MUFG Bank Enters into Capital and Business Alliance with Grab
Tokyo/Singapore, February 25, 2020 — MUFG’s core banking subsidiary MUFG Bank today announced that it has entered into a capital investment and strategic alliance agreement (the Alliance) with Grab Holdings Inc. (Grab), the leading super app in Southeast Asia. As part of the Alliance, MUFG plans to invest up to US$706 million in total in Grab. MUFG will also leverage its strategic partner bank relationships in Southeast Asia to cooperate with Grab to provide new innovative financial services to clients in Southeast Asia.
Funding for MUFG’s investment will come from MUFG Bank, MUFG Innovation Partners [1] and Krungsri Finnovate [2]. In Asia, MUFG has acquired strategic equity stakes in leading Southeast Asian banks, further augmenting its network across the region. MUFG has equity stakes in Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade in Vietnam, Bank of Ayudhya Public Company Limited in Thailand, Security Bank Corporation in the Philippines and PT Bank Danamon Indonesia, Tbk. in Indonesia [3].
1. Purpose and background of the Alliance
Amid dramatic changes in daily life with the spread of information and communications technology accompanying digitalization, a new business model is emerging in the financial sector, different from the one traditionally used by financial institutions.
Such changes are occurring rapidly in emerging countries, including those in Southeast Asia, where there is a growing trend for platform providers who offer highly convenient services closely linked with daily life to also provide innovative financial services leveraging data and AI technology.
Grab is the leading super app in Southeast Asia, offering convenient and everyday digital services including ride-hailing, food delivery and digital payments to tens of millions of active users and millions of drivers. By leveraging advanced AI technology to analyze data aggregated by its super app from drivers, merchants and users, Grab is recognized for providing new innovative financial services that are more attuned to their customer needs.
MUFG intends to harness the Alliance to deepen synergies in its regional network including its unique partner bank relationships in Southeast Asia and further captures business opportunities in the region.
2. Strategic significance
MUFG aims to provide next-generation financial services by combining our strengths in financial knowledge and know-how (financial product development, creditworthiness, risk management, etc.) with Grab’s advanced technologies and data management expertise. Through the Alliance, we will also leverage our initiatives and experience in Southeast Asia with Grab to accelerate both the evolution of MUFG’s business model and the realization of next-generation digital financial services, including in Japan. In addition to building a strategic partnership with Grab, we will also establish a solid relationship with Grab as its “First Choice Bank.”
As part of its efforts towards developing a sustainable society, MUFG has identified seven environmental and social issues based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and has advanced initiatives to utilize its financial business to resolve each of these issues.
Financial services provided by both MUFG and Grab contribute greatly to the sustainable growth of local communities through financial inclusion, promotion of innovation, and the creation of new jobs. In this respect, MUFG is aligned with Grab’s philosophy of solving social issues on a global basis.
Through the Alliance, MUFG will partner with Grab with the aim of trailblazing new and exciting paths in technological innovation and the development of a digital economy in Asia.
3. About Grab
Grab is the leading super app in Southeast Asia, providing everyday services that matter most to consumers. Today, the Grab app has been downloaded onto over 185 million mobile devices, giving users access to over 9 million drivers, merchants and agents. Grab offers the widest range of on-demand transport services in the region, in addition to food, package delivery, digital payments and financial services, across 339 cities in eight Southeast Asian countries. For more information, see: http://www.grab.com.
[1] A corporate venture capital fund and consolidated subsidiary of MUFG [2] A corporate venture capital subsidiary of Bank of Ayudhya Public Company Limited, a major commercial bank and consolidated subsidiary of MUFG Bank located in the Kingdom of Thailand. [3] Bank of Ayudhya Public Company Limited, a major commercial bank and consolidated subsidiary of MUFG Bank located in the Kingdom of Thailand, PT Danamon Indonesia, Tbk, a major commercial bank and consolidated subsidiary of MUFG Bank located in the Republic of Indonesia, Security Bank Corporation, a major regional commercial bank and MUFG equity method affiliate located in the Republic of the Philippines, and Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade, a major state-run bank and MUFG equity method affiliate located in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
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About MUFG :
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. (MUFG) is one of the world’s leading financial groups. Headquartered in Tokyo and with over 360 years of history, MUFG has a global network with over 2,700 locations in more than 50 countries. The Group has over 180,000 employees and offers services including commercial banking, trust banking, securities, credit cards, consumer finance, asset management, and leasing. The Group aims to “be the world’s most trusted financial group” through close collaboration among our operating companies and flexibly respond to all of the financial needs of our customers, serving society, and fostering shared and sustainable growth for a better world. MUFG’s shares trade on the Tokyo, Nagoya, and New York stock exchanges. For more information, visit https://www.mufg.jp/english.
About MUFG Innovation Partners :
MUFG Innovation Partners, Co., Ltd. is a consolidated subsidiary of MUFG, and was established as a corporate venture capital fund responsible for both MUFG’s open innovation strategy to accelerate partnerships between startups and MUFG, and strategic investments in startups.
http://www.ip.mufg.jp/
About Krungsri Finnovate Krungsri Finnovate :
Company Limited is a corporate venture capital (CVC) arm of Krungsri that aims to be a fully strategic investor supporting FinTech as well as other banking-related tech startups in Thailand and other countries in Southeast Asia to grow toward their set goals through three core activities: the Venture Builder and Accelerator Program, strategic partnership, and CVC investment, which are made possible through collaboration with Krungsri’s related business units.
https://www.mufg.jp/bay/?link_id=p_top_site_link_krungsri
