Press Announcements
Updated 8 June 2026.
8 June 2026
Arki Finance Secures MAS Licence, Advised and Supported by Lion Global, BlackRock and Visa Veterans
Singapore-based wealth management fintech receives Capital Markets Services Licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, marking a key regulatory milestone ahead of public launch later this year.
Board of Directors chaired by Esmond Choo, Distinguished FICP and retired Senior Executive Director at UOB Kay Hian. Board of Advisors features Gerard Lee (Chairman, Arabesque Singapore; ex-CEO Lion Global Investors; ex-GIC, ex-Temasek), Rimmo Jolly (Partner, PGV; former APAC Head of iShares at BlackRock), Justin Xiao (fintech pioneer; former Visa and Railsr executive) and veteran investment banker Michael Yip.
Board of Directors chaired by Esmond Choo, Distinguished FICP and retired Senior Executive Director at UOB Kay Hian. Board of Advisors features Gerard Lee (Chairman, Arabesque Singapore; ex-CEO Lion Global Investors; ex-GIC, ex-Temasek), Rimmo Jolly (Partner, PGV; former APAC Head of iShares at BlackRock), Justin Xiao (fintech pioneer; former Visa and Railsr executive) and veteran investment banker Michael Yip.
SINGAPORE, 8 June 2026 – Arki Finance (“Arki”), a Singapore-based wealth management fintech building a full-stack digital platform for the mass affluent, today announced that it has received its Capital Markets Services Licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), marking a significant regulatory milestone ahead of its public launch later this year.Alongside the licence, the company unveiled the senior line-up that will anchor its strategy, governance and growth: a Board of Directors chaired by retired UOB Kay Hian Senior Executive Director Esmond Choo, and a Board of Advisors comprising four of Asia’s most recognised names in asset management, fintech and capital markets — Gerard Lee, Rimmo Jolly, Justin Xiao and Michael Yip.Together, the team brings more than a century of combined experience across global asset management, capital markets, retail wealth, digital payments and international investment banking — a level of institutional pedigree that is unusual for an early-stage wealth platform and reflects the scale of Arki’s ambition to redefine how Singaporeans build wealth.
David Ng, CEO and Co-Founder of Arki Finance, said: “Securing this licence is a statement of intent, and being joined on the journey by Esmond, Gerard, Rimmo, Justin and Michael is a powerful endorsement of our direction. Collectively, they have built and run some of the most important financial institutions in Asia. Their decision to back Arki tells you everything about the opportunity we see: the current options for Singapore’s mass affluent — bank deposit accounts that do not pay competitively, insurance-wrapped savings products that are opaque and illiquid, and private banking tiers built for the ultra-wealthy — have not kept up with what people actually need today. We are building the alternative.”
A Board Built for Trust, Scale and Execution
The appointments bring deep institutional muscle to Arki’s governance alongside an advisory bench designed to sharpen product strategy, commercial execution and market credibility as the company prepares to scale.
Esmond Choo — Chair, Board of Directors
Mr Choo is the former Senior Executive Director of UOB Kay Hian, Singapore’s largest retail brokerage, and brings nearly four decades of experience across capital markets and retail investments. As Chair of Arki’s Board of Directors, he anchors the company’s strategic roadmap and governance as it prepares for public launch and regional expansion.
"I am proud to back this team for its clarity of purpose, discipline and alignment with client outcomes.”
Gerard Lee — Board of Advisors
Mr Lee is Chairman of Arabesque Singapore and the former Chief Executive Officer of Lion Global Investors. He has held prior senior leadership roles at GIC and Temasek, giving him one of the most complete vantage points in Asian asset management.
“The team’s vision to reimagine wealth management through AI and digital platforms is both timely and deeply necessary.”
Rimmo Jolly — Board of Advisors
Mr Jolly is a Partner at PGV and the former Asia Pacific Head of iShares at BlackRock, where he helped build the region’s largest ETF franchise. Across finance, fintech and deep tech, he has focused on simplifying complex systems for end-users, from expanding access to transparent investment products to advancing enterprise applications of digital and agentic AI.
