Singapura Finance divests stake in digital bank licence applicant after bid fails

SINGAPURA Finance disposed of its stake in MatchMove PowerBank(S) following its unsuccessful attempt to obtain a digital bank licence in Singapore, the mainboard-listed lender said in a regulatory filing on Monday.

The lender said it sold the stakes it has in MatchMove PowerBank - about 10 per cent on a fully-diluted basis - on Monday to MatchMove Pay in exchange for a further 0.3 per cent stake in MatchMove Pay from a stake of 1.6 per cent.

MatchMove PowerBank was incorporated by MatchMove in June 2020 to apply for digital bank licences in Singapore and other Asean nations.

But it was unsuccessful in its application for the two digital full bank licences awarded in Singapore. NYSE-listed Sea Group and the joint venture between Singtel and Grab were awarded the licences.

MatchMove PowerBank is, however, keen to apply for digital bank licences in other Asean nations.

Singapura Finance, being a lender focused on the Singapore market and with its interest exclusively in backing a Singapore digital bank, does not share the same interest, though. Thus, it divested its stake in MatchMove PowerBank.

But it said it has confidence in the business potential of MatchMove, whose principal activities are the development and provision of end-to-end banking-as-a-solution services.

The counter closed unchanged at 81 Singapore cents on Monday before this announcement.