WeLab to Enter Increasingly Crowded Indonesian Digital Banking Market
On 3rd January, it was reported that WeLab, a Hong-Kong based fintech startup, is planning to launch a digital bank in Indonesia in the second half of the year. WeLab already has over 150,000 digital banking customers since launching WeLab Bank in Hong Kong in 2020.
On 3rd January, it was reported that WeLab, a Hong-Kong based fintech startup, is planning to launch a digital bank in Indonesia in the second half of the year. WeLab already has over 150,000 digital banking customers since launching WeLab Bank in Hong Kong in 2020.
WeLab has drawn strong interest from existing and new investors who contributed USD 240 million for the acquisition of Bank Jasa Jakarta in December 2021. The funding also represented the largest fintech funding in Indonesia in 2021. The funds were used to acquire the controlling stakes from its existing shareholders and tech investments in Bank Jasa Jakarta.
Simon Loong, cofounder and CEO of WeLab, believes the Indonesian digital banking market has room to grow and the fierce competition is good for the market. He says, “Indonesia is a large market. It’s not a winner-takes-all market. And in terms of digital banking, it’s still in its early stage, so there is no developed and clear winner.”
Mr. Loong also said that WeLab prefers to enter a new market with multiple players already operating in the market as it makes it easier and more efficient to educate the customers.
WeLab already has a presence in Indonesia owing to its joint-venture with automobile distributor Astra International to operate Maucash, an online lending app, launched in 2018. Maucash currently has more than three million users. Additionally. WeLab’s shareholders also has presence in Indoensia. For instance, Allianz currently has more than 650,000 customers in the country as of last year.
Mr. Loong further commented on the matter and said, “So in the future, Indonesia will have the same structure as in Hong Kong, where we will have a lending platform and a digital bank. We will operate in conjunction with each other and there will be a lot of synergies.”
Giving example of Thailand and Vietnam, he also added, “In the next couple years, we will focus on building the pan-Asian digital bank—the first in Hong Kong, now Indonesia. We continue to look for other markets. I think there are few markets that we found interesting.”
WeLab is also looking to go public in 2022 after completing the acquisition and consolidation. The move was already postponed in the wake of market volatility.
