Daily Briefing: Singapore's GIC leads $106.6m funding in US crypto platform Anchorage; 1,700 flats surrendered to HDB in the past five years

And ComfortDelGro to launch ‘one-stop’ lifestyle and mobility app.

From DealStreetAsia:

Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC has led an $106.6m (US$80m) Series C funding in US-based digital asset platform Anchorage.

Other investors participating in the round include US venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz (a16z), Blockchain Capital and Lux Capital, as well as Portuguese fund Indico Capital Partners, according to a statement.

The funding will be used to fuel Anchorage’s expansion in helping more customers, especially corporations and traditional financial institutions, participate in the digital asset space.

The company offers crypto-native financial products and services, such as staking, governance, financing and lending, trading, and DeFi (decentralised finance).

It said it will develop at-launch support for new protocols in the coming months while having invested in such support for protocols like Celo, Filecoin, and Oasis.

Read more here. 

From ChannelNewsAsia:

About 1,700 flats were surrendered to the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in the past five years, with most being short-lease flats, said Senior Minister of State for National Development Sim Ann on 2 March.

She was responding to a Parliamentary question by MP Gan Thiam Poh during the Ministry of National Development's Committee of Supply debate.

Gan had asked for the number of flats resold to HDB, the reason why the flats were resold, and if HDB would consider offering these flats on its open booking system.

Half of the surrendered flats were two-room flats, one-sixth were three-room flats and one-third were four-room or larger flats, said Sim.

About 1,000 were short-lease flats, comprising studio apartments, two-room Flexi flats bought on a short lease and flats whose owners opted for the Lease Buyback Scheme.

Read more here. 

From ChannelNewsAsia:

ComfortDelGro on 2 March announced the launch of a “one-stop” lifestyle and mobility app called Zig.

The new app, available from 9 March, will allow users to book taxis, plan journeys, make dining reservations, place click-to-collect orders at food and beverage outlets, find deals, and purchase tickets to attractions and entertainment outlets.

The app is aimed at helping users “connect and commute conveniently, as well as discover new experiences in and around Singapore”, said ComfortDelGro in a media release. An interactive map-based interface “makes it easy to search for lifestyle services”, it added.

“This is the first time we are rolling out such an all-in-one lifestyle and mobility app,” said Yang Ban Seng, managing director and group CEO of ComfortDelGro.

Read more here.