Singaporean Family Office To Set up Digital Bank in Bahrain
Whampoa Group started its digital asset arm in 2021 and has invested in a $500 million Binance Labs fund along with TikTok parent ByteDance. The Whampoa Group, a family office based in Singapore, will open a digital bank in Bahrain, the kingdom’s Economic Development Board said on May 18. The Group expects to open the bank by the end of the year and is aiming for a global client base.
The bank will offer digital asset trading, custody and management among digital banking services. According to Bloomberg, the Central Bank of Bahrain has granted the bank “in principle approval” pending the fulfilment of all requirements.
Whampoa Group is associated with two prominent Singaporean Lee families — including Amy Lee, niece of Singaporean statesman Lee Kuan Yew, and Lee Han Shih of Singaporean multimedia conglomerate Potato Productions.
According to its LinkedIn page, Whampoa Digital was created in 2021. It participated in a $500 million investment fund created by Binance Labs, the cryptocurrency exchange’s venture capital arm, in June 2022. In September, it announced the creation of its own $100 million venture capital fund to support Web3 startups. It is also an investor in TikTok’s parent company ByteDance.
