Bucking the trend: Revolut sets no vaccination requirement for US staff September 1, 2021 Bucking the Wall Street trend, Revolut will not require its US staff to be vaccinated in order to get into the office. The US boss of the tech darling told Financial News Revolut had chosen not to make vaccination against Covid-19 a requirement of returning to work in its offices in New York, San Francisco [...]
Exclusive: City’s venture capital guru on Brexit, ESG fundraising and impact investing August 31, 2021 With Brexit just behind us, and the pandemic gradually being brought under control, it seemed like a good time to measure the temperature of London’s venture capital investment space. City A.M. sat down with David Hall, for his first major interview as chairman of the Venture Capital Trust Association, since succeeding Stuart Veale in January [...]
Prosus to pay $4.7bn for rival Indian payments firm in largest buyout yet August 31, 2021 European technology giant Prosus has reportedly put forward $4.7bn for its largest ever deal, to buy Indian payments platform BillDesk, in yet another foreign investment in the country’s blossoming tech sector. BillDesk currently competes with Prosus’s payments firm PayU in India which means the deal will open up a fair portion of the growing payments [...]
Toshiba in talks with private equity giants KKR and Blackstone to revise strategy August 26, 2021 Toshiba is in talks with at least four global private equity firms including KKR & Co and Blackstone to seek their ideas for a new strategy, three sources with knowledge of the matter have said. Watch the full report.
Brazil’s Buffett-backed Nubank eyes $55bn valuation ahead of US IPO August 26, 2021 Brazil’s digital bank Nubank is reportedly eyeing a $55.4bn valuation ahead of its initial public offering (IPO), as Brazilians look beyond traditional lenders. If Brazil’s most prominent digital bank is listed at a market cap greater than its largest tradition bank Itau Unibanco, Nubank would shoot up the ranks towards international high flyers like the [...]
ESG investing now mainstream, but who’s holding ‘greenwashed’ portfolios to account? August 24, 2021 Environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns are rising up the agenda of investors, who are increasingly more attentive to the impact of their investments. Beyond financial performance, investors are looking at their portfolios in relation to ESG factors, but how can they assess the ESG credentials of companies and funds when the data is scattered [...]
Analysis: Does Google’s ad clampdown leave Brits at risk of fraud? August 18, 2021 In what Google described as a “significant additional measure” to protect both its users and legitimate advertisers, and to prevent scammers exploiting its various platforms, the multinational tech giant recently announced its intention to clamp down on financial fraud by forcing all financial services advertisers to demonstrate that they are authorised by the Financial Conduct [...]
Fintech Lanistar risks financial collapse as it fails to pay managers and faces legal action August 18, 2021 Payments startup Lanistar is reportedly facing a series of employment tribunal cases over unpaid salaries from current and former staff, including members of its senior management team. The company has had problems with securing funding, has been accused of mistreating staff, and has not yet launched any of its payment cards. Despite this, it has [...]
UK fintechs shatter records and attract $24.5bn investment in first half of the year August 10, 2021 Investment in UK fintech has reached an all-time high, as firms in the industry attracted a staggering $24.5bn in the first half of the year across the highest volume of deals on record. British fintech investment across private equity (PE), venture capital (VC) and M&A deals has exploded as the country emerges from the pandemic, [...]
China tech crackdown: From Jack Ma’s disappearance to online tutoring debacle August 5, 2021 Chinese technology giants once seemed untouchable, with billions of profits through aggressive expansion. But that status is now more uncertain after a year of Beijing’s sweeping regulatory crackdowns that have spread like wildfire across sectors. The saga started last October when Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, who founded e-commerce behemoth Alibaba, criticised China for lacking a [...]