ASEAN Tech

MAS Is Building an Institute to End the Pilot Era — Singapore's Bet That the Hard Part of Fintech Is Deployment

MAS announced on 25 June it will establish a Future of Finance Institute to move AI and tokenisation from experiments to production. It consolidates a decade of pilots — and stakes Singapore's fintech edge on execution, not novelty.

11 Jul 2026 · 6 min read

ASEAN Tech

Igloo Buys Eazy Digital in Its Second Thailand Move in a Year — a Bet on Insurtech Consolidation

Singapore insurtech Igloo has acquired Eazy Digital, a Singapore-headquartered insurtech with operations across Thailand and Asia, for an undisclosed sum, the company announced on 30 June 2026. The deal — Igloo's second Thailand transaction in twelve months — folds Eazy's agent-management platform and Thailand team into Igloo, with founder Harprem Doowa becoming Country Head of Igloo Thailand. It is a bet on Thailand's insurance-reform push and its large protection gap, and part of a broader consolidation as Southeast Asia's insurtechs buy capability and local presence to build regional insurance platforms — though Igloo is expanding while still loss-making.

9 Jul 2026 · 7 min read

ASEAN Tech

MAS Opens an AI-Themed 2026 Global FinTech Hackcelerator and SFF Excellence Awards

On 29 June 2026, the Monetary Authority of Singapore opened applications for the 2026 Global FinTech Hackcelerator and the Singapore FinTech Festival FinTech Excellence Awards, both closing 14 August. This year's edition is built around AI, with three AI-in-finance problem statements and a thematic Artificial Intelligence Champion award category.

2 Jul 2026 · 6 min read

ASEAN Tech

Vietnam Calls for a Connected ASEAN Fintech Ecosystem at the AFF 2026 — but the Standards Are the Hard Part

At an ASEAN Future Forum 2026 seminar in Hanoi, Vietnam's Deputy PM Nguyen Van Thang urged the region to connect its fintech ecosystems, not just its markets — proposing region-wide real-time payments, Open API standards, anti-fraud coordination and an 'ASEAN Fintech Sandbox.' The ambition is clear; the harder question is whether ten jurisdictions can harmonise the standards underneath it.

11 Jun 2026 · 7 min read

ASEAN Tech

Singapore Bets on Being AI's Neutral Ground — Just as US Chip Rules Put the Middle Under Scrutiny

As Singapore AI Week and SuperAI 2026 open with a pitch to be 'neutral ground' for a fracturing AI industry, fresh US chip-export guidance has sharpened scrutiny of overseas subsidiaries of China-parented firms — capturing both the promise and the peril of Singapore's position.

8 Jun 2026 · 7 min read

ASEAN Tech

Indonesia’s AI Ready ASEAN Pact Turns AI Literacy Into Regional Infrastructure

Indonesia’s new AI Ready ASEAN agreement with the ASEAN Foundation shows how AI adoption in Southeast Asia is becoming a regional capacity-building project, not only a technology race.

6 Jun 2026 · 5 min read

ASEAN Tech

Sea's three engines fire at once: Shopee, Monee and Garena drive a 47 per cent revenue jump

Singapore's Sea Limited posted first-quarter revenue of US$7.1 billion, up 47 per cent, as its e-commerce, fintech and gaming arms grew together for the first time in years. Shopee booked a record US$37.3 billion in goods sold, Monee's loan book grew 70 per cent, and Garena had its strongest quarter in five years.

1 Jun 2026 · 3 min read

ASEAN Tech

Tonik Becomes First Standalone Digital Bank in the Philippines to Turn Profitable

Five years after launch and without a conglomerate backstop, Tonik Digital Bank reported positive consolidated cash net income for Q1 2026 — a first for any standalone digital bank in the Philippines — on a US$110M loan book growing at 2.3× year-on-year.

1 Jun 2026 · 4 min read

ASEAN Tech

Thailand's First Virtual Bank Licence Goes to CLICX — KTB, AIS, and OR Joint Venture Launches 19 June

Thailand's first virtual bank licence has been issued: CLICX — the KTB, AIS, and OR joint venture — received its operating licence from the Bank of Thailand on 14 May 2026 and opens its mobile app on 19 June, targeting the 63% of Thais underserved by traditional banking.

1 Jun 2026 · 4 min read

ASEAN Tech

Grab Takes Majority Control of Indonesia's Superbank as Singtel Transfers Its Stake to GXS

Grab Holdings will consolidate Indonesia's Superbank — a six-million-customer digital lender with IDR 24 trillion in assets — into its Financial Services segment after Singtel Alpha Investments transfers its Superbank stake to GXS Bank, pushing Grab's combined ownership above 50%.

1 Jun 2026 · 4 min read