Maya Bank operator eyes $150-M in new capital

MANILA  -PLDT Inc. digital arm Voyager Innovations, the operator of Maya Bank, is keen on raising as much as $150 million in fresh funds this year to expand its operation and acquire more customers.

Manuel V. Pangilinan, the telco giant chair, said on the sidelines of the company stockholders’ meeting in Taguig that they were eyeing to rake in at least $100 million to $150 million.

The billionaire said they were already in talks with potential investors, who are likely to be foreign. But he noted that PLDT would participate in the fund-raising activity as well.

Pangilinan said the digital bank was working on beefing up the loan portfolio, including the products for the micro, small and medium enterprises.

PLDT president Al Panlilio said they were working to “improve the fundamentals of the bank” by “pushing hard on the deposits and also loan.”

Pangilinan said Maya was expected to be profitable in the next two to three years. “It will be led by the enterprise segment and by the bank, if they grow that loan book,” he said.

Last year, Voyager raised $210 million in fresh funds to beef up its end-to-end digital financial platform. This capital infusion gave it a “unicorn” or at least $1-billion valuation.

For this round, Voyager gained new investors, including private equity firm SIG Venture Capital, Singapore-based investor EDBI and investment holding firm First Pacific Company Ltd. Joining them are PLDT, global investment firm KKR, tech company Tencent, International Finance Corp. and IFC Emerging Asia Fund and IFC Financial Institutions Growth Fund.

As of end-March, the Pangilinan-backed financial technology player has 1.8 million customers with P2.1 billion in deposits. Maya disbursed loans amounting to P6 billion in eight months.

After securing a digital banking license from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in September 2021, the company rebranded in April last year as an all-in-one money portal that also offers bills payment, fund transfer and cryptocurrency trading services, among others.