“What sets Arki apart is its human-first approach. By anchoring around goals and clarity, Arki is changing how people across Asia approach financial planning.”
Justin Xiao — Board of Advisors
Mr Xiao is a fintech pioneer and former executive at Visa and Railsr, with deep expertise in consumer fintech, payments infrastructure and digital product development across global markets.
“We all need training wheels when navigating personal finance. Arki’s approach in blending fiduciary care with digital intelligence is exactly what Asia’s mass affluent needs right now.”
Michael Yip — Board of Advisors
Mr Yip is a veteran investment banker with a career spanning international mergers and acquisitions, red chip restructuring and overseas listings — bringing a capital markets and corporate finance perspective to Arki’s long-term growth strategy.
“I’m excited to help shape Arki’s product and market strategy and support its long-term growth in the fintech landscape.”
A New Category of Wealth Platform for Singapore’s Mass Affluent
Arki is building a full-stack wealth management platform designed for a demographic long underserved by the trade-off between retail bank products that no longer pay competitively and private banking tiers reserved for the ultra-wealthy. The platform is organised around a simplified three-bucket framework — Cash, Income and Growth — giving individual investors institutional-grade portfolio construction with the clarity and ease of a modern consumer app.The company will announce separate product launches over the coming months, beginning with its cash income offering, engineered to deliver materially better rates and outcomes than traditional bank savings and insurance-wrapped retirement products without sacrificing liquidity or transparency. Income and Growth portfolios will follow, forming a complete retail wealth planning stack that positions Arki as a credible alternative to the institutions Singaporeans have historically defaulted to.
About David Ng
Arki Finance was co-founded in 2024 by David Ng, a veteran of global asset management with more than two decades of experience at institutions including CSOP Asset Management, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. As Deputy CEO of CSOP Asset Management in Singapore, Ng led the firm to become a top three ETF issuer on the SGX and, as Group COO, oversaw the growth of assets under management from USD 3.7 billion to over USD 15 billion. He sits on industry committees with the Investment Management Association of Singapore (IMAS) and has long argued that Singapore’s retail investors are underserved by the existing wealth management landscape.
Regulatory Foundation
Singapore remains Asia’s leading wealth management and fintech hub, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s regulatory framework is widely regarded as the gold standard in balancing consumer protection with responsible innovation. The Capital Markets Services Licence enables Arki to provide regulated investment advisory and portfolio management services to individual investors in Singapore — an essential foundation for a platform competing for customer trust alongside Singapore’s largest banks and insurers.
David Ng added: "Trust in financial technology begins with regulatory credibility. This milestone reflects the discipline our team has put into building a platform centred on good governance, compliant, transparent outcomes designed to protect the interests of the people we serve. With this licence secured and our board and advisors in place, Arki is ready to launch and scale with confidence.”
Arki has been running an invite-only early access programme and will announce details of its public launch separately.
David Ng, CEO and Co-Founder of Arki Finance, said: “Securing this licence is a statement of intent, and being joined on the journey by Esmond, Gerard, Rimmo, Justin and Michael is a powerful endorsement of our direction. Collectively, they have built and run some of the most important financial institutions in Asia. Their decision to back Arki tells you everything about the opportunity we see: the current options for Singapore’s mass affluent — bank deposit accounts that do not pay competitively, insurance-wrapped savings products that are opaque and illiquid, and private banking tiers built for the ultra-wealthy — have not kept up with what people actually need today. We are building the alternative.”
A Board Built for Trust, Scale and Execution
The appointments bring deep institutional muscle to Arki’s governance alongside an advisory bench designed to sharpen product strategy, commercial execution and market credibility as the company prepares to scale.
