Daily Briefing: Travelling Singaporeans, PRs can tap subsidies; PPRO raises $68.45m

And ride-hailing firm TADA raises US$5M led by Central.

From ChannelNewsAsia:

All Singaporeans, permanent residents and long-term pass holders who travel abroad under permitted travel arrangements with certain countries will be able to tap regular healthcare financing for their medical bills should they have symptoms of COVID-19 within 14 days of their return to Singapore.

“This means that Singaporeans and PRs will be eligible for government subsidies and MediShield Life integrated shield plan coverage," said Minister for Health Gan Kim Yong

“Long-term pass holders may tap on their prevailing financing arrangements, such as the foreign worker insurance. But any remaining co-payment will continue to be paid by the patient,” he added. This will take effect starting Aug 7.

The government subsidies and use of MediShield Life will apply to those who travel under green or fast lanes, as well as any permitted travel arrangement that may be implemented in the future, said the Ministry of Health (MOH).

Read more here. 

From e27:

PPRO, a local payments platform-as-a-service with operations in Singapore, has closed a $68.45m (US$50m) financing round led by Sprints Capital. Other investors in this round include Citi Ventures and HPE Growth.

PPRO plans to use the capital to scale the organisation and accelerate strategic growth plans for its global platform.

The firm provides partners with the ability to accept locally preferred payment methods like e-wallets, bank transfers, cash, and local cards in more than 175 markets across the globe.

The company aims to remove the complexity of domestic and cross-border payments for top-tier financial institutions, payment service providers, and their merchants.

Read more here. 

From e27:

MVLLABS, the company behind TADA, a blockchain-based zero-commission ride-hailing service headquartered in Singapore, has secured $6.84m (US$5m) in fresh funding led by Central, a South Korean company in the vehicle after-market space.

With this, MVL’s total funding raised to date has reached $18.34 (US$13.4m) since its inception two years ago. This includes a $6.84m (US$5m) series A round led by South Korea’s SV Investment in December last year and an extension round in May.

Based in South Korea, MVL has plans to manufacture E-TukTuk (an electric auto-rickshaw system) for distribution in Southeast Asia alongside Myung-shin, a Korean automobile production plant company currently producing electric vehicles.

With this additional financing, MVL aims to accelerate its plan to supply electric vehicles in Southeast Asia, setting its sights to distribute and sell an estimate of 10,000 E-TukTuks by 2021 in Cambodia.

“The biggest advantage of TADA is that there is zero platform commission to drivers. With this unique selling point, we hope to rapidly distribute E-Tuk Tuk to 600,000 platform users and bring heightened mobility innovation to the Southeast Asian market,” said Kay Woo, CEO of MVL.

Read more here.