Singtel-backed fintech Sygnum gets capital markets services licence

SINGAPORE-FOCUSED tokenisation startup Sygnum has obtained a capital markets services licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore.

With the licence, the Singapore and Switzerland-based firm will be able to conduct asset management activities in Singapore. It will focus mainly on digital asset investment strategies for accredited and institutional investors, it said in an announcement on Thursday.

Sygnum's first product offering would be a multi-manager fund, planned for launch on Nov 1.

The licence, which allows Sygnum to conduct activities regulated under the Securities and Futures Act, will be solely regulated by MAS in Singapore, and does not confer or imply any licensing rights to Sygnum Bank AG in Switzerland, it added.

The firm recently received its banking and securities dealer licence from the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority.

Stefan Mueller, Sygnum's head of asset management, said: "We believe that our multi-manager product approach is a very compelling way for professional investors to gain exposure to this emerging new asset class."

Sygnum co-founder and chief strategy officer Gerald Goh added that regulatory compliance and oversight in two global financial hubs - Singapore and Switzerland - form the "strong foundation on which Sygnum is building its business".

In Singapore, Sygnum's board of directors and advisory council consist of names such as ex-MAS regulator Chua Kim Leng and GIC board members Hsieh Fu Hua and Ang Kong Hua.

The firm also most recently appointed Jennifer Lewis, former managing director of communications at GIC, as an adviser to the Singapore leadership team.

Sygnum - which counts Singtel Innov8, the venture capital arm of Singtel Group, as one of its investors - was founded by a team of Swiss and Singaporean professionals. It develops its products and services simultaneously in the financial hubs of Switzerland and Singapore.