Asia news roundup: India clamps down on crypto coins, while Singapore remains a safe haven

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After China, India wants to rein in risks from crypto assets, while Singapore sees no reason to ban trading. South Korea blames the North for the Coincheck hack. In other news, Alibaba makes a huge investment in the film industry.

Cryptocurrencies

India to crack down on cryptocurrencies (India). The country’s finance ministry said it would make cryptocurrencies illegal within its payments system, while appointing a regulator to oversee unregulated exchanges for trading crypto assets. It also vowed to eliminate the use of crypto coins in financing any illegitimate activity. The Indian government previously dubbed digital currency investments as “Ponzi schemes.” (Reuters)

No strong case why Singapore should ban crypto trading (Singapore). The city-state’s central bank has been studying the potential risks posed by cryptocurrencies, but it said there’s no solid case yet to prohibit trading. “Cryptocurrencies are an experiment. The number and different forms of cryptocurrencies [are] growing internationally. It is too early to say if they will succeed,” explained Deputy Prime Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam. (Reuters)

N. Korean hackers might be behind Coincheck heist (South Korea). South Korea’s intelligence agency said it was possible that North Korean hackers were behind the US$530 million theft of crypto coins from the Japanese cryptocurrency exchange last month. Reuters sources said the digital currency market was a likely target due to its sheer size and light regulation, but there was no concrete evidence that the North was responsible. Earlier, the US blamed Pyongyang for launching the so-called WannaCry cyberattack that crippled businesses globally in 2017. (Reuters)

Entertainment

Alibaba to become Wanda Film’s no. 2 shareholder (China). Alibaba has agreed to purchase a US$1.2 billion stake in the cinema operator owned by billionaire Wang Jianlin. The ecommerce behemoth will hold the second-biggest share of the company. Another Chinese tech giant, Beijing Cultural Investment, will also buy a stake. This is Wanda Film’s first major share sale to external investors after listing on the Shenzhen bourse in 2015 and forms part of Wang’s efforts to sell assets to pay down debt. The investment is seen to help Alibaba play a larger role in China’s fast-growing film industry. (Bloomberg)

Investors, accelerators

Malaysia to pick 30 startups for accelerator program (Malaysia). The Malaysian Global Innovation & Creativity Centre’s four-month Global Accelerator Programme has started accepting applications, and the portal will remain open until March 26. This year’s batch includes 30 global startups that want to break into Southeast Asia and become investment-ready. The program will provide mentoring; direct access to market partners such as Google, Malaysia Airlines, Maxis, and Maybank; marketing allowance; and US$500,000 worth of Amazon Web Services. (MaGIC)

Insurance

Vouch Insurtech closes $1m funding round (Singapore). The online car insurance startup has raised seed capital from angels and investors like GREE Ventures and Nogle Capital for regional expansion. Vouch Insurtech customers receive up to 15 percent cashback on their premium payments as a perk if they don’t make any claims during their policy period. The company plans to enter Thailand and Malaysia next. (Vouch Insurtech)

Internet of things

Hewlett Packard Enterprise unveils Asia-Pacific IoT lab (Singapore). Located in the city-state, the lab offers an immersive environment to demonstrate practical internet of things (IoT) use-cases for industries such as oil and gas, manufacturing, engineering, healthcare, retail, smart cities, and more. It also tests the newest IoT technologies for analyzing data and developing data-driven solutions. (HPE)

See: Previous Asia news roundups