Krungsri Finnovate, a corporate venture capital company operating under Bank of Ayudhya (BAY), the third-largest bank in Thailand in terms of assets, loans, and deposits, is planning to invest $10 million into the operations of three promising startups during the first half of this year.
Krungsri Finnovate is also looking into various other investment opportunities in technology firms based in Cambodia, Indonesia, and the Philippines.
The firm intends to firmly establish its operations in ASEAN markets. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is a regional organization that supports economic, political, and security initiatives among its members, which include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Krungsri Finnovate’s management notes that it is planning to expand the institution’s digital technology footprint in Thailand and other Southeast Asian nations.
The firm has been holding discussions with several Thai companies. Three of these firms, which are being considered for the multi-million dollar investment, include Proptech, Agritech and payments companies.
Krungsri will be finalizing agreements with these startups by June, according to Thakorn Piyapan, head of digital banking and innovation efforts at BAY.
The $10 million being invested is reportedly half the amount Krungsri Finnovate raised for this year’s investment, Thakorn revealed.
Krungsri began operations in 2018 with $30 million in funding. This amount increased to $50 million after the recent $20 million fund mobilization was added.
Part of the $50 million in capital has been invested in ride-hailing app Grab via parent firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.
Thakorn said that the three startups will not directly work with banking services, however, they could potentially help improve Thailand’s ongoing digital infrastructure development efforts.
