(Jan 15): Hong Kong-based financial technology firm WeLab Ltd has secured US$220 million ($283.33 million) from investors including HSBC Holdings plc and Prudential Hong Kong Ltd in its largest round of funding.
The financing comprised both debt and equity. Other investors include Fubon Bank (Hong Kong), Hong Kong Investment Corp, Allianz X and TOM Group, which counts billionaire Li Ka-shing’s CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd as its largest shareholder, WeLab said in a statement.
The company didn’t disclose its latest valuation, but people familiar with the matter said in 2022 that it was weighing a new funding round that could value the firm at about US$2 billion. WeLab last tapped markets in 2021, when it raised US$75 million in a funding drive led by Allianz X, the digital investment unit of the German insurer.
The firm, whose other investors include Sequoia Capital, Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional Bhd and China Construction Bank International, applied for an initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong in 2018, which it later postponed citing market volatility. Hong Kong’s IPO market has seen a flurry of high-profile listings already this year, such as MiniMax Group Inc, one of China’s largest generative artificial intelligence start-ups, which surged last week.
Simon Loong, the founder of WeLab, said in an interview with Bloomberg TV’s David Ingles and Yvonne Man that given the scale of the business and the market, the firm is “definitely” looking at an IPO.
“It’s something we are very interested in,” he said. “Having said that, after closing one of our largest rounds, it’s not something we need to do tomorrow.”
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WeLab said it will use the latest influx of capital to expand in Southeast Asia and support mergers and acquisitions. The company operates two digital banks, including WeLab Bank in Hong Kong and Bank Saqu in Indonesia. It has over 70 million individual users and more than 700 enterprise customers.
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