Partnerships are essential for any institution looking to seize opportunities in Asia’s dynamic markets, especially in today’s rapidly evolving business environment. Regional partners bring local knowledge, experience as well as access to new markets and customers.
The need for partnerships can be seen through both global and regional contexts. No bank or financial institution has a completely comprehensive suite of global services, and local or regional partners can support non-core areas. Regardless of the geopolitical noise, the world remains highly connected and customers expect to be seamlessly served across markets.
Supply chains may change, but global trade and the associated need for banking services are as important as ever.
In a regional context, it is essential to recognize that Asia is not a homogeneous market. Apart from cultural and language differences, each jurisdiction has its own regulations, licensing requirements, and monetary regimes, which often vary widely.
Asia is characterized by high rates of urbanization and technology adoption. There will be 1.4 billion mobile internet users in 2023, and this is expected to grow to 1.8 billion by 20301. The rapid pace of digital adoption and disruption is putting pressure on financial institutions to meet customer expectations.
In Asia as well, the need for ESG considerations and sustainable finance is increasing.
All these factors require partnership. No individual institution can keep up with all the regulatory, demographic, and cultural changes that are evolving across Asia. Locally based partners can assist with compliance by sharing expertise and resources, as well as insights into connectivity and local consumer behavior.
Fintech Partnership – Turning Digital Disruption into Opportunity
Without a doubt, digital disruption is accelerating the partnership theme. While there are some areas where banks and fintechs compete directly, we believe that banks and fintechs can strategically leverage their respective strengths and establish partnerships to enhance products and services and enrich the customer experience. There are many fields in which this can be done.
The nature of these partnerships can take many forms. One is by partnering with fintechs to reach underserved markets, allowing banks to expand their reach into hitherto neglected sectors such as MSMEs and reach more segments of society. enabling the benefit of financial inclusion to be brought to bear on the world. The other is to provide banking services, including payment infrastructure, capital markets and access to financing, to support FinTech businesses.
Banks can also invest in or build fintechs directly, as DBS has done. For example, it is a founding member of the Partior Open Industry Blockchain Initiative2 and is building the DBS Digital Exchange3 and DBS Globesend4 payments fintechs from the ground up within the bank.
Public partnerships and community support
Partnerships with the public sector are particularly important to DBS. DBS has its origins as the Development Bank of Singapore, and supporting public initiatives with a strong sense of purpose has always been part of the bank’s DNA. DBS has demonstrated its commitment to being an instrument of public good in a number of ways. Examples include distributing relief funds to Singapore during the COVID-19 pandemic and disbursing government grants to Enterprise Singapore 5, leveraging the bank’s blockchain excellence.
Two other examples from this region illustrate this theme. DBS has partnered with the Indonesia Investment Authority (INA6) to support the development of Indonesia’s infrastructure sector, including providing financial advice, investment banking expertise and advisory services. This, in turn, supports Indonesia’s economic growth and development.
The other $500 million was launched in partnership with the International Finance Corporation (IFC7) to provide financing to businesses in developing countries, foster economic growth, and support trade flows. facility.
DBS supports regional growth and development by working with governments and building trust in both the public and private sectors. This is particularly important in formulating a sustainability agenda, bringing together public and private stakeholders to address existential challenges in a collaborative way. The threat of climate change cannot be reduced without partnership.
ideal partner
DBS is uniquely positioned as a partner to financial institutions. First, we offer regional expertise and extensive networks across Asia’s three major growth axes: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. Partners can leverage DBS’s local knowledge and relationships to address Asia’s complexities and risks.
Its home base, Singapore, has made a name for itself as a gateway for global investors to access Asian opportunities. But DBS is entrenched far beyond its home base, with a presence in Asia and 19 other markets. DBS is currently a top three foreign bank in RMB clearing and has a complete suite of onshore transaction banking and market capabilities, providing financial institutions with connectivity to China. The company’s extensive presence in India is currently strengthened by its GIFT City Banking division. We also provide correspondent banking services throughout Asia. DBS brings connectivity not only within Asia but also to other parts of the world.
DBS is a recognized leader in digital banking,8 and has invested heavily in technology and innovation, including APIs, tokenization, and blockchain. Underpinning these differentiators is DBS’s financial strength and stability, with a strong credit rating9 and a reputation built on trust. DBS is a safe and reliable trading partner during market volatility.
At the heart of DBS is a commitment to strengthening relationships. We are a customer-centric bank with a deep understanding of Asia and a proven track record of safety. These characteristics make the company an ideal partner for private and public sector financial institutions, precisely at a time when that partnership is more important than ever.
