Japanese lender Mizuho Bank is reportedly planning to acquire a stake in Vietnam-based fintech firm M-Service to bolster its presence in the country’s retail market.
Mizuho Bank is offering $170m (JPY20bn) for a 7.5% stake in the Vietnamese company, Nikkei Asia has reported.
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Founded in 2007, M-Service, which has over 50% market share, operates a payment app, called MoMo. The app is said to cater to over 20 million customers in Vietnam.
Ho Chi Minh city-based firm is working to develop MoMo into a super-app to offer a wide range of financial services.
The investment is part of Mizuho Bank’s efforts to increase its exposure to growing Asian markets. Overseas investment is one of the areas where Mizuho Bank is behind its competitors.
Additionally, the lender seeks to become a leading player in Southeast Asia’s financial sector by tapping into the region’s growing population and economy.
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By GlobalDataMizuho Bank’s partnership with M-Service follows its investment in Vietcombank, a key bank in Vietnam, in 2011.
The partnership is aimed at strengthening their (Mizuho Bank and Vietcombank) presence in the country’s retail market.
As per the report, the lender has been saving capital and making structural reforms, while its Japanese peer Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has been investing in financial institutions in Asia.
The lender’s investment comes after it achieved a target of 9% for its common equity tier 1 ratio, a measure of the firm’s financial position.
Last month, Mizuho Financial Group CEO Tatsufumi Sakai and three other senior executives resigned after the bank was reprimanded by the Japans’ banking regulator over technical system failures.
