Milestone for equity crowdfunding in Australian with ASIC licence approval
OnMarket will be one of the first businesses in Australia to raise capital this year through ‘the crowd’, following the Australian Securities and Investments Commission’s approval of its equity crowdfunding licence. Equity crowdfunding brings entrepreneurs and retail investors together for the first time and is only now possible following today’s licence approval. Equity crowdfunding enables Australian retail investors to contribute as little as $50, or as much as $10,000 in a business. The new licenses follow federal legislation announced last year. OnMarket will bring investment opportunities through Australian businesses to ordinary Australians through its online platform and app. Investors will be connected to Australian businesses like Revvies, which […]
Equitise launches Australia’s first Equity Crowdfunding with Neobank Xinja
Australians will be able to invest as little as $50 in emerging startups and small businesses with the launch of Equitise’s new equity crowdfunding offering. Equitise has secured Australia’s first retail equity crowdfunding licence through ASIC, with neobank Xinja becoming the first company to raise capital from the public. Investors will be able to invest as little as $250 in Xinja, with a minimum target of $500,000 through Equitise, as a part of the neobank’s current fund raising round ahead of its 2018 product launch. Equitise co-founder Chris Gilbert said before now, this early stage investment was only available for high net worth investors or venture capitalists. […]
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 […]
Auswide Bank sells stake in MoneyPlace, only two years after investing in online lender
Bundaberg-based bank Auswide is offloading its 62 per cent stake in online lender MoneyPlace only two years after making an investment to “take a position” in the hi-tech sector. The bank said the sale would boost full-year results, and now was “the right time to realise our investment”. Neither the price nor a detailed rationale were revealed, and Auswide had not flagged a sale in recent results. MoneyPlace is a peer-to-peer lender whose online website offers personal loans from $5000 to $45,000 at rates starting at 7.65 per cent.In December 2015, Auswide decided to take an equity stake as well as offer funding for MoneyPlace loans. Auswide will keep funding […]
Victoria to launch two FinTech hubs
The Victorian Government has announced plans to launch two new FinTech hubs in Melbourne in partnership with local hub operators. The partnerships with Stone & Chalk and YBF Ventures (formerly York Butter Factory) will seek to facilitate the development of Melbourne’s FinTech sector. The Stone & Chalk hub will be located at Goods Shed North in Docklands. Already the home to cybersecurity organisations including the CSIRO’s Data61, the hub will be transformed into a FinTech and cybersecurity precinct. Meanwhile the YBF Ventures hub will be located on Bourke Street in the city and will offer a range of advisory services focused on helping FinTech start-ups develop and commercialise business concepts. […]
ATO creates specialist task force to tackle cryptocurrency tax evasion
The Australian Taxation Office is putting together a taskforce of tax experts, lawyers, technology specialists, bankers and financial advisers to help it identify and track cryptocurrency transactions to ensure all taxes are being paid. A top team of industry specialists will work with the tax officials to work out strategies for “following the money” involving transactions using the digital “distributed” ledgers that have no central data storage, which make it difficult to trace and track. The ATO is also believed to be also working closely with banks, Austrac, state revenue offices, which collect revenues, particularly for property transactions, and officials involved with the Black Economy Taskforce, which has been identifying […]
What is a peer-to-peer personal loan?
In 2018, peer-to-peer lenders are expected to significantly grow their share of the Australian personal loan market. Peer-to-peer lenders are now becoming an established part of the lending scene and new lenders are expected to enter in the next year. Alongside the big banks, the regional banks, credit unions and non-bank lenders, the peer-to-peer lenders are offering competitive loan deals and winning thousands of new customers. How does a peer-to-peer personal loan work? Traditional loans from a bank or credit union are made using funds often sourced from depositors. The bank offers the saver an interest rate on their savings and charges the borrower a much higher interest rate on […]
