Singapore’s Whampoa Group to allocate more to crypto: Reports

Singapore’s Whampoa Group has plans to raise funds for a $50 million crypto-related hedge fund and to allocate $100 million in crypto-focused venture capital investments, according to media reports. 

The Whampoa Group is a family office and significant investment force. It has ties to the Lee families, related to Singapore’s founding prime minister and prominent business families that co-founded Southeast Asian bank OCBC (OCBC.SI) in addition to other companies, through co-founders Amy Lee and Lee Han Shih.

Whampoa’s co-founder and CEO Shawn Chan told Reuters the firm will invest in and incubate web3 start-ups through investments in equity and tokens, according to a report from Reuters. 

A separate report from Bloomberg indicates the Whampoa Group also has plans to pivot its asset-management business towards digital assets and will raise funds for a $50 million crypto-focused hedge fund. In an interview, Chan told Bloomberg the Whampoa hedge fund is market neutral to offset the volatility of crypto and primarily trades Bitcoin and Ether.

Singapore has been at the forefront of the crypto industry in terms of licensure and regulation. As recently as last month the Monetary Authority of Singapore communicated it remains interested in anchoring crypto players to Singapore that can add value to its digital asset ecosystem. Still, at that time the authority said it was considering adopting stricter rules for retail crypto market participants. 

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