FinTech Weekly | Issue 89

Chile's Atacama Oasis large-scale energy storage project completes $345 million financing

Last week, Spanish company Grenergy announced the completion of the financial financing process for the Atacama Oasis project in Chile. It has signed a $345 million green loan and other supplementary credit lines with a consortium of banks including BNP Paribas, Foreign Trade Bank, Industrial Bank, Scotiabank, and Mitsui Bank of Japan. This financing covers the first two phases of the project, namely 220 megawatt hours of solar power generation and 1.24 gigawatt hours of energy storage. The first phase is expected to be connected to the grid before the end of this year, and the second phase will be connected to the grid in 2025.

 

Information link:

http://cl.mofcom.gov.cn/article/jmxw/202407/20240703522448.shtml

Comment: The project is expected to provide energy to over 145000 households annually and reduce 14.6 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The CEO of the company, Andres, stated that this transaction demonstrates the strong confidence of the consortium in the green energy development model that combines solar power plants with energy storage.

 

Wealth management technology platform Envestnet acquired for $4.5 billion

Recently, private equity firms Bain Capital and Reverence Capital jointly announced that they will spend $4.5 billion to acquire wealth management technology and data service provider Envestnet. Wealth management companies and banking institutions use Envestnet's software and data to help manage investments. It is reported that the company currently manages over $6 trillion in assets, oversees nearly 20 million accounts, and has over 109000 financial advisors. Its clients include 16 of the 20 largest banks in the United States and 48 of the 50 largest wealth management and brokerage firms.

 

Information link:

https://www.baincapital.com/news/envestnet-leading-wealth-technology...

Comment: Currently, the agreement has received unanimous approval from Envestnet's board of directors and is planned to be completed in the fourth quarter.

 

Google may spend $23 billion to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz

According to sources familiar with the matter, Google's parent company Alphabet is in deep negotiations to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz, with a potential transaction price of up to $23 billion. The newspaper stated that this transaction will be Alphabet's largest ever acquisition and may be completed "soon".

 

Information link:

https://www.ithome.com.tw/news/163922

Comment: The acquisition of Wiz may help drive Alphabet's efforts in the cloud computing field, where Alphabet lags behind its competitors. It is reported that Wiz, headquartered in New York, was valued at $12 billion in a funding round in May, attracting investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Thrive Capital.

 

US chip giant AMD plans to acquire Finnish startup Silo AI for $665 million

On July 10, 2024, American chip manufacturing giant AMD announced plans to spend $665 million to acquire Finnish startup Silo AI. Silo AI claims to be the 'largest private artificial intelligence laboratory in Europe'. The company is known for building Large Language Models (LLMs), particularly for low resource languages. In May 2024, this startup launched an LLM that covers Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish, as well as English and programming languages. Silo AI states that its ultimate goal is to build LLMs for each EU language, as multilingual LLMs are an important component of Europe's digital infrastructure.

 

Information link:

https://ir.amd.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1206/amd-to...

Comment: In the future, Silo AI will provide AMD with new tools to provide strong support for its competition with Nvidia's high-performance chips. At present, this transaction plan is still waiting for regulatory approval. AMD expects this acquisition to be completed in the second half of this year. If everything goes smoothly, this transaction will become one of the largest acquisitions in the history of European artificial intelligence startups.

Chile's Atacama Oasis large-scale energy storage project completes $345 million financing

Last week, Spanish company Grenergy announced the completion of the financial financing process for the Atacama Oasis project in Chile. It has signed a $345 million green loan and other supplementary credit lines with a consortium of banks including BNP Paribas, Foreign Trade Bank, Industrial Bank, Scotiabank, and Mitsui Bank of Japan. This financing covers the first two phases of the project, namely 220 megawatt hours of solar power generation and 1.24 gigawatt hours of energy storage. The first phase is expected to be connected to the grid before the end of this year, and the second phase will be connected to the grid in 2025.

 

Information link:

http://cl.mofcom.gov.cn/article/jmxw/202407/20240703522448.shtml

Comment: The project is expected to provide energy to over 145000 households annually and reduce 14.6 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The CEO of the company, Andres, stated that this transaction demonstrates the strong confidence of the consortium in the green energy development model that combines solar power plants with energy storage.

