Krung Thai Bank (KTB) Taps into Silicon Valley to Promote Fintech & Innovation via Startups As Founding Anchor Partner

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Aug 09, 2018, 13:57 ET

SINGAPORE, Aug. 9, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Krung Thai Bank (KTB) today announced a partnership with Plug and Play, a global startup accelerator and corporate innovation platform headquartered in Silicon Valley. KTB will be a Founding Anchor Partner of Plug and Play's Fintech program in Singapore in order to partner, pilot, and collaborate with emerging Fintech startups. This will allow KTB to develop new products and technologies for the finance sector.

Mr. Payong Srivanich, President and CEO of Krung Thai Bank

"As the first Thai bank partnering with Plug and Play, this is an important step in KTB's strategy to become digitally advanced through financial innovation with startups and working with other financial industry stakeholders. These partners can help KTB nurture startups and build the company through the continuous pursuit of innovation. It encourages constructive thinking and sustainable business building, and allows startups to connect and partner with a global powerhouse", says Mr. Payong Srivanich, President and CEO of Krung Thai Bank.

Mr. Srivanich also revealed that, as the state-owned commercial bank, Krung Thai Bank plays a vital role in the government's plans to make Thailand a cashless society by establishing and implementing a national e-payment system. On top of that, Krung Thai Bank will actively incubate and support technology startups and entrepreneurs through a new initiative called "Future Banking", which aims to transform Krung Thai Bank into a digital bank by investing over ten billion Baht in technology development this year. A new innovation business unit called "Business Innovation LAB" has been created to learn, develop, and apply digital innovation to improve systems, elevate human resources and create financial products to satisfy customers in five ecosystems consisting of Government, Health and Medical, University and Education, Mass Transit and Payment. Finally, Krung Thai Bank will lead the 3 billion Baht Thai Government Venture Capital Fund to encourage technology adoption among Thai enterprises.

"Based on the success of our stage-agnostic and multi-corporate innovation platforms in Silicon Valley, California, we are excited to extend this model to Singapore, providing proximity to many of our existing and prospective corporate partners in the financial and insurance sector. In the last few months, we launched our Fintech and Insurtech platform and have engaged with several leading financial and insurance institutions. Partnering with KTB is a great start to our journey and we look forward to connecting them to our global startup ecosystem," says Jupe Tan, Managing Partner, Plug and Play Asia Pacific.

Plug and Play has recently launched a Fintech and Insurtech innovation platform in Singapore. The primary objectives of this innovation platform are to invest in and help local and international Fintech and Insurtech startups grow through connecting them to major financial institutions and insurers. By introducing and facilitating connections to their global startup ecosystem, Plug and Play plans to spearhead corporate innovation and transformation for its corporate partners.

About Krung Thai Bank (KTB)

With a solid background spanning almost half a century, Krung Thai Bank is determined to be the best bank with convenient financial products and services and stability. Operating a network of over 1,200 branches nationwide, we are ready to become a top digital bank and the best place to work, both in terms of structure and working culture of the organization. KTB has also come up with novel innovations so that it can offer digital products and services which respond to abrupt and continuous changes and also return our profits back to the society and the environment with intellectual-capital-building activities in all regions of the country.

Technology advancement in digital age affects people's lifestyle in the society. Products and services are offered in different ways from the past. In this regard, KTB offers new services and innovations to suit new technologies in a digital age so that our customers can make financial transactions more quickly, safely and conveniently. These will enforce strength and stability of our organization so that we can grow sustainably in economic, social and environmental dimensions. For more information, visit www.ktb.co.th

About Plug and Play

Plug and Play is a global innovation platform. Headquartered in Silicon Valley, we have built accelerator programs, corporate innovation services, and an in-house VC to facilitate technological advancement progress faster than ever before. Since inception in 2006, our programs have expanded worldwide to include a presence in over 20 locations globally giving startups the necessary resources to succeed in Silicon Valley and beyond. With over 10,000 startups and 220 official corporate partners, we have created the ultimate startup ecosystem in many industries. We are the world's most active venture capital firm, with roughly 250 startup investments a year.

Our Singapore office was launched in 2010 to invest in high tech startups in the region. Since then we have invested in more than 30 startups and have collaborated with various agencies of the Singapore and Indonesian governments, as well as partnered with multinational and regional corporations to run industry-specific accelerator programs. Most recently, the Singapore office has launched a Fintech and Insurtech accelerator and corporate innovation platform. For more information, visit www.plugandplaytechcenter.com/singapore

Plug and Play Contact

Allison Romero
Director, Marketing
[email protected]

Carinna Goh
Manager, Community and Marketing
[email protected]

SOURCE Plug and Play