KB Securities joins more than a dozen financial institutions to become shareholders of ADDX, which is on a mission to make investing fairer by democratising private markets
The latest investment brings total funds raised by ADDX to approximately US$140 million
GLOBAL, 15 NOVEMBER 2022 – Global private market exchange ADDX[1] has raised approximately US$20 million in fresh capital from new and existing shareholders. KB Securities, a subsidiary of Korea’s largest banking group KB Financial Group (KBFG), led this latest investment, which was part of an upsized Pre-Series B round. The round kicked off in May 2022, when ADDX announced a US$58 million fundraise involving new shareholders Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), Hamilton Lane and UOB.
The newest equity round brings total funds raised by ADDX since its 2017 inception to around US$140 million. Part of the newly raised capital will go towards growing ADDX Advantage, the company’s wealth management platform launched earlier this year for private banks, brokerages and family offices. The investment will also be used to fund the firm’s global expansion, which includes plans to enter more markets both by working with partners and by obtaining new licenses. ADDX is currently regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
ADDX was founded to make investing fairer by giving individual investors greater access to private market deals that have traditionally been open only to institutional investors such as sovereign wealth funds and endowment funds. These include private credit and other fixed income investments, private equity, hedge funds and private real estate.
Using blockchain and smart contract technology, the exchange is able to automate manual processes and thereby bring minimum subscription sizes down from $1 million to $5,000 while allowing secondary trading. ADDX has built a fully digital infrastructure for its regulated platform, with 60% of investment subscriptions now happening via its mobile app. In 2022 so far, ADDX has grown the base of investors it serves by around 80%, year-on-year.
KB Securities joins more than a dozen financial institutions that have become shareholders of ADDX. These include Singapore Exchange (SGX), Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), Hamilton Lane, Temasek subsidiary Heliconia Capital, UOB, Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings, the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ), Kiatnakin Phatra Financial Group, Krungsri Bank[2] and Hanwha Asset Management. KB Securities and ADDX will explore possible tie-ups to expand private market services in Asia, including potential collaborations in Singapore or Korea.
KB Financial Group (KRX: 105560, NYSE:KB) is Korea’s leading financial services provider. Among the group’s 13 subsidiaries are KB Kookmin Bank, Korea’s largest commercial bank, as well as KB Securities. In 2021, the group employed more than 25,000 staff and served 36.3 million customers. It earned a net profit of KRW 4.4 billion, on a gross operating income of KRW 14.5 billion and assets under management of KRW 1,121 trillion.
Oi-Yee Choo, CEO of ADDX, said: “ADDX has become the focal point for Asian financial institutions that believe in building a new technology-driven infrastructure for private markets, to overcome inefficiencies in the traditional model. In these volatile times, with many investors waiting by the sidelines for more stability in the financial markets, our ability to raise capital demonstrates the momentum behind ADDX and its mission. Shareholders of ADDX are industry insiders with a keen understanding of the transformative, long-term value of this project that transcends near-term cyclical forces. ADDX has a clear lead among private market platforms in Asia – we have the technology, legal, regulatory and financial knowhow, as well as the strongest set of partners. KB Securities, which belongs to Korea’s biggest banking group, has now backed us – a truly exciting development, filled with potential and opportunity. Our clients will benefit from the innovation and dynamism one can expect when ADDX and KB Securities work hand in glove. We will grow together. We will be a collective force for good in Asia’s capital markets.”
She added: “The fundamental design of private markets – how and to whom securities are distributed, and whether secondary trading is facilitated – has transformed more over the past two years than it has over the two decades before that. The impact of that change has been positive: access to the means of wealth creation is becoming more equal, and capital can flow unimpeded to the most efficient financing projects. In the long run, smooth and seamless capital markets will provide an uplift to growth in the real economy, with dividends for both workers and investors.”
For more information, please contact:
KB Securities Media Contact
Lee Dong Hee
ADDX Media Contact
Elgin Toh
ABOUT KB SECURITIES
KB Securities is the most trusted securities firm offering optimal investment solutions in Korea.
KB Securities is a leading investment bank with equity capital of KRW 5.44 trillion and one of Korea’s most prominent securities firms, with a competitive business portfolio formulated around its operations in Wealth Management, Sales & Trading, Investment Banking, and Institutional Sales.
Backed by the strong brand recognition of KB Financial Group and having a high level of financial stability, KB Securities continues to create customer value in collaboration with its 12 affiliated financial service providers.
Boasting a wide-ranging business lineup related to capital markets as well as a team of highly qualified professionals and IT solutions, KB Securities provides optimal investment services and financial solutions tailored to the diverse needs of its clients.
KB Securities is committed to providing the best investment solutions for our clients via world-class competencies and bold innovation, striving for shared growth and serving as a lifelong investment partner.
For more information, visit www.kbsec.com.
ABOUT ADDX
ADDX is a global private market exchange headquartered in Singapore. Using blockchain and smart contract technology, ADDX reduces manual interventions in the issuance, custody and distribution of private market products. The resulting efficiency from the use of digital securities allows the platform to fractionalise investments in a scalable and commercially viable manner, bringing minimum investment sizes down from US$1 million to US$10,000 and thereby widening investor access to the private markets. To date, ADDX has listed more than 40 deals on its platform involving blue-chip names such as Hamilton Lane, Partners Group, Investcorp, Singtel, UOB, CGS-CIMB, as well as Temasek-owned entities Mapletree, Azalea, SeaTown and Fullerton Fund Management. Asset classes available on ADDX include private equity, hedge funds, venture capital, private credit, real estate, debt and structured products.
The full-service capital market platform has raised a total of US$140 million in funding since its inception in 2017, including US$50 million in its Series A round in January 2021 and US$58 million in the first tranche of its Pre-Series B round in May 2022. Its shareholders[3] include Singapore Exchange (SGX), the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), Temasek subsidiary Heliconia Capital, the Development Bank of Japan (DBJ), UOB, Hamilton Lane, Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings and Hanwha Asset Management.
ADDX currently serves individual accredited investors from 39 countries spanning Asia Pacific, Europe and the Americas (except the US). ADDX also serves wealth managers and corporate investors through its institutional service, ADDX Advantage. For more information, visit ADDX.co or https://www.linkedin.com/company/addxco.
[1] The capital raise was completed by ICHX Tech Pte Ltd, the parent company of ADDX.
[2] via their corporate venture arm Krungsri Finnovate
[3] Shareholders of ICHX Tech Pte Ltd, the parent company of ADDX.
——
Disclaimer: The content of the above information is sourced (or provided), in entirety or in parts from an external source and the content may or may not be edited. The Wealth Today shall not be held liable for damages arising out of any action taken with respect to the use or consumption of information or service published above or anywhere else on the website. This website does not guarantee the accuracy, views, opinions, or any promises expressed in the above news.
If you find any errors or discrepancies in the above information, you can write to us at editor@thewealth.today.
——
