Mitsubishi UFJ to Invest in Thai Digital Financial Services Provider Ascend Money

By Kosaku Narioka

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group plans to invest in Thai digital financial services provider Ascend Money in a bid to capture demand from consumers and small businesses in the Southeast Asian country.

The Japanese financial company said Wednesday that its banking unit MUFG Bank and a fund managed by its subsidiary Bank of Ayudhya will invest $195 million in the digital services provider backed by Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group.

Mitsubishi UFJ said Ascend Money had made strong inroads into Thai consumers' daily lives through various online and offline channels, adding that its TrueMoney Wallet had 30 million active users as of the end of December.

In Asia Pacific, digital service providers are increasingly serving unbanked or underbanked consumers, as well as small and medium-sized enterprises, Mitsubishi UFJ said.

By investing in Ascend, the company seeks to serve a broader customer base and explore new business collaboration opportunities, it said.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 26, 2024 05:17 ET (09:17 GMT)

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