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SEKOIA, a French deeptech company specialising in cyber threat anticipation, has just completed its first round of funding of EUR10 million euros with Omnes and Alliance Entreprendre. The investment will be mainly devoted to accelerating the marketing of its platform for its European public and private companies and to strengthening its R&D teams.
Founded in 2008, SEKOIA has built its reputation on its expertise in responding to security incidents and its ability to assist companies under attack. Since 2016, the company is evolving towards software publishing with the aim of meeting a need that is still little covered by European cybersecurity
The ICO has remained vigilant when issuing fines to companies that have suffered data breaches. In July 2019, the ICO issued a notice of its intention to fine British Airways a record GBP183.39 million for infringements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), although the process remains ongoing – with BA’s cooperation – and no final penalty notice has so far been issued.
By A Paris – This year will be forever remembered as the one which saw a global pandemic taking over the world, widespread travel restrictions and significant market volatility. But in Singapore, 2020 can be considered in a more favourable light. Despite the less than auspicious environment, the jurisdiction reaped success in launching a new fund structure, generating manager interest in an otherwise turbulent period.
By Mark Voumard, Gordian Capital – Readers will be familiar with onshore domiciles such as Dublin or Luxembourg. How does Singapore differ?
“The introduction of the Variable Capital Company (VCC) structure earlier this year has been the latest in a number of initiatives undertaken by the Singapore government to grow the city state’s fund management industry and achieve its ambition of being the gateway to asset management opportunities in Asia”, says Allard de Jong, Head of the Fund Administration, Corporate Trust and Custody team of the Portcullis Group.
As the mass affluent investor segment is tipped for growth, wealth managers should ensure they have scalable solutions to manage the potential increase in client numbers which could come with capturing the progress in this area.
The outlook for the penetration of the Variable Capital Company legislation as a fund structure is upbeat as it soldiers on against the unfortunate timing of its launch, amid a global pandemic. More importantly, in practice the legislation works well and the fund launches have been successful.
The ASEAN region has demonstrated itself as a major area for investment and potential growth. However, much of this growth is still on the horizon and yet to be materialised. For the prospects of the ASEAN region to reach their true potential, the current environment requires cost efficiency, scalability and talent. These are critical factors to creating a supportive ecosystem.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has been proactive and transparent with licensing requirements, compared to other jurisdictions. The Digital Acceleration Grant (DAG) programme incentivises firms to modernise operations, equipping smaller managers with the necessary technology and helping new funds get off the ground. This programme, coupled with geopolitical influences, contributes to Singapore accelerating as a safe-haven for money and financial institutions.
One of the leading figures in private equity in Europe has proposed that a move away from the standard 10-year lifespan of a private equity fund could be a boost for sustainable finance. Guy Hands told a webinar hosted by Guernsey Finance, staged as part of Climate Week NYC 2020, that he believed that longer-life funds and long-term investment would grow in popularity.
“I think the investment traditional strategies that mainly focus on going for short-term profits rather than focusing on long-term earnings, particularly when you get interest rates down at these sort of levels, are just wrong,” he said.
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