Category: Finance

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UBS In-House Lawyer Joins Law Firm Stephenson Harwood

The international tax and wealth planning specialist is strengthening its international private wealth capabilities with a new partner at its Singapore office.

Stephenson Harwood has announced the addition of Suzanne Johnston as a partner, who joins from UBS, where she has been an in-house wealth planning lawyer since 2019.

Johnston brings in-depth experience across different practice areas within private wealth, and in multiple jurisdictions across the Asia Pacific region, bolstered by having lived and worked in the region for nearly a decade.

Before UBS, she was a senior associate at Withersworldwide for over five years, specializing in private client/international tax planning.

Martin Green, Singapore office managing partner, Stephenson Harwood, noted the growing demand for private wealth expertise in Singapore, which has seen an influx of family offices relocating to the city-state in recent years.

Headquartered in London and with eight offices in Asia, Europe, and the Middle East, the firm offers services including succession planning, tax planning, wealth structuring and asset protection and acts for a number of family offices, ultra-high-net-worth individuals, and trustees.

In Singapore, Stephenson Harwood practices in a formal law alliance with Singapore law firm Virtus Law, offering clients an integrated service.

October 8, 2021
Apple Pay and iPhone NFC restrictions can get Apple fined by the EU

Antitrust investigations from the European Commission on tech giants such as Apple, Google, and Facebook have been going strong in the past couple of years, and tech giants have already faced fines from the EC on some dubbed ‘anticompetitive’ behaviors.

Fines for anticompetitive behavior with Apple Pay and NFC against Apple are being finalized. The investigation has been going on since last year when the EC antitrust regulators have focused on Apple Pay and the iPhone’s NFC chip that makes contactless payments possible and began to scrutinize the practice. What the commission started investigating, in the beginning, was whether Apple unfairly locked out other contactless payment services by restricting the use of the NFC chip inside iPhones.

The report from the EC states that Apple will get charged for “anti-competitive practices related to its NFC chip technology”, but the exact details are still unclear. It is possible these charges could force Apple to “open up its mobile payment system to rivals”.

The EU competition enforcer is currently drafting a statement of objections that will express the concerns. The document is expected to be sent to Apple next year.

Apple has been opening up access to the NFC chip in iPhones in recent years; however, third-party contactless payment systems have had a hard time in comparison to Apple Pay integration with iOS, so this could have been an issue for antitrust regulators. The way that the NFC chip in an iPhone works seems to give an advantage to Apple Pay which antitrust regulators do not like. For example, when an iPhone comes near to an NFC reader, the Wallet and Apple Pay interface is immediately automatically shown, something third-party systems cannot do on the iPhone.

Earlier this year, the European Commission concluded in another investigation (this one is a preliminary conclusion at the moment, not a final decision, so keep that in mind) that Apple is indeed in breach of anti-competitive laws. More precisely, the investigation here was about Apple Music and music streaming services, and whether Apple was favoring its own solution on iPhones and thus making it harder for third-party music streaming services to compete.

This anti-competitive behavior was related to the high commission fees that Apple imposed on third-party apps in the App Store and that the company does not allow app developers to tell users there are other payment methods… sounds familiar? Maybe yes, as this is the same complaint game maker Epic Games had against Apple and why the popular Fortnite game is no longer to be found on the App Store, for more than a year now.

The aforementioned preliminary conclusion does not impose any fines or regulations yet, as it is not final. The next step is for the commission to review the case with Apple.In this case, after the period of reviewing it with Apple, the commission will decide whether to proceed with formal charges. If found in breach of competition law, the EC can force Apple to change the rules of the App Store or pay a fine for past offenses, which can go up to 10% of annual revenue.

It is not only Apple that the EC is investigating for breaching competitive laws. Under investigation are also other tech giants such as Google, and even Amazon (for anti-competitiveness in the smart home market). The EC is also investigating the voice assistants on devices from Apple, Google, and Amazon, for the same issues.

October 7, 2021

Philippines’ Union Bank Opens Fintech HQ in Singapore

Union Bank’s fintech subsidiary UBX is expanding its operations in Singapore as it eyes growth in Asia.

UBX, the financial technology venture studio and fund of Union Bank, hopes its Singapore headquarters will be a bridge for startups to enter the Philippine market, according to an announcement on Tuesday.

Operations will be led by Singapore country head Cryus Cruz, who joined UBX five months ago after over three years at Tokio Marine Insurance Group, where he was regional manager of digital strategy and its innovation lab. He also brings experience from stints at Chubb, Axa, AIG and J.P. Morgan.

