Chinese insurance giant Ping An Group has launched a wealth management mobile app specifically targeting Singapore-based investors and the affluents through its affiliate Lu International (Singapore) Financial Asset Exchange, according to SCMP.
The app, which notes in Google Play description that its “account opening and transactional processes are fully compliant with Singapore regulatory requirements”, gives local investors access to 15 wealth management products provided by international investment institutions including BlackRock and so forth.
Lu International had received its capital market services license by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in July 2017.
Via the app itself, investments are split between ‘fixed term’ and ‘flexible term’, with a minimum amount as low as US$1 and as high as US$5,000. Currently, it uses facial recognition and other procedures to operate necessary checks on the investors spending on its platform.
Lu Global is looking to expand its customer base to reach 10,000 by this time next year, as well as double its workforce of 23 employees in the same time frame.
Going forward, Kit Wong, CEO, Lu Global, said that the company is mulling additional value-added services from private equity to a tech-enabled advisory feature to the app.
Takeaways
– Singapore is often looked upon for its wealth and the high net worth individuals that call it home. With 1,400 people in Singapore claiming a net worth of more than US$50 million, and the city-state itself being ranked as the world’s fifth wealthiest city, it is no wonder why Ping An has set its sights on this nation of seven million people.
– The development of technology has been facilitating the evolvement and adoption of financial products. While there has been an increasing number of fintech companies rising up to garner market share in this space, big corporations are not letting up.
– The Development Bank of Singapore (DBS) recently announced that it has launched DBS Wealth Chat, a service that lets its wealth clients chat with their respective relationship managers on apps like WhatsApp and WeChat.
Editor: Ben Jiang