Industry News

Southeast Asia’s logistics tech sector has seen a significant rebound, with cumulative equity funding reaching $17.7b, according to a report by Tracxn Technologies. The report highlights a recovery in annual funding to $339m in 2026, the highest since 2021, driven primarily by e-commerce logistics.

The resurgence in funding is largely concentrated in Singapore and Jakarta, which together account for the majority of the capital deployment. Singapore leads with $11.4b in funding, followed by Jakarta with $5.4b. Bangkok ranks third, albeit significantly lower, with $777m.

E-commerce logistics has been at the forefront of this recovery, attracting $500m since 2025, including $300m in 2026 alone. Zelostech, a Singapore-based company, has been a major player, securing a $300m Series C round in February 2026, alongside two $100m Series B rounds in 2025.

The report also notes that acquisitions remain the preferred exit strategy over initial public offerings (IPOs), with 17 acquisitions compared to eight IPOs. Companies typically take 12.9 years from first funding to acquisition, compared to 7.7 years for IPOs.

Two companies have achieved unicorn status in the region: Singapore’s Ninja Van and Thailand’s Flash Express, both reaching the milestone in 2021. The logistics tech sector in Southeast Asia comprises 1,814 companies, with 138 having raised equity funding.

The findings underscore the pivotal role of e-commerce logistics in driving the sector’s growth and the strategic importance of Singapore and Jakarta as central hubs for investment.

AnyMind Group has announced a strategic partnership with Alibaba Cloud to integrate Qwen, Alibaba’s advanced AI models, into AnyMind’s AI-powered live commerce platform, AnyLive. This collaboration aims to enhance real-time intent analysis and response accuracy across Asian languages, utilising Qwen’s language understanding capabilities to interpret customer queries more effectively.

The integration of Qwen into AnyLive’s multi-model AI architecture will enable lifelike AI avatars to deliver natural and contextually accurate responses. This advancement is expected to improve viewer-to-avatar interactions by incorporating local cultural nuances and appropriate use of honourifics, thereby offering brands a more fluent and localised live commerce experience across regional markets.

Qwen has already proven its capabilities in large-scale e-commerce environments, such as Taobao’s digital-human livestreaming, by managing the speed and complexity of live commerce interactions. This integration will allow brands to maintain continuous live commerce operations, even during off-peak hours, with leaner teams managing scalable multi-market operations.

Takeshi Kurita, General Manager of Japan and South Korea at Alibaba Cloud, highlighted the potential of live commerce as an “intelligent, always-on channel” for brands in Asia. Akinori Kubo, Managing Director of Global E-Commerce at AnyMind Group, emphasised that the partnership will enhance the quality of live commerce experiences by improving how brands understand and respond to customer needs in real time.

The collaboration between AnyMind and Alibaba Cloud marks a significant step in advancing AI-powered live commerce, promising more engaging and informed customer interactions across Asia.

Matrixdock, the real-world asset technology arm of BIT Group, has launched Matrixdock Gold XAUm on Arc, an open blockchain network built by Circle. This marks Arc’s first tokenised gold asset, offering same-day USDC redemption for eligible transactions. The XAUm token represents one troy ounce of 999.9 purity gold, sourced from LBMA Good Delivery refineries and stored in vaults in Hong Kong SAR and Singapore.

The introduction of XAUm aims to bridge the gap between traditional gold reserves and on-chain financial markets. As on-chain markets mature, there is a growing need for reserve assets beyond the US dollar. Gold has historically been a cornerstone of institutional reserves, but its integration into digital markets has been challenging due to separate systems for ownership, custody, and settlement.

XAUm’s deployment on Arc allows for on-chain liquidity through Uniswap, facilitating exchange between tokenised gold and USDC. This development is part of Matrixdock’s broader strategy to enhance the role of gold in on-chain financial markets, supporting trading, lending, and collateral applications. “Tokenisation unlocks greater capital efficiency for investors,” said Nikhil Chandhok, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Circle.

Matrixdock’s initiative reflects a significant shift in how gold, a centuries-old asset, is utilised in modern finance. The company is also exploring additional use cases for XAUm, with plans for further integrations to be announced. This move is part of Matrixdock’s effort to build the Reserve Layer for on-chain finance, alongside its other products like Matrixdock Silver XAGm.

Reap, a global financial technology firm, has teamed up with Visa to launch stablecoin-linked Visa credit card programmes across more than 100 markets. This collaboration marks Reap as the first fintech in Asia to partner with Visa for global stablecoin credit card issuance at scale. The initiative, powered by Reap’s card-issuing infrastructure, extends beyond Asia and Latin America into EMEA and Africa, enabling businesses to offer compliant card programmes for stablecoin-funded transactions.

