Investment in these industries has already hit a fever pitch in the Southeast Asian region. The Chinese Big 3 of Alibaba, Tencent, and Baidu, along with Japan’s SoftBank, have led the recent charge.
June 27, 2017
‘Singapore regulators have proposed rules that will make it easier for banks to conduct or invest in non-financial businesses such as e-commerce and digital-payment platforms, helping them to better compete with non-bank firms in these areas, Finance Minister Heng Swee Keat said Tuesday.
Under the proposals, lenders will no longer need regulatory approval to invest in such businesses, Heng told the annual bankers’ dinner. The Monetary Authority of Singapore will cap the investment to 10 percent of the bank’s capital funds, the regulator said in a statement accompanying Heng’s speech.’