ZA Bank in Hong Kong derogates established banks by offering a 6 per cent deposit rate [Bloomberg News]
As eight companies are granted digital banking licenses, ZA Bank becomes the first digital bank to offer a 6 per cent deposit rate for selected clients, compared to 1.9 per cent to 2.3 per cent granted by Standard Chartered, HSBC and BOC Hong Kong, according to Bloomberg News.
ZA bank, co-owned by online insurer ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance and Sinolink Group, started a pilot programme last month and has said that it will provide users with a ‘full suite of services 24/7’, allowing customers to open an account in five minutes with just a Hong Kong identity card.
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Some industry experts have expressed their concern and doubts over the low rates stressing that new banks might not be able to match it. “This is more of a gimmick, which shouldn’t become a norm,” said Terry Siu, treasurer at CMB Wing Lung Bank Ltd “But competition for funds is indeed getting higher as eight more banks are coming out.”
India’s Ankur Capital raises US$34M [press release]
Ankur Capital, an Indian early-stage venture capital fund, has raised US$34 million from CDC Group Plc, The Dutch Good Growth Fund, and SIDBI.
The VC firm was first incorporated in 2014 by Penn/INSEAD alum Ritu Verma and ex-COO of Zee e-learning Rema Subramanian and has a diversified fund investment across 14 companies covering agritech, food, healthcare and vernacular technologies. Some of the companies include Cropin, Niramai, Healthsutra, ERC, and StringBio,
AI company from NZ, Soul Machines, raises US$40M in a round led by Temasek [DealStreet Asia]
Soul Machines, an AI company developing digital avatars has secured US$40 million in a round led by Singaporean investment company Temasek.
This funding round saw participation from European VC Lakestar, Salesforce Ventures, Horizons Ventures, University of Auckland Inventors Fund and others, according to a statement.
The fresh capital will be used by the company for research and development and global expansion.
The company in its own words which develops “life-like digital humans that can talk to people face-to-face” has been trusted and used by corporates like Procter & Gamble, Mercedes-Benz, The Royal Bank of Scotland, ANZ and Sony
Pando raises US$9M Series A round led by Chiratae Ventures [press release]
Pando, an Indian company providing networked logistics management solutions, has raised INR 64 crore (US$9 million) in a Series A funding round led by Chiratae Ventures.
Other participants of this round were Nexus Venture Partners and Next47.
Also Read: Reefknot Investments, SGInnovate enter into partnership focussing on logistics innovation
“Global Logistics is going through a disruption, and large enterprises require a platform that can help them leverage these market changes to scale faster. Pando has helped shippers and transporters address this need through a full-stack solution. Their quality of execution at marquee customers, where Pando has become indispensable within a few months of adoption is remarkable. This convinced us to partner with them,” said TC Meenakshisundaram, Founder MD, Chiratae Ventures.
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