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Tag: invest

  • Amazon To Inject $233m Into India Operations: Aims For Infrastructure Expansion And Enhanced Delivery Safety

    Amazon To Inject $233m Into India Operations: Aims For Infrastructure Expansion And Enhanced Delivery Safety

    By 2025, Amazon is planning to inject more than 20 billion rupees (equivalent to US$233 million) into its operations in India. This significant investment will be used to enhance and widen the scope of its operational infrastructure, as well as devise innovative technology for its product fulfillment networks and augment delivery safety procedures.

    The Aim of the Investment

    This substantial financial commitment comes in continuation of Amazon’s previous investments aimed at constructing a comprehensive operations network that can cater to all serviceable postal codes within the nation.

    A key player in the Indian e-commerce market, Amazon competes with other heavyweights such as Walmart’s Flipkart and Reliance Retail, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani. The corporation had previously announced that by 2030, its total investment in the Indian market would reach $26 billion, however, the specifics regarding this allocation were not disclosed.

    Investment Implementation

    The new funding will be allocated toward the establishment of new sites and modernization of existing facilities across its fulfillment and delivery network to enhance processing speed and capacity.

    In addition to infrastructural developments, Amazon also has plans to incorporate technology that will ensure the safety of its delivery associates. This includes implementing systems that will notify associates of unsafe speeds and enable the equitable distribution of delivery routes.

    Investing in Employee Welfare

    Part of the funding will also be directed toward initiatives designed to improve the health and financial stability of Amazon’s employees. This showcases the company’s commitment to not just expand its market presence, but also to enhance the welfare of its workforce.

    Earlier this year, it was announced that Amazon’s cloud services provider, Amazon Web Services, was earmarked to invest approximately US$8.2 billion in India.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the purpose of Amazon’s planned investment in India?
    The investment is intended to expand and modernize Amazon’s operational infrastructure, develop new technology for its product fulfilment networks, and boost delivery safety.

    How will Amazon’s new investment benefit its delivery associates?
    Amazon plans to implement technology that will alert delivery associates about unsafe speeds and ensure fair distribution of delivery routes, enhancing their safety and work experience.

    What commitment has Amazon made towards the welfare of its employees?
    Amazon has pledged to allocate a portion of its new investment to initiatives aimed at improving the health and financial well-being of its employees in India.

  • BNY Mellon Invests in Crypto Storage Firm

    BNY Mellon Invests in Crypto Storage Firm

    BNY Mellon will further its inroads into the digital asset market with its latest investment into crypto storage firm Fireblocks.

    The world’s largest custodian bank was part of the latest funding round for Fireblocks which raised a total of $133 million, according to a statement.

    In addition to strategic investments from BNY Mellon and Silicon Valley Bank, other participants of the funding round include hedge fund Coatue Management, investment firm Ribbit Capital, growth equity firm Stripes and SVB Capital. Existing investors including Paradigm, Galaxy Digital and Swisscom Ventures also participated in the round.

    To date, Fireblocks has raised $179 million and according to a report citing unnamed sources, the latest funding round values the firm at nearly $1 billion.

    Currently, Fireblocks has a presence in Europe, North America and Asia with a wide range of clients including banks, neobanks, exchanges, hedge funds and market makers. Within Asia, it has over 35 clients including Hong Kong-based crypto financier Amber Group and Singapore-based hedge fund manager Three Arrows.

    Over the past three years, clients have entrusted Fireblocks to secure more than $400 billion in assets.

    «Fintechs and banks require not only a specialized custody and settlement infrastructure to ensure customer funds are safely managed, but a platform that enables new lines of digital offerings,” said Fireblocks CEO Michael Shaulov. «While we have no plans to become a bank, we believe our infrastructure will lend itself perfectly to power an entirely new era of financial services.»

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  • Grab Moves Into Wealth Management With Acquisition

    Grab Moves Into Wealth Management With Acquisition

    Grab on Tuesday announced the acquisition of Bento Invest, a Singapore-based Robo-advisory start-up for an undisclosed sum. It allows Grab to kickstart the offering of retail wealth management solutions to users, driver-partners, and merchant-partners via its app.

    With the acquisition, Bento will be rebranded as GrabInvest with products launched on the Grab app in the first half of the year in Singapore. GrabInvest will be a new core business vertical under Grab’s financial services arm, Grab Financial Group, led by Chandrima Das, founder, and chief executive of Bento.

    «In Southeast Asia, there is a lack of access to affordable wealth management products and retirement planning solutions for most people. As we face an increasingly volatile and uncertain economic environment, it is imperative for Southeast Asians to acquire the tools and knowledge to protect their future by sustainably building wealth for themselves and their families,» said Reuben Lai, Senior Managing Director of Grab Financial Group in a media statement.

    Bento’s proprietary digital wealth platform includes client onboarding, and portfolio construction and rebalancing supported by robust risk management capabilities. The platform is built and backed by a team of seasoned asset management and banking professionals who will join the GrabInvest team. Bento’s founder, Chandrima Das, has over two decades of leadership experience in banks and asset managers across Asia and the U.K. She was formerly Managing Director at Bank of Singapore and prior to that, CEO of ING Investment Management.

    GrabInvest will operate under a retail wealth management capital markets services license in Singapore, namely the MAS Retail Licensed Fund Management Company (LFMC) license. It hopes to offer cash management and portfolio-based financial solutions to its users, driver-partners, and merchant-partners, with Singapore as the first market to roll-out.

    GrabInvest said its aim is to democratize access to retail wealth management products, by providing people in Southeast Asia with the opportunity to save and invest in financial products traditionally limited to affluent individuals and institutional investors. GrabInvest aims to make wealth management services accessible by adopting a low-cost model, easy to understand by allowing users to transact on a platform they are familiar with, transparent by having full disclosures on fees with zero hidden elements, and trusted by adhering to consumer protection standards outlined by the regulators.

    Grab Financial Group currently offers financial services across Southeast Asia in payments (GrabPay), rewards (GrabRewards), lending (GrabFinance), and insurance (GrabInsure) to micro-entrepreneurs, small business owners, driver-partners and users across Southeast Asia.

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