With the issuance of this Green Bond, Zuoli will finance, amongst others, green buildings and energy efficiency projects in the Zhejiang province.

The foundation has announced its disbursal of local-currency loans to Togo-based Assilassimé Solidarite in an amount approximately equivalent to $2.5 million and Agora Microfinance Zambia in an amount approximately equivalent to $1.2 million.

Li told Reuters in an interview that in “traditional finance” investing in SMEs was rarely worthwhile for global institutions as the due diligence was difficult, risks were high and funding amounts small.

The annual survey on mobile payments showed 98 percent of respondents indicated mobile was their most commonly used payment method, up 5 percentage points from 2019.

The National Fund for Inclusive Finance is putting in place mechanisms to support its partnering microfinance institutions amidst the COVID-19 crisis. 

Hong Kong-based HKT Financial Services, the Fintech division of the HKT Group, has launched another Fintech project, HKT Flexi, a digital or online financing platform that allows users to make payments via the HKT Flexi App.

As contactless payments become the norm amid the worldwide pandemic response, China rolled out its digital currency this month in four cities, setting it up to become the world’s first cashless society.