Whampoa Group, a Singapore-based private family office, has announced its plan to set up a digital bank in Bahrain by the end of the year. The firm’s founders include Lee Han Shih, a member of the Lee family that founded Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. and Amy Lee, the niece of the city-state’s founding prime minister.
The bank will provide round-the-clock payments and settlement for digital asset firms, along with banking services, trading, custody, and asset management of digital tokens. The approval has been granted in principle by Bahrain's central bank, with the full license contingent on regulatory compliance.