WeLab, the Hong Kong fintech whose WeLab Bank posted a profit in the first half of 2025, is shopping for banks across Southeast Asia with the proceeds of a US$220 million Series D round. Founder and Group CEO Simon Loong told BFM 89.9’s The Breakfast Grill that the group is weighing acquisitions in Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines, with digital banking, online lending and technology sales all in play, Loong said in his full interview on regional expansion.
Part of the fresh capital is earmarked for Southeast Asia, alongside continued investment in WeLab’s core Hong Kong business and an artificial intelligence build-out, Loong said. The round, billed as the largest digital banking capital raise in Asia for 2025 in WeLab’s Series D press release, drew a roster that includes HSBC, Prudential Hong Kong, Fubon Bank, the Hong Kong Investment Corporation, Allianz X and TOM Group.
A US$220 Million Round and a Four-Market Target List
Loong was candid when asked whether WeLab was in the market to buy banks in the region. The group, he said, is looking past its existing footprints and sizing up neighbours with young populations, growing middle classes and high digital adoption. He named four of them, all to be reached in part with the US$220 million from the Series D that closed in January 2026.
- Malaysia, where Loong said digital banking is “just one of the many ways” WeLab can enter.
- Thailand, where a previous consortium bid with Lightnet did not win a digital banking licence.
- Vietnam.
- The Philippines.
“There’s a lot of synergy given what we do for both our know-how, including bringing these banks to profitability, including the technology and the management,” Loong said. The Series D press release frames the regional bet as a step toward “Asia’s leading regional digital bank.”
Why Malaysia Leads the Shortlist
Of the four, Malaysia drew the most pointed attention. Loong called it “a great market” and refused to narrow the entry route to one shape. Digital banking, online lending, and a B2B play that sells WeLab’s technology to incumbents, all remain on the table. WeLab already counts Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund, Khazanah Nasional Berhad, among its long-time backers, a tie that may smooth any local conversation. The group’s official company website lists Khazanah among its long-term investors.
“We love this market, and I think it’s a great market. We can look into aspects like digital banking, online lending, and other ways, including selling technology.”
That open stance sits behind experience. WeLab’s earlier consortium with Lightnet failed to win a Thai digital banking licence, and the history now shapes how the group is approaching Malaysia. Rather than bet on a single licence, Loong is keeping the entry mode open across digital banking, online lending and a B2B technology sale.
Bank Saqu’s Two-Year Climb to 3.5 Million Customers
The proof of concept for the regional play sits in Indonesia. WeLab’s joint venture with Astra Financial acquired PT Bank Jasa Jakarta in 2022 and relaunched it as Bank Saqu. The digital bank onboarded 300,000 Indonesian customers in its first two months, Loong said, and has since reached 3.5 million customers within two years. That trajectory, he argued, is the case for taking the same playbook into new markets.
WeLab, the parent group, runs three markets today: Hong Kong, Mainland China and Indonesia, with over 70 million individual users and 700 enterprise customers at the time of the Series D close. The press release for the round frames Indonesia and Bank Saqu as central to the next leg of growth, alongside Hong Kong. Malaysia and the other three named targets are where the rest of the user growth would have to come from if WeLab is to reach its 2032 ambition.
The Two Failure Modes Loong Names for Digital Banks
Asked what WeLab brings to the table for the digital banks it might acquire, Loong named two failure modes he has seen challengers repeat. The first is the technology stack. The second is the KPIs that founders chase. The cure, he said, is a different starting point.
| The common pattern | WeLab’s approach | |
|---|---|---|
| Technology | Mix-and-match stacks assembled when funds are flush | Stacks built for uptime, cybersecurity and fraud from day one |
| KPIs | Customer counts, deposit volumes, market reach | Net interest margin, net fee income, profitability at scale |
Loong’s first failure mode is the technology stack, and his diagnosis comes down to timing. Digital banks tend to overspend on technology at the moment they are flushest, and tech vendors are at their most persuasive right after a fundraise. The result is a stitched-together platform that cracks under live load.