UBX cited the wealth of start-ups and deep fintech talent pool as among the reasons why it is launching in the city-state. It also noted the rapid rise of fintech in financial transactions, and the «significant growth» UBX ventures are experiencing, fueled by the coronavirus pandemic.

UBX has strategically set up an office here to contribute to, and benefit from the established ecosystem. This will not only expand our network, it’ll also help us learn from different companies in the country, Cruz said.

UBX previously partnered with the Monetary Authority of Singapore in its Business Sans Borders (BSB) project.

October 6, 2021

Alibaba apps start offering WeChat Pay option after government order

China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has begun offering payment services from Tencent Holdings Ltd’s WeChat on a number of its apps, after the government ordered major tech firms to stop blocking each other’s services and links.

Local tech blog 36Kr reported on Tuesday that users of Alibaba’s food delivery app Ele.me, luxury goods app Kaola and e-book app Shuqi can now purchase goods via WeChat Pay, one of China’s most popular online payment options.

Alibaba’s used-goods marketplace app Xianyu and supermarket app Freshippo have also applied for WeChat Pay integration, the tech blog said.

Alibaba confirmed the contents of the report to Reuters. Previously, the main way users could make payments on those apps was via Alipay, from Alibaba’s financial affiliate Ant Group.

Earlier this month, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said it had asked internet companies to end a long-standing practice of blocking each other’s links and services on their sites. Such practices prevented app users from seamlessly jumping to services between rival companies.

Days later, Tencent’s WeChat messaging app started allowing users to access links to rival platforms. Previously, it had not allowed users to click on links sent via chat to, for instance, product listings from Alibaba’s Taobao marketplace.

The changes come as authorities continue to tighten regulation in the internet sector.

In April, antitrust regulators fined Alibaba a record $2.75 billion for anti-competitive behavior.

October 4, 2021

Morgan Stanley’s China CEO Retires

Morgan Stanley’s chief executive of China will reportedly retire after nearly two decades with the American lender.

Wei Sun Christianson will retire from her role as China CEO and APAC co-CEO – roles she held since 2006 and 2011, respectively – according to a memo from the bank.

Christianson will remain as an advisory director at the bank while fellow APAC co-CEO Gokul Laroia will take over as the sole CEO for the region.

Christianson first joined Morgan Stanley in 1998 and, thereafter, took on senior roles at Credit Suisse and Citi before rejoining in 2006 as China CEO. Under her leadership, Morgan Stanley expanded its footprint in China across domestic securities and bonds underwriting, commercial banking, asset management, trust services, and yuan-denominated private equity investing.

October 4, 2021

DBS Vickers Wins Crypto License

The brokerage arm of Singapore lender DBS will be able to provide asset managers and institutional investors access to products and solutions offered by the DBS Digital Exchange (DDEx).

DBS Vickers has received formal approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to provide digital payment token services as a Major Payment Institution, DBS announced on Friday.

DBSV is now in a better position to support institutional and corporate investors in tapping into the growing potential of digital assets as an investment class, Eng-Kwok Seat Moey, DBS head of capital markets and chair of DDEx, said in the announcement.

Launched in December 2020, DDEx has good demand from clients, including corporate and institutional investors, accredited individuals, and family offices, DBS said.

The bank expects to double the number of participants on DDEx to 1,000 and to grow its base by 20-30 percent annually for the next three years as investments in digital tokens gain greater acceptance.

We believe that DBSV’s licence, coupled with recent enhancements to DDEx such as round the-clock operations since August, could add to DDEx’s volumes in the coming months and accelerate growth momentum for DBS’ digital asset ecosystem, Eng said.

October 4, 2021

UBS Partners With Robeco

Over the past years there has been some back and forth between UBS and Robeco. Now the two have joined forces to launch a sustainability fund.

The investment company Robeco has launched a global engagement equities fund in partnership with UBS’ global wealth management, according to a statement Thursday. UBS will remain an exclusive partner for the next six months and aims to invest $1.5 billion.

The fund has the sustainable investment objective to drive a clear and measurable improvement in a company’s contribution to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) over three to five years, the statement says.

Michiel Plakman is the fund’s lead portfolio manager, supported by Daniela da Costa, Peter van der Werf, Giacomo Moroni and Jan Anton van Zanten at Robeco.

Robeco is no stranger to UBS: The Swiss bank’s chief sustainability officer Michael Baldinger, was previously CEO of Robeco. Last year UBS teamed up with Zug-based asset management giant Partners Group, on a private market offering for wealthy clients.

