19 swab test after arrival and before departure in Singapore.

    Vaccinated travelers from Switzerland and Australia will be able to enter Singapore without serving stay-home notices from November 8, the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS) announced on Tuesday evening.

    All Singapore Airlines flights from Switzerland to Singapore will be offered under the VTL program from November 8, with flight SQ345 operating daily between the two financial centers.

    The Alpine nation is among Singapore’s top investment and trading partners, and there are around 1,000 Swiss companies and around 3,000 Swiss expatriates in the city-state, CAAS noted.

    Switzerland’s borders are open to all travellers from Singapore. Australia plans to open its borders to skilled workers and international students by year’s end, authorities said on Wednesday.

    We are in discussions with other partners, including our regional neighbors, to reopen safely to each other, and restore our close connectivity, S. Iswaran, Transport Minister, said.

    The VTL scheme currently includes Germany, Brunei, Canada, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States, with South Korea to be added on November 15.

    With the announcement of the new VTLs, Singapore will also be expanding its daily quota of VTL arrivals from 3,000 to 4,000,

  • PayPal says it is not pursuing Pinterest acquisition

    PayPal says it is not pursuing Pinterest acquisition

    PayPal is not pursuing an acquisition of Pinterest at this time, the online payments provider said on Sunday, responding to market rumors.

    Earlier in the week, it was reported that the payments behemoth had offered to buy digital pinboard site Pinterest for US$45 billion, or about $70 per share, mostly in stock.

    Pinterest did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment outside of business hours.

  • UBS Selling Onshore Business in Spain

    UBS Selling Onshore Business in Spain

    Switzerland’s largest bank is giving up its business with its Spanish onshore clients. This follows a similar move in Austria less than a year ago.

    UBS is selling its Spanish office to Singular Bank according to an emailed statement Monday. This comes after months of speculation that many European markets simply aren’t large enough to warrant a presence.

    Without disclosing the deal amount, the Swiss bank writes in its statement that all client assets, as well as the UBS team in Madrid, are included in the transaction. Investment banking and fund sales activities in Spain will remain with UBS.

    The deal is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2022.

    Last December UBS Europe sold its business with Austria’s onshore wealth to Vaduz-based LGT Bank. The Spanish onshore business holds an estimated 9 to 12 billion euros ($9.8 billion to $13 billion) in assets under management.

    The Austrian business managed 4 billion euros in assets at the time it announced the sale. Under its three-year plan for 2021 to 2023, UBS Europe is making staying profitable despite the turbulent economic backdrop its top priority.

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  • UBS Profit Up in Third Quarter

    UBS Profit Up in Third Quarter

    Switzerland’s largest bank reports a rise in quarterly profits. The bank benefited from its business with the super-wealthy and cut its costs.

    UBS’ third-quarter net profit to $2.28 billion in the third quarter, representing a 9 percent on year increase, it said in statement on Tuesday. The bank was able to cut costs to $6.26 billion from $6.36 billion in the same period last year.

    The Swiss bank was cautiously optimistic for the rest of the year citing effects of the pandemic on the economy, supply chains and labor markets. The bank’s flagship business, global wealth management’s pre-tax profit climbed to $1.5 billion from $1.3 billion in the second quarter of 2021.

    The investment banking business benefited from strong activity in financial markets this year. Pre-tax profit rose to $837 million from $668 million in the second quarter of 2021.

    A strategic update is scheduled on February 1. The divide between the two Swiss champions has deepened, with UBS stock gaining 14 percent thus far this year while Credit Suisse has shed more than 15 percent.

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  • StanChart Nets Ex-Safra Singapore CEO

    StanChart Nets Ex-Safra Singapore CEO

    Standard Chartered has hired the former Singapore chief executive of J. Safra Sarasin to lead its South Asia private banking segment.

    Vinay Gandhi joins Standard Chartered as its regional head, ASEAN and global head, global South Asian community, private banking, according to a statement, subject to regulatory approval.

    Based in Singapore, Gandhi will report to global head of affluent coverage Raymond Ang when he joins the bank in the first quarter of 2022.

    Seasoned Private Banker

    Gandhi has 30 years of financial experience, most recently with J. Safra Sarsin where he was last its Singapore CEO and Asia deputy CEO.

    Previously, he also worked for UBS Wealth Management, Deutsche Bank and Citi Private Bank.

    Gandhi’s profound knowledge of affluent clients in Standard Chartered’s footprint markets and proven track record in leading effective teams will be a strong addition to our team, Ang said in the statement.

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  • HSBC Profits Surge From More Released Loan Loss Reserves

    HSBC Profits Surge From More Released Loan Loss Reserves

    A continued reduction of credit loss provisions fuelled HSBC’s pre-tax profits in the third quarter to comfortably beat analyst expectations.

    HSBC registered $5.4 billion of pre-tax profits in the third quarter, according to its latest earnings report, marking a 76 percent year-on-year growth.

    This marked significant outperformance compared to analysts’ forecasts of $3.78 billion, according to compilations from the bank.

    All regions were profitable including Asia which recorded $3.3 billion of pre-tax gains, a 3.6 percent increase.

    Although reported revenue was up just a modest 1 percent to $12 billion, the bank managed to generate strong results through the reduction of loan loss reserves.

