Digibank licenses drive SME growth in SG, Hyphen Group hints at comeback

In The Top Up this week, we explore Anext and Green Link’s efforts to support SMEs and examine the implications of Hyphen Group’s recent rebranding. [Read from your browser]( The Top Up 💵 Welcome to The Top Up! Delivered every fortnight via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in fintech. If you’re not a subscriber, get access by [registering here](. Written by Budi Sutrisno Journalist Hello {NAME} The SME market is a gift that keeps on giving in Asia. Even in developed countries like Singapore, small businesses still play a vital role in the domestic economy – they account for 99% of enterprises in the city-state. One common challenge for SMEs though is limited access to adequate financing from traditional banks or financial institutions, which often set stringent requirements or collateral demands. This is an opportunity for the tech community to step in. Singapore, for one, has introduced digital bank licenses to facilitate better access to financing for SMEs. Anext and Green Link are among the license recipients, as highlighted by my colleague Rachel in this week’s Big Story. Anext, a subsidiary of Ant Financial, aims to serve Singapore-based SMEs with overseas operations. It plans to do this by leveraging its parent firm’s experience running MyBank in China. Green Link, on the other hand, seeks to support businesses in Singapore and China, drawing on the real estate expertise of its parent company, Greenland Group. These digibanks offer lower minimum loan amounts, require less paperwork, and have innovative, tech-based credit assessment methods, making them attractive options for SMEs. Meanwhile, for this week’s Hot Take, I delve into Hyphen Group’s upcoming Nasdaq listing under its new identity as MoneyHero Group. After facing layoffs and a failed [SPAC]( attempt, is it time for the fintech firm to stage a comeback? -- Budi  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORY [From China with love: Digital banks Anext and GLDB aim to fill SME lending void in SG]( The city-state’s wholesale digital banks add spice to the lending market by offering lower interest rates and more.  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE HOT TAKE Bridgetown’s merger a fresh start for MoneyHero Group Here’s what happened: - Hyphen Group, a fintech firm headquartered in Hong Kong and Singapore, has [rebranded]( to MoneyHero Group. - The company, which is backed by Hong Kong billionaire Richard Li, has also entered into a merger agreement with blank-check firm Bridgetown Holdings. - The SPAC deal is expected to generate US$154 million in proceeds, with the combined entity having a post-money valuation of around US$342 million. Here’s our take: The rebranding marks the second such effort by the fintech company, indicating a deliberate change in its positioning strategy. This comes after it faced negative publicity stemming from job cuts at the firm in 2022. Initially, it was known as CompareAsiaGroup before [rebranding to Hyphen Group]( in 2021. MoneyHero is its brand in Hong Kong. With the company adopting the name for its holding entity, it signals its belief in the brand’s strength, particularly considering the company’s roots as a financial comparison platform in that country. This is despite its other markets demonstrating comparable levels of usage to Hong Kong. For instance, SingSaver in Singapore recorded [1.4 million]( monthly web visits in April, and Money101 in Taiwan had [2.7 million]( visits. In comparison, the same figure stood at [1.7 million]( for MoneyHero, according to SimilarWeb. The rebranding effort follows the appointment of CEO [Prashant Aggarwal]( reinforcing his proactive approach to executing significant changes within the company. During his tenure as president and chief commercial officer, Aggarwal steered the company through a challenging period of workforce reductions together with CFO and COO [Shaun Kraft](. At the time, they also helped finalize a funding round led by PCCW, which raised [US$22 million]( for the company.  See also: [Layoffs at Richard Li-backed Hyphen Group after SPAC deal falls through]( While the precise financial implications of the layoffs last year are unclear, these changes represent a concerted effort by the company to embark on a new beginning. The recent merger agreement with Bridgetown adds to this fresh start, particularly following MoneyHero Group’s unsuccessful endeavor with another blank-check company, [Provident Acquisition Corporation](. However, uncertainties remain regarding the firm’s upcoming Nasdaq public listing, including the possibility of postponement. Traveloka’s [failed SPAC deal]( with Bridgetown in 2021 serves as a cautionary example of the challenges associated with such transactions, despite the initial excitement it generated for Indonesia’s tech industry. That said, opting for a listing in the US rather than its home markets of Hong Kong or Singapore via a SPAC is a smart choice for MoneyHero Group. Though it has passed a significant boom between 2019 and 2021, the US SPAC market is more familiar and has a bigger market presence due to some of the high-profile deals in the past and prominent personalities taking part. Statista [reported]( 613 deals in the US in 2021, before the number went down to 86 the following year. The involvement of the US Securities and Exchange Commission in scrutinizing and proposing new rules for SPACs was a reason many [deals were dropped]( but SPACs remain a viable avenue for accessing public markets. In contrast, only five out of 15 SPAC applications filed in Hong Kong last year have been approved, while Singapore has experienced even slower activity, according to legal search platform [Law.com](. Given that Bridgetown is also backed by Richard Li, MoneyHero Group stood a better chance compared to Traveloka to reach an agreement. Now, if the listing attempt proves successful, MoneyHero could raise substantial capital and it might even pave the way for the SPAC market to make a resurgence. -- Budi  --------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Also check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of the fintech scene [here](. 1️⃣ [Trust Bank aims to break even in 2025 as deposit balances breach $739m]( The Singapore-based company, formed through a partnership between Standard Chartered Bank and FairPrice Group, offers products such as savings accounts, credit cards, as well as family personal accident insurance. 2️⃣ [HK digibank to launch service for virtual-asset trading]( ZA Bank aims to obtain regulatory approval to allow retail investors to trade assets using fiat currency within its app. 3️⃣ [Amazon taps Atome for deferred payments in SG]( Singapore-headquartered Atome has partnered with over 15,000 online and offline retailers across Southeast Asia. 4️⃣ [BetterPlace wants to make 10 million workers creditworthy by 2025]( The India-based software-as-a-service and workforce management platform has launched a new product that gives workers easy access to short-term loans at low interest rates. 5️⃣ [PH-based Pouch to accept remittances from Canada, Vietnam via partnership]( The payments firm has partnered with Canada’s Neutronpay to convert Canadian dollars or Vietnamese dong into bitcoins, before turning them into Philippine pesos.  --------------------------------------------------------------- FYI [Fintech builder shows why being profitable – and some gray hair – helps you snag big clients]( Singapore-based Moneythor has been debt-free since its inception a decade ago. We look at how the founders did it.  --------------------------------------------------------------- That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it! Do also check out previous issues of the newsletter [here](. Not your cup of tea? You can unsubscribe from this newsletter by going to your “edit profile” page and choosing that option in our preferences center. In the meantime, if you have any feedback or ideas, feel free to get in touch with Terence, our editor-in-chief, at terence@techinasia.com. See you in a fortnight! P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Too many emails? Switch to a different frequency or get new content through our [preference center]( or [unsubscribe](. 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