Due to dwindling opportunities in its home market, Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ has been eager to grow abroad. Credit: Luke Jones on Unsplash.

Japanese banking firm Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) has plans to grow in Asia and it is ready to make acquisitions, if necessary, reported Reuters.

“The first phase of our investment strategy was building footholds for commercial banking in Asia, and we are now moving into the second stage,” MUFG CEO Hironori Kamezawa told the news agency in an interview.

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The second phase, according to him, will focus on utilising the group’s commercial bank divisions in the region for broader services including consumer lending.

“If we still have gaps (in our portfolio of businesses) to fill, we will do so through acquisitions,” Kamezawa added.

In November this year, MUFG signed a €596m (JPY87bn) deal to buy a 100% stake in HC Consumer Finance Philippines (HC Philippines) and 85% shares of PT Home Credit Indonesia (HC Indonesia).

Upon completion, MUFG’s Thailand subsidiary Bank of Ayudhya will own 75% each in HC Philippines and HC Indonesia, the subsidiaries of Netherlands-based consumer finance company Home Credit Group.

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The Tokyo-based lender has also stated that it intends to acquire both the securities division of Nomura Holdings in Thailand and SHB Finance, a key non-bank company in Vietnam, through Bank of Ayudhya.

Another target market, according to Kamezawa, is India. This year, MUFG established a $300m fund to support the nation’s mid- to late-stage startups.

“We will consider large-scale acquisitions when there are good opportunities,” he said, adding that the regulatory landscape in India made such acquisitions challenging.

Last week, Bloomberg reported that the Japanese bank is considering a $200m investment in Indonesian digital lender Akulaku, which is backed by Ant Group.