In today’s top payments news around the world, the technology industry in the United Kingdom has achieved a significant milestone, while global investment is heating up in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Plus, Societe Generale has chosen Temenos to modernize corporate banking in Asia and Europe.
The UK Crowns 100th Tech Unicorn
The technology sector in the U.K. reached a significant milestone, with 100 tech firms in the nation attaining a valuation of $1 billion at a minimum to achieve unicorn status. “Smashing through this milestone cements the U.K.’s place as one of the world’s top tech hubs,” Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden said in an announcement. Tractable is the nation’s 100th tech unicorn. It is an artificial intelligence (AI) firm that is building out computer vision tools. Thirteen U.K. tech unicorns have been made to date in 2021. By contrast, just 7 were created in all of 2020.
Global Investment Heats Up In Southeast Asia, Middle East
A blockbuster number of firms could go public in Thailand this year. Ken Fong, head of Equity Capital Market Research for Asia-Pacific at Dealogic, told one news outlet that the nation usually has about 30 public listings annually. The nation has seen 14 listings to date this year. Moreover, the Middle East could be home to an increasing number of unicorns soon. “We’re not very far from having a few more unicorns in the region,” Careem CEO Mudassir Sheikha said, as previously reported. Careem was the first unicorn in the Middle East.
Societe Generale Taps Temenos To Modernize Corporate Banking
Societe Generale has selected Temenos, a banking software company, to update the account management and payment systems for its global transaction banking work in Europe and Asia. “With Temenos’ cloud-native, [application programming interface] API-first technology, the bank can innovate with speed, ease and efficiency to meet the evolving needs of its global transaction banking clients,” Temenos CEO Max Chuard said in a press release.
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