Ping An’s technology arm OneConnect announced today its expansion to Malaysia. In Hong Kong, One Connect is among the entities that secured a virtual banking license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. Meanwhile in Singapore, it is also supporting the BEYOND consortium as a technology partner in their bid for a full digital banking license.

Though it was only officially announced today, the tech company counts 3 local banks within its clientele. They’ve partnered with RHB to launch an AI-powered SME financing mobile app, it is working with CIMB Philippines to enhance their digital banking proposition, and in October they worked with a local bank to launch the first end-to-end eKYC solution in Malaysia.  While they didn’t specifically reveal the name of the banking client, Hong Leong was the only bank to launch that solution in October.

The company said that it is planning to build a local team that stands ready to serve financial institutions in Malaysia and support their regional projects. This includes an engineering team.

Commenting on the launch, Tan Bin Ru, CEO (Southeast Asia) of OneConnect Financial Technology, said,

“Malaysia is of strategic importance to OneConnect. The country is home to five local banks that are 20 of Southeast Asia’s largest banks, enjoying strong regional presence. Bank Negara Malaysia’s decision to open its door to digital banking bodes well for our Southeast Asia expansion strategy.

..We see a lot of potential in Malaysia and with our new office being set up, we will be able to contribute our deep market knowledge and ready solutions to the local banks and financial institutions in Malaysia.”

When asked if OneConnect has any ambitions to set up a virtual bank in Malaysia, she said that the company has no ambitions to do so outside the Greater Bay Area, she added that one of the key reasons why they secured their license in Hong Kong is so that they are able to commercialise their experience in setting up a virtual bank from the ground up on offer their solutions to other players in the region.

She also revealed that they are in conversation with several of the potential applicants in Malaysia, but they are not pursuing an equity based arrangement, instead they are only interested to pursue the relationship as technology partner, similar to their arrangement in Singapore.