Eight Roads Ventures has led a Series A funding round for Hong Kong-based fintech startup Aden Financial. Separately, Standard Chartered has completed the regulatory registration of a new entity in southern China to focus on venture deals.
Eight Roads leads Series A round for HK-based Aden Financial
Hong Kong-based Aden Financial, which offers a cross-border over-the-counter (OTC) e-trading platform for RMB assets, has completed its first external funding round led by Eight Roads Ventures.
Aden Financial, which closed the Series A round at multi-million US dollars, plans to use the fresh capital to enhance its technology capabilities, strengthen its presence across Asia, and expand access to targeted global markets, according to an official statement.
“Fintech is one of Eight Roads’ key investment sectors and this investment indicates our strong confidence in the trend of RMB internationalisation,” said Eight Roads partner Gordon Zhang in the statement.
Backed by Fidelity Investments, Eight Roads manages over $11 billion of assets across China, India, Europe, Israel, Japan, and the US. In China, the firm has invested in companies like e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, self-driving technology developer Pony.ai, healthcare management platform MedBanks, and medical tech provider WuXi AppTec.
Aden Financial started operations in 2021 to develop a technology-powered cross-border trading platform for global capital to invest in RMB OTC assets covering bonds, derivatives, and funds. Its e-trading services, such as alternative data display, price discovery, and automatic trade-matching, mainly serve global investors including ultra-high-net-worth individuals (UHNWIs), family offices, and funds.
The fintech startup holds No. 1, 2, 4, and 9 licenses issued by the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (HKSFC), a regulator of the city’s securities and futures markets, that allow it to operate in securities, futures contracts, and asset management. It also possesses multiple cross-border investment qualifications such as bond connect and CIBM Direct, approved by regulators in mainland China.
StanChart sets up Shenzhen venture for VC dealmaking
Standard Chartered has completed the regulatory registration of a new venture in southern China to boost its presence in the country’s startup investment circle.
The company, dubbed “SC Ventures Investment Management (Shenzhen) Limited,” was registered as a private equity (PE) and venture capital (VC) fund manager with an office in Nanshan District in the city of Shenzhen.
The entity was founded in July 2022 and completed its registration with the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC) earlier this month. It operates as a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, according to disclosures on the website of the Chinese fund regulator.
The Shenzhen-incorporated firm currently has a team of five people, including Lin Ximing, the firm’s legal representative and general manager. Lin previously held positions at companies including China Culture Industry Investment Fund and China Mobile State Development & Investment Management, a joint venture (JV) between telecom giant China Mobile and the state-owned SDIC.
The establishment of the new venture marks the latest effort by Standard Chartered to raise its stakes in China’s rising technology startups. The British multinational bank inked a strategic cooperation agreement with Shenzhen Angel FOF, a government-backed fund-of-funds (FOF) in the city, in February 2022 to invest in the incubation of small- and medium-sized technology startups in southern China’s Greater Bay Area (GBA).
In 2019, it launched the eXellerator innovation lab in Shanghai as a part of its SC Ventures unit to invest in promising fintech startups in the country. Its eXellerator in mainland China was built on the bank’s global network of innovation labs across Singapore, Hong Kong, London, Kenya, and San Francisco.