Last week equity crowdfunding platform Fundnel received a provisional Capital Markets Services (CMS) license and now it’s peer-to-business online lender Funding Societies which has received an “in-principle approval” of CMS in Singapore. The license will enable the platform to conduct regulated activities of dealing in securities for lending-based crowdfunding to all classes of investors in the nation. The company said it will commence crowdfunding for both accredited and non-accredited investors once it clears some requirements set by MAS.
The company, in the official statement further mentioned, that it will commence crowdfunding for both accredited and non-accredited investors once it clears some mandate requirements set by MAS.
Not only this, Funding Societies has upped its game by expanding itself to Malaysia, shortly after its launch in Indonesia as Modalku earlier this year. It has been successfully chosen as the Recognized Market Operator by Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) to provide debt-based crowdfunding services in Malaysia.
Incorporated as Modalku Ventures, the platform was one of the 50 firms which had applied and, will be one of the six registered operators in the country to offer crowd-lending services to SMEs. It plans to fully begin its operations in Malaysia in first-half of 2017. Kelvin Teo, co-founder of Funding Societies says,
We are very pleased to have obtained stamps of approval from the respective governing bodies in Singapore and Malaysia. It comes at an opportune time for us and SMEs, who have recently re-cited financing as one of the biggest problems they are facing.
Funding Societies has always aimed to create a “trusted, alternative financing and investment option for SMEs and investors respectively” and the approval will certainly help the firm achieve that. Teo said they would continue to closely work with the financial regulatory authorities of both Singapore and Malaysia. He further added,
We greatly appreciate the pace and efficiency of MAS and SC in considering applications for new financial services such as crowdlending, while still ensuring the application and proposed business model meet stringent regulations. This provides stakeholders with a sense of security while still allowing room for growth and innovation.
Since June 2015, Funding Societies had provided more than S$16 million in loans to more than 200 SMEs in Singapore and Indonesia. It had secured S$10 million in investment led by Sequoia India this August.
