Thailand’s road to recovery is not strewn with rose petals. But the laying down of 4,150 km of motorways across the country, connecting east-west and north-south economic corridors, along with other transportation infrastructure, indicate that it is heading in the right direction to fulfil its pivotal role in the future of ASEAN.
“ASEAN has the second-highest rate of investment by Japanese businesses and over the past several years Thailand has attracted more of it than any other country in Asean,” affirms Mr. Yoshiyuki Horio, Head of Japanese Corporate and Multinational Banking (JPC/MNC Banking) at Krungsri, a partner of MUFG Bank.
While the global economic picture has been sullied by Covid-19, Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, spiking inflation and several other aggravating factors, Thailand’s economy has proved more resilient than most, leaving it poised to be part of the pack leading the world-wide recovery.
“The rapid pace of infrastructure development in the past few years has been a game changer for Thailand,” Mr. Horio continues. “The country’s relatively stable supply chain feeding the region and beyond is the kind of performance Japanese businesses have confidence in and can get behind.”
One of the three so-called Japanese "megabanks", MUFG Bank, Ltd. was established in 2006 by the merger of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd. and UFJ Bank Ltd. Since Bank of Ayudhya joined Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) in 2013, Krungsri has well collaborated as a member of MUFG family.
As for Mr. Horio, his basic briefs are to oversee corporate banking services for Japanese customers with operations in Hong Kong and South China and leverage synergies between Krungsri and MUFG.
“Basically, I’m answerable for building a strong portfolio of Japanese companies, multinational companies and Thailand-based businesses across all sectors and making sure we do whatever we can to help them drive ahead sustainably.”
Thailand is currently home to over 4,500 Japanese corporates. They cover a broad cross-section of sectors, including automotive, electrical appliances, food, retail, consumer finance, energy related. Plus, platform service providers and multinational enterprises with plans to invest in ASEAN.
“Their investment decisions, as ever, hinge on positive infrastructure development, existing manufacturing activity, availability of skilled-labor, and government investment incentives.”
When all factors are in alignment, Krungsri is well-positioned to step in with the needed finance. A good recent example of what it brings to the table is its backing of Toyota Leasing (Thailand) Company Limited’s issuance of green bonds and loans. As Toyota Leasing’s, and indeed the whole of Thailand’s leasing sector’s, first green debenture, the deals are seen as early evidence of the future of financing.
“Many Japanese companies are moving towards making more ESG [Environment, Social, Governance] investments and Thailand’s EEC [Eastern Economic Corridor] industrial zone has many, if not all, of the features they’re looking for. By that I mean smart infrastructure and like-minded startups that can collaborate with their Japanese counterparts.”
To help make sure Krungsri’s Total Financial Solutions play their part, it was deemed important to establish an office in the EEC. That is now up and running offering access to financial services and other investment facilities for businesses seeking to seize the considerable opportunities.
“Our network extending through 50 countries around the world, including having Southeast Asia well-covered with a presence in Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Myanmar, means we are right there where investors need us,” continues Mr. Horio. “We’re at their side with consistent services and convenient access to all their financial needs as well as whatever investment privileges are available. And with our breadth and depth of international experience, they can plug into our investment strategy advisory services tailored to ensure they achieve their visions and goals.”
Continuing an aspiration to maintain the position of the first call business partner for corporate customers, Krungsri launched a pilot project to promote and provide advisory service for business expansion in ASEAN among business customers.
“With this initiative, we provide service to all segments in Krungsri with a focus on leveraging Krungsri and MUFG network globally. We are on our way to further expand capacity to support more Thai and Global corporates.”
Advisory service will emphasize on giving advice based on 4 major areas:
- Corporate strategy: Provide advisory to improve business performance, solution for pain points of customers business. Serving areas include group financing by utilization of excess liquidity, regional head quarter function expansion etc.
- Overseas Business Advisory: Provide advisory and solution related to customers’ overseas business, focusing on ASEAN countries. On-going project include account opening and Loan Facility set up in Laos.
- ESG Promotion: Provide advisory to accelerate customers’ ESG journey as well as promoting ESG awareness and Krungsri Capability. On-going projects include ESG Finance promotion and supporting ESG Seminar that align with MUFG’s ESG strategy.
- Corporate Structure Advisory: Collaborate with Mitsubishi UFJ Research & Consulting (MURC) and Bangkok MUFG to provide corporate structure advisory e.g. organization/shareholder restructuring
“With this service, we successfully supported Thai Construction Material Corporate for their corporate strategy to invest in India through their subsidiary. We provided various scheme options that fit best with their business interests e.g. Equity Share Capital, External Commercial Borrowings (ECB), Onshore INR Loan etc. and helped company connected with MUFG India for off-shore procedure. We were able to approach MUFG India to accept onboarding Thai customer, which is the very first case. This case represents our success in leveraging MUFG networks to support Thai customers for their cross-border business expansion.”
Meanwhile, the EEC isn’t the only exciting prospect Krungsri is prioritizing. Another key focus is supporting the digital business revolution as it continues to gather momentum. Among these developments, following a recently concluded collaborative agreement with TZO Limited, the holding company of Wisesight (Thailand) Co., Ltd., Thailand’s leading social data analytics provider, Krungsri is channeling Japan’s “TechMatrix” a market leader in IT solutions and CRM systems.
“As the digital market in Thailand is expanding and maturing, many Japanese corporates are seeking to invest and contribute their expertise,” reasons Mr. Horio.
Specifically launched to support Thai, ASEAN and Japanese businesses by hooking them into opportunities through Krungrsri’s and MUFG’s extensive networks, Krungsri Business Link platform supports digital development and enables the most convenient customer access.
“Looking at a five-year horizon, we see the pace of investment in ASEAN accelerating,” says Mr. Horio contemplating a bright future. “Our accumulated experience and expertise, coupled with our proven network, gives our customers the visibility and insights they need to realize their full potential and prosper as they navigate the uncharted yet highly promising challenges and opportunities ahead.”
