Sea Announces Application for Singapore Digital Full Bank License
January 07 2020 - 12:02AM
Business Wire
- As Southeast Asia’s leading consumer internet company with a
strong global footprint, Sea intends to leverage its decade-long
success in building and scaling world-class digital businesses to
contribute to the growth of Singapore’s digital economy.
- Sea’s digital bank will focus on addressing the unmet needs of
millennials and SMEs, with a mission to better the lives of
individuals and businesses in Singapore with financial services
through technology.
Sea Limited (NYSE: SE) (“Sea” or the “Company”), Southeast
Asia’s leading consumer internet company, today announced that it
has applied for a digital full bank license in Singapore.
Forrest Li, Chairman and Group Chief Executive Officer of Sea,
said:
“Digital innovation is in Sea’s DNA and, as
Southeast Asia’s leading consumer internet company born and bred in
Singapore, we believe we are ideally suited to lead the country’s
next wave of innovation in financial services.
Our mission has always been to better lives
of people and businesses of our region through technology, and we
have a strong track record of building world-class multi-billion
dollar digital businesses inspired by this mission. Through Garena,
Shopee, and SeaMoney, we have unrivalled insight into the needs and
wants of millennials and SMEs across the region. We have also
developed exceptional capabilities in addressing these unmet needs,
and have the technology, infrastructure, data analytics
capabilities, and management experience to design and scale
Singapore’s first full digital bank. Just as importantly, as the
largest US-listed internet company from Southeast Asia, we already
have hard-wired in our operations the rigorous standards of
corporate governance that will be essential to running a successful
digital bank, and the robust financial strength to support our
long-term commitment to this initiative.
Sea has a truly unique position at the heart
of Singapore’s digital ecosystem, and we believe this will enable
us to make a real and lasting impact in support of Singapore’s
growth as a global financial centre and the development of its
digital economy as a whole.”
Sea was founded in Singapore in 2009. In 2017, it listed on the
New York Stock Exchange in the largest US IPO ever by a Southeast
Asian company. Today, it remains the only US-listed Southeast Asian
internet company, with a market capitalization of more than S$25
billion as of December 31, 2019. Sea founded and operates
Shopee, the leading e-commerce marketplace in Southeast Asia
and Taiwan; Garena, one of the world’s largest online game
developers and publishers; and SeaMoney, one of the
fastest-growing digital financial services networks in Southeast
Asia.
As an online marketplace, Shopee’s user base includes
both SME merchants and millennial consumers. For the third quarter
of 2019, Shopee generated more than S$347 million in adjusted
revenue, more than 321 million orders, and more than S$6.2 billion
in gross merchandise value (GMV) across the region. Shopee was the
top ranked app in the Shopping category in Southeast Asia by
monthly active users, downloads, and total time in app across the
Google Play and iOS App Stores combined during the quarter,
according to App Annie.
During the same quarter, Garena generated more than S$608
million in adjusted revenue and more than S$359 million in adjusted
EBITDA. Garena is not only highly profitable but has also expanded
its footprint to more than 130 markets across the world. Its first
self-developed game, Free Fire, has reached more than 50 million
peak daily active users globally, and was the most downloaded
mobile game worldwide across the Google Play and iOS App Stores in
2019, according to App Annie. Since its launch, Free Fire has
recorded total cumulative adjusted revenue of over US$1
billion.
SeaMoney is Sea’s digital financial services (DFS) arm
and operates one of the fastest growing DFS networks in Southeast
Asia. SeaMoney’s offerings include e-wallet services, payment
processing, micro-lending, and related digital financial services
and products that leverage the large user base, wealth of
high-quality data, strong on-platform demand, and operational
efficiency across Sea’s ecosystem. These services and products are
offered in various markets in Southeast Asia under AirPay,
ShopeePay, Shopee PayLater, and other related brands. Sea’s DFS arm
was established in 2014 as AirPay. As its suite of DFS product
offerings and brands expanded, Sea introduced SeaMoney as the new
name for its DFS business in late 2019.
In applying for the full digital bank license, Sea intends to
leverage its success in building and scaling these world-class
digital businesses, its robust technology, data and corporate
governance infrastructure, and its unique position at the heart of
the digital economy of the region to better serve the underserved
segments and pioneer the next wave of financial innovation in
Singapore.
Addressing the unmet needs of millennials and SMEs in Singapore
– traditionally underserved segments of the market – will be a core
focus for Sea’s digital bank. Drawing on insights about the needs
of these users from across Sea’s digital ecosystem, Sea intends to
innovate processes, products, and services that will improve lives
of individuals and SMEs by reducing the barriers to accessing
financial services through technology.
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