Singapore continues to build its fintech circle as a new report indicated that the city-state's first-half 2019 investments in the segment jumped four times compared to the same period last year, reaching $630 million.
According to the Straits Times, Singapore almost hit four times more than its H1 2018 fintech investments in the first half of this year, putting itself on the third spot of Asia's top fintech markets on a funding basis.
While Singapore has yet to topple India and China in fintech investment funding, industry experts are expecting the city-state to keep improving the segment through continuous attraction of both foreign and domestic interest.
In Accenture Research's latest report that studied data from global venture capital and analytics firm CB Insights, it was indicated that Singapore closed 55 percent more fintech deals during the first six months of 2019. Last year, there were only 31 investment deals inked.
While payments under fintech platforms led the way in total funds, bagging 27 percent of the sector's overall funding, lending arms also accounted for a huge portion of the financial investments in the sector.
"There's a lot brewing in the Singapore fintech ecosystem, and this steady flow of funds shows investors' confidence in the industry's future growth potential," managing director at Accenture, Divyesh Vithlani, noted.
Vithlani further explained that the city-state's increasing popularity in the global fintech market "is a good indicator" that Singapore is looking towards a high-end financial and banking future.
In the global stage, fintech investments saw a slump of around 29 percent compared to the records from HQ 2018. Global deals declined as trade war tensions were escalated and earlier agreements between involved companies were cut off.
Among the notable deals that were inked in Singapore for the first half are: financial products expert GoBear's $80 million, cashback platform Shopback's $45 million equity funding supported by EV Growth and Rakuten, and cloud company Deskera's massive $100 million in fintech funding.
On Wednesday, Singaporean startup Koku revealed that it is looking to expand to Indonesia after Decent Capital helped raise $2 million in A funding for the fintech company earlier this year.
The startup said it is looking to collaborate with multiple Indonesian segments such as microlending, remittance, e-wallet provision, money exchange, payment companies, and other related sectors under fintech.
Founder and CEO of Koku, Calvin Goh, noted that the startup pledges to ensure that the technologies they integrate into Indonesian markets will be focused on the residents' business and cultural roots.
Singapore is one of the ASEAN member countries recognized for fast fintech adaptation compared to its other counterparts.