Hanoi (VNA) – Kasikornbank PCL, the fourth biggest bank of Thailand, willinvest 50 million USD in Grab, becoming the latest investor to respond to theSingaporean tech startup’s ongoing fundraising efforts.
Thepartnership will help Grab launch its in-app GrabPay electronic wallet inThailand, taking the service into its sixth Southeast Asian market, the banksaid on November 8.
The bank also said that the affiliation will allow it to useGrab’s data on merchants and drivers to formulate loan products and minimisenon-performing loans.
GrabPay is part of Grab’s strategy to transform itself frombeing purely a ride-hailing firm – a business not yet fully regulated inThailand – into a technology company. The service will be accessible via Grab’ssmartphone application, and in Thailand will be branded as GrabPay by KBank.
Theservice will compete with TrueMoney of True Corp PCL, as well as Rabbit LinePay from messaging application LINE, which is owned by the Republic of Korea’sNaver Corp.
The Grab app will be integrated with Kasikornbank’s K PLUSapp, and the bank will eventually provide loans via the application,Kasikornbank President Patchara Samalapa said.
Kasikornbank is the latest financial institution to form apartnership with Grab as the firm expands further into the finance-tech sector,with other partners including Maybank and Mastercard Inc.
The investment, while relatively small, is the first from SoutheastAsia’s second-largest economy.
It is partof a funding round in which Grab has so far raised about 2.7 billion USD frominvestors such as Booking Holdings Inc, Microsoft Corp, Toyota Motor Corp,and Hyundai Motor Co, as well as financial institutions includingOppenheimerFunds Inc, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, and Citi Ventures.–VNA
Thepartnership will help Grab launch its in-app GrabPay electronic wallet inThailand, taking the service into its sixth Southeast Asian market, the banksaid on November 8.
The bank also said that the affiliation will allow it to useGrab’s data on merchants and drivers to formulate loan products and minimisenon-performing loans.
GrabPay is part of Grab’s strategy to transform itself frombeing purely a ride-hailing firm – a business not yet fully regulated inThailand – into a technology company. The service will be accessible via Grab’ssmartphone application, and in Thailand will be branded as GrabPay by KBank.
Theservice will compete with TrueMoney of True Corp PCL, as well as Rabbit LinePay from messaging application LINE, which is owned by the Republic of Korea’sNaver Corp.
The Grab app will be integrated with Kasikornbank’s K PLUSapp, and the bank will eventually provide loans via the application,Kasikornbank President Patchara Samalapa said.
Kasikornbank is the latest financial institution to form apartnership with Grab as the firm expands further into the finance-tech sector,with other partners including Maybank and Mastercard Inc.
The investment, while relatively small, is the first from SoutheastAsia’s second-largest economy.
It is partof a funding round in which Grab has so far raised about 2.7 billion USD frominvestors such as Booking Holdings Inc, Microsoft Corp, Toyota Motor Corp,and Hyundai Motor Co, as well as financial institutions includingOppenheimerFunds Inc, Goldman Sachs Investment Partners, and Citi Ventures.–VNA
VNA