 

Wealth management technology platform Envestnet acquired for $4.5 billion

Recently, private equity firms Bain Capital and Reverence Capital jointly announced that they will spend $4.5 billion to acquire wealth management technology and data service provider Envestnet. Wealth management companies and banking institutions use Envestnet's software and data to help manage investments. It is reported that the company currently manages over $6 trillion in assets, oversees nearly 20 million accounts, and has over 109000 financial advisors. Its clients include 16 of the 20 largest banks in the United States and 48 of the 50 largest wealth management and brokerage firms.

 

Information link:

https://www.baincapital.com/news/envestnet-leading-wealth-technology...

Comment: Currently, the agreement has received unanimous approval from Envestnet's board of directors and is planned to be completed in the fourth quarter.

 

Google may spend $23 billion to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz

According to sources familiar with the matter, Google's parent company Alphabet is in deep negotiations to acquire cybersecurity startup Wiz, with a potential transaction price of up to $23 billion. The newspaper stated that this transaction will be Alphabet's largest ever acquisition and may be completed "soon".

 

Information link:

https://www.ithome.com.tw/news/163922

Comment: The acquisition of Wiz may help drive Alphabet's efforts in the cloud computing field, where Alphabet lags behind its competitors. It is reported that Wiz, headquartered in New York, was valued at $12 billion in a funding round in May, attracting investors such as Andreessen Horowitz, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and Thrive Capital.

 

US chip giant AMD plans to acquire Finnish startup Silo AI for $665 million

On July 10, 2024, American chip manufacturing giant AMD announced plans to spend $665 million to acquire Finnish startup Silo AI. Silo AI claims to be the 'largest private artificial intelligence laboratory in Europe'. The company is known for building Large Language Models (LLMs), particularly for low resource languages. In May 2024, this startup launched an LLM that covers Danish, Finnish, Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish, as well as English and programming languages. Silo AI states that its ultimate goal is to build LLMs for each EU language, as multilingual LLMs are an important component of Europe's digital infrastructure.

 

Information link:

https://ir.amd.com/news-events/press-releases/detail/1206/amd-to...

Comment: In the future, Silo AI will provide AMD with new tools to provide strong support for its competition with Nvidia's high-performance chips. At present, this transaction plan is still waiting for regulatory approval. AMD expects this acquisition to be completed in the second half of this year. If everything goes smoothly, this transaction will become one of the largest acquisitions in the history of European artificial intelligence startups.

Singapore's major retail banks will gradually phase out one-time passwords

On July 9, 2024, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and the Association of Banks of Singapore (ABS) jointly announced that major retail banks in Singapore will gradually phase out the use of one-time passwords (OTP) to log in to bank accounts over the next three months in order to protect users from online fraud. In the future, customers who have activated digital tokens on their mobile devices must use digital authentication to log in to their bank accounts through a browser or mobile banking application. MAS and ABS strongly recommend that customers who have not yet activated digital authentication complete this process.

 

Information link:

www.01caijing.com/article/341745.htm

 

Santander Bank collaborates with Google to launch free artificial intelligence training courses

Recently, Santander Bank and Google reached an agreement to provide free artificial intelligence courses for users aged 18 and above worldwide. It is reported that the course titled "Santander | Google: Artificial Intelligence and Productivity" will be launched on the Santander Open Academy platform, providing three versions in English, Spanish, and Portuguese respectively, to help students learn the basics of artificial intelligence, encounter practical artificial intelligence applications, and how to use effective commands to fully utilize artificial intelligence tools. After completing the course, students can also obtain corresponding course certificates.

 

Information link:

https://www.cnbeta.com.tw/articles/tech/1428797.htm

 

French central bank collaborates with Hong Kong Monetary Authority to launch cross-border CBDC project

The Bank of France (BDF) recently announced that the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) will become the first central bank institution outside of Europe to participate in the exploration of the European Central Bank's digital euro system. In the future, both parties will conduct in-depth research on the interoperability between their wholesale central bank digital currency (wCBDC) infrastructure, namely BDF's DL3S and HKMA's Ensemble Sandbox, with a focus on real-time cross-border and cross currency payments. It is reported that this cross-border experiment aims to explore how to optimize the settlement efficiency of cross-border transactions and promote interoperability between financial market infrastructure in different jurisdictions.

