Singapore hits three-year-high for H1 fintech funding at US$2.14 billion but scores smaller total deal value compared to H2’21: KPMG Pulse of Fintech report

• Most funded were Payments and Cryptocurrency deals.

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 6 September 2022 - Singapore's fintech funding has hit a three year high for first-half-year (H1) performance snagging a combined deal value of US$2.14 billion across venture capital (VC), private equity (PE) and mergers & acquisitions (M&A), according to KPMG's Pulse of Fintech H1'22 report. Compared to the same period last year, funding shot up 64 percent from the combined deal value US$1.31 billion achieved in H1'21, signalling continued confidence in the potential of fintech developments in driving growth and innovation for financial services.

On a half-yearly basis, Singapore's fintech funding saw a 15 percent drop in H1'22 compared to the US$2.51 billion achieved in H2'21 due to greater caution by investors in reaction to market developments. Cryptocurrency funding in Singapore dipped by more than half its value from US$1.3 billion in H2'21 to US$539.1 million in H1'22 – this comes after record crypto investment inflows in 2021. Crypto attracted smaller deal sizes but a larger number of deals with a significant amount of startup funding (two thirds from seed and early-stage VC funding). The crypto space also saw a small amount of consolidation with seven exit or merger deals. Regtech also saw a drop in funding from US$66.63 million in H2'21 to US$23.34 million in H1'22. Investors chose to channel funds into payments – an area that has been demonstrating stable growth and developments, alongside more cross-border initiatives being forged. Hence, cumulative deal value for payments in Singapore close to tripled from US$263 million in H2'21 to US$946.61 million in H1'22.

H2'21 was the high watermark for funding and while H1'22 saw a lower cumulative deal value, funding in Singapore still remains healthy. Furthermore, H1'22 saw a modest increase in the number of fintech deals funded across payments, cryptocurrencies, insurtech, wealthtech and cybersecurity as compared to H2'21 (see Figure 1).

Figure 1: Singapore's fintech deals in H1'22 and H2'21

	H1'22		H2'21
Fintech Area	No. of deals	Cumulative Deal Value (millions)	No. of deals	Cumulative Deal Value (millions)
Reg Tech	4	US$23.34	10	US$66.63
InsurTech	4	US$34	3	US$1.20
WealthTech	2	US$200	1	US$29.60
PropTech	3	US$4	3	US$8.20
Cybersecurity	2	US$13.20	0	US$0.00
Payments	13	US$946.61	10	US$263
Cryptocurrency	59	US$539.10	50	US$1,300.40

Source: KPMG's Pulse of Fintech H1'22 report

The half-yearly drop in Singapore was mirrored globally with investments in fintech lowered from US$111.2 billion across 3,372 deals in H2'21 to $107.8 billion across 2,980 deals in H1'22. However, the Asia-Pacific region saw total fintech investment more than double in H1'22 - from US$19.2 billion in H2'21 to a record US$41.8 billion in H1'22 - with the US$27.9 billion acquisition of Australia-based Afterpay by Block accounting for more than half of this total. Meanwhile, both the Americas and EMEA regions saw fintech investment dip - from US$59.7 billion to US$39.4 billion and from US$31.6 billion to US$26.6 billion respectively. In all, the Asia-Pacific region attracted US$41.8 billion, while the Americas attracted US$39.4 billion – of which the US accounted for US$34.9 billion, and the EMEA region attracted US$26.6 billion.

"2021 was a banner year for the fintech market globally, which makes the first half of 2022 seem slow by comparison," said Anton Ruddenklau, Global Head of Financial Services Innovation and Fintech, KPMG International. "But in reality, many sectors within the fintech market have shown strength and resilience. While the fintech market will likely be quite challenged in H2'22 due to global uncertainty and broader economic concerns, fintechs will likely continue to attract significant attention and investment - if at lower levels than last year."

Venture capital funding falls as investors pull back

Venture capital (VC) funding in Singapore fell 30 percent in H1'22 - companies in Singapore received US$1.38 million in funding in 107 transactions compared to US$1.97 million with 103 transactions in H2'21. In a year-on-year comparison, the first half of 2022 performed better than 2021 with US$1.02 million worth of investments. While the VC market experienced headwinds this year with investors pulling back in anticipation of interest rate hikes and geopolitical tensions, the VC fintech funding still remains resilient especially with robust seed funding.

Global VC investment also declined between H2'21 and H1'22 - from US$66.5 billion to US$52.6 billion. Compared to all periods outside of 2021, the amount was incredibly robust. The Americas accounted for the largest amount of VC funding (US$27.2 billion), while EMEA set a new record high for a six-month period (US$16.6 billion), led by the world's two largest raises during the period: a US$1.1billion raise by Germany-based Trade Republic and a US$1 billion raise by UK-based Checkout.com.

US$27.9 billion Afterpay acquisition drives fintech investment in Asia-Pacific to new high at mid-year

Fintech investment in the Asia-Pacific region soared to an annual record high of US$41.8 billion with six months left in 2022, driven by Block's US$27.9 billion acquisition of Australia-based Afterpay. The region saw several other large M&A deals, including the US$1 billion merger of Superhero and Swiftx in Australia, and the US$2.1 billion buyout of Yayoi by KKR in Japan. VC investment was spread throughout the region, including a US$690 million raise by Singapore-based Coda Payments, a US$300 million raise by Indonesia-based Xendit, and US$270 million and US$237 million raises by India-based fintechs Stashfin and Oxyzo. Fintech investment in China remained soft in H1'22, with the largest fintech deal in the country a US$140 million raise by Fenbeitong.

