How Hong Kong’s WeLab Will Break into Southeast Asia’s Digital Banking Scene

Digital Banking is something that’s being keenly watched in the Southeast Asia region. We’ve seen 4 digibanks start up in Singapore, and here in Malaysia we’re expecting a few to open their doors to customers this year. While a lot of attention has been paid to players such as Grab, Sea Limited, and Ant Financial, another key player to watch in this region is WeLab.

WeLab was founded in 2013 and over the decade has raised around $900 million to fund ambitions to improve accessibility to financial services. They are involved in digital lending, digital banking, and SaaS enterprise solutions.

The 10-year old Hong Kong based fintech player made its entry into the Southeast Asian digital bank fray last year when it acquired Bank Jasa Jakarta. What does signal about its expansion strategy for Southeast Asia?

To find out, on this episode of Open for Business, we speak with Simon Loong, Founder & Group CEO of WeLab Group. Aside from their plans for Southeast Asia, we’ll also dive into WeLab’s 10 year journey, the growth across Hong Kong and Mainland China, what lies ahead for this Hong Kong unicorn, and ofcourse the pathway to IPO.

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