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Hi readers,
It looks like the FTX fiasco will rank high in the list of the world’s greatest financial failures.
This debacle made me recall one of the assignments I’d submitted in college. My groupmates and I had two whole weeks to prepare a business plan. I had smart friends, and we were excited about the project.
We thought we had decent ideas, but at evaluation, we heard all about everything we missed: accounting controls, compliance, and regulations, among others. While this was a reasonable outcome to expect from college kids, it’s an abysmal act from an exchange where anyone who’s anyone in the cryptoverse traded.
Of course, FTX’s evaluation obviously was (eventually) a lot more brutal than mine.
John Ray, who took over as CEO from FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried in the early morning hours of November 11, said that throughout his career, he has never seen “such a complete failure” of corporate controls and a “complete absence of trustworthy financial information.” And this is coming from the CEO who oversaw Enron’s bankruptcy.
At this point, crypto seems more like gambling than investing, and none of this is for the faint heart.
— Deepti Sri, journalist at Tech in Asia
Top stories this week
Image credit: Timmy Loen
1️. Singaporeans feel ‘betrayed’ by Temasek-backed FTX
The liquidity crunch at FTX has posed substantial financial threats to Singaporean investors despite a stamp of approval from state-backed Temasek.
2. Mapping Temasek’s role in the startup space
The Singapore-based investor has launched 28 companies, including 14 investment firms and a venture-building arm, in its quest for disruptive businesses.
3. Why Sea’s shares jumped 36% after its Q3 results
Sea’s third-quarter results hit the right notes with investors, but the troubles at Garena mean the company is not yet out of the woods.
4. Grab’s financial health in 9 charts
Southeast Asian super app Grab just announced its results for the third quarter of 2022.We’ve prepared nine charts – updated by quarter – that track the company’s performance.
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