South Asia

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SMEs: Asean’s ‘untapped resource’

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) remain one of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (Asean) untapped resources and governments has a critical role to play in the sector’s success. This was the message of experts in a recent forum organized by state think tank Philippine Institute for Development Studies (PIDS), Asian Development Bank (ADB), Department of Trade and Industry, Management Association of the Philippines, and Financial Executives of the Philippines.

Asia-based FinTech Startup Lenddo Raises Series B Funding

Lenddo, the world’s leader in using non-traditional data for credit scoring and online verification, today announced it has closed a Series B investment to further support the company's accelerated growth and meet global demand. The investment was led by new investors AT Capital and Life.SREDA, with participation from existing investors Omidyar Network, Blumberg Capital and Golden Gate Ventures.

Banking on better SME financing in ASEAN

Concerns about moderating economic growth and rising income inequality in ASEAN economies have brought small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into the policy limelight.
Arguing that SMEs have significant potential for creating jobs, some commentators are suggesting a host of industrial policies such as financial subsidies and local content rules to promote SMEs.
But this risks heavy-handed state intervention in SMEs. One possible alternative is to reform access to finance for SMEs — particularly from commercial banks — in ASEAN economies.

Advancing financial inclusion in Southeast Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East

Of the 21 countries ranked in the 2015 Financial and Digital Inclusion Project (FDIP) Report and Scorecard, no countries in Asia placed in the top 5 in the overall ranking. However, all of the FDIP Asian countries have demonstrated progress within at least one of the four dimensions of the 2015 Scorecard: country commitment, mobile capacity, regulatory environment, and adoption of traditional and digital financial services.

Trade Finance: A Catalyst for Growth in Asia

While large businesses have resumed international trade at levels seen before the financial crisis, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have not fared as well. For these firms — the backbone of economies everywhere — growth is impeded by the limited availability of bank loans to finance trade. The problem is especially acute for SMEs in Asia, the world’s largest trading region and the one most reliant on trade finance.

Financial Inclusion in Developing Asia: Transactional Accounts, Savings, and Borrowing

Both theory and evidence suggest that financial inclusion can be a powerful tool for empowering the poor, for augmenting their earning potential, and for improving the quality of their lives.

 

As a result of growing concerns over rising inequality in Asia, inclusive growth that spreads productive opportunities and the fruits of growth more evenly across the entire population has emerged as a top regionwide strategic priority.

APEC sees SME credit as key to financial inclusion

APEC member-economies are pushing for making credit more accessible to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Asia-Pacific region as part of its thrust toward financial inclusion.

Members can do a lot more since inroads were already carved leading to SME financing, APEC delegates said in a statement after the two-day 2015 Asia-Pacific Forum on Financial Inclusion on Wednesday in Tagaytay City.

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