FinTech Magazine - June 2021 | Page 13

1 ICELAND

Central Bank of Iceland raises rates in post-COVID optimism

2

SINGAPORE
Singapore Government invites applications for green fintechs
Ahead of western Europe ’ s other central banking institutions , Iceland has raised its interest rates 0.25 % to 1 %. Driven by economic results at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021 that surpassed expectations , the bank ’ s actions are a positive sign of post-COVID recovery .
Singapore ’ s government has opted to support the development of green fintechs in its latest industry event , the Global FinTech Hackcelerator . Supported by US consultancy firm Oliver Wyman , it will seek to unlock the fintech sector ’ s latent potential in advancing the development of green finance in Singapore and the wider region .

4 JAPAN

SoftBank Group announces annual net profit of US $ 45.8bn
Boosted significantly by Coupang ’ s listing on the US market , tech giant SoftBank has reported the highest annual earnings of any Japanese company ever . The company is reportedly now investing billions into its technology platform . B2C services and products , and has become the leading e-commerce enterprise in South Korea . fintechmagazine . com 13