Thailand-based fintech startup Ascend Money has raised $150m in a Series C funding round, which valued the company at approximately $1.5bn.
Charoen Pokphand Group, which is a major shareholder in the firm, led the round with participation from Bow Wave Capital Management and existing investor Ant Group.
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Ascend Money plans to use the capital to enhance its digital product offering and expand its services across Southeast Asia.
Founded in 2013, Ascend Money offers financial services such as digital payment (via TrueMoney), microfinance, personal loan, wealth management and insurance brokerage.
Ascend Money founder and chairman of the board Suphachai Chearavanont said: “The company’s success is also a testament to Thailand’s capability and strong ecosystem to support domestic fintech firms and startups for overseas expansion.”
The fintech currently operates in Cambodia, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.
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By GlobalDataAscend Money is said to serve 50 million customers through TrueMoney and offline channels and last year its payment volume stood at $14bn.
Earlier this month, Ascend Money’s investor Ant Group was ordered by the Chinese authorities to split the back end of its two lending businesses Huabei and Jiebei from the rest of its financial offering.
Later, Huabei revealed that it was being integrated into China’s credit reporting system.
As part of the plan to tighten the regulatory grip on the financial institution, Huabei has been integrated into the credit reporting system, which is a joint venture partly owned by the country’s central bank.
