THE BANGKO SENTRAL ng Pilipinas (BSP) raised the minimum capital requirement for rural banks to at least P50 million, as it seeks to further strengthen the local banking industry. BSP Circular No. 1151 amends the minimum capitalization of rural banks as part of the Rural Bank Strengthening Program (RBSP). “The RBSP was developed to enhance the operations, capacity, and competitiveness …

Standard Chartered Plc’s joint venture with an arm of Singapore’s biggest trade union group is starting digital banking services in the city-state, entering the online fray that’s starting to heat up with tech giants jostling in on the space. Trust Bank, in which the UK firm holds 60%, has launched savings accounts and insurance products, targeting workers and their families …

PHILIPPINE startup Inteluck Corp. made it into Forbes Asia’s roster of 100 companies to watch out for in the Asia-Pacific region this year. The “100 to Watch” list spotlights the region’s rising small companies and startups that address real-world challenges with fresh thinking and innovative products and services. E-commerce and retail firm Inteluck is a tech-driven logistics startup that initially …

THE NATIONAL Government (NG) plans to borrow P200 billion from the domestic market in September, the Bureau of the Treasury (BTr) said on Tuesday. The September borrowing plan is 7% lower than the P215-billion program for August. The government raised just P162.021 billion from domestic borrowings this month, along with an additional P35 billion when the Treasury opened its tap …

THE COMBINED ASSETS of the Philippines’ largest banks grew by double digits annually in the second quarter, a pace not seen since before the pandemic, due to an increase in total loans. The latest edition of BusinessWorld’s Quarterly Banking Report showed the total assets of the 45 universal and commercial banks (U/KBs) in the country jumped by 11.7% year on …

HANOI — Singapore-based private equity company Heritas Capital has launched a $50 million impact fund, seeking to back 10 to 15 innovative and high-growth social enterprises across Asia. The fund — Asia Impact First Fund (AIFF) — will look for social businesses “with a clear and demonstrated social and/or environmental impact, and viable business growth plans,” Heritas Capital said in …

VIETNAM received US$12.8 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first 8 months of 2022, up 10.5 per cent from a year earlier, the Ministry of Planning and Investment said on Thursday (Aug 25). FDI pledges – which indicate the size of future FDI disbursements – dropped 12.3 per cent to US$16.8 billion, it said in a statement. Of …

For entrepreneurs, launching a startup or running a small or medium-size enterprise (SME) can be the attainment of a dream. But once the many challenges associated with operating and growing that business set in, the dream might morph into a nightmare. “The harsh reality is that no matter how much experience and business acumen a person brings to the table, …

THE DISRUPTION of schooling due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic inflicted lifetime earning losses in developing Asia, most particularly for those in lower income brackets, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) reported. The pandemic has further exacerbated the learning crisis for today’s student cohort. Globally, estimates suggest that 70% of 10-year-olds are unable to read and understand a simple …

SINGAPORE’S Grab, once South-east Asia’s most valuable startup, is faltering behind GoTo Group in the public markets as it fights to gain ground on its Indonesian ride-hailing rival’s home turf. The unprofitable companies are both struggling to convince investors of their moneymaking potential after staging their stock-market debuts in recent months. Yet GoTo has fallen less than its competitor and …