Japan’s MUFG to invest US$200m in Indonesian fintech Akulaku

JAPAN’S Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) said on Monday (Dec 26) that its banking unit will invest US$200 million in Indonesian fintech company Silvrr Technology, known as Akulaku.

Backed by China’s Alibaba Group, Akulaku offers digital banking and other services such as buy now pay later. Akulaku received a US$100 million investment from Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank in February.

“Indonesia is particularly important” for MUFG’s expansion in Asia given the country’s economic size and a high growth potential among South-east 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 euros (S$854 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 (S$202.6 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