MUFG to back Akulaku with $200m

Sources familiar with the situation have reported that the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) is in discussions to invest roughly US$200 million (S$270 million) in Akulaku, an Indonesian online lender supported by Mr. Jack Ma’s Ant Group.

According to the sources, MUFG, the largest lender in Japan, is negotiating the terms of a prospective loan for Akulaku as it looks to increase its footprint in the country of Southeast Asia.

The business might be valued at roughly US$1.5 billion thanks to the funding, according to the people, who asked to remain anonymous because the situation is private.

MUFG’s investment in Akulaku would increase the cash the company has already raised, which includes a US$100 million fundraising effort from Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank Pcl earlier in 2022.

The sources claimed that private equity firms and other investors had expressed interest in funding Akulaku.

The people claimed that discussions are still being considered and that things could change. Both Akulaku and MUFG representatives declined to comment.

Akulaku was established in 2014 and provides digital banking, consumer credit, digital investment, and insurance brokerage services. It currently works in Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

Earlier in 2022, Akulaku had been investigating a US IPO through a combination with a blank-check company, which could have given the merged company a valuation of around US$2 billion.

To capitalise on the growing potential and youthful population of the region, MUFG has been expanding across Southeast Asia.

In November, Bank of Ayudhya Pcl, a Thai banking division of MUFG, said that it will pay approximately € 474 million (S$ 679 million) to purchase the consumer credit operations of Home Credit NV, a Netherlands-based company, in Indonesia and the Philippines.