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Technology

Singapore fintech learns from debt blowup of China, Greensill

After crowdfunding scams and meltdowns, Softbank-backed startup welcomes regulation

Funding Societies CEO and co-founder Kelvin Teo says he would be happy to see a well-regulated fintech sector in Southeast Asia. (File photo by Shinya Sawai)

HO CHI MINH CITY -- Southeast Asia's biggest lending startup sees a cautionary tale in China, where a decade of freewheeling growth in digital loans collapsed spectacularly under the weight of frauds and crackdowns.

The region has benefited from "preemptively regulating" against bad actors, says Funding Societies, a Singapore-based company that has raised $144 million from investors led by SoftBank Group. And that is why CEO and co-founder Kelvin Teo would be happy to see even more regulation -- to a degree.

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