$Grab Holdings(GRAB)$$SINGTEL(Z74.SI)$Grab-Singtel and $Sea Ltd(SE)$Sea Group consortia bag Malaysia digital bank licences

TWO Singapore-based consortia are among the 5 winners of Malaysia’s digital bank licences announced by Bank Negara Malaysia on Friday (Apr 29) – a consortium led by GXS Bank and Kuok Brothers, and another led by Sea Limited and YTL Digital Capital.

GXS Bank is a Grab-Singtel joint venture, and the New York Stock Exchange-listed Sea Limited is the parent company of e-commerce platform Shopee. Both companies secured Singapore digital bank licences in 2020.

Before Malaysia's central bank unveiled the winners, these two consortia were already regarded as frontrunners for the licences, given their strong background as digital financial service providers and their existing infrastructure that supports future banking services.

The other 3 groups which bagged licences were:

E-wallet company Boost Holdings and RHB Bank consortium;

A consortium of Aeon Financial Service, Aeon Credit Service and US-listed fintech firm MoneyLion; and

A consortium led by KAF Investment Bank.

Boost is a unit of Malaysia’s telecommunications group Axiata, which has evolved from a cashless payment app into a provider of micro-financing and micro-insurance services to consumers. RHB is Malaysia's 4th-largest fully integrated financial services group.

Aeon Credit Service, a household name in Malaysia, has operated in Malaysia for 25 years and now has about 65 retail outlets with over 4 million customers. MoneyLion, co-founded by Malaysian Foong Chee Mun, is a leading digital bank in US offering lending, financial advisory and investment service to consumers.

@TigerStars