The Asia Digital Bank (AsiaDB) has now officially obtained the Digital Banking Finance License from the Labuan Financial Services Authority (Labuan FSA), so far this is the First Digital Banking (Investment Bank) License issued by Labuan FSA. AsiaDB will now strive to establish its digital presence in Malaysia while facing outwards to the ASEAN countries as well as the global economies. This will help shape the new structure of digital finance innovation and economic development in the post-pandemic era.
Asia Digital Bank in a media release today announced the good news to the financial world. Asia Digital Bank CEO said that AsiaDB aims to construct a world-leading digital asset trading and self-financing platform and to promote the transformation of the traditional financing into a comprehensive digital finance ecosystem. AsiaDB’s digital financing products will incorporate centralized financing services and decentralized financing protocol clusters and will make use of the combination between multiple modules to create a comprehensive digital financing infrastructure. Relying on this platform, AsiaDB will actively carry out multiple tests, and enhance the stability of the platform system and increase the diversity of platform products through recruitment of talents in key areas such as product design and technology development. In the future, AsiaDB will make use of the platform to further improve the digital ecosystem in the region, by providing core services such as cross-border investment and financing capabilities, digital asset management, as well as cross-border structured trade financing. This platform, on the one hand, through “global capital + digital operating” model, will effectively help small and medium-sized enterprises in Malaysia to reduce their operating costs in the form of non-ringgit currency, on the other hand, to enable high-quality investors from ASEAN and the world to participate in and share the fruits of regional economic growth.
“We are very optimistic about the future development prospects of the digital economy in Malaysia and the ASEAN region, especially in the later stage of the pandemic where industries and businesses will be accelerating and eagerly looking for ways to undergo rapid digital transformation, creating a demand surge in digital financing services”, says CEO. He added that his conviction is base from three perspectives.
Firstly, the current COVID-19 pandemic has spawned a new ASEAN digital economy blue ocean. The recent e-Conomy SEA 2020 report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company pointed out that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased utilization of digital services among users in the ASEAN region, and there exists a huge potential to expand the digital financing services.
Secondly, the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) will bring forth unprecedented benefits for the development of digital economy especially digital trades. The said agreement will follow closely the global trade development trend and incorporate the newly formed trade patterns and will accelerate the shaping and development of cross-border trade digitalization among the 15 member countries by servicing their combined 2.3 billion population. This will promote and improve the Asia Pacific as well as the global digital trade and finance servicing market.
Thirdly, governments in the ASEAN countries especially the Malaysian government has provided strong policy support for the development of digital economy and finance as well as new innovations in financial technology. The Malaysian government in the recently tabled Budget 2021 announced an allocation of RM1 billion to facilitate the digital transformation schemes to help individuals, SMEs and corporations to strengthen their digital capability.
Asia Digital Bank is a wholly-owned subsidiary of a Chinese-funded offshore bank – Asia Pacific Investment Bank (APIB), APIB is established by China Nanjing Zijin Investment Group Co., Ltd.
