Japan-based financial services firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) has launched a ¥20bn ($180m) fund to focus on financial technology startups in Southeast Asia, the Business Times reported on Saturday.
The bank already invests through a venture capital arm known as Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, but set up a new unit called MUFG Innovation Partners (MUIP) in January this year to oversee strategic fintech investments and the formation of strategic partnerships.
The vehicle will invest in Japan and Southeast Asia, where it will focus on fintech startups that are looking to enter its home country. The fund will also explore more cutting edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things and quantum computing.
MUIP took part in its first deal in February, investing an undisclosed amount in Moneytree, a Japan-based asset management app developer that also operates a financial data platform which aggregates data for accounting service providers and financial institutions.
Makoto Shibata, an executive fellow of MUFG’s Japan Digital Design subsidiary, told Business Times: “Most Southeast Asian countries are seeing that the wealth accumulated in the population is increasing – not just the super-rich, but the middle class people are growing their wealth.
“That will create a new opportunity for innovation; for startups to provide support to (customers) in making investment decisions or analysing their financial wellbeing.”
Mitsubishi UFJ Capital’s portfolio currently includes a range of IT, data and life sciences-focused companies including cryptocurrency exchange platform BitFlyer, retail data technology provider Abeja and digital medicine developer CureApp.