Competition for virtual bank licences in Thailand is reaching fever pitch, with five heavyweight business groups stepping forward just before the application deadline.
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Competition for virtual bank licences in Thailand is reaching fever pitch, with five heavyweight business groups stepping forward just before the application deadline. The Bank of Thailand and the Ministry of Finance are set to issue an undisclosed number of licences, with the winners announced in the first half of next year. Successful applicants will have a year to kick-start operations.
After weeks of speculation, the field is now clear. Three key consortia have emerged: a partnership between Lighthub Asset and WeLab, a group led by Singapore-based Sea Limited, and Ascend Money, backed by the powerful Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group.
Two other consortia have also confirmed their applications. One includes Krungthai Bank (KTB), Gulf Energy Development, and the PTT group. The other features SCB X, South Korea’s largest digital bank KakaoBank, and WeBank, a global leader in digital…