Aerodyne makes strategic investment in Middle East’s drone solutions firm FEDS
Malaysia-based Aerodyne Group, a provider of drone-based asset management solutions, has made a strategic investment in FEDS Group Holdings, a drone solutions provider in the Middle East.
The transaction details were not disclosed.
This investment would allow Aerodyne to leverage on FEDS’s growth trajectory and financial performance to further enhance value for its shareholders.
In the Middle East, FEDS provides premium turnkey aerial inspections of infrastructure assets in the energy utilities, geospatial survey, public infrastructure, and telecommunications sectors.
This strategic investment is part of Aerodyne’s two-year global plan, which will potentially see the completion of seven M&As within the period.
In December 2019, Aerodyne announced a similar strategic alliance with Measure UAS in America.
SFA collaborates with MAS, others to support fintech industry affected by COVID-19
Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) today announced the results of the recently-conducted survey with its members on the impact of COVID-19 on the fintech industry.
SFA has been working with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and key ecosystem partners, including National Trades Union Congress (NTUC) and NTUC’s e2i (Employment and Employability Institute), on initiatives to save jobs and fintech companies.
The key findings of the survey are:
- 81.2 per cent of respondents have implemented business continuity plans (BCP)
- 47.8 per cent of respondents feel that COVID-19 has had a significant impact on their business.
- Larger fintech companies seem to cope better with COVID-19 as compared to their smaller counterparts with less than 20 employees
Also Read: Singapore’s SFA signs MOU with ASEAN’s AFIN to promote fintech marketplace APIX
Top-3 areas which fintech companies need immediate assistance on are:
- Advice on available government grants
- Fund raising
- Lead generation
Commenting on the survey results, Chia Hock Lai, President of SFA, said, “We urge fintech companies to take this opportunity to future-proof their business, build up new capabilities and seize new opportunities during this period. Singapore will emerge as a stronger fintech hub as the ecosystem is standing united to overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
In response to the survey findings, SFA will be working closely with MAS and key ecosystem players like NTUC and e2i to address the main issues of saving fintech jobs through job redesign and upskilling of workers, lowering business cost through the new Financial Sector Technology and Innovation (FSTI) Digital Acceleration Grant for fintech.
Startups can obtain a co-funding up to US$120,000, which can be used for digital solutions and services, facilitating sales with an external auditor to come up with a new self-assessment framework, and funding stimulation through one-on-one access with investors.
Wavemaker Partners adds Gavin Lee to lead the investment team
VC firm Wavemaker Partners has announced that it has appointed Gavin Lee as a new Partner. Lee will be responsible for building the investment team at Wavemaker and is responsible for all investment-related activities.
Lee has led and participated in more than 100 investments and actively supports several Wavemaker’s portfolio companies including Shield and eFishery.
He started his career in venture capital with Matrix Partners China and Infocomm Investments, a Singapore government venture firm now called SGInnovate. He graduated with a BA in Financial Economics from Columbia University and is currently completing his Executive MBA in Finance at Tsinghua University.
CIMB, iSTOX to expand access to private capital markets through DLT
The Singapore branch of CIMB has signed an agreement with ICHX Tech, the operator of the capital markets platform iSTOX. The partnership will allow CIMB clients in the ASEAN region access to a faster, more flexible, and efficient way to raise funds at a lower cost.
iSTOX is the regulated capital markets platform available in any major financial centre to support the one-stop issuance, custody, and secondary trading of digitised securities.
Leveraging on the power of advanced smart contract and distributed ledger technology (DLT) to streamline the issuance and trading process, iSTOX allows investors and issuers to connect directly and removes barriers that have prevented a far greater pool of investors from access to private capital markets opportunity.
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Picture Credit: Aerodyne
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