Fintech companies suffered a difficult period, globally, last year, as soaring inflation and rising interest rates prompted investors to pull back from the sector.Large parts of the industry struggled to raise funds and valuations were slashed. Swedish buy now, pay later provider Klarna was a case in point: the group’s valuation was cut to $6.7bn in a 2022 funding round, down 85 per cent from $46bn the previous year. Overall, global investment into fintech halved to $75.2bn, according to analytics firm CB Insights.
But Asia fintechs bucked this trend: investment reached a record high of $50.5bn last year, data from consultancy group KPMG shows. And, while the collapse last month of US-based specialist lender Silicon Valley Bank has further darkened global investor sentiment, the outlook for fintech — in Asia-Pacific, at least — is bright.
Analysts expect fintech businesses — from payments services to bitcoin — to surge across Asia as incomes climb and the adoption of digital technology expands further among fast-growing populations.