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According to Bloomberg, Bahrain may soon get a digital bank thanks to the plans of the well-known private family office Whampoa Group, which is situated in Singapore. Continuous payment and settlement services for digital asset firms will be included in the bank's offerings.
According to the firm, Whampoa Group plans to open the bank by the end of the year and offer a variety of banking services, including trading, custody, and asset management for digital tokens.
One of the group's co-founders is Ms. Amy Lee, a former senior partner at the law firm Lee & Lee, which was founded by the first prime minister of Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, and his wife. Her father, Lee Kim Yew.
Mr. Lee Han Shih, a member of the business family that was involved in the formation of OCBC Bank, Lee Rubber Group, and numerous other businesses, is moreover a co-founder of the investment group.
A government spokeswoman in Bahrain claims that the project has received "in-principle approval" from the country's central bank. It should be emphasised that this approval is only temporary; a full licence won't be given out until all legal requirements have been met.
Small oil producer Bahrain received a $10 billion bailout package from surrounding Gulf nations in 2018 to avoid a credit constraint. Since then, as part of its plan to diversify and strengthen its non-oil economy, the state has been actively pushing the development of its fintech and finance sector.
Shawn Chan, CEO of the Whampoa Group, noted this and said,
We were impressed by Bahrain’s solid reputation in the financial services sector, transparent regulatory framework, and ongoing pledge to collaborate and innovate.
After the market collapse in 2022 and events like the FTX exchange, many conventional lenders are reluctant to work with companies that deal in digital assets. The bankruptcy of crypto-friendly lenders Signature Bank and Silvergate Capital in 2023, following the American banking crisis, dealt a blow to the digital asset market. As a result, the industry was cut off from 24/7 payment infrastructure.
Whampoa Group said in 2022 that it intended to raise US$50 million (S$67 million) for a cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund and US$100 million for a venture capital fund devoted to the digital asset market. Before that, the group was a part of a consortium that ByteDance headed that attempted to secure a digital bank licence in Singapore but was unsuccessful in doing so.
