KPMG Pulse of Fintech – H1'24

• Singapore's fintech deal count rose by 19 percent to 117 deals in H1'24, but total deal volume fell 34 percent to US$522.89 million in H1'24 amid economic uncertainties.
• Investment in cryptocurrency and blockchain in Singapore surged 22 percent to US$211.90 million across 72 deals.

• Global payments accounted for the largest proportion of fintech investment in H1'24, attracting US$21.4 billion.

• Global regtech saw US$5.3 billion in investment—exceeding 2023's annual high mid-year.
• The Americas attracted the lion's share of fintech investment in H1'24, with US$36 billion.

SINGAPORE - Media OutReach Newswire - 6 August 2024 - The first half of 2024 demonstrated resilience and adaptability within Singapore's fintech market, with significant growth in deal activity. Deal activity surged by 19 percent, reaching 117 deals across venture capital (VC), private equity (PE), and mergers & acquisitions (M&A) in H1'24, compared to H2'23 - according to the latest edition of KPMG's Pulse of Fintech for H1'24. This period sawSingapore fintechs raising US$522.89 million, reflecting a 34 percent decrease from US$790.10 million across 98 deals in H2'23. On the global stage, fintech investment fell from US$62.3 billion across 2,287 deals in H2'23 to US$51.9 billion across 2,255 deals in H1'24. The increased caution among investors, driven by high interest rates and economic uncertainties, has resulted in a tighter funding environment. Consequently, there is a noticeable shift towards smaller, early-stage investments rather than large-scale deals. In Singapore, this trend is evident with 52 early-stage deals, 32 seed rounds, 25 later-stage investments, and 5 M&A transactions recorded. "The reality is that the overall global investment total for the first half of the year was buoyed by a handful of large deals, several of which were take privates aimed at avoiding significant or further valuation loss," said Anton Ruddenklau, Global Head of Fintech and Innovation, Financial Services, KPMG International. "Meanwhile, the volume of early-stage deals globally has been thriving both because of the interest in new technologies, such as AI applications, and newer business models to meet the changing nature of the financial services sector. The rise of "platforms" continues to gain momentum as decentralisation, data aggregation and ecosystem connectivity becomes mainstream." Cryptocurrency & Blockchain, Payments and AI Segments Dominate Deal Activity Reflecting a cautious investment approach, blockchain and digital assets have seen increased regulatory scrutiny. The cryptocurrency and blockchain segments of Singapore's fintech market recorded US$211.90 million across 72 deals in H1'24, a 22 percent uptick from the US$166.30 million over 38 deals recorded in H2'23. Singapore has been focused on developing and enhancing robust risk management frameworks for digital asset tokenisation, recently announcing an initiative to scale asset tokenisation within financial services. Globally, crypto and blockchain stabilised at US$3.2 billion, despite previous declines. While deal sizes were relatively small, deal volume remained good, with 677 deals completed during H1'24 — well on pace to exceed the number of deals seen last year by a solid margin. The payments segment in Singapore secured the second-highest investment attracting US$80.20 million across 10 deals in H1'24, though this marked a 78 percent decline from US$142.65 million across 14 deals in H2'23. Notably, the largest payments deal in the ASPAC region involved a US$50 million venture capital raise by Singapore-based B2B payments platform Nium. Singapore's payments activity includes dynamic payment architectures and cross-border payment solutions and embedded payments solutions On a global scale, the payments segment led fintech investment in H1 2024, drawing US$21.4 billion. AI funding saw stabilisation following its surge in H2'23, with investments falling to US$65.62 million across 10 deals in H1'24, down from US$333.13 million over 14 deals. The AI segment, characterised by complex technologies that necessitate substantial upfront investment and longer return timelines, has faced increased regulatory scrutiny. This scrutiny has slowed the deal-making process as companies and investors adapt to new compliance requirements and economic uncertainties.

H1 2024		H2 2023		H1 2023
Deal size US$ (million)	No of deals	Deal size US$ (million)	No of deals	Deal size US$ (million)	No of deals
Reg Tech	$2.2	2	$12.80	3	$1.3	2
Insur Tech	$35	2	$284.10	4	$4.1	1
WealthTech	-	-	$35	2	-	-
Proptech	-...