South Korean digital bank KakaoBank Corp said on Tuesday it would buy a 10% stake in Superbank, the Singapore Telecommunications and Grab-backed digital-focussed bank in Indonesia.
KakaoBank will acquire the stake through the issuance of new shares. Lender Bank Fama International was rebranded as Superbank in February in a bid to strengthen its digital-based services and expand its financial offerings.
“KakaoBank will create the future of finance by collaborating with major partners in Southeast Asia to jointly build mobile financial technology platform, starting with Superbank in Indonesia,” said Yun, Ho Young, CEO of the South-Korean digital lender.
Superbank is controlled by the Emtek Group along with Southeast Asian super-app Grab and telco SingTel, who own a combined 32.5% shareholding.
SingTel and Grab in January acquired around 2.4 billion new shares in the then Bank Fama for around $70 million.
Reuters