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Thailand: Krungsri invests in Grab, will team up for services
Krungsri Finnovate, the corporate venture capital arm of Bank of Ayutthaya, has announced it invested an undisclosed sum in Grab and will collaborate to provide financial services on Grab’s platform.
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc announced previously it will invest up to US$706 million in Grab through MUFG Bank, MUFG Innovation Partners and Krungsri Finnovate to co-develop innovative financial products and services based on combined customer insights to better cater to the financial needs of Grab’s users, driver partners and merchant partners.
In Thailand, the partnership between Krungsri and Grab will help Krungsri tap into a new customer base in Thailand and promote “sustainable banking” through financial inclusion for new client populations.
“Grab is very well-known and has become an integral part of Thais’ lifestyle,” said Krungsri president Seiichiro Akita.
“Being a strategic part of Grab’s ecosystem, this partnership will enable us to provide our innovative products and services to Grab’s users, merchants and drivers, some of whom may be underbanked.”
The partnership will build on Grab Financial Group’s pilot lending services in Thailand and Krungsri’s consumer lending experience. Grab Financial Group and Krungsri will also co-develop new lending solutions for participants in Grab’s platform, including driver partners and GrabFood merchant partners.
Grab and Krungsri will leverage each other’s data and artificial intelligence to build credit scoring models, and provide innovative lending products to serve the underbanked in Thailand, he said.
“We believe in the need for ecosystem partnerships to efficiently serve the underbanked in Thailand and across Southeast Asia,” said Reuben Lai, senior managing director of Grab Financial Group. “Together with Krungsri, we look forward to leveraging our deep customer insights with Krungsri’s expertise in banking to give micro-entrepreneurs and gig economy workers in Thailand access to micro-loans and other financial services.”
Krungsri and MUFG have linked both environmental and social objectives to the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/1875344/krungsri-invests-in-grab-will-team-up-for-services