Kasikornbank, Lu International and Bangkok-based Robowealth Mutual Fund Brokerage Securities have jointly launched an online wealth management platform in Thailand.
The launch comes after Kasikornbank and Lu International announced their partnership to create a digital wealth management platform in August. Lu International, which is a Singapore-based subsidiary of China’s Lufax Holding, will use its parent’s “cloud-exporting” model for the online app.
Both firms have collaborated with Robowealth, an investment solutions provider in Thailand, which will provide them with services such as account activation and the purchase of investment units.
The digital wealth platform – “FinVest” – aims to provide personalised investment solutions for retail investors in Thailand.
The platform will have around 600 funds from 15 asset management firms in Thailand, according to a separate statement issued by Lu International.
Targeting younger generations
Currently, the platform only includes products investing in the domestic markets, but will include foreign mutual funds by early next year, Kasikornbank added.
Kasikornbank expects 120,000 accounts to be opened, with an investment value of at least THB14bn (£350m, $463m, €390m).
“In 2020, Thailand’s total outstanding capital market value is worth around THB44trn. Of this amount, investment in mutual funds totals THB4.8trn, or around 10%,” said Patchara Samalapa, Kasikornbank’s president.
“Of late, the younger generation has shown increasing interest in mutual funds, preferring to conduct transactions via digital channels and seeking products related to Thai and foreign equity instruments.”
Greg Gibb, chief executive of Lufax, added: “Thailand is one of the fastest-growing markets in Southeast Asia and continues to see rapid wealth growth and economic development.”
Digital strategy
Lu International was set up in 2017 as Lufax’s first international arm. It operates Lu Global in the Lion City, which is an online wealth management mobile platform.
In August this year, Lu International also launched a mobile app in Hong Kong, which provides a selection of Hong Kong dollar-based mutual fund products.
Kasikornbank, meanwhile, is the fourth-largest commercial bank in Thailand, and has been promoting the digitisation process of banking services in recent years, the bank said previously. It has 17.3 million customers in Thailand, including 12.7 million online users.
Robo-advisory platforms to service the affluent and mass retail wealth management markets are competing aggressively throughout Southeast Asia.
However, the battleground is mainly in Singapore, and increasingly Malaysia. The few robo-advisory platforms in Thailand include Robowealth’s Odini and Finnomena’s Nter.
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