KUALA LUMPUR: Green Packet Bhd’s wholly owned subsidiary Oasis Capital Investment Bank (OCIB) has secured a conditional investment bank licence from the Labuan Financial Services Authority (LFSA), allowing the group to venture into blockchain and digital asset investment.
In a statement yesterday, Green Packet said the licence allows it to start fulfilling operational conditions such as setting up the required processes and technology platforms in view of the regulatory requirements.
“A full operating licence will be awarded by LFSA upon fullfilment of these operationalisation activities,” it added.
Meanwhile, OCIB chief executive officer Tan Kay Yen (file pic) said the bank would position itself as a “trusted” gateway into the crypto finance world for high net worth individuals and institutional investors.
“As an offshore investment bank, OCIB will aggregate, deploy, and optimise clients’ funds and digital assets portfolios to ensure that clients can benefit from this emerging asset class while being fully aware of the potential risks.
In a statement yesterday, Green Packet said the licence allows it to start fulfilling operational conditions such as setting up the required processes and technology platforms in view of the regulatory requirements.
“OCIB will also provide conventional investment banking services such as private wealth and corporate advisory and solutions in working capital management and underlying trade services to its clients,” he explained.
He believes that cryptocurrencies and digital assets, which have seen significant growth and adoption over the last few years, is now benefitting from the participation from central banks and established financial institutions. Citing the latest example, Tan said Singapore Central Bank’s collaboration with Monetary Authority Singapore and Bank of International Settlements to streamline cross-border transactions using central bank digital currencies reflects the participation of central banks.
“The market capitalisation of cryptocurrency currently sits at US$2.2 trillion (RM9.25 trillion). The equivalent of this is a combined market capitalisation of the world’s top 10 largest banks.
“The decentralised finance industry alone is worth close to US$200bil (RM841bil) and is one of the most exciting and dynamic segments within the finance and blockchain space,” explained Tan.
As such, he pointed out that cryptocurrencies and DeFi are an attractive alternate asset class for sophisticated investors amid the current low interest rate environment.
He added that the group’s view to participate in the high-growth specialised investment sector is aligned with Green Packet’s 5.0 strategy and its massive transformation purpose, which aims to improve the way people live through continuous digital innovations.
Moving forward, Tan expects that digital assets and blockchain would have a disruptive impact compared to conventional fintech as it addresses the fundamental building blocks of the financial ecosystem.
“We see tremendous potential in this space and will strive to help our clients to benefit from this transformational technology,” he said.