Loans have reached Bt30 million since the Talad Invoice platform was launched in late 2016, he said in an exclusive interview to The Nation.

“We expect lending to reach Bt1 billion this year and we already have Bt100 million in the pipeline,” said Watewiboon. The company will also next month expand its business to Hanoi Vietnam.

Talad is designed to solve the issue of cash shortages experienced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which are usually viewed by commercial banks as high risk clients. Low credit ratings lead to limitations for SMEs seeking loans from banks and other financial institutions.

Watewiboon has experienced the dilemma from the other side of the desk: he used to run a small logistics business and had faced a crunch of liquidity for working capital.

He saw the opportunity to help SMEs by using invoicฌes as loan collateral and looking at the credit of those who buy products or services from SMEs.

Invoice-based lending relies on the credit of SME customers.

“For example we know for sure that hospitals, which buy products from small farmers, would not default on payment,” he said.

It works like this: his company will make loans to a farmer in exchange for getting a good invoice and the right to collect payment from the farmer’s debtors.

D90 Capital will give cash in advance to the farmer, say 80 per cent of the total value of the product related to the invoice, with the remaining 20 per cent given later when he could collect all payment from buyers, said Watewiboon.

Investors will get an interest-rate return for their investment, while D90 Capital will take a commission fee from the financial transaction. The interest rate is paid by SMEs. Put another way, customers sell invoices at a lower price than their face value to the Watewiboon platform.

He currently has about 400500 SMEs engaging with his platform. These small businesses are in many sectors, including agribusiness, auto parts, electronics and ecommerce.

So far the bad loan rate is at zero per cent, Watewiboon claims.

He has few high net-worth individual investors, along with a few financial institutions, providing the funds required for this lending business.

Though the intention of the Talad Invoice model is to reach retail investors, the business model is limited by Securities and Exchange Commission regulations that allow only a limited number of investors in the platฌform, said Watewiboon.

He has been consulting with the SEC and plans to put the Talad Invoice platform into the SEC’s “experimental sandbox” for testing that would allow a limited number of retail investors to participate. If he could pass the sandbox test, Watewiboon could reach out to further retail investors who want to invest in his platform.

Meanwhile, regulators including the Finance Ministry, Bank of Thailand, Anti-Money Laundering Office and SEC are racing against time to come up with regulations for the fintech sector. The regulation would aim at nurturing the fintech industry and at the same time protect the interest of investors and consumers, according to authorities. The regulations will also cover how these companies could raise funds or how could they issue initial coin offerings (ICOs) and use cryptocurrency tokens.

Watewiboon said that Thai regulators are moving slowly in comparison to peers in Singapore and Indonesia where fintech legislation is already in place.

Speaking of his business plan for Vietnam, Watewiboon said that he has a joint venture project with a local financial institution which has about 20,000 to 30,000 clients in its portfolio. If the business succeeds, he might expand to other Asean countries and he would raise funds by launching an ICO next year.

Watewiboon is also planning to expand his business to cover other financial papers, including using letters of credit and purchasing orders as loans collateral.

But for all that it aspires to do, technology needs to happen in a safe environment where customers’ data is protected. It all boils down to trust.

HSBC’s 2017 global Trust in Technology report found when it comes to finances, people seek safety and prudence above all else from those who manage their money.

Trust is the cornerstone of all relationships. Banks have had decades to build extensive infrastructure, develop solutions for compliance and regulatory requirements and, most importantly, earn customer trust.

That is why for banks to stay relevant, they cannot lose sight of their core purpose: To safeguard and responsibly look after other people’s money.

But this doesn’t take away the need for banks to start deploying better technology to improve customer experience and journeys.

The real failure is in not harnessing technology to enhance the customer experience.

The financial services industry is going through a period of extraordinary transformation. Digital technology is now bringing a new level of analysis, connectivity and transaction power literally to customers’ fingertips.

These changes have happened in just the last few years – and they serve a new generation of customers who have grown up in the digital world.

Millennials demand convenient services and new ways of accessing them, wherever and whenever they want. They expect agile, rapid services operating in real time that are competitively priced and personalised.

Fintechs are entering the fray to respond to these needs and gaps in the industry.

Relations between these emerging fintech players and the established banking industry are sometimes portrayed as challenging, even combative. But the reality is that banks and fintech companies are entering partnerships of collaboration, giving banks access to new technologies, and giving fintech companies access to funding and scale of market opportunity.

HSBC’s partnership with Tradeshift is one such example. We now have the capability to embed financing solutions on different supplychain platforms that our clients can leverage. This has made it easier for business customers to manage their accounts and their relationships with suppliers online, saving time and cutting down paperwork.

Big banks and fintech startups have a great deal to offer each other. Banks have a large customer base, stable infrastructure, assets and regulatory knowhow. Startups provide out-of-the-box thinking, technical expertise, and agility to adapt quickly to change.

