Thai tech startups have caught the eye of Japanese buyers, who’re eager to help their growth into regional markets, according to an executive at Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri). Southeast Asia, and Thailand in particular, are thought of prime funding locations for Japanese traders, who see potential in the country’s high-growth tech startups.
Bunsei Okubo, head of Japanese corporate and multinational banking at Krungsri, highlighted the opportunity for Japanese traders to back Thai startups of their regional enlargement efforts. Recently, Krungsri and its partners organised the Japan-ASEAN Startup Business Matching Fair 2023, which aimed to supply startups with investment alternatives and help for development beyond ASEAN. The occasion attracted 160 investors from Japan and the area and featured over 60 startups, including 18 from Thailand.
Okubo said…
“We expect at least 10 enterprise matching offers to be generated from the occasion within the next three years including Japanese-Thai deals. Moreover, Login required is prepared to provide monetary help and funding by way of a venture-capital mannequin to assist the companies to develop.”
In addition to monetary help, Krungsri and its mother or father firm, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), will offer “total solutions” for startups, together with technological expertise, enterprise insights, advisory providers, and networking opportunities.
Sam Tanskul, managing director at Krungsri Innovate, revealed that three Japanese-Thai offers have already materialised underneath the bank’s business matching challenge for small and medium-sized enterprises. Krungsri Innovate recently invested in a nineteenth local startup, PropTech, and plans to increase capital for the business expansion of 4 more native startups in the subsequent two months, reported Bangkok Post.
Tanskul also mentioned that the corporate is collaborating with MUFG to search for investment alternatives in Vietnamese and Indonesian tech startups, notably within the fintech sector. This funding strategy goals to help Krungsri’s client banking business in the region.
Furthermore, Krungsri Finnovate (KFIN) intends to launch a second personal equity (PE) trust fund value 1 billion baht for institutional and high-net-worth traders in the fourth quarter of this 12 months..