Blockchain Remittance Thailand

Lightnet Raises $31.2 Million in New “Series A” Financing from Prominent Investors

by Company Announcement January 15, 2020

Lightnet, the Bangkok-based fintech company has received A round funding of US$31.2 million in fresh capital. With this round completed, Lightnet is Asia’s first blockchain company to receive financial backing from six large conglomerates, providing access to millions of Asian users searching for improved financial mobility.

Lightnet was co-founded by Chatchaval Jiaravanon – a family member of the Charoen Pokphand Group in Thailand – and serial tech entrepreneur and former investment banker Tridbodi Arunanondchai.

The financing round was led by UOB Venture Management, Seven Bank, Uni-President Asset Holdings, HashKey Capital, Hopeshine Ventures, Signum Capital, Du Capital and Hanwha Investment and Securities. The proceeds from the latest fundraising will go towards strengthening Lightnet’s investment in the underlying blockchain technology on the Stellar Network, and to build a next-generation financial mobility network.

Chatchaval Jiaravanon

“We launched Lightnet to offer low-cost and instantaneous financial inclusivity and mobility to the four billion lives across Asia Pacific – all powered by Stellar’s fast, scalable, and sustainable blockchain technology,”

said Chatchaval Jiaravanon, Lightnet’s chairman.

Lightnet aims to disrupt a trillion U.S. dollar global remittance market, starting with the millions of unbanked migrant workers who rely on outdated, costly and fragmented services in major Southeast Asian markets. These services, valued at $150 billion, are ripe for the advent of Lightnet’s smart contracts and distributed ledgers, now well-positioned to replace the decades-old, inefficient SWIFT system and unreliable underground banking.

The lead investors, UOB Venture Management and Hanwha Investment and Securities, represent two of the largest financial conglomerates in Singapore and Korea, respectively. In addition, Seven Bank, a group company of Seven & I Holdings Co. Ltd, owns all the 7-Eleven stores in Japan and approximately 69,200 convenience stores globally. Uni-President Asset Holdings is the investment arm of Uni-President Enterprises Corp., which also owns over 9,000 7-Eleven and Starbucks across Taiwan, China and the Philippines. Hashkey Capital is the investment arm of China’s automotive and financial conglomerate, WanXiang Group.

By harnessing the combined strength of blockchain technology, local market insight, Pan-Asia partnership and its proprietary ecosystem, Lightnet accelerates the mass adoption of blockchain technology, delivering accessible and efficient financial services for the many.