 

Information link:

https://www.hkma.gov.hk/gb_chi/news-and-media/press-releases/2024/06/...

 

BNP Paribas signs multi-year agreement to implement Mistral AI business model across all business lines

BNP Paribas, a Paris based banking group, has signed a multi-year agreement with Mistral AI, a technology startup recently valued at $6 billion. According to the terms of the agreement, the bank will be granted access to "current and future Mistral AI business models," which will be implemented across "all business lines of the bank. With the launch of the startup's solutions, particularly the focus on its Large Language Model (LLM), BNP Paribas claims to be developing "many use cases in its business, including customer support, sales, IT, and other areas. Olivier Osty, Global Markets Director at BNP Paribas, stated that this collaboration "has enormous potential to enhance our customer service in sales, trading, research, and other areas," in line with its digital strategy and ambition to become the "number one market company in Europe.

 

Information link:

www.msn.cn/zh-cn/news/other/%E6%B3%95%E5%9B%BD%E5%B7%B4%E9%BB%8E%E9%93

Hungary proposes development of electric vehicles and opposes EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles

On July 10, 2024, Hungarian Minister of Economy Nagi Marton announced at a press conference in Budapest that Hungary has submitted a proposal to the European Commission on Competitiveness, which includes a package of measures to accelerate the EU's transition to electric vehicles. Najib Matton emphasized that the EU currently needs measures to coordinate different electric vehicle strategies among its member states. He also suggested establishing a charging station every 50 kilometers, providing charging devices at 80% of gas stations, and offering a car purchase subsidy of 4500 euros for every EU citizen who purchases an electric vehicle. Regarding the imposition of temporary anti subsidy tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, Nagi Matton stated that the Hungarian government does not support the EU's protectionist and market restrictive measures, which would lead to a trade war and not benefit either party.

 

Information link:

news.cctv.cn/2024/07/11/ARTIc8zGtrq6glczTyjxaYud240711.shtml

 

Amazon achieves 100% renewable energy target

On July 10th, Amazon announced that it has achieved its goal of using 100% renewable energy to power its global business, reaching a milestone in 2023, seven years ahead of its initial target. Amazon first announced its clean energy goals in 2019, committing to matching all electricity consumption of its global businesses (including data centers, corporate buildings, stores, and fulfillment centers) with 100% renewable energy by 2030. At that time, the company's renewable energy accounted for 42%. Since the launch of this goal, the company has invested billions of dollars in clean energy development and has become the world's largest purchaser of renewable energy in the past four years.

 

Information link:

https://www.amazonaws.cn/newsroom/2022/global-0421-sustainability

 

The United States may withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement again

On July 14, 2024, Donald Trump was shot while delivering a campaign speech in Butler County, Pennsylvania. This event may change the competitive landscape of the entire US election and further affect the policy orientation of the United States in global climate response actions. According to POLITICO, the Trump campaign team claims that if Donald Trump wins the presidential election again in November, the United States will once again withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, and may even be removed from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

 

Information link:

https://news.un.org/zh/story/2021/01/1076512

 

The United Nations General Assembly has designated the period from 2025 to 2034 as the "United Nations Decade for the Prevention and Control of Sandstorms"

On July 10th, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution designating the period from 2025 to 2034 as the "United Nations Decade for the Prevention and Control of Sandstorms" to further enhance international awareness of sandstorms, strengthen international cooperation, and mitigate their impact. The resolution states that sandstorms are a global challenge that affects infrastructure, transportation, communication, agriculture, ecosystems, and human health. Designating the period from 2025 to 2034 as the "United Nations Decade for the Prevention and Control of Sandstorms" aims to strengthen international and regional cooperation, increase efforts, and prevent, stop, and mitigate the adverse effects of sandstorms.

