business
China’s WeBank finds growth in Southeast Asia, mining high digital banking demand
WeBank's Hong Kong fintech unit reports growth in Southeast Asia as demand for digital banking technology rises.
Key points
- WeBank Technology was established in Hong Kong in June 2024 to tap markets in Belt and Road Initiative countries.
- Chen said the company plans to explore Central Asia and South America next and has no immediate plans to enter Europe or the US.
- A Hurun annual ranking valued WeBank at 22.5 billion yuan in June, making it China's seventh-largest unicorn.
Why it matters. The unit's growth points to rising demand for digital banking infrastructure in Southeast Asia, and its plans to explore Central Asia and South America signal further expansion.
WeBank Technology Services, the Hong Kong-based fintech unit of WeBank, generated tens of millions of dollars in revenue last year, senior vice-president Joe Chen said. In Indonesia, the unit lifted a partner bank's revenue and profit fourfold over two years, while the partner's customer count grew fivefold. WeBank's latest annual report shows 36.3 billion yuan (US$5.5 billion) in 2025 revenue and 11 billion yuan in net profit.
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China’s WeBank finds growth in Southeast Asia, mining high digital banking demand
Hong Kong-based WeBank Technology Services, a fintech unit of Tencent Holdings-backed Chinese online lending giant WeBank, generated tens of millions of dollars in revenue last year amid rising demand for digital banking infrastructure in Southeast Asia, according to a senior executive. WeBank Technology, which provides digital banking solutions, was established in Hong Kong in June 2024 to tap ma Hong Kong-based WeBank Technology Services, a fintech unit of Tencent Holdings-backed Chinese online lending giant WeBank, generated tens of millions of dollars in revenue last year amid rising demand for digital banking infrastructure in Southeast Asia, according to a senior executive. WeBank Technology, which provides digital banking solutions, was established in Hong Kong in June 2024 to tap markets in countries taking part in Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. The company was seeing rapid growth in countries including Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, said WeBank senior vice-president Joe Chen in an interview last week. He attributed the growth to “a huge gap” between supply and demand for digital banking technology as the need for financial services grew in emerging markets. Local institutions faced bottlenecks related to technology, talent and business models in their digital transformation efforts, he said. In Indonesia, WeBank Technology boosted a partner bank’s revenue and p.