WeLab completes HK reorganisation, eyes SEA expansion

Hong Kong-based fintech platform WeLab is mulling setting up digital banks across Southeast Asia and delivering its tech-driven financial services to conglomerates in Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. 

This strategic expansion comes as part of the company's commitment to grow its users to 500 million by 2032, fortifying a robust foundation to support WeLab’s accelerated growth, according to the release. 

“WeLab is actively exploring different opportunities in Southeast Asia markets by applying for new licences, forming partnerships with other companies and selling our technology services to other companies,” the company's founder and group CEO Simon Loong told the South China Morning Post in a media briefing on Tuesday.

With the launch of Bank Saqu in Indonesia last November, WeLab believes the second digital bank of WeLab will become a key driving force in the group's Southeast Asia strategy, citing the remarkable early traction of the new bank, including achieving one million customers within six months of its launch.

Beyond Indonesia, the company is strategising several expansion plans for exponential growth in the coming five years. Currently, WeLab is in talks with multiple conglomerates in markets such as Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines and Thailand, to deliver its tech-driven financial services across diverse business models such as B2C, B2B, and B2B2X.

This comes in additional to the company's collaboration with HSBC to explore delivering world-class customer journeys and innovative product offerings in Southeast Asia.

Moreover, the expansion of TaaS (Technology-as-a-Service) operations will increase impact and reach, also create new revenue streams for WeLab Group.

Loong said, “WeLab’s journey has always been about leveraging technology to push the boundaries of what’s possible in financial services digitally. We are highly encouraged by the solid traction seen in Indonesia - reaching 100 million Indonesian digital banking customers in a record time. We are confident in driving growth momentum in Indonesia and beyond by continuously delivering our innovative, Hong Kong-developed fintech solutions to users across Asia."

"The combined Hong Kong and Indonesia digital banks will have more than 1.7 million users, making us one of the largest digital bank operators in Asia. With about 700 million people of Southeast Asia having high demand for digital financial services in sight, we firmly believe the future of digital banking is bright, and we are well-positioned to capture the opportunities," he added.

While in Hong Kong, WeLab has completed a corporate reorganisation whereby its purely online lending platform WeLend is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of WeLab Bank. The completion of Hong Kong reorganisation consolidates its position as a fintech player with 650,000 users.

This strategic move aims to elevate operational synergy and efficiency between the two entities, leveraging their established market positions to unlock new growth opportunities. Post-reorganisation, WeLab Bank and WeLend will continue to offer their distinctive products and services under their respective brands.

The corporate reorganisation has been completed in early June without any redundancies. It also demonstrates WeLab’s another uniqueness – being the first and only fintech group in Hong Kong capable of integrating its digital lending platform into its digital banking arm, according to the release.

Moving forward, WeLab’s Hong Kong businesses will continue to exhibit robust growth and support WeLab’s development of tech-driven financial services, delivering innovative solutions through the group’s regional expansion.

Tat Lee, chief executive of WeLab Bank, added, “WeLab Bank has been on the fast track to upscale its business operations and pursue profitability. Benefiting from the reorganisation, WeLab Bank now serves over 650,000 users in total. We expect to generate an additional net profit of USD$100 million over the next five years.”

“The scale of WeLab Bank’s lending operations has become one of the largest among digital banks in Asia. With the accelerated momentum, the bank is poised to be profitable in 2025 and become one of the first profitable digital banks in Asia,” added Lee.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to WeLab for more information. 

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