Singapore sees more investments pouring into financial technology firms this year as the city-state seeks to become a regional hub for capital raising in areas from payments to robo-advisory, according to a top central bank official.
Such investments have risen from around $20 million in 2014 to a record $1.1 billion last year, and more is expected this year, Sopnendu Mohanty, the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) chief fintech officer, said in an interview.
"We don’t have Silicon Valley, but we are trying our best,” he said. The environment the country is building enables these fintech players to "find opportunities to see if their early ideas translate into real value in the long run.”