TNG Digital, the owner and operator of the Touch ‘n Go eWallet, has secured RM 750 million (appr. $168.5 million) as part of its latest round of equity funding.
This investment round has been led by a fresh investment from the Lazada Group and a follow-on investment from TNG Digital’s existing shareholder and parent firm Touch ‘n Go.
TNG Digital’s management noted that this most recent investment strengthens the collaboration between key industry participants, one in digital commerce and one in digital financial services / payments.
The firm had emerged as one of the most well-funded Fintech busineses in Malaysia when it acquired $75 million in capital from AIA and New York’s investment firm Bow Wave Capital Management. The business entities acquired a sizeable stake in TNG Digital, valuing it at around RM 3 billion.
This latest round brings the total amount secured by TNG Digital during the past 18 months to more than RM 1 billion.
TNG Digital has been founded by Touch ‘n Go and Alibaba’s Ant Group, the parent firm of Alipay which is among China’s major virtual payments platform.
To date, Alibaba has reportedly invested around $4 billion in Lazada in order to increase its stake in the firm to about 83%.
Effendy Shahul Hamid, Group Chief Executive Officer, TNG Group, said:
“I’m extremely pleased to welcome Lazada to the Touch ‘n Go eWallet family. We feel this collaboration will bring next-level value propositions to users and merchant bases across the Lazada and Touch ‘n Go ecosystem. I look forward to seeing the teams roll out these exciting collaboration opportunities to our users. The funding round also sets us up nicely for our next phase of growth. We will continue to expand in all areas of digital financial services and ensure that our user base is served in an innovative and inclusive manner,”
Alan Chan, Chief Executive Officer of Lazada Malaysia, remarked:
“We see digital payment services as a critical bolt-on to bring the best customer experience on Lazada. Lazada is fully committed to providing a seamless customer journey, as well as being a catalyst to stimulate capacity building among our sellers, primarily local SMEs and MSMEs. Our long-standing partnership with Touch ‘n Go eWallet has served our customers well, allowing buyers to check out easily and quickly. Today’s announcement fortifies that partnership and we are excited by the prospects it presents for both our companies.”