FirstCOUNSEL announces sponsorship of video series produced by Vietcetera FirstCOUNSEL is pleased to announce a collaborative partnership with Vietcetera, Vietnam’s popular online magazine for Vietnam affairs, society, business, and more, aimed at a globally-minded audience of readers, both within and outside of Vietnam, who are hungry for in-depth features and profiles about the new Vietnam. FirstCOUNSEL is sponsoring a series of videos produced by Vietcetera, titled WORK, f

Singapore has such a dynamic ecosystem that sometimes the number of events offered can be overwhelming. Here at FirstCOUNSEL, we're going to help you out by putting together a curated list of upcoming events in Singapore for start-ups, SMEs and entrepreneurs: Mar 29 - Mega Networking with Business Presentation (Singapore Chamber of Commerce & Industry) Free Apr 12 - Startup Open Space - Singapore (Startup Agile Group) Free Apr 15 - StartupX's The Start Pre-accelerator Cohort

"Golden Gate Ventures, a Singapore-based venture capital firm, said on Tuesday it has partnered South Korea's Hanwha Asset Management to invest together in South-east Asian startups in areas such as marketplaces and financial inclusion technologies. The firms are seeking to raise about US$200 million for their fund, according to a source familiar with the matter. Golden Gate and Hanwha will invest in startups at the "series B" stage, the venture firm said in a statement. The

"There is also, [Edwin Chow, Assistant Chief Executive, Innovation & Enterprise of Enterprise Singapore] says, a wider startup boom taking place in Singapore, with more than 100 incubators and accelerators, and more than 150 venture capital investors actively seeking opportunities across medtech, financial technology, advanced manufacturing, foodtech and other sectors. This broader ecosystem allows for the interplay of different actors and sectors, driving even greater innova

"SINGAPORE - Consumer goods company P&G is setting aside $12 million to grow at least three new Singapore-based businesses that are to be scaled globally. These could involve new brands, technology platforms and business models, the company said on Thursday (March 7). It said that $8 million from the amount will go to a seed fund for a team of employees to work on projects and with local enterprises on their business ideas." To read more, click here.

"SoftBank Group Corp has expanded its appetite for early-stage startups, with a venture capital unit set to launch its biggest fund for early investments as it opens new offices in Asia. The global fund from newly rebranded Seoul-based SoftBank Ventures Asia will be worth as much as $500 million and could launch next month, its CEO JP Lee told Reuters in an interview. By contrast, the average size of similar funds raised last year was just over $100 million, according to data

"Anthill Ventures, the early-growth startups investment platform, has announced the launch of A-Scale. The company said A-Scale is “an Asian market access programme for healthtech, mediatech, and urbantech startups”. This move by Anthill is supported by Enterprise Singapore, the government agency responsible for developing enterprises and fostering Singapore’s startup ecosystem. The support will give Anthill guarantee in funding and access to potential startups and ecosystem

"The VC firm plans to invest up to US$100m through an open fund and as much as US$20m through an impact fund. VC firm Quest Ventures is launching two funds worth up to geared towards early stage digital commerce startups, an announcement revealed. Quest Ventures is known for its early investments into Carousell, Carro, Eatsy, Shopback, Vulcan Post and Ethis. Its portfolio comprises of more than 40 firms, Quest Ventures highlighted. The open fund targets up to US$100m and will

"UNITED Overseas Bank (UOB) and OctoRocket.asia have signed a memorandum of understanding to enable small businesses in South-east Asia to quickly apply for financing through OctoRocket's platform. OctoRocket, a joint venture by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) and Y3 Technologies, enables cross-border trade between suppliers and buyers from Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. SPH also owns The Business Times. Under the agreement, UOB will enable small busines

FirstCOUNSEL is hosting an exclusive and curated networking event in BANGKOK for lawyers and legally trained professionals who want to explore a flexible yet fulfilling work environment. This event will include a presentation by Azmul Haque (also Managing Director at award-winning Singaporean law firm Collyer Law LLC). Azmul was named a "Top 40 under 40" lawyer (Asian Legal Business, October 2016) and ranked in the "A-List 2018" for Singapore (Asia Business Law Journal, Septe