The consortium including Gulf Energy Development, Advanced Info Service (AIS), Krungthai Bank (KTB) and PTT Oil and Retail Business (OR) is the strongest contender among the applicants for a virtual bank licence, says Asia Plus Securities (ASPS).
ASPS executive vice-president Therdsak Thaveeteeratham said at least three groups of investors are seeking virtual bank licences as the Bank of Thailand welcomes applications until Sept 19.
The Finance Ministry has not decided how many licences will be awarded to investors.
A virtual bank uses technology to reach out to customers in remote areas, or underserved customers who cannot access financial services, according to the central bank's definition.
In addition to the Gulf consortium, another group is led by True Money, while Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) heads a collaboration with WeBank, a digital bank from China, and Kakao, a virtual bank from South Korea.
Recently mobile distributor Jaymart Group Holdings (JMART) confirmed it is in talks with Kasikornbank (KBank) to apply for a licence.
The group has the consumer loan database from affiliate Singer Thailand and expertise in debt collection through JMT Network Services (JMT).
"ASPS believes every group of applicants has expertise both in terms of capital and technology, but the crucial factor is offering of loan products as a business model as well as the efficiency of the loan approval process under the existing database," said Mr Therdsak.
"The KTB group appears to be well equipped with both a capital base and a database from AIS, compared with the other groups."
SCB is teaming up with partners with experience in developing systems for loan consideration and deposit products, though SCB already has access to a database, said the brokerage.
KBank originally did not plan to apply for a virtual bank licence and its participation has yet to be confirmed. If it does apply, the expertise of KBank group with JMT's specialisation in debt collection makes it a perfect fit in terms of risk management, says ASPS.
The central bank's consideration for licences is scheduled to be completed in June 2025, with operations slated to begin in June 2026.
This means virtual bank business will not have any impact on the banks' financial results this year and next, Mr Therdsak said.