Krungsri initiative aims to match Japanese investors with SE Asian startups
A niche group of Bank of Ayudhya Pcl (Krungsri) is improving its resources and services to help Japanese corporations invest in or partner with Southeast Asia's potential startups, a senior official said on Friday.
Bunsei Okubo, the head of Japanese corporate and multinational corporate (JPC/MNC) Banking Group, said the move was a part of the bank's efforts to maintain its position as a leading trusted partner of Japanese corporations.
Aside from assisting with business matching, which would benefit the region's startup ecosystem, he said the group would continue to develop ESG-related products and services to foster the sustainability trend. It would also facilitate business expansion across ASEAN and East Asian companies' entry into Thailand.
Citing the success of its first Japan-ASEAN Startup Business Matching last year, which brought together over 60 startups from six countries to form new partnerships and expand to international stages, Okubo announced that the group would hold the matching event again this year on June 19.
Meanwhile, to ensure startup opportunities, the bank is expanding its collaboration with Lao PDR and Vietnam to promote digital innovations, products, and services that benefit society and the community in Thailand and across ASEAN.
"This collaboration will attract investors, create jobs, and inspire the country's sustainable development endeavour," he said, adding that the primary focus for startups would be fintech, automation, electronics, food tech, medical, agriculture, and other fields related to environment, social, and governance (ESG).
In terms of accelerating the ESG ecosystem in Thailand and ASEAN, he said the bank was leveraging its knowledge and expertise, as well as collaboration with Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), to provide sustainable financial solutions that meet diverse customer demands, particularly for financial products such as the recently launched Sustainable Deposit.
He explained that the product was a fixed deposit account dedicated to funding social and sustainability activities, which would help Thailand achieve its sustainability goals. The group is also considering issuing more green bonds as a way to address customers' concerns about ESG.
As China remains the largest foreign direct investor in the ASEAN region, especially Thailand, Okubo said the bank would prioritise accommodating East Asian multinationals' expansion into the country.
"Thailand's favourable fundamentals, strong presence in global supply chains, and factors ranging from large-scale infrastructure to investment privileges all appeal to companies, particularly in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and South Korea. Krungsri in collaboration with MUFG will provide advisory services and assist East Asian multinationals in establishing their businesses in Thailand," he said.
The collaboration with MUFG included the expansion of "Krungsri ASEAN LINK”, a business advisory service that improves ASEAN connectivity.
He said Krungsri would leverage its knowledge, specialisation, and synergies with MUFG's network, which covers nine ASEAN countries, to provide an integrated advisory service to customers looking to set foot in ASEAN.
The service begins with land survey, general information, and regulatory requirements, and continues through business establishment and operations.
With an ambitious loan growth target of 7% this year, Okubo assured that the Krungsri JPC/MNC Banking group would enhance its financial products, consultations, knowledge-sharing, and sustainability networking for customers in both heavy industries such as energy, steel, and chemical, as well as light industries such as financial services, delivery platforms, food and beverages.
"We are confident that our outstanding capability and continuous achievements in the past years, thanks to the synergies of Krungsri, partner banks and MUFG, will help Japanese and multinational companies grasp the opportunity and drive their businesses amid the transition to sustainability," he said.
Krungsri is Thailand's fifth largest financial group in terms of assets, loans, and deposits. It is also one of Thailand's six Domestic Systemically Important Banks, with a 79-year history. The bank is a strategic partner of MUFG, Japan's largest financial conglomerate and one of the world's largest financial institutions.
