Global insurer Allianz and Asian fintech company WeLab have entered into a strategic partnership to encourage fintech collaboration across Asia’s financial services landscape.
WeLab operates multiple online financial services with leading positions in Hong Kong, Mainland China, and Indonesia including digital banking and consumer finance businesses, with close to 50 million individual users and over 600 enterprise customers.
Simon Loong, Founder & Group CEO of WeLab, commented: “We are thrilled to welcome Allianz as an investor and strategic partner to the WeLab Group. We see this as a first-in-market 4-way partnership where there are abundant synergies between WeLab, as a fintech leader and a pioneer in digital banking, and Allianz, as a global insurer and asset manager.
“More importantly, both companies share a vision on delivering advanced technology solutions to customers in Asia. We look forward to expanding WeLab’s geographical presence and bringing our technology into these new markets with Allianz.”
Nazim Cetin, CEO of Allianz X said: “In a relatively short amount of time, WeLab has built up a powerful platform for digital financial services and achieved excellent access to retail and business customers in Asia, a region of strategic importance for Allianz. WeLab’s high-performance technology platform, in particular, makes it a unique fintech in the Asian markets.
“The investment in WeLab is a promising one for Allianz both economically and strategically. We look forward to leveraging our strategic partnership with WeLab and the business potential in the region.”
Desmond Ng, Head of Asia Pacific at Allianz Global Investors, added:”Asia is home to some of the most dynamic wealth management and banking markets of the world. Hong Kong, in particular, is a significant market for us.
“With the second-highest bank deposits per capita in the world, it is a very attractive wealth management market. The potential strategic cooperation with WeLab presents an exciting opportunity for Allianz Global Investors as an integral part of our growth strategy in Asia.”
