KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia on Friday awarded digital bank licences to five groups of companies, including some linked to e-commerce and gaming firm Sea Ltd, telecoms operator Axiata and ride-hailing firm Grab.
The central bank said in a statement it received a total of 29 applications for the licenses, as companies looked to capitalise on Malaysia’s growing fintech sector.
Nearly all adults in the country’s 32 million population are smartphone users, government statistics showed last year.
The winning applicants for the licenses included Boost Holdings, the fintech arm of Axiata, which teamed up with Malaysian banking group RHB Bank Berhad for the bid.
Others included a partnership between Sea Ltd and YTL Digital Capital Sdn Bhd, and a group led by GXS Bank, an alliance between Grab Holdings Ltd and Singapore Telecommunications.
Two consortia – led by Aeon Financial Service Co. Ltd and KAF Investment Bank – will be licensed under Malaysia’s Islamic Financial Services Act, Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) said.
BNM said the winners must undergo a period of operational readiness that will be audited by the central bank before they can commence operations – a process expected to take between 12-24 months.
(Reporting by Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Martin Petty and Kanupriya Kapoor)
