Japan FinTech Observer #114. Welcome to the one hundred fourteenth… | by

Welcome to the one hundred fourteenth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer.

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Never a dull moment in banking! Deal-making galore, and finally the cash on those balance sheets is put to productive use (rather than stock buy backs and increased dividends, i.e. financial engineering), with the aim of developing new offerings and increase revenue. MUFG just did a triple-dip, acquiring the OG’s at Moneytree, licensing Minna Bank’s core banking system, and concluding a partnership with Sakana AI, the latter reportedly at a scale that it will make the heavily funded startup profitable this fiscal year.

NTT Docomo’s acquisition of SBI Sumishin Net Bank fills a gaping strategic hole, and puts it on par with its three major telecom competitors in being able to offer an all-around financial services, telecom, and point system ecosystem. The money that SBI Holding receives for its SSNB shareholdings, plus a capital infusion by NTT Group, will allow it to repay the remaining outstanding bailout debt of SBI Shinsei Bank to the Japanese government. Japanese taxpayers should be grateful.

Here is what we are going to cover this week:

• Venture Capital & Private Markets: MUIP’s portfolio company Moneytree acquired by MUFG Bank; Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group has invested additional capital into Asuene; the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) invests in Brazil’s AGL Holding (Agrolend); new funds from Incubate Fund, Mitsubishi Corporation, and Fujitsu
• Insurance: Dai-ichi Life Holdings and M&G announced a new long-term strategic partnership across asset management and life insurance; Tokio Marine Holdings has launched “Tokio Marine GX”
• Banking: NTT Docomo has launched a tender offer for SBI Sumishin Net Bank; NTT to acquire ~8% of SBI Holdings; MUFG will partner with Minna Bank, Accenture and Google to adopt the core banking system developed for Fukuoka Financial Group’s digital bank for its own offering
• Payments: JR West has launched its new payment service “Wesmo!”; Blue Lab and Digital Entertainment Asset will launch “gamification aimed at sustainable regional revitalization” with Circle’s USDC as reward
• Capital Markets: MUFG Securities Canada has chosen FIS’ Post Trade Processing Platform; Carbon EX has launched a white label offering for its carbon credit and emissions trading platform; Ginco has suplied blockchain technology to e-dash Corporation for the “Carbon Credit Market of Tokyo”; PostPrime’s TakaTrade has obtained a license to start commodity CFD trading
• Digital Assets: R3, which is represented in Japan through a joint venture with SBI Group, has entered into a strategic partnership with the Solana Foundation to create next-generation, hybrid TradFi/DeFi capital markets
• The Last Word: Japan Loses Status as the World’s Top Creditor