MUFG is open to investing in startups across any sector, industry, or stage from its latest MUFG Innovation Partners Garuda No. 1 Limited Investment Partnership fund as long as it can synergise with the group, top officials of the Japanese bank said on Monday.
The $100 million Garuda Fund was launched earlier this month as a collaboration between MUFG subsidiaries MUFG Innovation Partners (MUIP), MUFG Bank, and the Indonesian commercial bank Danamon. The fund is 89.9% owned by MUFG Bank, 10% by Bank Danamon, and 0.1% by MUIP.
In Dec 2017, MUFG Bank acquired a 40% stake in Bank Danamon and slowly increased its ownership to 92.47% as of Dec 2022.
President Director of PT Bank Danamon Indonesia Tbk Yasushi Itagaki said that Garuda Fund is the first fund of MUFG Group which involved Bank Danamon as the anchor in Indonesia. “We don’t want to limit the startups in terms of sectors or stages, but we want to adjust to their needs and wants,” Itagaki told reporters.
In order to find prospective startups, MUFG held investment matching between startups and three MUFG investment units, including MUIP, Krungsri Finnovate (KFIN), and Mars Capital. Around 150 startups from Southeast Asia and other parts of Asia were involved in the event.
“We hope we can meet promising startups that can collaborate with Bank Danamon from the event,” Itagaki explained. MUFG is open to other investors joining the Garuda fund eventually, Itagaki added.
Earlier this month, DealStreetAsia reported that MUFG Bank is doubling down on Southeast Asia. According to multiple sources aware of the development, the bank has internally committed $500 million or more of equity investments to Asia, including India and Southeast Asia.
Previously in December, MUFG said its banking unit will invest $200 million in Indonesian fintech company Akulaku. Sources also told DealStreetAsia that the Japanese bank is looking at more fintech companies in Indonesia, including peer-to-peer (P2P) lending firms focusing on supply-chain invoicing businesses and providing loans to entrepreneurs or SMEs.
