Standard Chartered (OTC:SCBFF)'s fintech investment subsidiary, SC Ventures, and SBI Holdings unveiled a $100 million digital asset joint venture in the UAE on Thursday, Nov 09, 2023. The venture aims to strategically invest in areas including decentralized finance (DeFi), tokenization, consumer payments, risk and compliance tools, and the metaverse amidst a recovering crypto market, with Bitcoin at $36,800 and a year-to-date gain over 120%. This move highlights the growing commitment of both entities towards fintech innovation.
The joint venture will leverage SC Venture's extensive experience in digital assets, gained through initiatives such as Zodia Custody and Zodia Markets. It will also benefit from previous investments made by SC Ventures in Ripple and Metaco. Alex Manson, CEO of SC Ventures, expressed optimism about the new venture's potential to navigate the evolving digital asset market and detailed plans for "strategic and minority investments" in crypto startups including Ripple and Zodia Custody.
This announcement follows a series of strategic moves by Standard Chartered in the digital asset space. In October 2023, Zodia, another joint venture between Standard Chartered and SBI Holdings, launched crypto custody services in Hong Kong. This marked the bank's continued expansion into the crypto custody sector after having launched similar services in Singapore earlier.
In June 2023, Standard Chartered teamed up with PwC China to explore central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). They published a white paper that underscored the potential of CBDCs within the evolving digital economy of China’s Greater Bay Area.
Earlier this year, in May 2023, Standard Chartered had established a partnership with Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) to focus on digital asset domains. This included offering custodial services for digital assets. Around the same time, SC Ventures divested its stake in Metaco SA to Ripple for US$250 million, marking Ripple's first significant acquisition.
At the end of 2023, SBI Holdings is set to launch a 100 billion yen ($663 million) fund targeting web3, AI startups, and fintech startups. Prior investments from SC Ventures and SBI Holdings included Solv, Zodia Custody, and myZoi. This continued focus on the digital asset ecosystem demonstrates the entities' commitment to explore global opportunities within this emerging sector.
InvestingPro Insights
Delving into the real-time data and insights from InvestingPro, it's evident that Standard Chartered (STAN) and SBI Holdings (8316) have some noteworthy financial trends.
Starting with Standard Chartered, InvestingPro Tips highlight that the company has consistently raised its dividend for three consecutive years, demonstrating a strong commitment to returning value to shareholders. The company has also been profitable over the last twelve months, which is a positive sign for potential investors. However, it's worth noting that the company's stock performance has been underwhelming recently, with a significant price fall over the last three months.
Turning to SBI Holdings, InvestingPro Tips indicate a strong dividend track record with payments maintained for an impressive 21 consecutive years. The company has also seen a high return over the last year and a strong return over the last five years, suggesting a robust financial performance. Despite this, analysts anticipate a sales decline in the current year, and the company is quickly burning through cash, which may raise concerns for investors.
With over 10 additional tips listed in InvestingPro for each company, it's clear that InvestingPro is a valuable tool for investors looking for comprehensive and real-time financial insights. Remember, these are just a few highlights, and a more detailed analysis is available on the InvestingPro platform.
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