KUALA LUMPUR: A financial technology (fintech) unit of Axiata Group Bhd
, Malaysia’s biggest wireless firm by revenue, is weighing raising US$50mil to US$100mil (RM223mil to RM446.3mil) in a new funding round, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Boost Holdings Sdn Bhd is working with a financial adviser on the potential fundraising. It may give the startup a valuation of several hundred million dollars, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is private.
The funding round would help finance the expansion of Boost’s digital banking operations, the people said. A consortium of Boost Holdings and RHB Bank Bhd was among five groups that won digital bank licences from Malaysia’s central bank last year.Deliberations are ongoing and there is no guarantee Boost will proceed with the planned offering, the people with knowledge of the matter said.
Boost is the regional fintech unit of Axiata. It offers an all-in-one app, merchant solutions, artificial intelligenceI-based lending and a cross-border payment platform, according to its parent’s website.
It serves millions of customers across seven countries in South-East Asia, the site shows. Axiata sold a 21.9% stake in Boost to Great Eastern Holdings Ltd, the insurance arm of Singapore’s Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp for US$70mil (RM312.4mil) in 2020, according to a joint statement. — Bloomberg
