Krungsri Finnovate Co (KFIN), a corporate venture capital arm of Bank of Ayudhya (Krungsri), plans to expand investment in tech startups in regional markets to support its parent company's business operations in Asean.
The company has many tech startups in the investment pipeline in 2024, covering both Thai firms as well as firms in the region, particularly in Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines.
The company's regional investment plan aligns with Krungsri's regional business expansion under its "Asean Connectivity" strategy, said Sam Tanskul, managing director of KFIN.
Krungsri, the country's fifth-largest bank by total assets, has a presence in six regional markets, comprising Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Indonesia and Vietnam.
The bank has expanded its business operations across the region through both organic and inorganic strategies.
Given the regional expansion, KFIN expects its regional investment portfolio to increase to 30% of the total in 2024 from 20% at present.
Strategic partnership and sustainable growth are its expansion tactics for next year, said Mr Sam.
Regarding investment in tech startups, the company will focus on firms offering great potential that can post a profit in 3-5 years, he said.
Investing in sustainable growth startups should strengthen Krungsri Group's overall ecosystem and sustain its business growth in the long term, said Mr Sam.
"KFIN rejected investments in many Thai Series A startups this year because of the issue of sustainability," he said.
"Next year we plan to focus on early-stage startups both in Thailand and Southeast Asia, grooming them to grow sustainably."
In addition, KFIN plans to grow its three existing funds next year: Finnoventure Private Equity (PE) Trust 1, Finnoverse & Futuristic Fund, and Finno Efra Private Equity Trust.
For Finnoventure PE Trust 1, KFIN's most significant fund, the company prepared an investment budget of 900 million baht with the aim of investing in 5-7 startups in 2024, focusing on the fintech, e-commerce and automotive sectors in Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia.
KFIN also aims to invest in three startups operating in the fields of artificial intelligence and cybersecurity tech through its Finnoverse & Futuristic Fund next year.
Meanwhile, Finno Efra will emphasise accelerating and investing in early-stage startups, said Mr Sam.
The company has invested 3.57 billion baht in 24 startups in the region, of which three are unicorns and six are preparing for initial public offerings.
Finnoventure PE Trust 1 provided a return on investment of 14% this year, he said.
Meanwhile, KFIN closed investment in two startups: Zipmex Thailand, a digital asset exchange platform; and Silot, a Singapore-based fintech that provided a cloud onboarding service for financial institutions.