ASX

Oct
23

ASX-listed Peppermint Innovation registers more than 5,000 Bizmoto agents in the Philippines

Peppermint Innovation Limited announces that to date more than 5,000 agents have signed up to its Bizmoto network in the Philippines. Having launched the Bizmoto agent network in late May followed by a preliminary digital marketing drive which started on August 23, the Philippines operations team had registered 5,000 Bizmoto agents as of the end of last week. The agents are now being on-boarded and trained in how to deliver the various Bizmoto services, including mobile banking, mobile eLoad, bill/product payment and money transfers. They also receive training on how to charge and recharge their electronic wallets, which they use to facilitate Bizmoto services. At present, Filipinos can use their […]

DETAIL
Oct
17

Identitii lists on ASX

Identitii Limited (ASX: ID8), an Australian FinTech enabling the secure overlay of transaction level detail on top of financial messages using a  private blockchain, commenced trading on the ASX today at 11.00am AEDT. The listing follows a fully underwritten $11 million raising at $0.75 per share. 14,666,666 shares were issued for an undiluted market capitalisation at listing of $40 million. The Company is also pleased to announce the appointment of Clare Rhodes as Chief Marketing Officer and Mark Garvie as Chief Commercial Officer. Funds raised from the IPO will go towards further development and commercialisation of Identitii’s platform, already in use at a global bank, as well as to appointing […]

DETAIL
Oct
02

BlackRock outlines ETF plans for Australia

Actively managed ETFs are one of the things that are off the table for BlackRock’s Australian business at least for now, according to the newly-appointed iShares head Christian Obrist. Obrist spoke to Financial Standard about the opportunities that BlackRock sees in advisers, institutionals and managed accounts. “We are not going to go down that track [of actively managed ETFs] at the moment because of the single market-maker model and we strongly advocate for a multiple market-maker model where your ETFs are put into a competition to trade,” Obrist says. “If you have a product that is in a single market-maker model and the market starts to tank, you have one […]

DETAIL
Sep
21

Affinity takes Scottish Pacific on first trip into the $4s

Affinity Equity Partners is offering more than $600 million for debtor finance company Scottish Pacific. Street Talk understands the private equity firm’s indicative bid values Scottish Pacific in the “mid to high $4s” a share range, and was made subject to due diligence, funding and the sorts of approvals usually seen when a buyout firm knocks on a listed company’s door. For Scottish Pacific, it means there is no real rush to do anything. If there is to be a takeover, it would be months away. Nothing it says or does in the next 24-hours is expected to move the dial, now that Affinity has made its approach. Scottish Pacific […]

DETAIL
Sep
17

ASX gears up for fintech era as data foundation for financial services industry

The Australian Securities Exchange will push ahead with attempts to establish itself as a global technology pioneer, despite criticism of its governance, with its operations boss pledging to balance risk with the flexibility required to thrive in the fintech era of blockchain and artificial intelligence. Speaking to The Australian Financial Review following the release of a review by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission into its technology practices, ASX chief operating officer Tim Hogben said an ongoing technology improvement program was already bearing fruit and that the exchange was outpacing global peers in opening up its data for customers and startups. The ASIC report had originated from a costly outage in […]

DETAIL
Sep
05

ASX pushes back the start date for its blockchain

ASX has pushed back the “go live” date for its blockchain to clear and settle the Australian equities market by around six months, after market participants expressed concerns about meeting an ambitious timeline given the complexity of the technological change. Market players used a consultation process to express “a strong interest in better understanding the potential benefits that a DLT [distributed ledger technology]-based system can offer”, ASX said in a new “scope and implementation plan” for its replacement of the CHESS system. Brokers and investors want as much time as possible to get their heads around the technology, and to determine what investment spending will be required to connect with […]

DETAIL
Aug
21

BetaShares to launch three new ETFs to the ASX

The new ETFs will track international companies and offer exposure to blockchain and artificial intelligence technologies. Australian exchange traded funds (ETF) manager BetaShares has today announced its plans to launch three new ETFs on the ASX. The ETFs will track international markets and will provide exposure to new technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence (AI). The three new ETFs are BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX:ASIA), BetaShares Global Blockchain Innovators ETF (ASX:BLOK) and BetaShares Global Robotics and Artificial Intelligence ETF (ASX:RBTZ). Unlike a listed investment company (LIC), which has fund managers actively picking stocks in an attempt to beat the market, ETFs simply mirror the performance of a particular […]

DETAIL

After CBA scandal, Australia’s regtech sector is ready for take-off

The local regtech scene is ready for take-off. There were two indications last week that regulatory technology’s engines are revving up. One was the corporate regulator securing an extra $6 million in funding from the federal government to market Australia as a global centre of regtech excellence. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission chairman James Shipton is on board with the potential for new technology to help regulated entities meet their complex legal obligations. The second was the filing of a prospectus by a promising Sydney-based regtech start-up known as Identitii. Based in a terrace house in Potts Point, Identitii plans to list on the ASX in September, with the […]

DETAIL