Lightnet closes US$31.2M in new funding round led by six conglomerates
Thailand-based fintech company Lightnet has raised US$31.2 million in a Series A funding round from six conglomerates, according to a press statement.
The financing round was led by UOB Venture Management, Seven Bank, Uni-President Asset Holdings, HashKey Capital, Hopeshine Ventures, Signum Capital, Du Capital and Hanwha Investment and Securities.
The fresh funds will be used to strengthen Lightnet‘s investment in the blockchain technology on the Stellar Network, and towards building a better financial mobility network.
Lightnet’s core strengths lie in bringing remittance settlements to the lowest cost across the Asia Pacific. The fintech company aims to target largely the unbanked migrant workers, who rely on costly substitutes such as SWIFT in major Southeast Asian markets.
The platform also provides cross-border services such as B2B payment, conditional payment, trade finance, cash management, and escrow.
The company plans on launching three solutions BridgeNet, LiquidNet and SmartNet that will be fundamental to the core of the business.
“The main platform has been completed, and the first transaction is slated for Q1 2020. In addition to the potential 500,000 cash agents across our ecosystem, Lightnet will integrate with several renowned payment and remittance partners such as MoneyGram, Seven Bank, Yeahka, Ksher across Japan, South Korea, and several other Southeast Asia nations to ensure successful activation of our ecosystem,” said Lightnet Chief Executive Officer Suvicha Sudchai.
Lightnet’s Vice Chairman, Tridbodi Arunanondchai, has also expressed strong anticipation for growth saying that “in three years, Lightnet will facilitate over US$50 billion worth of annual transactions through our industry-leading partner network.”
The fintech company aims to disrupt the trillion-dollar US dollar global remittance market as it aims to target the large unbanked population that exists in SEA.
“We launched Lightnet to offer low-cost and instantaneous financial inclusivity and mobility to the four billion lives across Asia Pacific — all powered by Stellar’s fast, scalable, and sustainable blockchain technology,” said Lightnet Chairman Chatchaval Jiaravanon.