AMTD Group, AMTD Digital (collectively “AMTD”) and GlobalLinker signed a Strategic Collaboration Agreement today. The virtual signing ceremony was witnessed by Mr. Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). The strategic partnership aims at providing comprehensive solutions to enable and empower SMEs to help the long-term development and competitiveness of SMEs, contributing to the Business Sans Borders (BSB) initiative under the framework set by the MAS and the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA).
AMTD has built a multi-dimensional and cross-sector SpiderNet ecosystem that is continuously expanding to connect and promote collaboration between its partners, including shareholders, clients, government bodies, and industry associations, etc. GlobalLinker is a unique solution for global business networking for SMEs & Startups, committed to making SME businesses simpler, more profitable and enjoyable. GlobalLinker is one of the partners of the BSB initiative.
Together, AMTD and GlobalLinker will endeavor to contribute to BSB’s artificial intelligence (AI)-driven global solutions hub to foster SME digitalization. BSB is initiated by the MAS and IMDA, and is a groundbreaking “meta-hub” or connector of several SME-centric platforms. By connecting these different platforms, BSB helps platforms and their SMEs to access a much larger ecosystem of buyers, sellers, logistics service providers, financing, and digital solution providers more seamlessly. BSB will utilise AI to enable SMEs to discover prices and sales opportunities in a larger global marketplace, access various supply chains, and easily source and utilise relevant digital and financial solutions. In late 2019, MAS announced the successful completion of the BSB Phase One Proof-of-Concept (POC), moving on to live transactions in 2020.
GlobalLinker will officially join and become a permanent and core member of the AMTD SpiderNet ecosystem, while AMTD will join GlobalLinker’s SME network. The two parties will work together to facilitate the digitalization of SMEs in Asia, help accelerate their global expansion, with Singapore as the strategic hub to showcase the power of the partnership. Through its proprietary SpiderNet ecosystem, AMTD will connect SMEs on GlobalLinker’s platform to AMTD’s global resources and network.
AMTD will become the preferred financial services partner of GlobalLinker, as well as for SMEs on GlobalLinker’s platform. AMTD will bring its ecosystem partners and subsidiaries such as but not limited to AMTD Digital, AMTD International, AMTD Risk Solutions, PolicyPal, CapBridge, FOMO Pay, Airstar Bank (one of the 8 virtual banks in Hong Kong, a joint-venture between AMTD and Xiaomi Corporation) and Singa Bank (subject to the approval of MAS for a digital wholesale bank license whereby AMTD is the lead and largest shareholder), to empower GlobalLinker and SMEs on the GlobalLinker platform.
Mr. Calvin Choi, AMTDs Chairman and CEO comments, “The strategic partnership between AMTD and GlobalLinker would leverage on AMTD’s strong foundation in the Greater Bay Area and connectivity with the global markets, and further enable SMEs to connect outside of Southeast Asia. AMTD Digital and our ecosystem partners’ one-stop digital offering will help SMEs to accelerate their digitalization, provide them with full lifecycle solutions, empower their globalization, and contribute to Business Sans Borders.”
Mr. Sameer Vakil, Founder and CEO of GlobalLinker said, “At GlobalLinker, we are deeply committed to offering SMEs collective efficiencies and economies by building a global community. We have always believed in the power of partnership to build an SME ecosystem which can provide SMEs such efficiencies and economies in a more comprehensive manner. Our strategic partnership with AMTD, we will bring an entire ecosystem of like-minded companies and capabilities from AMTD & SpiderNet to GlobalLinker SMEs and likewise, will offer the best of GlobalLinker to all the SMEs within the AMTD ecosystem. This combined power will allow us both to better serve the business growth ambitions of SMEs, who are undoubtedly, the pillars of every economy.”
Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer of MAS, said, “Business sans Borders or BSB is a resiliency and sustainability-driven global public-private initiative for an open digital platform for medium, small and micro-businesses (MSMEs/SMEs). Post COVID-19, a low touch and high tech business models will disrupt current semi-automated supply chains. Such disruption provides MSMEs and SMEs with an opportunity to leapfrog traditional constraints in their businesses by using BSB to connect and grow transactions rapidly. We welcome this collaboration between AMTD and GlobalLinker, and look forward to promising synergies in co-creating seamless business and financial services for SMEs through BSB.”
AMTD has significant strategic layouts in Singapore to empower local entrepreneurs and community: Singapore is AMTD Digital’s headquarters and AMTD Group’s regional headquarters. AMTD, as a founding partner, is committed to providing long-term support to the Singapore FinTech Festival, which is the world’s largest of its kind. AMTD is the first corporate founding member of the ASEAN Financial Innovation Network (AFIN), for which our chairman Calvin Choi was invited to serve as its board member. In April 2020, AMTD partnered with AFIN to establish the S$50 million AMTD ASEANSolidarity Fund. In May 2020, AMTD, MAS, Singapore FinTech Association (SFA) announced the launch of a S$6 million MAS-SFA-AMTD FinTech Solidarity Grant to support Singapore-based FinTech firms amid the challenging business climate caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. AMTD is leading a consortium comprising of Xiaomi Corporation, Funding Societies and SP Group and has submitted an application for the Digital Wholesale Bank License in Singapore.
To consummate its one-stop digital financial solutions to Asian SMEs and consumers, AMTD Digital has recently announced several landmark transactions in Singapore’s FinTech space through its unique “fusion-in” programme, including the acquisitions of the controlling stakes in (i) PolicyPal, Singapore’s InsurTech pioneer and first graduate of MAS’ FinTech Sandbox; (ii) CapBridge Financial, Singapore’s first regulated securities exchange for digital assets and private companies and Singapore’s leading integrated private market ecosystem platform; and (iii) FOMO Pay, the one-stop QR code and digital payment solution provider in Southeast Asia. These acquisitions reflect AMTD’s fusion-in strategy by integrating innovative companies into its unique SpiderNet ecosystem, and its ambition to continue to build out its one-stop cross-market intelligent digital financial services platform. AMTD will continue to bring its capital markets expertise and extensive connections with global new economy companies to Southeast Asia, and empower more entrepreneurs in their innovation and development, and finally interconnect with the global markets.