October 1, 2021

Temasek and HSBC Launch Platform for Sustainable Infrastructure

The platform will provide debt financing for projects in Asia, with an initial focus on Southeast Asia, as part of efforts to reduce climate change.

Temasek will be working with HSBC to catalyze financing of marginally bankable sustainable infrastructure projects, so as to address the challenges and opportunities presented by climate change, according to an announcement on Thursday.

The two sides will initially invest $150 million of equity to fund loans, with a goal to scale up the platform to $1 billion of loans within five years to support the commercial development of the region’s sustainable infrastructure sector.

Based in Singapore, the platform aims to harness the market’s financial expertise and connectivity to scale up the development of sustainable infrastructure across Southeast Asia in time, the announcement said.

Neither private nor public sector can close the financing gap alone,» Noel Quinn said. «Collaborations matter in the fight against climate change, and this partnership provides an impactful model for others to follow.

The platform will target renewable energy and storage, water and waste treatment, and sustainable transport to help meet carbon reduction targets and build resilience to offset the impact of climate change.

Strategic partners Asian Development Bank will provide technical assistance and project development expertise, while Clifford Capital Holdings will provide its project finance expertise as well as ongoing operational mid and back-office support to the platform.

September 30, 2021

Taiwan’s CTBC Bank Taps Avaloq for Private Banking Platform

CTBC Bank will implement Avaloq’s core banking solution internationally, starting from its business units in Hong Kong and Singapore.

CTBC is consolidating and upgrade its international business on the Avaloq Core platform, in a bid to improve day-to-day operations, and enhance and deliver quality private banking services, according to an announcement on Tuesday.

Avaloq Core will also provide the potential for the bank to consolidate its wealth management business, retail banking and other offerings within a single secure space, boosting the bank’s operational efficiency across the region, the announcement said. Avaloq has been building momentum in Asia-Pacific since the Swiss firm’s acquisition by Japanese corporation NEC in December 2020. The fintech previously announced a deal with Hong Kong’s Haitong International to accelerate the digitalization of its private wealth management business.

CTBC Bank is Taiwan’s largest private bank by consolidated assets under management, and has the most extensive international presence of any Taiwanese bank, with over 116 overseas branches across 14 countries. CTBC Singapore and its private banking service was established in 2009, and is the bank’s regional hub covering Southeast Asia, while its Northeast Asia headquarters is in Hong Kong.

September 29, 2021

Singapore and Malaysia to Link Real-Time Payment Systems

The link will enable more seamless payments for the high volume of remittances between the two neighbors, which reached S$1.3 billion ($960 million) in 2020.

Singapore and Malaysia’s central banks will be embarking on a phased linkage of PayNow and DuitNow, their national real-time payment systems, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in an announcement.

In the first phase, to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2022, customers of participating financial institutions will be able to make real-time transfers using a mobile phone number and make retail payments by scanning a PayNow/DuitNow QR code.

The linkage will subsequently incorporate a wider range of features and participants. Both regulators will also explore the feasibility of integrating innovative features such as distributed ledger technology-based solutions to catalyse greater efficiencies in payments clearing and settlement between participating banks, the announcement said.

Singapore’s remittance corridor with Malaysia is the city-state’s largest remittance corridor. The two countries also saw 12 million travelers crossing the border pre-pandemic.

The PayNow-DuitNow linkage will be an important infrastructure to support cross-border payment needs of individuals and businesses, as well as the growing digital economic activity between both countries, Sponendu Mohanty, MAS chief fintech officer, said.

The linkage also allows MAS and counterpart Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) to incorporate the use of distributed ledger and smart contract technologies in the wholesale cross-border payments space, he added.

Earlier this month, MAS also announced that it is working to connect PayNow to India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) by mid-2022.

Singapore and Thailand have also connected their payments infrastructures to enable cross-border peer-to-peer transactions.

September 29, 2021

UBS Creates ESG Role in Investment Bank

The Swiss bank appoints one of its investment bankers to a key sustainability role.

Zurich-based UBS is naming Laurent Bouvier to front a new team of investment bankers focused on environmental, social, and governance responsibility, according to a memo seen by finews.com. Bouvier, a managing director, is currently co-head of the global industries group, with Charles Otton.

Bouvier’s promotion is part of a wider push by UBS and other investment banks to increasingly consider so-called ESG criteria in traditional sectors like industry. Wall Street rivals like Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank have already set up similar teams, which first reported Bouvier’s appointment.

