RadioFinance

Tokenising, real estate and securities assets. This was the centre of discussion between digital asset management firm Elevated Returns founder and president Stephane de Baets with Emmanuel Daniel. The Belgian entrepreneur shared his journey in the financial industry that began in Thailand where he worked as an agency broker, moving his way up as an investment banker. He eventually set up his own investment banking firm OptAsia Capital, after which he founded Elevated Returns. In 2018, De Baets successfully tokenised 20% of one of his properties, the St. Regis Aspen Resort in Colorado. This proved that a digital security representing direct ownership of a privately-held asset can be created, he told Daniel. He expanded his business to Southeast Asia in 2019 with the acquisition of securities brokerage Seamico Securities, and later renamed XSpring Capital in 2021. The following key points were discussed: • The difference between tokens and real estate investment trust when it comes to asset fractionalisation • XSpring Capital was formed with the idea that one company can manage all the client’s financial instruments • Thailand, through XSpring Capital, will have its first public offering of a real estate-backed token with a simultaneous listing on a private exchange • There are different checks and balances that are used for protection against cryptocurrency price volatility • Regulators will have to put in the appropriate framework to supervise NFTs and DeFis

In this virtual roundtable discussion, guests discussed how payment-as a-service is redefining customer experience.

Will card payment survive a digital-first world? Experts wager on the future of payment cards with Bryan Carroll of TNEX, Sharon Tan of DBS, Ben Gilbey of Mastercard, Priyanka Madan of GrabPay, and Michael Robertson of Entrust pitting their views and wits during an insightful discussion. Carroll opined that “plastic” will not survive as consumers, especially the Millennials and Gen Z, are already moving to mobile payments while Robertson argued that cards are here to stay as these have been the payment mode of choice for more 50 years and provide consumers a 24/7 tangible payment instrument that is robust, reputable, and ubiquitous. It is also evolving to be sustainable as well, available now in environmentally friendly materials such as wood and metals. The five speakers also tackled portfolio performance improvement, the use of AI and data analytics to enhance customer experience, and new business models that are shaping advancement in payment capabilities.

At the Finance Vietnam Leadership Dialogue 2021, heads of retail banking, products and businesses, including Le Xuan Vu, MB Bank; Dinh Van Chien, TP Bank; Augustine Wong Kok Seng, VP Bank; Bryan Carroll, TNEX; Gunneet Singh, Ubank; Kanishk Upadhyay, Techcombank; Riddhi Dutta, Backbase, together with Pham Duc An, Vietnam Banks Association – discussed the challenges in building operational resilience during the pandemic and debated how new challenger banks and incumbent players will win in a digital-first era.

In his discussion with Emmanuel Daniel, True Global Ventures founder and director Dusan Stojanovic shared the development path of non-fungible tokens and how these are now generating new revenue streams for the entertainment and gaming industries. This Singapore-based Swedish serial investor also talked about Animoca Brands and why this blockchain-based gaming firm is poised to become a $10 billion company in the next 12 to 24 months. He also discussed True Global Ventures (TGV)’s other portfolio companies such as The Sandbox and Forge Global. Stojanovic also revealed that TGV will continue to invest in blockchain application in the following industries: entertainment and gaming, artificial intelligence and data analytics, financial services, and infrastructure. Significantly, he believes that NFTs should expand into enabling robust digital identity infrastructure to meet know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) compliance requirements for cross-border payments and other financial transactions in an increasing digitalised environment.

Robert Koopman, chief economist at the World Trade Organization (WTO), said US-China tensions have not adversely affected world trade but created opportunities for more countries to participate in global value chains. He feels that the digitalisation and servicification of trade will have transformational impacts that are predicated on digital cross-border data flows, privacy and ecommerce. In addition, massive stimulus measures to combat the pandemic have spurred growth, particularly in nations and regions with economic “gravity”, that have benefited global trade.

Scott A. Shay, chairman of Signature Bank in this discussion with Emmanuel Daniel said that early adopters of cryptocurrencies saw a serious problem with how payments, money, and store of value were handled. The rethinking of that led to the bank developing its blockchain-based payment platform, Signet.

Pedro Gurolla-Perez, head of research at World Federation of Exchanges, discussed the unabated rise of financial markets at the peak of COVID-19 crisis while reflecting cautiously on the real use cases of cryptocurrencies and blockchain. The following key points were discussed: • Global financial markets experienced outstanding growth amidst pandemic • The role of IPOs and SPACS in meeting the needs of stakeholders • Volatility of cryptocurrencies as an investment asset class • The challenge of ensuring trust in a distributed system

In this RadioFinance dialogue, the discussion revolved around China’s 14th Five Year Plan, which detailed the government’s next phase of development to become a higher income advanced economy. Bert Hofman, director of the East Asian Institute at the National University of Singapore, pointed out that the emphasis of the five-year plan is on the country’s quality of growth. The focus shifts to a “dual circulation” strategy, particularly on creating indigenous innovation and increasing domestic consumption to drive growth. John Gong, professor of economics at the University of International Business and Economics in Beijing, stated that the five-year plan is a vision statement which sets the goal of elevating China qualitatively into a modern economy and society.

In this up close and personal conversation with Emmanuel Daniel, Samuel Tsien, Group CEO of OCBC Bank, reflected on his journey of building a well-diversified pan Asia financial services franchise. He revealed the leadership traits that served as the key to his success, and divulged his plans for the future when he relinquishes his role.