Hi fintech friends,

Policy moves are rewriting the playbook while cross‑border rails sprint ahead. Here’s your scan of China and the region—licenses, funding, and products.

Licensing & Regulations

• China’s central bank warned stablecoins pose major global financial risks due to regulatory gaps and illicit use, pledging a strict crackdown while promoting its controlled digital yuan as a safer alternative.
• HKMA has positioned e‑HKD for wholesale use like interbank settlements and trade, with no set timeline for retail adoption as the HKMA continues policy and technical preparation through 2026.
• China's SAFE has introduced measures in 2025 to simplify and reduce costs in cross-border trade payments, support e-commerce, and enhance foreign exchange services to boost foreign trade stability.

Financing & Acquisition

• Ant International has made a strategic investment in LATAM-based fintech R2 to pair AI‑risk tools with embedded lending across LATAM’s platforms.
• HK's FundPark has raised US$71M to scale its AI‑enabled “Scale‑Up as a Service”.
• 2C2P, the Southeast Asia arm of Ant's Antom, has rebranded and plans to invest US$60 million over three years to expand and innovate payments in Southeast Asia.

Product & Partnership Launches

• Ant Group has filed the “AntCoin” trademark in Hong Kong, spanning settlements, stablecoins, custody, and loyalty.
• Both Weixin Pay and Alipay have linked to Thailand’s PromptPay, enabling seamless RMB payments by Chinese tourists to Thai merchants. Alipay also partnered with Uzbekistan’s HUMO to enable Cross-Border QR Payments.
• PhotonPay has launched Brazil local accounts with Pix so enterprises have collected and paid in real without conversion.
• Webull has selected Flagright’s AI-native, no-code platform for real-time transaction monitoring, AML screening, risk scoring, and case management.

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