A dealmaking veteran, Bouvier will be joined by Armin Peter and Samantha Sutcliffe, who have devoted themselves to sustainable banking and finance efforts at UBS since 2019. Peter is the global head of debt syndicate and the head of sustainable banking in the European, Middle East, and Africa regions. Sutcliffe is the head of green and sustainable finance.

Bouvier previously spent more than 16 years at Credit Suisse, also as an MD, before joining UBS in 2015. He will be replaced in his current job by Philippe Chryssicopoulos, who will co-lead the industrials group with Otton.

September 29, 2021

UOB Targets Doubling of Digital Retail Customers by 2026

The bank said it would invest up to $500 million in digital innovation initiatives to reach its goal of serving more than 7 million customers in Asean.

With digital banking now the preferred choice among UOB customers, the bank is «doubling down» on its data-driven model to create hyper-personalized digital experiences for its customers.

The bank will be combining TMRW, its digital bank that launched in 2019 and is available in Thailand and Indonesia, with its mobile app «Mighty» on to one platform: UOB TMRW, the bank said in an announcement on Wednesday.

By harnessing the best of TMRW and UOB Mighty in one platform, we can tap economies of scale to accelerate innovation especially in the area of hyper-personalised digital banking experiences and speed to market, Wee Ee Cheong, UOB deputy chairman and CEO, said.

Upon the successful completion of its beta pilot currently underway among UOB employees, the platform will be launched for all UOB customers in Singapore later this year, the announcement said.

UOB TMRW will be progressively rolled out across its key Asean markets, with the next markets expected to launch in the next 18 months.

In this next phase, we are making it our goal to explore how technology can enable us to make the digital banking of tomorrow smarter and even more intuitive for our customers, Kevin Lam, head of TMRW and group digital banking, said.

September 29, 2021

China Intensfies Crypto Ban

China is ramping up its cryptocurrency prohibition efforts again with a directive issued by ten institutions last Friday covering a range of activities including offshore transactions and hiring.

All crypto transactions in China are banned, according to authorities in a statement that highlighted examples such as Tether, Bitcoin and Ether.

Banned crypto-related activities extend to services provided by offshore exchanges to domestic residents.

The statement was issued by the People’s Bank of China alongside nine other institutions that included the supreme court, the police and the internet and securities watchdogs.

The nation’s top economic planning agency asking local officials to investigate abnormal power usage, call in loans and eliminate preferential tax treatment to accelerate the shutdown of mining operations.

In addition, crypto platforms will also be forbidden to hire locally for roles like marketing, tech and payment, limiting their ability to serve Chinese customers.

The latest efforts are part of an ongoing crackdown that traces back to September 2017 when authorities first banned initial coin offerings in China.

September 29, 2021

Binance Halts Crypto Trading for Singapore Users

Binance announced a new round of curbs for its Singapore business, restricting crypto trading for users in the city-state.

Users in Singapore will no longer be able to deposit fiat money, trade or purchase crypto via Binance.com from October 26, according to a statement.

Advisers were also told to cease all related trades, withdraw fiat assets and redeem tokens by the deadline.

We will be restricting Singapore users in respect of the regulated payments services in line with our commitment to compliance, said Binance. Our aim is to create a sustainable ecosystem around blockchain technology and digital assets, and we hope that such efforts will help the industry grow in the local market in the long-run.

While the Monetary Authority of Singapore has issued warnings about potential breaches of the Payment Services Act at Binance.com, which is operated by Binance, it is currently reviewing a license application from Binance.sg, which is operated by Binance Asia Services (BAS).

Binance.sg is viewed by some users as the lighter version of Binance.com with a smaller offering and significantly less liquidity.

September 29, 2021

Crypto Exchange FTX Quits Hong Kong

The digital assets derivatives exchange has moved its headquarters to Nassau, the Bahamas, citing friendlier regulation and no mandatory quarantine upon arrival in-country.

The company’s chief executive officer, 29-year-old billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried told industry publication Blockworks that the proactive stance taken by The Bahamas and its regulatory bodies on cryptocurrencies» is one of the primary reasons FTX is moving to the Caribbean island.

Ryan Salame, recently appointed CEO of FTX Digital Markets, will be responsible for leading its local initiatives in the Bahamas. In addition, FTX Digital Markets will be expanding its presence in the country to support transferred and local employees.

Hong Kong authorities have been taking an increasingly hard stance towards cryptocurrencies, barring non-accredited investors from accessing the local crypto market.

Blockworks experts also cited unclear regulations around custody and inconsistencies with how the city’s different regulatory bodies treat crypto as reasons why firms in this sector are finding it increasingly hard to operate in Hong Kong.

September 24, 2021