Southeast Asia

Philip Lee has joined the global law firm from DLA Piper's financial services practice with a team of three.

Final orders were over S$2bn allowing UOB to upsize from its original S$500m benchmark; there was participation from 96 investors with 26% outside of Singapore.

The digital bank, which has operations in China, Hong Kong and Indonesia, is looking at M&A opportunities and developing artificial intelligence agents, with the debt and equity fundraise.

The fundraise includes $1.8bn for KKR Asia Credit Opportunities Fund II as the investment giant sees growing investor demand for allocation to private credit in the region; the fund has been used for deals in Hong Kong, India and Australia.

Singapore-based Jarek Olszowka has over two decades of experience in financial services and most recently worked at Nomura in London.

The southeast Asian country continues its diversified sovereign fundraising, while its fiscal deficit for 2025 widened to 2.92%.

Entries are now open for the 30th edition of the FinanceAsia Awards which celebrate the best banks, brokers, consultants, rating agencies, law firms and other financial institutions across the region.

Global regulators are seeing a convergence of digital-asset standards, even as differences in pace and risk culture persist. Speakers at the Singapore Fintech Festival said responsible innovation, is becoming the organising principle for harmonisation.

The offerings attracted public sector institutions, banks, asset managers, corporates and private banks, with particularly strong participation from Asia.