Mizuho Bank invests in Vietnamese digital payment services company M-Service
Mizuho Bank, Ltd. (President & CEO: Koji Fujiwara), a subsidiary of Mizuho Financial Group, Inc.(President & Group CEO: Tatsufumi Sakai), has acquired shares (equivalent to an approximate 7.5%share) of Online Mobile Services Joint Stock Company (“M-Service”) on December 20, 2021.
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MService is the leading digital payment company in the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, with a share of over 50% of Vietnam’s mobile payment market, and operates the MoMo brand.
1. Purpose and strategic significance of this investment
Our aim at Mizuho is defined in the Mizuho Corporate Identity as our Vision we strive to achieve: “To become the most trusted financial services group with a global presence and a broad customer base, contributing to the prosperity of Japan, the rest of Asia, and the world as a whole”.
While Asia, particularly the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region, is projected to see economic growth accompanying its population growth, the financial infrastructure of the region is in a stage of development, and financial inclusion has become a social issue. We have explored strategic investment in the region’s businesses with the goals of contributing to financial inclusion through new, digital technology-focused financial services and of expanding our business portfolio.
Since its founding in 2007 primarily as a payment service business for mobile phone charges, MService has transformed into a full digital payment business. The company has built by far 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. It also provides services that are facilitating the digitalization of finance and the expansion of financial markets in Vietnam through connections with many major local financial institutions, including Vietcombank, one of Vietnam’s largest state-owned commercial banks and a recipient of Mizuho’s investment.
We at Mizuho will provide the experience and expertise that we have accumulated through our business in Japan to assist in the strengthening and development of M-Service’s financial service business. At the same time, we will positively contribute to further advancing Vietnam’s financial inclusion and retail finance industry by expanding our collaboration with M-Service and by enhancing our ongoing cooperation with Vietcombank.