Expanding Footprint of Swiss Fintech Firms in Singapore

Singapore, a bustling hub of technology and finance, continues to attract Swiss fintech companies seeking to expand their reach in Asia. The city-state's supportive government, progressive regulatory landscape, and thriving startup ecosystem make it an ideal destination for these companies.

One such company is SEBA Bank, which has a presence in Singapore and Hong Kong. SEBA Bank was recently selected as one of the finalists for the Global Central Bank Digital Currency Challenge organized by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The digital asset exchange, subject to MAS regulatory approval, will operate out of Singapore.

Another fintech firm, Vestr, a Swiss capital markets startup, is setting foot in Asia through a partnership with Julius Baer. The partnership will see Vestr working on a proof-of-concept for digitally managing the end-to-end lifecycle of actively managed certificates in Singapore. Vestr's Singapore branch was awarded the Financial Sector Technology and Innovation PoC grant by MAS.

Regtech startup NetGuardians, established its APAC headquarters in Singapore in 2018. The company recently inked a partnership with PwC Singapore, adding its solution to the consulting firm's fraud advisory and technology implementation offering. Swiss fintech SMEs and startups can find significant business opportunities in Indonesia, as detailed in a Swiss Global Enterprise market report. However, there is no public record of Swiss fintech companies that have entered the Indonesian market in recent years, nor details about their business models, according to current available information.

Metaco, a provider of security software and infrastructure to the digital asset ecosystem, opened its Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore. Swiss exchange operator SIX and Japan's SBI Digital Asset are working on a digital asset exchange, hoped to be operational by 2022. Swiss fintech companies AlgoTrader, Crealogix, Ti&m, Apiax, and Crypto Finance have established a presence in Singapore.

Swiss digital asset bank Sygnum announced a partnership with SBI Group and Azimut Group to launch a venture capital fund of up to US$75 million based in Singapore. Georg von Wattenwyl, chairman of SwissCham Singapore, stated that Singapore's support from the government and solid economic fundamentals make it an important trading partner for Switzerland in Southeast Asia.

Singapore serves as a gateway to other South East Asian nations such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia for Swiss fintech companies. The city-state has forged bilateral agreements with various fintech jurisdictions, including Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Korea, Japan, India, and China. Things are shaking up at wealthtech firm Additiv as a new regional head was recently appointed to further drive growth in Singapore and Southeast Asia.

The featured image for this article was edited from images by www.slon.pics and jannoon028 via Freepik. For more information on business opportunities in fintech in Indonesia, you can access the Swiss Global Enterprise market report here.