    In the third quarter, HSBC made a net release of $700 million in expected credit losses (ECL) compared to an ECL charge of $800 million in the same quarter last year.

    We had a good third-quarter performance, with strong growth in profits supported by additional credit provision releases, said HSBC CEO Noel Quinn. Our strategy remains on track, with good delivery in all areas. This was reflected in more consistent top-line growth, robust lending pipelines across our businesses, and rising trade and mortgage balances.

    The bank also highlighted a sufficiently strong capital position to prepare for share buybacks totaling up to $2 billion.

    While we retain a cautious outlook on the external risk environment, we believe that the lows of recent quarters are behind us, Quinn said. This confidence, together with our strong capital position, enables us to announce a share buyback which we expect to commence shortly.

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  • SGX Opens Offshore Office in India

    SGX Opens Offshore Office in India

    The office will kick-start SGX India Connect IFSC, a special purpose vehicle that will facilitate SGX’s upcoming connection with India’s National Stock Exchange (NSE).

    Singapore Exchange (SGX) has opened the SGX-International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) office in India’s Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (Gift City), according to a report on Friday.

    SGX will also be launching Gift Data Connect to provide SGX’s international members with access to real-time trading data of Nifty contracts via its derivatives trading platform and give investors unrivaled insights into India’s equity market.

    The upcoming NSE IFSC-SGX Connect aims to bring together the trading of Nifty products in Gift City and create a larger pool of liquidity comprising international and home market participants.

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  • DBS Appoints Chief Risk Officer

    DBS Appoints Chief Risk Officer

    A career DBS banker has been named chief risk officer for the Singapore lender, replacing Tan Teck Long.

    Soh Kian Tiong has been named chief risk officer (CRO), according to a statement, reporting to DBS chief executive Piyush Gupta.

    In addition, Soh will also be accountable to the board risk management committee as well as join as a member of the group management committee and group executive committee.

    Soh replaces ex-CRO Tan Teck Long who will be leaving the bank to take on a client-facing role elsewhere.

    Soh has over 25 years of experience, having first joined DBS as a trainee officer in its corporate banking unit in 1995. Since then, he held various senior roles, most recently as a senior risk executive for DBS Hong Kong, Greater China chief credit officer, management committee member of DBS (Hong Kong), and Hong Kong risk executive committee chairman.

    Under Tan’s leadership, DBS has further enhanced our credit underwriting capabilities, multi-year credit architecture program, and strengthened our attention on ESG risks, financial crime risk, and cyber security and data protection. While he will be sorely missed, we respect his desire to return to a customer-facing role,» Gupta said.

    Soh’ appointment is testament to our ability to groom leaders from within. Over the span of his longstanding DBS career, he has been rotated across markets, and embraced a mix of business and risk roles. I am confident that he will bring this experience to bear meaningfully in his new role.

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  • Techcombank profits soar

    Techcombank profits soar

    Vietnam’s top private lender, Techcombank, reported a 59.6 percent rise in pre-tax profits for the first nine months of 2021 to VND17.1 trillion ($737.1 million).

    Loans outstanding were up nearly 16 percent for the year at VND321 trillion.

    The bank’s bad debt ratio was 0.57 percent, higher than at the beginning of the year but still much lower than the average industry rate.

    Its current account and saving account (CASA) ratio grew by 49 percent, among the highest in the industry, thanks to a six-fold rise in margin deposit.

    Provisions for bad debts were down 9 percent.

    In the third quarter alone, pre-tax profit climbed by 40 percent year-on-year to VND5.56 trillion, mostly from interest income, service fees and securities investment.

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  • PayPal preparing US$45 billion bid for Pinterest

    PayPal preparing US$45 billion bid for Pinterest

    PayPal has made an offer to buy digital pinboard site Pinterest for US$45-billion, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, a combination that could herald more tie-ups between fintech and social media companies in e-ecommerce.

    The per-share price would represent a 26% premium to Pinterest’s closing price of $55.58 on Tuesday.

    PayPal plans to finance the acquisition mostly through stock, the sources said.

    The payments behemoth was among the big winners of the pandemic as more people used its services to shop online and pay bills to avoid stepping out. The pandemic boost over the past 12 months have driven up its shares by about 36%, giving it a market capitalization of nearly $320-billion.

    PayPal’s shares were down about 3.5% on Wednesday, while Pinterest was up over 10% at $61.55. Pinterest’s shares, which had jumped over 13% earlier in the day forcing trading to be halted briefly, have shed about 16% of their value this year.

    San Jose, California-based PayPal, and Pinterest did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The sources requested anonymity as the discussions are confidential.

    News of the potential deal comes less than a week after Pinterest co-founder Evan Sharp announced plans to leave the company to join LoveFrom, a firm led by Jony Ive, the designer of many iconic Apple products.

    Sharp founded the San Francisco, California-based online scrapbook and photo-sharing platform along with Ben Silbermann, who is the company’s CEO, and Paul Sciarra, who left in 2012.

    Over the past few years, PayPal has displayed growing ambitions to increase its footprint in online shopping through a series of acquisitions, including a $4-billion deal to buy online coupon finder Honey Science in 2019, a $2.7-billion deal to buy Japanese buy-now-pay-later firm Paidy in September this year, and a deal to buy return-service provider Happy Returns in May.

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