WeLab, Indonesian conglomerate close $518m deal to build local digibank

Update (Sep. 19, 2:30 p.m. SGT): This article was updated with the completion of the deal and information regarding WeLab Sky’s investors.

Indonesian conglomerate Astra International has invested 3.9 trillion rupiah (around US$259 million) into Bank Jasa Jakarta, which is backed by Hong Kong-based fintech firm WeLab. The deal was done through Astra subsidiary Sedaya Multi Investama (SMI).

WeLab founder and group CEO Simon Loong / Photo credit: WeLab

SMI currently has 1.1 million shares, or a 49.56% stake, in the local bank. At the same time, WeLab also increased its ownership in Bank Jasa Jakarta to 49.56%.

In December last year, WeLab bought a 24% stake in Bank Jasa Jakarta to turn it into a digital bank. It raised US$240 million from new and existing investors through a consortium called WeLab Sky to pull off the deal.

The total amount of the transaction reached US$518 million, that WeLab claimed as the biggest acquisition deal in the Southeast Asian digibank space this year.

At the time, WeLab Group CEO Simon Loong said that the company plans to launch the digibank app by the second half of this year and will leverage its experience in building WeLab Bank in Hong Kong.

WeLab Sky counts Allianz X – the tech investment arm of insurance giant Allianz – Boyu Capital, Horizons Ventures, SCBX Group and Taipei Fubon Bank Capital as its backers.

See also: The tech companies bankrolling Indonesia’s digital banks

It’s not the first time WeLab has partnered with Astra International. In 2018, both companies set up a joint venture to build an online lending platform called Maucash, which has attracted millions of users to date.

Currency converted from Indonesian rupiah to US dollar: US$1 = 14,966 rupiah.