HSBC has launched a$ 1 billion Asean Growth Fund to help scale up “platform players” in the region’s digital economy.
The goal is to enable electronic businesses to expand their asset portfolios and achieve scale. The fund intends to support “new-economy names”, well-established corporations, and non-bank economic institutions by “evaluating working metrics tied to their cashflow-generative asset portfolio, rather than only relying on conventional financial metrics,” according to a media release.  ,
In Asean, the London- headquartered world institution has a reputation in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, and the bank will be looking to support companies in these countries, a spokeswoman told , FinanceAsia.
In recent years, the lender has provided significant funding to a number of online gamers. In August 2023, the Philippines-based consumer finance digital platform Atome Financial announced plans to expand its$ 100 million debt facility. Earlier this month, HSBC agreed a$ 100 million credit facility with the Akulalu Group, a bank and digital software group with activities across Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia.  ,
Individually, HSBC has set apart$ 150 million to provide financing to earlier- stage, higher- growth companies in Singapore that are backed by venture capital or personal equity investors.
” Like so many other internationally minded businesses, we are excited about Asean’s booming digital economy”, said Amanda Murphy, head of commercial banking for South and Southeast Asia ( SEA ) at HSBC, in a statement. Asean has” so much potential for growth” with a working population that is digitally native, growing in size, and poised to consume more goods and services, especially in e-commerce.
Murphy continued,” The introduction of our most recent offerings makes us better able to support new-economy companies in Asean as they spread throughout the region and advance along the corporate lifecycle.”
Digitalising operations
SEA’s digital economy is among the world’s fastest- growing and was worth around$ 218 billion in 2023. By the end of this decade, it is anticipated to have a value of$ 600 billion, with a compound annual growth rate of 16 %.  ,
HSBC recently surveyed 600 companies operating in SEA and found that 42 % said that “digitalising operations” is their top business priority. This was followed by “growth in SEA”, at 40 %, while 37 % of businesses said , “research and development” is their top priority.  ,
As Asean’s economies integrate more, 66 % of respondents said they want to expand into new markets within SEA, and 65 % of respondents said they plan to increase their investment in the digitalization of their businesses.  ,
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