Daily Briefing: Finance app Fincy secures $15.32m from parent GBCI Ventures; AHTC shops and market stalls to get 25% S&CC rebate

And PCI awarded $6m to supply TraceTogether Tokens.

From e27:

Singapore-based personal finance app Fincy has secured $15.32m (US$11m) in fresh funding from its parent company GBCI Ventures, a venture building firm.

Fincy plans to use the funding for building its presence in Singapore and accelerating its user base and infrastructure growth, first across Southeast Asia, followed by the rest of Asia.

It also plans to establish a base in the Central Business District, where it will add 50 new talents into its technology, product development, compliance, sales and marketing team, with a $1.39m (US$1m) allocation.

Launched in 2019, the app aims to provide an affordable alternative to existing financial services, starting with simplifying currency exchange via a multi-currency wallet. It also enables users to build their own social networks in-app and make contactless mobile payments.

In the coming weeks, Fincy will be finalising an external funding round.

Read more here.

From Channel News Asia:

Commercial shops and market stalls operating under Aljunied-Hougang Town Council (AHTC) will receive a 25% rebate on their Service and Conservancy Charges (S&CC) from June to August, according to a statement.

This decision comes following the announcement of a three-phased lifting of circuit breaker measures. The rebates would cost AHTC approximately $300,000, it added.

It was announced on 1 June that commercial shops as well as market and food stalls operating under PAP-managed town councils would receive a 15% rebate on S&CC from July to October.

AHTC had earlier waived charges for the use of outdoor advertising areas for all commercial establishments that had to close during the circuit breaker. It also waived S&CC late payment fees for all commercial units from April to September.

Read more here.

From Channel News Asia:

Singapore-based electronics maker PCI has won a bid to supply 300,000 dongles to help identify people who have interacted with COVID-19 carriers, according to a government notice.

The $6m tender is equivalent to $20 a unit for the bluetooth-enabled TraceTogether Tokens. It was awarded by the Government Technology Agency (GovTech) to the firm on 14 May.

The pilot project comes after smartphone-based contact tracing app TraceTogether had limited take-up as it did not work efficiently on some devices.

PCI Private, which started as a Silicon Valley circuit board manufacturer in 1972 and was bought by American private equity firm Platinum Equity for $265m last year, declined to comment on the tender.

Read more here.

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