MUFG Invests $195 Million In CP Group-Backed Thai Unicorn Ascend Money

Ascend Money—backed by Thai billionaire Dhanin Chearavanont and his family’s Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group)—has received fresh funding of $195 million from investors led by Japanese banking giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG).

MUFG Bank and Finnoventure Private Equity Trust I fund, which is managed by a subsidiary of MUFG’s Thai unit Bank of Ayudhya, contributed to the fresh funding round. Besides major shareholder CP Group, other existing investors in Ascend Money include U.S.-based investment firm Bow Wave Capital Management and Alibaba Group’s Ant Group.

Ascend Money is a digital financial service provider that became Thailand’s first fintech unicorn in 2021 when it was valued at $1.5 billion. It has a presence in seven countries across Southeast Asia.

“MUFG considers the Asia Pacific its second home market, and as part of our commitment to this region, we have been making strategic investments in leading digital finance players in the region,” Yasushi Itagaki, Senior Managing Corporate Executive, Head of Global Commercial Banking Business Group at MUFG said in a statement.

To capture growth in this area, MUFG has been investing in the region’s leading digital start-ups and tech firms, starting with Southeast Asian ride-hailing giant Grab in 2020, followed by the acquisition of stakes in Philippine-based consumer finance company Home Credit and Indonesia’s fintech firm Akulaku in 2022.

Scouting for more opportunities, MUFG set up the $100 million Garuda Fund in January 2023 to invest in Indonesian finance-focused startups. Three months later, the Japanese lender invested in India’s DMI Finance.

Itagaki said Ascend Money is a promising fintech player in Thailand. Backed by its partnerships with businesses including CP Group’s mobile carrier True Corp and convenience store chain 7-Eleven, it has deep penetration in the country’s consumer segments with 30 million active users.

“We are confident that Ascend Money’s strong growth trajectory, combined with MUFG’s expertise and network, will enable us to create a more inclusive and vibrant financial ecosystem to accelerate both regional and local digital transformation,” said Suphachai Chearavanont, founder and chairman of Ascend Money.

Suphachai, the youngest son of Dhanin, is the CEO of CP Group. He founded Ascend Money in 2013 as a business unit of Ascend Group, which is a spinoff from True Corp.

Dhanin, 85, and his siblings draw their wealth primarily from CP Group, one of the world’s largest producers of animal feed and livestock. Their father Chia Ek Chor and his brother Choncharoen Chiaravanont started the business in 1921 as a shop selling seeds imported from China to Thai farmers. The company has diversified over the years into new businesses such as retail, telecommunication, finance, pharmaceuticals, property, auto and e-commerce. It also has stakes in Chinese insurer Ping An and Hong Kong conglomerate CITIC.

Dhanin—who received the Malcolm S. Forbes Lifetime Achievement Award at the Forbes Global CEO Conference in September 2023—was chairman of the company for 48 years until he stepped down in 2017. His eldest son, Soopakij, succeeded him as CP Group’s Chairman.