In a challenging fundraising environment, a combination of overseas and local investment is positioning itself to spur some of the most innovative climate tech start-ups in Australia and New Zealand.

Hong Kong’s undertaking for cryptocurrencies challenges Singapore’s endeavours as Asia’s virtual asset hub. But the city’s new enthusiasm comes amid contagion worries surrounding the collapse of trading platform FTX, which galvanises traditional regulatory support for new digital money.

The metaverse is challenging user perception of materiality, digitalising elements of the physical realm and unlocking new economic values. Companies and policymakers are each fighting to establish ground rules across it, but so far its exact definition remains obscure.

The region is home to 35 unicorns and counting, with fintech and e-commerce companies having raised the most funds, so far. With the public markets taking notice of the sector’s vast potential, 2022 could promise more listings in the line-up.

Tech entrepreneur, Yat Siu, launched one of Hong Kong's first internet providers in the 1990s and today, is contributing to what he calls “the open metaverse”, through the company he co-founded: Animoca Brands.

The metaverse is the next big thing, and the next big bet for many tech companies. From Facebook’s Meta rebrand to Disney going digital, companies are investing heavily to build what they envision as the next chapter of internet evolution. But in the Philippines, the future is possibly already present.

Sandi Sadek joins the firm as partner and chief people officer.

A new generation of investors is reviving retail interest in capital markets and thanks to digital platforms like moomoo, they are no longer turning to their financial advisors on what to buy, sell or hold.

FinanceAsia hears from the experts at ASIFMA's Compliance Week on how financial institutions should deal with the threat of online misinformation dissemination.