Daily Briefing: Singapore, Malaysia settles arrangements for cross-border travel from 10 August; StashAway raises $22.05m series C led by Square Peg

And Singapore and China commits on keeping supply chains.

From ChannelNewsAsia:

Singapore and Malaysia have settled arrangements for cross-border travel between both countries, but are not yet ready to allow daily commuting, said Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Vivian Balakrishnan.

This came after Balakrishnan’s meeting with his Malaysian counterpart Hishammuddin Hussein. The pair had met at the mid-way point of the Johor-Singapore Causeway to discuss arrangements on the Reciprocal Green Lane (RGL) and Periodic Commuting Arrangement (PCA), ahead of the implementation of the two schemes on 10 August.

However, he stressed that these arrangements do not provide for daily commuting on the land crossings between Singapore and Malaysia as both countries are "not ready for that yet".

He added that there were few more operational details that would need to be sorted out before daily commuting will be allowed, like the availability of mass-scale testing on both sides of the border.

Read more here. 

From e27:

Singapore-based digital wealth manager StashAway has closed a $22.05m (US$16m) series C funding round, led by Australian VC firm Square Peg.

growth capital arm of German media and tech company Hubert Burda Media, Burda Principal Investments and existing investor Eight Roads Ventures also participated.

This takes StashAway’s total funding raised to date to $50.16m (US$36.4m). This includes a $16.54m (US$12m) series B round in July 2019, led by Eight Roads.

“This latest round will enable us to accelerate product development to both broaden and deepen our wealth management offering for our clients in Singapore and Malaysia, as well as support new market entry,” said Michele Ferrario, co-founder and CEO of StashAway.

StashAway offers investment and cash management portfolios for both retail and accredited investors. It delivers automated, personalised portfolio management for each client’s individual portfolios.

Read more here. 

From ChannelNewsAsia:

Singapore and China have expressed their commitment to keeping global supply chains and trade lines open amid the COVID-19 pandemic, said the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI).

Minister for Trade and Industry Chan Chun Sing and Vice-Chairman of the National Development and Reform Commission of China Ning Jizhe recognised the need for a collective response and international cooperation to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic, said MTI.

Both leaders agreed to continue their support for globalisation and global supply chains, even as the world faces economic challenges arising from the pandemic, said the ministry.

They also reaffirmed the strong economic ties between Singapore and China, as well as the strong cooperation between MTI and China's commission.

The leaders also acknowledged the three government-to-government projects between Singapore and China as key platforms for Singapore’s participation in the development of China’s Yangtze river delta, Jing-Jin-Ji, and western region.

Read more here.