This Month in Fintech - China (October 23’)

Apple has requested that any newly released apps in its China App Store must present evidence of possessing a license from the Chinese government.

Chinese bitcoin mining operations in the United States have raised national security concerns. 

China has ordered securities firms and offshore entities to halt illicit cross-border activities, such as selling funds to domestic investors and brokering shares.

Yiwu Pay has obtained licensing for cross-border foreign exchange business.

The Chinese government has obtained a 1% stake in Tencent's domestic subsidiary, Shenzhen Yayue Technology, signaling increased control over the tech sector.

HSBC has acquired Citi's $3.6bn consumer wealth portfolio in China.

Vanguard Group has sold its stake in a joint venture with Ant Group, reflecting a retreat from China's market, while firms like Sequoia are separating their China operations amid rising U.S.-China tensions.

WeLab secures $260 million in asset-backed financing arranged by Citigroup.

A joint venture between Globe, Ant Group, and Ayala Corporation, Mynt, will acquire Globe Telecom's 77% stake in ECPay for 2.31 billion Philippine pesos, thereby gaining full ownership of the company.

Didi, the Chinese ride-hailing and transportation company, has launched its credit card in Mexico, offering users an initial credit line of $165, no annual fees, support for contactless payments, and a daily 3% cashback.

AliPay+ integrated with LankaPay for cross border payments between China and Sri Lanka.

Airwallex is expanding into Latin America with the acquisition of Mexican payment service provider MexPago. 

Payments provider Juni has announced the launch of new cross-border payment capabilities that allows Juni customers in Europe to easily conduct transactions to the United States and mainland China.

Nuvei has opened a new office in China as part of its ongoing expansion in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region.

Thunes, the global B2B payment infrastructure platform, has partnered with China Construction Bank (CCB) to enable international payment acceptance for Chinese small to medium-sized businesses and introduce outbound cross-border payments for CCB's consumers. Both products are expected to be launched in 2024.

Bank of China has launched a cross-border interbank payment system (CIPS) in Turkey. 

UnionPay has partnered with TripLink International Pte Ltd (TripLink) to launch its first B2B virtual card in Singapore.

SUNRATE and Sabre have partnered to improve business payments for travel companies in the region. SUNRATE's virtual commercial cards (VCCs) will integrate with Sabre's Virtual Payments, enabling global payments to airlines, hotels, and suppliers while supporting seamless expansion in the Asia-Pacific region with multi-currency settlement.

World Bank has cut East Asia-Pacific GDP growth outlook when China experiences a slow comeback. In related news, billions of earnings are being withdrawn by foreign firms from China. Ray Dalio also expressed caution regarding the U.S.-China relationship.

Ant Group has bought land to expand HQ. 

Alibaba is under suspicion of spying in Europe, with its logistics hub in Belgium being monitored by the intelligence service.

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