Fintech

Capital Calls: Cellebrite good times

8 Apr 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: The Israeli cracker of mobile-phone encryption is going public via a SPAC at a $2.4 billion valuation.

Robinhood IPO comes with forest of perils

30 Mar 2021

The U.S. retail brokerage has expanded its user base and profile fast. But its main revenue, payments from market makers, is under pressure from regulators and rivals. Other parts of the top line are under pressure too. It’s hard to square that with a $30 billion valuation.

Capital Calls: WFH deals, Suez Canal, NorNickel

29 Mar 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Fintech firm Broadridge pays a full price for trading platform; with the waterway clear, all sides will be taking up positions for a legal battle royal; the Russian nickel producer cashes in on high copper prices.

China’s web lenders march past a crushed Ant

19 Mar 2021

LexinFintech, a much smaller, capital-light rival to Jack Ma's embattled fintech giant, grew its loan book by 26% to $12 bln last quarter. It's an example of how nimbler peers are thriving amid Beijing's clampdown. Regulatory risks are huge, but brave investors can reap rewards.

Britain’s zeal for financial reform could backfire

8 Mar 2021

Finance minister Rishi Sunak has endorsed changing rules to promote stock market listings and fintech. Insurance may be next. The drive not only risks a return to the pre-2008 “light touch” approach to oversight. It also makes financial services deals with other countries harder.

Capital Calls: CPPIB, Barclays, McPlant, DoorDash

26 Feb 2021

Concise views on global finance in the Covid-19 era: Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's CEO is booted for jab-line jumping; the UK bank wins a legal, if not ethical, victory over financier Amanda Staveley; Beyond Meat partners with McDonald’s and Yum; and DoorDash is too hot.

Klarna listing would be a mixed blessing

25 Feb 2021

The Swedish fintech’s next funding round could value it at $30 bln, and it’s mulling a direct listing. Allowing early investors to cash out carries obvious appeal. The downside is there would be a daily commentary on Klarna’s regulatory risks and shortcomings relative to rivals.

Ant’s loss is small Chinese banks’ loss too

22 Feb 2021

Regulators will require online credit providers to fund 30% of loans made with commercial banks. That’s manageable for Jack Ma’s outfit, though it dims the $300 bln valuation it once enjoyed. But many small banks rely on fintech allies for growth. New rules constrain that too.

Hong Kong retail mania one-ups U.S. short squeeze

5 Feb 2021

Kuaishou shares nearly tripled on their $5.4 bln debut. One in four working-age Hong Kongers bid for a stake in the Chinese video app, putting up $162 bln. Dubious rallies without organised campaigns like GameStop’s provide stronger evidence of a frenzy getting out of hand.

Becoming a bank would shrink but not squash Ant

11 Jan 2020

Regulators are set to treat Jack Ma’s financial group more like a regular Chinese lender. Though it has enough capital to support its online credit business, growth would be crushed. A bank-like valuation would imply it’s barely worth a tenth of its previous $300 bln price tag.

Jack Ma’s absence feeds into China Inc fears

5 Jan 2021

The Ant and Alibaba founder has not been seen in public for two months. Amid Beijing’s crackdown on both the fintech and e-commerce empires, keeping a low profile seems prudent. A history of Chinese tycoons mysteriously disappearing, though, is enough to warrant some concern.

Ant and Beijing begin delicate, dangerous dance

28 Dec 2020

Having forced the fintech giant to suspend its IPO, officials laid out demands that will curb growth. The orders are vague and allow for manoeuvre, but a forced break-up is possible. While the government needs Ant to support private firms, that’s scant comfort for investors.

Corona Capital: Tesla’s Apple snub

23 Dec 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Tesla boss Elon Musk asked to meet with Apple back in the day, and got rebuffed. Musk’s company has been the better investment recently, especially during the Covid-19 period. That doesn’t mean Tim Cook missed out.

Beijing attacks from rear in online grocery war

23 Dec 2020

Officials summoned Alibaba, Pinduoduo and other e-commerce giants to a disciplinary meeting on their Groupon-like supermarket operations. The $14 bln market is vibrant, but state media say dumping and supplier gouging is rife. Beijing’s assault on tech companies is widening.

Grab CEO will step into 2021’s tech limelight

21 Dec 2020

Anthony Tan has steered his $15 bln super-app through the pandemic. With growth in digital payments booming across Southeast Asia, Grab is now charging into wealth management and digital banking. A mooted merger with rival Gojek will only cement Tan’s rising star status.

Corona Capital: Filming drama, Spanish bank

16 Dec 2020

Concise views on the pandemic’s corporate and financial fallout: Actor Tom Cruise’s outburst about social distancing may not have been scripted, but it’s on point; Spanish bank Sabadell lines up a new leader.

Buy-now-pay-later exposes regulation blind spot

8 Dec 2020

Sweden’s Klarna and Australia’s Afterpay both allow punters to buy goods and defer payment. Opinion is divided over how regulators should treat any loss on the enabling financing. Balancing innovation and stability is hard, but the rules right now aren’t clear enough.

Blackstone’s SPAC foray puts price on convenience

7 Dec 2020

Payments company Paysafe is merging with a listed acquisition vehicle, while owners Blackstone and CVC halve their stake and extract $2.3 bln of cash. The cost to them is that they’ll leave roughly 15% on the table. Even so, it’s easy to see why SPACs tick private equity’s boxes.

Stripe lobs chum into Wall Street’s turbid waters

3 Dec 2020

Goldman Sachs, Citi and Barclays are all partnering with the online payment upstart to garner deposits and fees from merchants who use it. For Goldman this is a land grab; for others it’s defensive. An added attraction may be the potential to bring Stripe to market – or buy it.

Alibaba and Hong Kong celebrate happy anniversary

26 Nov 2020

Both have been rocked in various ways in the year since the Chinese tech titan completed its landmark $13 bln secondary listing. At the same time, more companies have followed suit and boosted the city’s trading volume. Benefits may keep accruing if indexes retrain their sights too.