It’s official.

Signed and sealed

• AMTD Digital, the digital arm of AMTD Group, has acquired 500-backed Singapore-based insurtech company PolicyPal for an undisclosed sum.
• Established by the CK Hutchison Group, which was founded by business magnate Li Ka-Shing, AMTD is Asia’s largest independent investment banking firm.
• According to a report by The Business Times, PolicyPal will act as the conglomerate’s “key operating vehicle” to develop and expand in the Singapore insurtech sector, which is expected to become Asia’s largest.
• Based on recent rankings of top 20 cities for insurtech startups worldwide, while Singapore came in 7th, it’s the only Asian country on the list.

• Through the acquisition, AMTD Group’s chairman and CEO and AMTD Digital’s chairman Calvin Choi will become the chairman of PolicyPal, while PolicyPal founder Val Yap will continue to serve as the CEO.
• Established in 2016, PolicyPal is a licensed digital insurance broker and financial advisor partnering with 30 global insurance carriers to provide personalised insurance coverage from life, health, critical illness, motor to personal accident for consumers.

Smart waste management

• Traditionally, construction companies use chemicals to treat wastewater. Not only is the method expensive, it’s also detrimental to the environment. 500-backed Hydroleap is changing that age-old practice by replacing expensive chemical treatments with a smart electrical treatment.
• Its solution is even more relevant today, amidst the pandemic crisis where construction firms are strapped for cash. Hydroleap is said to be two to three times more cost-efficient and takes up less space.

• The Singapore-based startup has been approaching companies keen to explore this alternative waste management method. “We find distributors or resellers that are smaller construction companies which have a fantastic relationship with the main and sub-contractors,” Hydroleap CEO and founder Dr Mohammad Sherafatmand tells The Business Times.
• Dr Mohammad has a PhD in environmental engineering from the National University of Singapore, and specializes in using electrochemical methods for the treatment of wastewater and contaminated soil.

25,000 beds and counting

• 500-backed housing startup Oxfordcaps is partnering with PE firm Cerestra Advisors to run lodging facilities for students off and on-campus. Under the name “CUIB”, the two companies hope to supply over 25,000 beds in six to eight months.

• Cerestra will pump in $125 million for the beds and Oxfordcaps will manage these properties.
• “Joining forces with Cerestra will give both of us an edge to emerge as the most efficient entity to provide educational institutions a one-stop-shop for acquisition, operation, and development of on-campus and near-campus student accommodation,” said CEO and co-founder Annu Talreja.
• Although rooted in Singapore, Oxfordcaps launched in India last year and is already in 10 cities including Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, and Bengaluru.

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500 Startups is a venture capital firm on a mission to discover and back the world’s most talented entrepreneurs, help them create successful companies at scale, and build thriving global ecosystems. In Southeast Asia, 500 Startups invests through the pioneering 500 Southeast Asia family of funds. The 500 Southeast Asia funds have backed over 240 companies across multiple sectors from internet to consumer to deep technology. It continues to connect founders with capital, expertise and powerful regional and global networks to help them succeed.

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