The partnership leverages Visa’s global acceptance network, supporting various use cases such as corporate treasury, vendor spending, and cross-border payments. According to Artemis Research, stablecoin-linked card programmes are experiencing a 106% compound annual growth rate, highlighting the increasing demand for infrastructure that bridges digital assets with global merchant acceptance.

Daren Guo, Co-Founder of Reap, expressed enthusiasm about the collaboration, stating, “We are excited that Visa is building the stablecoin card category with us in this landmark collaboration from Asia Pacific. Stablecoins opened the door, but the real unlock is the compliant infrastructure pathway that this creates for any company, anywhere in the world, to issue cards and scale through a single partnership.”

Visa’s stablecoin settlement volume has reached a $20b annual run rate, increasing 15 times year-over-year. Stephen Karpin, President of Visa Asia Pacific, noted, “The collaboration with Reap reflects the strong momentum we are seeing across the payments ecosystem.”

The partnership aims to explore new settlement and payment pathways, including agentic commerce capabilities, and plans to introduce multicurrency stablecoin card capabilities, further broadening the range of digital assets that card programmes can utilise.

Singlife has unveiled the Singlife Heritage Reserve, a USD-denominated whole of life insurance plan aimed at affluent individuals seeking long-term wealth accumulation and succession planning. The plan, launched on 23 September, is designed to address the growing demand for wealth continuity and legacy planning across Asia, offering a policy term of up to 388 years.

The Singlife Heritage Reserve provides a range of features to support wealth preservation and transfer. These include potential growth through a participating fund, flexible succession options such as policy splitting, and liquidity access without policy surrender. Withdrawals and benefit payments can be made in six currencies, including SGD, USD, and GBP.

Helen Shen, Group Head of Products at Singlife, highlighted the importance of planning for wealth transfer as affluence grows. “Increasingly, affluent individuals are looking beyond accumulation towards legacy and succession, seeking ways to preserve, manage and transfer wealth across generations,” she stated.

The plan’s features are tailored to meet the needs of families with evolving ownership arrangements and legacy objectives. It includes options for wealth transfer upon death and liquidity access through the Bonus Access Option and Care Support Income Option.

Singlife, a key player in the financial services sector, continues to expand its offerings to meet diverse customer needs. With over S$16 billion in assets, the company remains committed to providing innovative solutions for financial freedom. For more details on the Singlife Heritage Reserve, visit their website.

UnionPay International has unveiled its latest advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) and digital finance at the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo, held on 17 September in Nanning, Guangxi. The event, which marks the fifth anniversary of the China-ASEAN Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, focused on integrating AI with the real economy to bolster regional economic cooperation.

UnionPay is leveraging Guangxi’s strategic position as a gateway to ASEAN to establish an AI finance innovation hub. This initiative includes developing financial corpora for AI training and enhancing cross-border risk governance through an AI-driven risk control system. The system has already reduced fraud rates by 90% in pilot banks, showcasing its effectiveness.

The UnionPay exhibition featured immersive experiences with intelligent in-vehicle systems and smart glasses, demonstrating the Agentic Payment Open Protocol (APOP) framework. This framework facilitates the integration of AI-powered payment services across various applications, highlighting AI’s role in transforming the financial sector.

UnionPay’s acceptance network now spans ten ASEAN countries, covering over 38 million QR merchants. Recent developments include the China-Indonesia QR payment linkage, which launched in June, and ongoing collaborations with Vietnam to harmonise payment standards. These efforts aim to enhance cross-border payment connectivity and support regional trade integration.

Additionally, UnionPay introduced the Nihao China App, an all-in-one platform for cross-border services. The app supports international mobile numbers and offers multilingual assistance, enabling seamless transactions for ASEAN businesses and consumers visiting China. This innovation underscores UnionPay’s commitment to expanding digital payment solutions and empowering industry partners.

Tencent Cloud has announced a strategic partnership with Boost, a leading fintech and digital bank, to enhance digital transformation efforts across Malaysia and Indonesia. The collaboration aims to modernise cloud infrastructure, accelerate AI adoption, and develop super app technologies to support Boost’s growth and innovation initiatives.

The partnership focuses on three main areas. Firstly, Tencent Cloud will provide its Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) capabilities, allowing Boost to streamline infrastructure management and improve operational agility. Secondly, Boost will utilise Tencent Cloud’s Super App as a Service to enhance customer experiences by integrating multiple financial services into a single application. Lastly, the collaboration will see Boost and Tencent Cloud co-develop AI-driven products, leveraging Tencent Cloud’s existing technologies.