Esmond Choo — Chair, Board of Directors
Mr Choo is the former Senior Executive Director of UOB Kay Hian, Singapore’s largest retail brokerage, and brings nearly four decades of experience across capital markets and retail investments. As Chair of Arki’s Board of Directors, he anchors the company’s strategic roadmap and governance as it prepares for public launch and regional expansion.
"I am proud to back this team for its clarity of purpose, discipline and alignment with client outcomes.”
Gerard Lee — Board of Advisors
Mr Lee is Chairman of Arabesque Singapore and the former Chief Executive Officer of Lion Global Investors. He has held prior senior leadership roles at GIC and Temasek, giving him one of the most complete vantage points in Asian asset management.
“The team’s vision to reimagine wealth management through AI and digital platforms is both timely and deeply necessary.”
Rimmo Jolly — Board of Advisors
Mr Jolly is a Partner at PGV and the former Asia Pacific Head of iShares at BlackRock, where he helped build the region’s largest ETF franchise. Across finance, fintech and deep tech, he has focused on simplifying complex systems for end-users, from expanding access to transparent investment products to advancing enterprise applications of digital and agentic AI.
“What sets Arki apart is its human-first approach. By anchoring around goals and clarity, Arki is changing how people across Asia approach financial planning.”
Justin Xiao — Board of Advisors
Mr Xiao is a fintech pioneer and former executive at Visa and Railsr, with deep expertise in consumer fintech, payments infrastructure and digital product development across global markets.
“We all need training wheels when navigating personal finance. Arki’s approach in blending fiduciary care with digital intelligence is exactly what Asia’s mass affluent needs right now.”
Michael Yip — Board of Advisors
Mr Yip is a veteran investment banker with a career spanning international mergers and acquisitions, red chip restructuring and overseas listings — bringing a capital markets and corporate finance perspective to Arki’s long-term growth strategy.
“I’m excited to help shape Arki’s product and market strategy and support its long-term growth in the fintech landscape.”
A New Category of Wealth Platform for Singapore’s Mass Affluent
Arki is building a full-stack wealth management platform designed for a demographic long underserved by the trade-off between retail bank products that no longer pay competitively and private banking tiers reserved for the ultra-wealthy. The platform is organised around a simplified three-bucket framework — Cash, Income and Growth — giving individual investors institutional-grade portfolio construction with the clarity and ease of a modern consumer app.The company will announce separate product launches over the coming months, beginning with its cash income offering, engineered to deliver materially better rates and outcomes than traditional bank savings and insurance-wrapped retirement products without sacrificing liquidity or transparency. Income and Growth portfolios will follow, forming a complete retail wealth planning stack that positions Arki as a credible alternative to the institutions Singaporeans have historically defaulted to.
About David Ng
Arki Finance was co-founded in 2024 by David Ng, a veteran of global asset management with more than two decades of experience at institutions including CSOP Asset Management, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. As Deputy CEO of CSOP Asset Management in Singapore, Ng led the firm to become a top three ETF issuer on the SGX and, as Group COO, oversaw the growth of assets under management from USD 3.7 billion to over USD 15 billion. He sits on industry committees with the Investment Management Association of Singapore (IMAS) and has long argued that Singapore’s retail investors are underserved by the existing wealth management landscape.
Regulatory Foundation
Singapore remains Asia’s leading wealth management and fintech hub, and the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s regulatory framework is widely regarded as the gold standard in balancing consumer protection with responsible innovation. The Capital Markets Services Licence enables Arki to provide regulated investment advisory and portfolio management services to individual investors in Singapore — an essential foundation for a platform competing for customer trust alongside Singapore’s largest banks and insurers.
David Ng added: "Trust in financial technology begins with regulatory credibility. This milestone reflects the discipline our team has put into building a platform centred on good governance, compliant, transparent outcomes designed to protect the interests of the people we serve. With this licence secured and our board and advisors in place, Arki is ready to launch and scale with confidence.”
Arki has been running an invite-only early access programme and will announce details of its public launch separately.