Kasikorn bank, Thailand’s second-largest bank by assets, has announced the acquisition of 97% shares in Satang Corporation Company.
Founded in 2017, Satang corporation is a major digital asset exchange web service provider in Thailand. The firm has over 1 million customers and currently offers trading on about 45 digital assets.
According to the filing, the acquisition by Kasikorn bank, also known as K-Bank, has a valuation of 3.705 billion Thai baht ($102.8 million). The deal was carried out through the bank’s new subsidiary, Unita Capital.
Satang to Rebrand
Once the deal is completed, Satang will be re-branded to Orbix Trade Company Limited. The new company will also have three additional subsidiaries: Orbix Custodian, Orbix Invest (a digital asset fund manager), and Orbix Technology, a blockchain technology developer.
The acquisition of shares in Satang Corporation displays an important step in Kasikorn Bank’s goal to enter the crypto space. The bank said it sees high growth potential in the crypto market in Thailand and the ASEAN region.
With this deal, Kasikorn Bank will likely benefit greatly from the customer base and experience of Satang Corporation which will help the bank in providing comprehensive crypto services and meeting the needs of customers at all levels.
As per the report, K-bank hopes to capture 20% of the cryptocurrency market share in Thailand by 2024.
K-bank Web3 Ambition
Kasikorn bank’s latest move comes a month after it launched a $100 million fund to invest in web3 and artificial intelligence startups. The fund, called KXVC, was set up by KBank’s tech arm, Kasikorn Business Technology Group.
K-Bank said the fund will target AI, web3 and deep tech fintech startups globally with a potential focus on Asia Pacific.
Apart from K-bank, other financial institutions in Thailand are also making significant moves into Web3 and crypto.
Last month, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) signed an agreement with Hashed, a Korea Web3 investor, to work on joint R&D initiatives and events aimed at promoting decentralized technology adoption regionally and globally.
Thai energy company Gulf had a joint venture with Binance earlier this year through its Gulf Innova fund to bring a regulated, local version of the exchange into the market.