Together, they can be far more successful at improving the financial services and customer experience than if they compete against one another. And we’ll witness far greater collaboration and integration in the coming years.

Over time, banks that can adapt, embracing the innovations and utilising technologies offered by the fintech industry stand to reap new opportunities, and even extend their share of the market.

Current fintech investments are reflecting the shift from disruption to collaboration where, increasingly, investment is moving into new technology that collaborates and complements the existing technology and infrastructure, rather than those that are disruptive or work in silos.

The evolution of financial services is not a zero sum game. It is clear that banking will look quite different in the coming years than it does today – with regulation, technology, demographics and changing customer expectations.

In as much as financial technology is putting pressure on banks, it is a lot further away from a disruption. The established banks are likely to remain key players – it is more a question of how banks can utilise the fintech innovations sprouting up around them.

Contributed by Jennifer Doherty, head of innovation for Asia, global liquidity and cash management, HSBC

 The announcement came after national strategy committee meeting chaired by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha yesterday.

Porametee Vimolsiri, NESDB secretary-general, said that all details of the draft national strategy have been in line with the nation’s vision to develop the country with stability, sustainability and wealth as a developed nation according to the sufficiency economy philosophy within 20 years.

The draft will be forwarded for a hearing taking in views from all regions of the country and be adjusted before being proposed to a Cabinet meeting in June and to National Legislative Assembly in the same month on expectation for enforcement in July, he said.

The national strategy has been prepared in six dimensions extending from stability, enhancement of competitiveness, development and enhancement of human resource capability, opportunity for social equality and parity, growth on environmentally friendly quality of life to balance and the development of public administration.

According to Porametee, in regard to the public hearing, the prime minister has asked that a plan be added that would make people, particularly adolescents, people in the early stages of their careers and new-generation businessmen, to understand more about the essence of the national strategy and reforms.

The NESDB will coordinate with the Federation of Thai Industries, the Board of Trade of Thailand, the National Farmers Council and ministries to include the national strategy and reforms into training courses for more understanding.

Initially, about 90 per cent of public agencies surveyed have agreed with requirements in the national reforms, while those who disagreed will send their objections to NESDB, which will present them in a Cabinet meeting in March. The national reform plan is projected to be announced within April 5.

“The NESDB questioned related public agencies about the reform plan and found over 90 per cent of them stand ready to follow the reform plan except for the details against their mission,” Porametee said.

Initially, the NESDB, as the secretary to both committees on the national strategy and national reform, will monitor and assess the results and report the progress to the Cabinet meeting. The progress report of the national strategy committee is required every six months or one year, while that of the national reform is required every three months.

Japan ranks as just the 10th biggest investor in the country, accounting for only 1 per cent of the aggregate foreign direct investment inflows.

That is set to change after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI) and Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry Myanmar (JCCM) on Wednesday night.

“Now our dream has come true. This MoU clearly states that we are eager to cooperate with Myanmar businesses for mutual benefits. We will discuss further details about our cooperation with UMFCCI in the near future,” said Katsuji Nakagawa, president of JCCM.

Nakagawa said the recent international reports on conflicts in Rakhine State could not fade away Japanese businesses’ attitude towards Myanmar.

“Our interest will go on, and we will continue investing here. We will ensure every possible effort to help Japanese businesses do business here,” he said.

Nakagawa considers electricity and infrastructure projects as the priority areas of Japanese firms eyeing to invest in the nation. He believes the agreement will lead to a business environment for both parties, as it will help foster Japanese investments and technical transfer.

At the event, Japanese ambassador Tateshi Higuchi hailed the agreement as a “tangible illustration of Japan’s full engagement”.

He said the Japanese private sector has been fostering engagement with Myanmar businesses in the past few years. He stressed the importance of Myanmar-Japan joint initiative and the implementation of Myanmar-Japan Centre for strengthening bilateral ties.

The envoy said Japan would contribute 800 billion yens to help improve urban development in Yangon as well as transportation and electricity infrastructure development across the nation.

Higuchi expects to see the Japanese government’s high-ranking official visit to Myanmar in the weeks to come. He said the two countries could closely cooperate in various projects on public-private partnership scheme.

“I strongly believe the year 2018 tends to be the light of dawn for Myanmar,” he said.

Zaw Min Win, president of UMFCCI, said bilateral relations became much stronger during the current government’s term.

“After signing this MoU, we believe we will see significant development in bilateral trade and investment, particularly in infrastructure projects such as electricity supply and transport as well as agriculture, industry, services sectors. We expect more Japanese investments in the near future,” he said.

According to the chamber’s head, bilateral trade has increased two-fold, driven by government-to-government and business-to-business cooperation. To him, Thilawa special economic zone sets a good example for foreign investors.

“From 1995 to 2017, we have signed 15 MoUs of cooperation with various Japanese chambers and specialised regional business organisations. This signing ceremony today will be another important milestone for cooperation between Myanmar and Japanese business communities,” he said.

