Japan’s Mizuho Bank recently announced that it is going to acquire a 7.5 percent stake in the M-Service company by the end of the year to leverage the Vietnamese company’s retail business, according to media reports. The bank is expected to invest up to $170 million by the end of 2021. Reports indicated that Mizuho Bank has been lagging behind its peers in overseas investment, but with this latest acquisition, the bank aims to actively tap into Asian growth areas.
M-Service is the leading digital payment company in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, with a share of over 50percent of Vietnam’s mobile payment market, and operates the MoMo brand, which is used by over 20 million people in Vietnam.
Founded in 2007, the company aims to turn MoMo into a superapp that gives users access to multiple services by putting the use of its more than 50 percent market share. Mizuho invested in Vietcombank — a major bank in Vietnam — in 2011 and its latest investment in M-service. The Japanese bank also aims to become a bigger player in Southeast Asia’s financial sector.
The ASEAN region a parallel economic and population growth, and financial infrastructure of the region is in a stage of development, and financial inclusion has become a social issue. The bank has also built the largest business base within Vietnam’s payment market by pioneering an expansive affiliated merchant network and a wide range of use cases, securing its position as Vietnam’s leading super-app.