MUFG to invest $200M in fintech firm Akulaku

TOKYO — Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) said on Monday its banking unit will invest $200 million in Indonesian fintech company Silvrr Technology Co. Ltd., known as Akulaku.

Backed by China’s Alibaba Group, Akulaku offers digital banking and other services such as Buy Now, Pay Later. Akulaku had received a $100-million investment from Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank Pcl in February.

“Indonesia is particularly important” for MUFG’s expansion in Asia given the country’s economic size and a high growth potential among Southeast Asian peers, the company said in a statement.

The announcement follows MUFG’s purchase of the Philippines and Indonesian units of Dutch consumer finance company Home Credit last month for about €596 million ($632 million). MUFG made Jakarta-based Bank Danamon its consolidated subsidiary in April 2019.

MUFG is also planning to acquire a Japanese Buy Now, Pay Later company Kanmu, Inc. for nearly 20 billion yen ($150.56 million), the Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday.

MUFG Bank said in a statement that it was considering the acquisition of shares in Kanmu, adding nothing had been decided yet, following the Nikkei report. — Reuters