Two Chinese-led groups bid for Singapore digibank license

Two Chinese-led groups have announced that they have joined the race for a digital banking license in Singapore.

Photo credit: Monetary Authority of Singapore

Zall Smart Commerce Group, an ecommerce-focused company in China, said it has formed a consortium to apply for a digital wholesale banking license in the city-state, Bloomberg reported.

Its partners include Japanese trading company Marubeni Corp. and Singapore-based Global eTrade Services. The group said it aims to contribute to Singapore’s development as a global financial hub for trading activities.

With its network and resources in China, Japan, and Southeast Asia, the group looks to provide small and medium-sized enterprises with “growth-focused insights and sustainable finance,” The Business Times reported, citing Peter Yu, deputy chief executive at Zall.

Hong Kong-listed Zall mainly provides customers with wholesale trading services including property, logistics, warehousing, finance, online trading, and big data. It launched Wuhan Zhongbang Bank (Z-Bank) in 2017 when it obtained a virtual banking license in China.

Another group announcing its digital banking bid in Singapore is formed by Chinese financing firm MinIPO and Greenland Financial, operated by Chinese state-owned real estate developer Greenland Group. The consortium also applied for a digital wholesale license, according to a local report. It aims to build a digital bank that offers fintech solutions to SMEs in Singapore.

The two groups join other players, such as Ant Financial, Sheng Ye Capital’s consortium, Arival Bank, an AMTD-led consortium, Bytedance, and iFast’s group, that are vying for a digital wholesale license.

Recently, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said it has received a total of 21 applications for digital bank licenses. It will announce successful applications in June.