Singapore's fintech investments rebounded in the second quarter of this year to US$278 million (S$371 million), 4.1 times the US$68 million recorded in the first quarter, the Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) and management consulting firm Oliver Wyman said yesterday.
Although the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in a fall in overall fintech funding in Asia - particularly in China and India - Singapore's funding landscape has been less volatile, the report said.
Fintech funding in Asia dropped to US$2.4 billion in the second quarter, from US$3.13 billion in the first.
Singapore is the Asia-Pacific's top-ranking fintech city, with more than 40 per cent of South-east Asia's fintech firms based in the city-state. Its government has also committed over US$200 million to grow the fintech ecosystem.
There are over a thousand fintechs in the Republic as of this year, 10 times the 100 fintechs recorded in 2015. The number of fintech employees has also exceeded 10,000 this year, compared with an estimated 1,100 five years ago.
SFA and Oliver Wyman also found that from 2015 to last year, about 65 per cent of fintech funding in South-east Asia was directed to Singapore businesses, nearly four times the funding received by Indonesia - the next largest market.
Payment and remittance companies made up 23 per cent of fintechs in the city-state, followed by wealth management and capital market fintechs (22 per cent).
Both parties surveyed more than 60 fintech firms - the majority of which are Singapore-based. It also conducted more than 30 interviews with industry participants.
Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing launched the report on Tuesday as part of the Singapore FinTech Festival.
Another report released yesterday noted that of the 95 funding deals in the first three quarters of this year, almost two-thirds of these deals went to fintech firms in Singapore. This is the largest among the six Asean economies, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The report by United Overseas Bank, PwC Singapore and SFA also found that four in five fintech firms in Asean will push ahead with their expansion plans in the next two years despite disruptions brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
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