Maung Maung Lay, vice president of UMFCCI, said the chamber would create a lot of rooms for improvement in a bid to foster cooperation in all sectors.

“Myanmar is still a critical hub for foreign businesses. Our country is like a virgin who has been surrounded by a large number of men who love to propose her,” he said.

Aung Kyi Soe, general secretary of UMFCCI, said the new deal could benefit Myanmar’s automobile industry, and improve capacity building and human resources development.

Phyo Min Thein, prime minister of the Yangon region government, said the MoU signing would be the first step to foster bilateral relations, particularly in Yangon where most of the bilateral activities are held.

Seven people took part in the lawsuit filed at the Tokyo District Court, plaintiffs’ lawyer Hiromu Mochizuki told AFP before the filing.

The hack of Coincheck — resulting in the disappearance of NEM cryptocurrency worth $530 million — was one of the largest of its kind, and prompted authorities to search the firm’s office earlier this month, after slapping it with an administrative order.

The company has pledged to reimburse about $400 million to all 260,000 customers who lost their holdings of NEM, the 10th biggest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation.

Coincheck halted operations after the hack and prevented traders from withdrawing their virtual currency from the exchange — a decision that left those assets in limbo while the cryptocurrency markets continued to move.

“Plaintiffs are demanding Coincheck return their cryptocurrencies — 13 different kinds including NEM,” Mochizuki said.

On Tuesday, Coincheck said it had resumed operations for withdrawals denominated in Japanese yen but has still frozen withdrawals of a dozen different kinds of cryptocurrencies.

Plaintiffs are demanding the reimbursement of their digital cash and also considering calling for compensation for the drop in their assets’ value while withdrawals were halted.

Japanese officials have suggested Coincheck lacked proper security measures, leaving itself vulnerable to theft.

In the wake of the theft, the country’s Financial Services Agency instructed more than a dozen local exchanges to submit reports on their efforts to monitor systemic risks.

Thieves syphoned away 523 million units of the cryptocurrency NEM from Coincheck during the January 26 hack, exceeding the $480 million in virtual currency stolen in 2014 from another Japanese exchange, MtGox.

That hack prompted Japan to issue new regulations, requiring exchanges to obtain a licence from the FSA, but Coincheck was allowed to continue operating while the agency was reviewing its application.

“We met with representatives of Broadcom for two hours earlier today, and listened carefully to what they had to say,” Qualcomm said in a statement.

“The Qualcomm board will promptly meet to discuss the meeting and to determine next steps.”

The meeting comes with Broadcom stepping up pressure on its US rival to accept a takeover bid which would be the largest-ever in the technology sector.

Qualcomm chairman Paul Jacobs and chief executive Steve Mollenkopf were among the executives of the California-based firm at Wednesday’s meeting, according to the statement.

Broadcom announced on Friday that it would pay Qualcomm $8 billion if regulators fail to approve the planned tie-up.

The “termination fee” offer came a day after Qualcomm rejected a record $121 billion hostile bid as too low, while citing a risk that the proposed tie-up could be blocked by regulatory authorities.

Broadcom — which has announced plans to move back to the United States — offered $60 per share in cash plus $22 in Broadcom stock, in a deal worth $121 billion, along with the assumption of $25 billion in Qualcomm debt.

If completed, the deal would be the largest-ever in the tech sector and create a powerful player in the booming sector fueled by growth in smartphones and an array of connected devices from cars to wearables.

The rich offer puts pressure on Qualcomm’s board ahead of the California-based company’s March 6 annual meeting, where it must show it is acting in the best interests of shareholders.

Broadcom this week modified its proposal for a slate of Qualcomm board members, calling for six new members — who would presumably look favorably on the hostile bid — instead of an entire new board of 11 members.

Any merger deal would need to pass muster with regulators in the United States and other markets.

The new moves, in effect since February 1, will benefit new sellers and some 135,000 existing merchants on Lazada’s platform.

One of the highlights is Seller Rewards, a framework that recognises sellers for their outstanding performance. The higher the ratings, the more rewards or benefits the seller enjoys such as: higher visibility of products when users search and browse the site; access to shipping services and price subsidies extended by Lazada; access to promotional campaigns spearheaded by Lazada; access to preferred sellers’ programmes

Customers will rate sellers based on how they apply the best practices to deliver a positive customer experience such as conducting quality checks on products sold, using recommended packing materials to avoid damage, and preventing purchase cancellations due to negligence among others. Another plus for sellers: they will no longer be financially penalised for any policy breaches. Errant sellers may, however, be delisted by Lazada.

Where it previously took three to four days for anyone to start their business on Lazada, the process can now be completed in mere minutes. The simplified sign-up form requires newcomers to provide just their email address, telephone number and address. They can start ringing in sales 15 minutes after creating an account on Lazada.

Lazada’s group chief operations officer Aimone Ripa di Meana said the latest seller-friendly initiatives are part of the company’s efforts to empower entrepreneurs to grow their business online.