The Japanese have landed in India | TWIF - 21st Dec, 2025

Indian mutual fund industrygrew 19% YoY to Rs 81 lakh crore ($905bn) in November, with monthly SIP flows reaching Rs 29,445 crore ($3.3bn).

TransUnion Cibilreported a 15% YoY decline in new credit card originations in Q3 2025, reflecting cautious lending amid rising delinquencies.

Revolut Indiatargeted cross-border payments market, partnered with UPI and Visa, and aimed to onboard 20 million customers by 2030 through simplified international transactions.

IMFpredicted India's GDP growth forecast closer to 7%.

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approvedUnlimit's cross-border licence, enabling financial expansion to global markets.

PFRDAexpanded National Pension System (NPS) withdrawal limits to 80% with enhanced flexibility.

Indian tech startups raised $10.5bn in cumulative equity funding in 2025, representing a 17% YoY decline with sector-wide funding drops and modest early-stage investment growth.

HCLTechpartnered with NSE Academy to develop joint certificate programs for digital economy workforce across India and Middle East and South Asia region.

TransUnion CIBILreported increasing early delinquencies in micro-loans against property and micro-housing segments, with defaults rising 45 basis points YoY to 3.3% in September 2025.

Finance Ministryunveiled new logo for Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) to create single brand identity.

Turtlemint, an insurance products distribution startup, received SEBI approval to launch its Initial Public Offering (IPO) targeting INR 2,000cr ($223M).

ICICI Prudential AMClisted at $14.4bn valuation, i.e. a 23% premium. The firm has INR 10tn ($111bn) assets under management.

Perfioslaunched an AI-powered real-time operating system for Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI), promising 30% operating cost savings and enhanced institutional workflows with advanced cognitive intelligence.

Tata Consultancy Servicesannounced AI upgrade to TCS BaNCS platform, combining machine learning, deep learning, and Generative AI for banking services.

State Bank of India (SBI)launched YONO app version 2.0, targeting 20cr digital banking users, i.e. 2x its existing user base.

Zoholaunched Enterprise Edition of its Billing Platform with better revenue recognition features.

Google Paylaunched Flex, a UPI-powered digital co-branded credit card in partnership with Axis Bank, targeting India's underserved credit market with simplified application and flexible payment options.

SEBIplanned a working group to review non-agricultural commodity derivatives market, with annual notional turnover reaching INR 580tn ($6.5bn).

Indian Parliament passedSabka Bima Sabki Raksha bill, raising foreign direct investment in insurance from 74% to 100%, aiming to increase competition and reduce premiums by 2047.

Clinikksecured IRDAI corporate agency approval, opened three new health hubs, and launched Diamond OPD Membership.

Paytm Payments Servicesobtained Reserve Bank of India authorisation for physical and cross-border payment aggregation.

StockGro, social investment startup, raised INR 116cr ($13M).

Japan's Mitsubishi UFG Financial Group (MUFG)acquired a 20% stake in Shriram Finance for INR 39,618cr ($4.4bn), marking the largest foreign investment in India's financial services segment.

Mizuho Financial Groupacquired a 65-70% stake in Indian investment bank Avendus from KKR for INR 5,900 crore ($660M).

HDFC Bankreceived Reserve Bank of India approval to raise its stake in IndusInd Bank to 9.5% through group companies' portfolio investments.

Piramal Financesold 14.7% stake in Shriram Life Insurance to Sanlam Emerging Markets for INR 600cr ($67M).

HashKey, Hong Kong's largest licensed crypto exchange, raised $206M through Initial Public Offering (IPO) on Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Bank for International Settlements (BIS)explored instant cross-border retail payments using distributed ledger technology and tokenised central bank money.

Aspire, a Singaporean small business SaaS and fintech startup, secured eight regulatory licenses across Australia, Europe, and the United States, expanding its global financial platform.

KakaoBankpartnered with Superbank, a digital bank in Indonesia, to launch in Indonesia while preparing for expansion into Thailand and other Southeast Asian markets.

Bhutanpledged 10,000 Bitcoin to develop its new economic hub, Gelephu Mindfulness City, aiming to create high-value jobs and attract international businesses.

bolttech, a Singapore-based insurance infrastructure startup, partnered with Orange Poland to launch a digital insurance comparison platform for motor and home insurance policies.

Flywirepartnered with Tencent's TenPay Global to enable Weixin Pay tuition payments for Chinese students in South Korea and Malaysia.

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)launched e-CNY pilot for travelers and expanded cross-border financial collaboration with China in green finance, RMB clearing, and capital markets.

DBSpartnered with Ant International to connect PayLah! digital wallet to Alipay+'s merchant network across 100 countries, enabling cross-border payments and near-instant remittances.

Crypto.compartnered with DBS Bank to enhance fiat payment infrastructure and virtual account capabilities in Singapore

RedotPay, a Hong Kong based crypto payments startup, raised $107M to scale stablecoin-powered payments across 100+ countries, processing $10 billion in annual payment volume.

Zed, a Philippine digital banking startup, raised $16.5M.