 

Information link:

world.people.com.cn/n1/2024/0711/c1002-40276013.html

Hungary proposes development of electric vehicles and opposes EU tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles

On July 10, 2024, Hungarian Minister of Economy Nagi Marton announced at a press conference in Budapest that Hungary has submitted a proposal to the European Commission on Competitiveness, which includes a package of measures to accelerate the EU's transition to electric vehicles. Najib Matton emphasized that the EU currently needs measures to coordinate different electric vehicle strategies among its member states. He also suggested establishing a charging station every 50 kilometers, providing charging devices at 80% of gas stations, and offering a car purchase subsidy of 4500 euros for every EU citizen who purchases an electric vehicle. Regarding the imposition of temporary anti subsidy tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, Nagi Matton stated that the Hungarian government does not support the EU's protectionist and market restrictive measures, which would lead to a trade war and not benefit either party.

 

Information link:

news.cctv.cn/2024/07/11/ARTIc8zGtrq6glczTyjxaYud240711.shtml

 

Amazon achieves 100% renewable energy target

On July 10th, Amazon announced that it has achieved its goal of using 100% renewable energy to power its global business, reaching a milestone in 2023, seven years ahead of its initial target. Amazon first announced its clean energy goals in 2019, committing to matching all electricity consumption of its global businesses (including data centers, corporate buildings, stores, and fulfillment centers) with 100% renewable energy by 2030. At that time, the company's renewable energy accounted for 42%. Since the launch of this goal, the company has invested billions of dollars in clean energy development and has become the world's largest purchaser of renewable energy in the past four years.

 

Information link:

https://www.amazonaws.cn/newsroom/2022/global-0421-sustainability

 

The United States may withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement again

On July 14, 2024, Donald Trump was shot while delivering a campaign speech in Butler County, Pennsylvania. This event may change the competitive landscape of the entire US election and further affect the policy orientation of the United States in global climate response actions. According to POLITICO, the Trump campaign team claims that if Donald Trump wins the presidential election again in November, the United States will once again withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement, and may even be removed from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

 

Information link:

https://news.un.org/zh/story/2021/01/1076512

 

The United Nations General Assembly has designated the period from 2025 to 2034 as the "United Nations Decade for the Prevention and Control of Sandstorms"

On July 10th, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution designating the period from 2025 to 2034 as the "United Nations Decade for the Prevention and Control of Sandstorms" to further enhance international awareness of sandstorms, strengthen international cooperation, and mitigate their impact. The resolution states that sandstorms are a global challenge that affects infrastructure, transportation, communication, agriculture, ecosystems, and human health. Designating the period from 2025 to 2034 as the "United Nations Decade for the Prevention and Control of Sandstorms" aims to strengthen international and regional cooperation, increase efforts, and prevent, stop, and mitigate the adverse effects of sandstorms.

 

Information link:

world.people.com.cn/n1/2024/0711/c1002-40276013.html

Singapore strengthens scrutiny of family offices, regulation upgrades again

In recent years, money laundering cases have occurred frequently, and the Singapore government has strengthened its supervision of family offices, requiring newly applied family offices to provide stricter anti money laundering audit information. Existing family offices are required to provide more information within the prescribed time. In addition, the Monetary Authority of Singapore has adjusted its hedge fund licensing system and strengthened closure measures for inactive companies to maintain financial order and reputation.

 

Information link:

https://www.insightslaw.sg/legal-updates/proposed-framework-for-single...

 

 

UBS releases its 2024 Global Wealth Report

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Recently, the "2024 Global Wealth Report" released by UBS showed that global wealth growth recovered to 4.2% in 2023, offsetting the decline in 2022. The report points out that growth in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, as well as the Asia Pacific region, is the main driving force. The United States has shown outstanding performance in the Americas, with an increase in compound annual growth rate. The report also predicts that there will be approximately $83 trillion in wealth inheritance over the next 20 years, with over 10% of it being transmitted horizontally, primarily in the Americas.