Poshu Yeung, Senior Vice President of Tencent Cloud, highlighted the dynamic nature of Southeast Asia’s digital economy, stating, “We are pleased to partner with Boost as it advances its digital transformation journey across the region.” Sheyantha Abeykoon, Group CEO of Boost, added, “Through our collaboration with Tencent Cloud, we are strengthening our technology foundation whilst exploring new AI-driven capabilities.”

This partnership underscores Tencent Cloud’s growing influence in Southeast Asia’s financial services sector and its ability to provide integrated solutions. As fintech innovation accelerates in the region, Tencent Cloud remains committed to helping organisations modernise operations and deliver enhanced digital experiences. Boost, recognised as one of the world’s top fintech companies in 2026, exemplifies the region’s ongoing fintech growth and innovation.

HSBC and Conferma have expanded their virtual card partnership to include supplier payments across Asia Pacific, specifically in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. This development allows businesses to embed HSBC Virtual Cards directly into their existing enterprise resource planning (ERP), procurement, and accounts payable systems, eliminating separate payment steps and manual reconciliation.

The collaboration, which began in 2011 focusing on corporate travel, now extends to a broader range of business-to-business (B2B) transactions. Adam Williams, Head of Commercial, APAC at Conferma, highlighted the shift towards digital-first environments, stating, “Businesses across Asia are rethinking how they manage spend as digital transformation accelerates.”

The integration of virtual cards addresses the growing demand for seamless payment experiences and enhanced control over financial processes. Erika Yeung, Head of Commercial Cards, Asia Pacific at HSBC, noted that virtual cards are becoming a mainstream B2B payment method, extending beyond travel and expenses to modernise supplier payments.

The solution offers several benefits, including frictionless travel payments, embedded supplier payments, and enhanced visibility and control over transactions. As organisations aim to improve transparency and working capital management, virtual cards provide real-time insights and automate reconciliation processes.

This expansion is part of a strategic move to meet the projected $228b transaction value by 2028, as businesses seek to streamline operations and maintain control within their existing systems.

Family offices in the Asia Pacific (APAC) region are outperforming their global counterparts, according to Citi Wealth’s 2026 Global Family Office Report. The survey, conducted in June and July 2026, reveals that 26% of APAC family offices achieved returns above 15% year-to-date, driven by robust public equity markets, including a 30% rise in the Nikkei 225.

The report highlights APAC’s leadership in direct investing, with a 79% participation rate, the highest globally. A significant 77% of these offices rely on internal teams for sourcing investment opportunities, indicating a high level of professionalisation.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a key investment theme, with 80% of APAC family offices identifying it as a primary focus. This is complemented by interests in healthcare, robotics, and software. Additionally, APAC offices show the greatest comfort with digital assets, with half reporting no significant barriers to adoption.

APAC family offices are also proactive in managing market volatility, with 62% adopting active management strategies and 49% implementing hedging, surpassing global averages. Concerns over global financial stability and market volatility are prevalent, partly due to geopolitical tensions such as the oil blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.

Bernard Wai, Head of Asia for Integrated Client Solutions and Global Family Office, Citi Wealth, noted, “Family offices across Asia Pacific have evolved to become increasingly sophisticated, requiring the talent, setup and governance for a sovereign wealth fund-like investment mindset. Whether it is expanding into direct investing programs, leveraging AI interfaces, or executing cross-border tax-aware transactions, family offices here are taking a more holistic approach to wealth stewardship.”

As APAC family offices continue to navigate complex market conditions, their focus on innovation and strategic risk management positions them for sustained success.

Chinese travellers are gearing up for Golden Week 2026, with Seoul, Singapore, and Bangkok emerging as the top overseas destinations, according to Trip.com Group data. Outbound flight bookings to these cities have increased year-on-year, with many travellers combining the Golden Week and Mid-Autumn Festival holidays for an extended break. Departures are expected to peak on 1 October, the first day of the official holiday.

The extended holiday period is encouraging longer trips, with a notable rise in hotel bookings for stays of seven nights or more. Multi-destination itineraries have surged by 84% year-on-year, reflecting a growing trend among travellers to maximise their time abroad. Popular combinations include Singapore and Bali, Hong Kong and Sydney, and Amsterdam and Milan.

Nature and coastal destinations are also gaining traction, particularly among Millennials and Gen Z. Searches for scenic trips have increased by 53% year-on-year, with Queenstown and Auckland seeing flight bookings rise by 314% and 276%, respectively.

In addition to outbound travel, China is experiencing a boost in inbound tourism during the Mid-Autumn Festival. Lesser-known cities like Yanji, Dunhuang, and Hailar are witnessing significant increases in flight bookings, whilst major cities such as Shanghai and Beijing continue to attract visitors. China’s rich cultural heritage and attractions, including the Mutianyu Great Wall and Shanghai Disney Resort, are drawing tourists from across Asia and beyond.