Thailand’s fourth-largest bank by assets, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), announced on February 15 that it will invest $100 million in Indonesian fintech startup Akulaku, a digital bank backed by Chinese online payments provider Ant Group, which is an affiliate of e-commerce. giant Alibaba Group.
Standard Chartered, whose largest shareholder with a 23.35% stake is the Royal Thai Property Agency, which manages the assets of King Vajiralongkorn, said the investment was part of the bank’s overseas expansion and innovative financial technology.
Standard Chartered, which announced a major restructuring and expansion last year, aims to reach 200 million customers by 2025 in its Southeast Asia operations, which operate in six markets in the region, in addition to Thailand’s Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
“Our investment in Akulaku aligns with our regional goal of using digital innovation to serve underserved markets,” SCB President Arak Sutivong said in a statement.
Previous financing rounds and Ant Group’s expertise behind
In a separate statement on the same day, Akulaku said the Standard Chartered financing follows a $125 million financing co-led by Hong Kong-based multi-asset investment firm Silverhorn Group in 2021.
Akulaku, which provides online payments, digital banking and lending, and fund management, said its mobile banking service now has about 13 million users in Indonesia, a country of about 270 million people.
With the new capital raised and the backing of Ant Group as a cornerstone investor — Ant led a $100 million private equity round in the company in January 2019 — Akulaku plans to expand its offerings in Southeast Asia to reach 50 million user. region by 2025.
Founded in 2016 by Indonesian entrepreneur
Founded in 2016 by former investment manager turned entrepreneur William Li and current CEO, the company is headquartered in Jakarta with additional operations in the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia.
The company’s trade name is a combination of the Indonesian words “aku” and “laku,” where “aku” means “me” (as a person) and “laku” means “in demand” or “available for sale” ( as a product), so the neologism was used to describe a tool that enables people to sell goods or services that are in demand.
Akulaku is considering a U.S. listing through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that could value the combined entity at about $2 billion, according to Bloomberg News, citing insiders.
Thailand’s fourth-largest bank by assets, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), announced on February 15 that it will invest $100 million in Indonesian fintech startup Akulaku, a digital bank backed by Chinese online payment service provider Ant Group, which is an affiliate of e-commerce. giant Alibaba Group. Standard Chartered, whose largest shareholder with a 23.35% stake is the Royal Thai Property Agency, which manages the assets of King Vajiralongkorn, said the investment was part of the bank’s overseas expansion and innovative financial technology. Standard Chartered announced a major restructuring and expansion last year with the goal of…
Thailand’s fourth-largest bank by assets, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), announced on February 15 that it will invest $100 million in Indonesian fintech startup Akulaku, a digital bank backed by Chinese online payment service provider Ant Group, which is an affiliate of e-commerce. giant Alibaba Group.
Standard Chartered, whose largest shareholder with a 23.35% stake is the Royal Thai Property Agency, which manages the assets of King Vajiralongkorn, said the investment was part of the bank’s overseas expansion and innovative financial technology.
Standard Chartered, which announced a major restructuring and expansion last year, aims to reach 200 million customers by 2025 in its Southeast Asia operations, which operate in six markets in the region, in addition to Thailand’s Singapore, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos.
“Our investment in Akulaku aligns with our regional goal of using digital innovation to serve underserved markets,” SCB President Arak Sutivong said in a statement.
Previous financing rounds and Ant Group’s expertise behind
In a separate statement on the same day, Akulaku said the Standard Chartered financing follows a $125 million financing co-led by Hong Kong-based multi-asset investment firm Silverhorn Group in 2021.
Akulaku, which provides online payments, digital banking and lending, and fund management, said its mobile banking service now has about 13 million users in Indonesia, a country of about 270 million people.
With the new capital raised and the backing of Ant Group as a cornerstone investor — Ant led a $100 million private equity round in the company in January 2019 — Akulaku plans to expand its offerings in Southeast Asia to reach 50 million user. region by 2025.
Founded in 2016 by Indonesian entrepreneur
Founded in 2016 by former investment manager turned entrepreneur William Li and current CEO, the company is headquartered in Jakarta with additional operations in the Philippines, Vietnam and Malaysia.
The company’s trade name is a combination of the Indonesian words “aku” and “laku,” where “aku” means “me” (as a person) and “laku” means “in demand” or “available for sale” ( as a product), so the neologism was used to describe a tool that enables people to sell goods or services that are in demand.
Akulaku is considering a U.S. listing through a merger with a special-purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that could value the combined entity at about $2 billion, according to Bloomberg News, citing insiders.