 

Information link:

https://www.ubs.com/global/en/wealth-management/insights/glo … · PDF file

 

 

Bitcoin fell 10% in Q2, 'ETF frenzy' fades, tech giants have 'run away'

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Since hitting a historic high of $73000 in March, as of Monday, Bitcoin has fallen about 14% from its peak, with a cumulative drop of about 10% in the second quarter, in sharp contrast to the 57% surge in the first quarter of this year. At the same time as Bitcoin's decline, the pursuit of Bitcoin ETFs has also cooled down. According to data from CoinShares, the inflow of funds into Bitcoin ETFs in the second quarter of this year was only about $2.6 billion, while the inflow in the first quarter was about $13 billion, a decrease of 80% compared to the previous quarter. Another piece of bad news is that Peter Thiel, the founder of PayPal and a big player in cryptocurrency, revealed on the 30th that he has sold most of his Bitcoin. Previously, Thiel purchased $100 million worth of Bitcoin through its venture capital firm Founders Fund in 2023, when the Bitcoin price was still around $30000.

 

Information link:

https://wallstreetcn.com/articles/3718467

 

 

Goldman Sachs warns that technology stocks are facing a sell-off storm from hedge funds after Nvidia's peak

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On June 27th, according to an analysis by top investment bank Goldman Sachs, hedge funds are "aggressively" selling technology stocks during the month when Nvidia briefly became the "world's number one stock". According to brokerage data from Goldman Sachs, the net sales of the US technology industry this month are expected to reach the largest scale on record since 2017. Semiconductor and semiconductor equipment stocks were the most sold stocks by hedge funds, followed by software and Internet stocks. The sharp contrast between hedge funds reducing their exposure and last week's record inflow of funds from technology funds is also reflected in the market sentiment. The Nasdaq 100 index, mainly composed of technology stocks, hit a new high on June 18th, but significantly declined in the following three trading days.

 

Information link:

https://usstock.jrj.com.cn/2024/06/27215041248255.shtml

CNBC collaborates with Statista to release the '2024 Global Top Fintech Companies Report'

In the past year, the fintech industry has undergone significant changes. Compared to 2020 and 2021, the total amount of global venture capital in the fintech industry has significantly decreased. However, experts say that this indicates that the market is in a new normal, and valuations are being revised from unsustainable highs. In this context, CNBC and market research firm Statista jointly released the "2024 Global Top Fintech Companies Report" on July 9, 2024, which selected 250 companies from eight tracks including alternative finance, banking solutions, business process solutions, digital assets, financial planning, emerging banks, payments, and wealth technology.

 

Information link:

https://www.weiyangx.com/437716.html

 

Neuralink: Expected to conduct second brain computer interface subject trial in the near future

Elon Musk announced on July 10, 2024 that his brain computer interface startup Neuralink plans to implant its system into a second human subject "around next week". Neuralink is establishing a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) aimed at assisting patients through the use of groundbreaking paralysis control technology. The company's first system is called "Telepathy", which includes 64 "wires" directly inserted into the brain, which are thinner than human hair and record neural signals through 1024 electrodes.

 

Information link:

https://www.ithome.com/0/769/383.htm

 

Microsoft: Will not imitate OpenAI to block China from obtaining AI models

Starting from July 9, 2024, OpenAI will block API traffic from countries and regions not on its support list, such as China. In response to this news, tech giant Microsoft stated that there have been no changes to its Azure OpenAI service in China, and the company will continue to provide services to qualified customers in China through models deployed outside of China.

 

Information link:

https://m.163.com/dy/article/J6NUGVGE05198086.html

 

Tech giants bet on AI to stimulate PC industry recovery, industry insiders remain skeptical

Technology giants such as Microsoft and Qualcomm are launching a marketing blitz for the new type of "artificial intelligence personal computer", promising to embed artificial intelligence functions into laptops and desktop computers. The difference between the new computer and standard equipment is that it includes an additional processor that can accelerate artificial intelligence functions such as personal assistants, and has the ability to automatically execute tasks. But according to industry research firm IDC, only 3% of personal computers shipped this year can meet Microsoft's processing power threshold and are considered "artificial intelligence personal computers".

 

Information link:

xueqiu.com/7785820903/296961737

 

 

Disclaimer: The content is from the Internet, WeChat official account and other public channels. We are neutral about the points in the article. This article is only for reference and exchange.