Investment in Singapore fintech drops 64.6% to $301.4m

There is also an overall fall in average deal value.

The latest KPMG's Pulse of Fintech report noted that in Singapore, overall investment in fintech companies saw a 64.6% drop from US$605m to US$214m ($301.4m) in 2016. This came as the number of deals only decreased by two to 28 in 2016, indicating an overall fall in average deal value.

Meanwhile, KPMG noted that in Singapore, many of the larger VC fundings were concentrated among online payments, remittances, or foreign exchange trading platforms.

In terms of capital injected through venture investment in fintech companies, the number of deals recorded was the same in 2015 at 25, however, the capital went down from $172m to $79m.

KPMG Singapore Head of Digital Village Jan Reinmueller said the Monetary Authority of Singapore is working very closely with companies to enable innovation in the financial services sector.

"From developing the regulatory sandbox to building fintech bridges with other jurisdictions, there's no doubt in my mind, the MAS is one of the main reasons Singapore is becoming a global hub for fintech companies," he noted.

Zooming on a global scale, 2016 experienced a decline in the market with a 47.2% slide in fintech investment, with total funding down to US$24.7b from US$46.7b and the deal activity dropping from 1,255 to 1,076. On the other hand, VC funding to fintech companies reached a record US$13.6B compared to US$12.7b in 2015, with 840 deals recorded.

In Asia, total investment reached a new high of US$8.6b, despite a drop-off in deal activity.