Afterpay’s US foray carries high expectations
Afterpay Touch Group ((APT)) continues to attract investors’ attention as a rapidly growing fintech that has established itself as the market leader in ‘buy now, receive now, pay later’ finance for both online and instore shoppers. Afterpay recently announced a strategic partnership with experienced tech-focused US venture capital firm Matrix Capital Partners, which will invest in and advise on the Australian company’s US expansion plans. Afterpay IPO-ed in 2016 and in June 2017 merged with another listed fintech, Touchcorp, to form Afterpay Touch Group. The company’s deferred payment product allows shoppers to make purchases without interest charges, up-front fees or loan application forms. Consumers typically pay off these ‘reverse laybuys’ […]
Shares in fintech payments startup Zip Co are going nuts
Shares in Zip Co — the owner of zipPay, zipMoney and Pocketbook brands — jumped after the latest quarterly results exceeded guidance. At the close, the shares were up 22.1% to $1.16.The company posted record December quarter revenue of $9.3 million, up 35%. Transaction volume was up 47% to $140 million. A record 1,800 new retailers joined the platform during the quarter, including Kogan, Fantastic Furniture, Anaconda and Spotlight, says Zip Co. The company says it has unified the Zip network, enabling a Zip wallet funded by either zipMoney or zipPay to transact at any accredited merchant. To read more, please click on the link below… Source: Shares in […]
Bank disrupter Prospa readies first pitch to fund managers
Privately-owned small business lender Prospa will start its search for new investors in coming weeks, when it fronts local and offshore fund managers ahead of a planned initial public offering. It’s understood Macquarie Capital and UBS’s equities desks have been booking fundies to meet Prospa management in Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland and Hong Kong during the first week of February, for a non-deal roadshow. Prospa’s expected to be pitched as the first true major bank disrupter in small business lending. It’s expected to tell fund managers it is the biggest unsecured lender to small business and also the biggest online lender to small business, with loan originations of more than $500 million. The meetings come ahead of […]
Xero looks to attract global growth funds through ASX consolidation
Cloud accounting software company Xero is hoping to attract a range of new institutional investors to its share register, as it prepares to enter a new growth phase when it consolidates onto the ASX on February 5. Founder and chief executive Rod Drury told The Australian Financial Review he could see the business achieving the local status that Xero had reached in the smaller New Zealand market, where it was one of the top 10 largest listed businesses in the country. “We’re at the end of the beginning. We’ve just hit cash flow break-even, but there is still massive growth potential,” Mr Drury said. “Before you get to break-even you […]
What a blockchain-powered ASX should mean
The ASX decision to replace CHESS with a blockchain solution will benefit investors as long as all parties are granted fair access, writes Sharesight’s Doug Morris. On 7 December 2017, the ASX announced it will be replacing its settlement system, known as CHESS, with a “blockchain-inspired technology.” Those of us investment nerds with an interest in financial plumbing have been keeping a close eye on this for years. I think this is a smart business move aimed at reducing operating costs and hopefully a step towards more efficient markets. In fact, CHESS was one of the world’s first electronic settlement systems, and the ASX has long been recognised as a […]
What is an ETF?
Some investors spend days if not weeks deciding whether buy a stock. Most people’s goal is to find stocks that will provide good returns, but many people don’t have the time nor expertise to pick stocks. ETFs or exchange-traded funds are investment funds that are traded on a stock exchange, similar to stocks. ETFs that track an index are one alternative that provides diversification, at lower balances, lower transaction costs, and with flexibility. When investing in an index ETF, your returns usually depend on where the broader market goes, rather than individual stocks. An ETF holds the underlying assets of the fund, which could be stocks, commodities or bonds as […]
This Australian tech investor will be the first ASX-listed company to mine cryptocurrencies
Fatfish Internet Group will become the first ASX-listed company to “mine” cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. Unlike fiat currency which is issued by a central bank, Bitcoin is created or “mined” with high-powered computers and special software used to solve math problems. Singaporean tech investor Fatfish is sinking $US1 million ($1.28 million) into a new Malaysia data centre set up to mine cryptocurrencies. It will start operation in two weeks. Fatfish (ASX:FFG) would own 51 per cent of the business and receive its profits in cryptocurrency, said CEO Kin Wai Lau. Fatfish was initially approached three months ago to invest in the business but only became interested after Bitcoin values surged […]
Bitcoin futures trading company XBT Investments heads for the ASX
Investors who are unsure of how to buy or manage their own cryptocurrencies will have an easy way to be exposed to the volatile asset class, with the first bitcoin investment company readying to list on the ASX this quarter. The float of XBT Investments, which has a management agreement with BitFunds, will invest in bitcoin futures rather than own the cryptocurrency outright. This enables it to overcome the ASX’s listing rules which do not permit pure cryptocurrency investment companies. The listing comes as bitcoin starts the new year trading lower for the first time since 2015, having fallen from almost $18,000 to less than $17,300. The slide comes on […]
