HSBC, Prudential in US$220 million funding for Hong Kong’s WeLab

[HONG KONG] Hong Kong-based fintech firm WeLab has secured US$220 million from investors including HSBC Holdings and Prudential Hong Kong in its largest round of funding.

The financing comprised both debt and equity. Other investors include Fubon Bank (Hong Kong), Hong Kong Investment Corp, Allianz X and TOM Group, which counts billionaire Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings as its largest shareholder, WeLab said.

The company did not disclose its latest valuation, but sources familiar with the matter said in 2022 that it was weighing a new funding round that could value the firm at about US$2 billion. WeLab last tapped markets in 2021, when it raised US$75 million in a funding drive led by Allianz X, the digital investment unit of the German insurer.

The unicorn, whose other investors include Sequoia Capital, Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional and China Construction Bank International, applied for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong in 2018, which it later postponed, citing market volatility.

Hong Kong’s IPO market has seen a flurry of high-profile listings already this year, such as MiniMax Group, one of China’s largest generative AI startups, which surged last week.

WeLab says it will use the latest influx of capital to expand in South-east Asia and support mergers and acquisitions. Founded by ex-Citigroup banker Simon Loong, the company operates two digital banks, including WeLab Bank in Hong Kong and Bank Saqu in Indonesia. It has over 70 million individual users and more than 700 enterprise customers. BLOOMBERG