/PRNewswire/ Dada Group (Nasdaq: DADA) ("Dada" or the "Company"), China s leading local on-demand delivery and retail platform, is pleased to announce that.
WITH Singapore having just approved four digital bank licences to non-bank players, the focus turns to Malaysia as the country is anticipated to be the next in the region to hand out such licences.
Bank Negara Malaysia is widely expected to invite applications for the licences early next year, once it has issued the licensing framework for digital banks.
“It [the framework] is imminent. Bank Negara has been busy dealing with Covid-19 issues in the industry, so what we understand is, if it’s not out by year-end, then it will be out early next year,” says an industry source.
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In 2019, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) began accepting applications for digital banking licenses, shortlisting the top 14 contenders in June 2020. One of the eligibility requirements was that at least one partner in any group applying for a license should have a minimum three years of experience in the tech or e-commerce sector. This was a tacit sign from regulators that tech start-ups were ready to be fully integrated into Singapore’s large financial sector.
In early December, MAS announced it was awarding one full digital banking license to a partnership between Singtel and Grab, and another to Sea Limited, a home-grown tech giant and parent company of e-commerce platform Shopee. Wholesale digital banking licenses were granted to China’s Ant Group, as well as a consortium backed by the Chinese state-owned real estate company Greenland Group.