US accounts for US$34.9 billion of the US$39.4 billion of fintech investment in the Americas in H1'22

The US attracted US$34.9 billion of fintech investment, including US$23.5 billion in VC investment, compared to US$39.4 billion in total investment and US$27.2 billion in VC investment seen across the Americas as a whole. The US attracted the Americas region's largest deals of H1'22, including the US$2.6 billion buyout of Bottomline Technologies by Thomas Bravo, the US$1.2 billion buyout of SimpleNexus by nCino, the US$1.1 billion acquisition of Technisys by SoFi, and the US $748 million VC raise by Ramp. Outside of the US, most jurisdictions saw fintech investment drop; Brazil saw fintech investment fall from US$3.7 billion in H2'21 to US$1.4 billion in H1'22, while Canada saw investment plunge from US$1.9 billion to US$810 million during the same period.

EMEA region sees major decline in M&A, but record VC funding

Fintech investment in the EMEA region dropped from US$31.6 billion in H2'22 to US$26.6 billion in H1'22, driven largely by a 50 percent decline in M&A deal value (from US $15.7 billion in H2'21 to US $7.2 billion in H1'22). The region saw only two US$1 billion+ M&A deals during H1'22: the US$3.9 billion merger of Italy-based Nexi and SIA and the US$1.8 billion acquisition of UK-based Interactive Investor by Abrdn. While M&A declined significantly, VC investment in the region grew to US$16.6 billion in H1'22 - slightly eclipsing the previous record high of US$16.5 billion set in H1'21. EMEA also saw a record of US$2.7 billion in PE funding in H1'22, including a quarterly record of US$2.1 billion in Q1.

Payments space remains dominant among fintech subsectors

Investment in the payments space was incredibly strong in H1'22, accounting for US$43.6 billion compared to the US$60.3 billion seen during all of 2021. In addition to the mega acquisition of Afterpay by Block (formerly Square) for US$27.9 billion, the payments space also saw the US$2.6 billion buyout of Bottomline Technologies by PE firm Thomas Bravo, and a US$1 billion VC raise by UK-based Checkout.com.

Cybersecurity still a key focus for fintech investors

Interest in cybersecurity remained very strong at mid-year, with US$1.2 billion in investment globally, including four big raises in the US: a US$550 million raise by Fireblocks, a US$170 million raise by Chainalysis, and US$100 million raises by TokenEx and Cowbell Cyber. In March, Google also announced plans to acquire incidence response company Mandiant for US$5.2 billion. If completed, the deal would singlehandedly break 2021's record US$5.2 billion in global cybersecurity investment.

Uncertain future ahead

H1'22 saw numerous challenges affect the broader investment market, including geopolitical uncertainty, turbulence in the public markets, and rising inflation and interest rates. With no end in sight to many of these challenges, the fintech market could see activity slowing considerably - particularly compared to the major record highs seen in 2021. While fintech investment is expected to remain somewhat resilient - particularly in areas like B2B payments, cybersecurity automation, and data-driven analytics - deals could take longer to complete as investors become more critical of opportunities.

"With valuations coming under pressure, fintech investors are going to enhance their focus on cash flow, revenue growth, and profitability - which could make it more difficult for some fintechs to raise funds," said Anton. "M&A activity, however, could see an uptick as struggling fintechs look to sell rather than holding a downround, corporate and PE investors move to take advantage of better pricing, and well-capitalized fintechs look to take out the competition."

H1'22—Key Global and Regional Highlights

• Global investment in fintech dropped from US$111.2 billion across 3,372 deals in H2'21 to US$107.8 billion across 2,980 deals in H1'22. The Asia-Pacific region attracted US$41.8 billion, while the Americas attracted US$39.4 billion – of which the US accounted for US$34.9 billion, and the EMEA region attracted US$26.6 billion.
• Global VC investment declined from US$66.5 billion in H2'21 to US$52.6 billion in H1'22. The Americas attracted US$27.2 billion in investment, while EMEA attracted a record US$16.6 billion, and the Asia-Pacific region saw US$8.7 billion.
• Global M&A activity was strong in H1'22, with US$49.1 billion in deal value, including US$31.8 billion in the Asia-Pacific, US$10.1 billion in the Americas, and US$7.2 billion in the EMEA region.
• Global PE investment remained steady, with US$6.1 billion in investment in H1'22, including US$2.7 billion in EMEA, US$2 billion in the Americas, and US$1.3 billion in the Asia-Pacific.
• Corporate-participating investment accounted for US$25.9 billion in investment during H1'22, including US$13.1 billion in the Americas, US$8 billion in EMEA, and US$4.7 billion in the Asia-Pacific.
• Payments accounted for US$43.6 billion of investment in H1'22, while crypto and blockchain attracted US$14.2 billion, regtech attracted US$5.6 billion, and insurtech saw US$3.8 billion.
• Global investment in the insurtech sector dropped to US$3.8 billion in H1'22 - far off pace to match the US$14.8 billion in investment seen during 2021.

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