“They build a Frankenstein, where they put different technologies together. But after, when you’re launching the bank, it is in a different mode, with a very high uptime requirement, cyber security, and emerging fraud, and a lot of banks struggle on that front.”
On the KPIs, his point is that growth numbers can mask spending problems. Customer counts, deposit volumes and market reach all look healthy in a deck, but the cost of buying them may exceed what those deposits actually earn. Loong framed the test as a base-rate question. “Every market has a benchmark base rate, and any interest a bank pays on deposits above that rate, Simon said, is a marketing expense.” The test, he added, is whether the spending buys sticky customers or just rented ones.
WeLab’s answer, Loong said, is to start with a profitable base. Earnings are then built through net interest margin and net fee income, levers that compound as the bank scales. “What we (WeLab) bring is the capability to build digital banks with profitability at scale.”
WeLab Bank’s First-Half 2025 Profit and Top-Five Climb
The capital for the regional bet came out of Hong Kong. WeLab launched WeLend in 2013, billed as the city’s first 100 percent online digital lending platform. A decade later, WeLab Bank is one of eight digital banks licensed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and reported profitability in the first half of 2025, driven by unsecured retail lending and wealth management. Loong said WeLab has climbed into the top five personal loan lenders in Hong Kong, a result detailed in Hong Kong’s digital bank 2025 outlook. The Series D press release calls WeLab Bank the largest digital bank by revenue in Hong Kong, and lists a “World’s Top 20 Digital Banks” nod from Euromoney among the year’s awards.
Loong was asked why Hong Kong’s personal loan market responded. His answer focused on pricing. Many digital banks, he said, chase the same near-prime and subprime segments as traditional banks, then take the credit risk that comes with the customer mix. “I think this is not the right way to go,” Loong said. “They (digital banks) need to look at a better target segment, and that also comes with partnership, better branding and better propositions.” The group also has to absorb what Loong called the “hump” of adverse selection, where new lenders attract customers the rest of the market has already turned away.
WeLab Bank has plans underway to explore new verticals, including equities and bancassurance, this year. The Series D will fund that build-out in Hong Kong, Loong said, alongside the regional push. The capital, the press release notes, will also deepen WeLab’s AI work through the partnership with Google and the deployment of AI agents.
Thailand’s Setback and the Google AI Bet
The Thai loss is the clearest reminder that a capital-rich push is not the same as a licence won. WeLab and Lightnet did not secure a digital banking licence in Thailand, and the experience is part of why Loong is keeping the Malaysia entry mode open. The other half of the regional bet is artificial intelligence. Last year, WeLab announced a regional partnership with Google built around Gemini, naming Google Cloud as a preferred cloud partner for the SEA expansion. Through the partnership, WeLab will use Google’s AI models and agents to accelerate operations, product design and marketing efficiency.
WeLab has rolled out an AI loan sales agent that handles customer queries by text and has extended the same approach to foreign exchange. The group has also deployed 15 internal AI agents to help staff draft press releases, brainstorm negotiation strategy and speed up back-office work, Loong said. The long-term target is 500 million users across Asia by 2032.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is WeLab’s US$220 million Series D round?
It is WeLab’s largest funding round to date and, per the company’s own press release, the largest digital banking capital raise in Asia for 2025. The round combined debt and equity and included HSBC, Prudential Hong Kong, Fubon Bank, the Hong Kong Investment Corporation, Allianz X and TOM Group.
Which Southeast Asian markets is WeLab targeting for bank acquisitions?
Simon Loong named four: Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines. The group is open to entering through digital banking, online lending or selling its technology to incumbent banks.
What is Bank Saqu and how fast has it grown?
Bank Saqu is the Indonesian digital bank WeLab runs with Astra Financial. Loong said it onboarded 300,000 customers in its first two months and reached 3.5 million customers within two years of launch.
Is WeLab Bank profitable?
Yes. WeLab Bank, one of eight digital banks licensed by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, reported profitability in the first half of 2025, driven by unsecured retail lending and wealth management.
What is WeLab’s regional user target?
The group has set a stated target of 500 million users across Asia by 2032, anchored in the existing 70 million individual users WeLab serves across Hong Kong, Mainland China and Indonesia.
