Gulf Energy to join hands with 3 Thai giants in bidding for a virtual bank licence
Leading sustainable energy and infrastructure firm Gulf Energy Development and its three partners intend to apply for a licence to launch a virtual bank.
The Bank of Thailand has announced that it would hand out only three licences for virtual banks that would be allowed to offer financial services only via the digital channel.
Applications for licences can be submitted between March 20 and September 19. The central bank sees the move as a bid to enable people to access financial services and transition Thailand towards a digital economy.
Gulf said it was studying the feasibility of setting up a virtual bank with Krungthai Bank (KTB), Advanced Info Services (AIS) and PTT Oil and Retail Business (OR).
Gulf's chief financial officer Yupapin Wangviwat expects the application for the virtual bank licence to be submitted by the first half of this year. "It depends on KTB, who is a major shareholder in this business," she said.
She believes that the virtual bank would encourage companies with big data to operate financial business that would cater to the needs of the self-employed and people who are unable to access financial services.
Applying technology for operating business and creating new financial services would help reduce cost and boost the growth of virtual banks, she added.
Yupapin revealed that the GulfBinance digital asset platform had recorded around 50,000 accounts since its opening in January this year. The trade volume on the platform was increasing daily, she said.
She added that artificial intelligence (AI) had been installed on the platform to provide services and improve customers' experience around the clock
"The company aims to attract 900,000 people [to open GulfBinance accounts] this year," she said, adding that there was still room for growth.
