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☆ Uber rival Bolt names new CFO in preparation for IPO
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: 1 min

STOCKHOLM, July 6 (Reuters) - Estonian ride-hailing and food delivery startup Bolt named Mikko Salovaara as its chief financial officer ahead of the company's preparation for an initial public offering. The company, a rival of Uber (UBER.N), was valued at over $8 billion when it raised 628 million euros from investors in January last year. Chief Executive Officer Markus Villig told Reuters in May that Bolt expects to become profitable in the next 12 months and be ready for an IPO in 2025. Salovaara, who will join the company later this month, was earlier the CFO of fintech firm Revolut. Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm; editing by Barbara LewisOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Mikko Salovaara, Uber, Markus Villig, Bolt, Supantha Mukherjee, Barbara Lewis Organizations: Reuters, Thomson Locations: STOCKHOLM, Salovaara, Stockholm

☆ Fintech firm Wise's shares fall after announcing CFO is resigning, CEO to go on leave
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-22 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Shares of British fintech firm Wise slipped Monday, after the company announced its CFO Matt Briers is leaving the company next year, while its CEO Kristo Kaarman will go on paternity leave starting September. Wise shares were down around 4% as of 9:45 a.m. London time. Briers will step down as Wise CFO in March 2024, once Kaarman has returned from a sabbatical break, the company said in a press release Monday. In his time as CFO, Briers took Wise from a scrappy money transfer upstart to a publicly-listed financial technology giant. Briers is the second CFO of a major U.K. fintech firm to announce his departure this month — on May.

☆ Thanks for the memories (and money) index-rebalance strategies
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-12 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

A man pauses outside of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on January 15, 2016 in New York City. Index-rebalance strategies, the talk of the town just a few short years ago, are seemingly on their last legs these days. What doomed the index-rebalance strategy is a tale as old as time on Wall Street. Times are tough now, but as Alex notes in his story, not everyone is completely giving up on the strategy. And while we're talking Man Group, here's a rundown on a program meant to help non-tech workers learn data-science skills to help streamline their jobs.

☆ Revolut's CFO leaves the digital bank after two years, citing personal reasons
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

LONDON — Revolut's chief financial officer, Mikko Salovaara, is leaving the digital bank after two years, citing personal reasons. A company spokesperson told CNBC that Salovaara resigned and has not been fired. He said it would be inappropriate to divulge the personal reasons that have led to his departure. The Revolut spokesperson said Salovaara's decision was unrelated to concerns flagged by auditor BDO about the company's financial accounts. In its latest annual report, Revolut posted its first-ever full year of profitability, posting a pretax profit of £59.1 million on revenue of £636.2 million.

Media coverage of BDO's warning on March 1 prompted immediate questions from financial regulators, a March 6 letter to Reuters from Revolut shows. The letter did not address the banking licence application nor its status. "I would be astonished if the regulators go ahead with the banking licence," he added. Revolut applied for a banking licence about two years ago. With a banking licence, Revolut would become a more established player in the U.K. banking market and be able to draw more customers.

☆ Revolut's 2022 revenues grew by 33% despite crypto winter
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-01 | by ( Stefania Spezzati | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

"We have built a strong momentum," the 31-year-old executive said in an interview at Revolut's headquarters in London. Revolut will retain accounting firm BDO for the 2022 audit, it said. Revenues from its crypto business shrank in 2022 as the crypto-downturn hit the firm. In 2020, it made a loss of 223 million pounds, according to Revolut's accounts. The fintech company expects to publish its 2022 accounts by June, but it might take longer.

☆ Southeast Asian venture capital firms expect to be pickier in 2023 than in 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Venture capital-backed companies only raised $369 billion for the first three quarters of 2022, according to Crunchbase data. Malte Mueller | Fstop | Getty ImagesVenture capital firms in Southeast Asia will probably be pickier next year, with valuations plunging and economic headwinds slowing growth in 2022. Sequoia Southeast Asia raised a $850 million fund in June, East Ventures raised $550 million in July, and Insignia Ventures Partners raised $516 million in August. Indonesia-based e-grocery company HappyFresh ceased operations in Malaysia after seven years, while Grab discontinued its quick commerce service GrabMart Kilat in Indonesia. "The 15-minute model of quick commerce in Southeast Asia is very difficult because the unit economics are very negative.

☆ Tech layoffs in Southeast Asia mount as unprofitable startups seek to extend their runways
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Lauryn Ishak | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesMore tech startups in Southeast Asia laid off workers this year, as macro headwinds widened losses and venture capitalists pushed startups to extend their runways. Jia Jih Chai RainforestThey join Sea Group and other companies in the region in downsizing headcount. Sea Group, according to local media, laid off more than 7,000 employees over the past six months. Tech startups in Southeast Asia are still largely unprofitable, with names like Sea Group and Grab amassing billions of losses annually. Existing investors in the company are also actively advising founders to prepare for winter, Jussi Salovaara, Antler's co-founder and managing partner for Asia, told CNBC.

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