Garuda Capital acquires minority stake in Hong Kong fintech startup FinLink

FinLink, a data-driven and AI-enabled tech startup focusing on cross-border financial services, announced that investment firm Garuda Capital Asia has acquired a minority interest in the company via an affiliated investment fund.

Hong Kong Island / Photo credit: leungchopan / 123RF

This acquisition comes after FinLink raised US$2.5 million in a seed round led by PF Ventures and Garuda Capital in 2019.

Founded in 2017, with offices in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, FinLink has built a cross-border payment and clearing engine that serves small businesses in Asia. It offers accounts payable management, receivable financing, and collection services.

The company claims that it has achieved US$800 million in transaction volume in 2019, serving customers across 55 countries from sectors such as ecommerce, trading, tourism, and logistics, among others.

“Following the acquisition, FinLink will realign its strategic focus toward strengthening data analytics and artificial intelligence capabilities,” said Huang Peng, co-founder and CEO of FinLink. “With even stronger backing from shareholders, we can focus on developing innovative products and solutions for our regional clients by leveraging on existing customer relationships.”

Garuda Capital specializes in venture capital and financial advisory for early- and growth-stage companies in Asia Pacific. It has offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai.

According to research by Market Data Forecast, the fintech market across Asia Pacific is expected to cross US$150 billion by 2025, growing at an average annual growth rate of 72.5% from 2019.

Other players in the cross-border financial services space include UK-based Revolut and Transferwise, which formed a partnership with Alibaba’s Alipay in March to enable international money transfers to China.