The fund has hired venture capitalists who have wide experiences of working with and investing in Japanese and global startups
Japan’s biggest bank launches fund to promote investments in Fintech. Source: shutterstock.com
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group announced the establishment of MUFG Innovation Partners Co (MUIP) that will manage corporate venture capital funds of MUFG to accelerate innovation and strengthening partnerships with FinTech startups.
The financial services industry is being transformed by FinTech startups that have scaled up rapidly and have raised substantial amounts of capital from financial and non-financial institutions.
While the MUFG Group entities have previously made separate strategic investments in FinTech related startups, a larger, collaborative and more sophisticated framework for strategic investments is needed by MUFG in order to adapt itself to rapid marketplace changes and enhance open innovation.
MUIP will launch a JPY 20 billion fund backed by commitments from the MUFG Group entities and will promote strategic investments in FinTech related startups and business synergies between MUFG and such startups.
MUIP will take advantage of “The Investment Specialized Subsidiary” status under the Japanese Banking Act, which allows MUIP to acquire more than 5% ownerships of investees under certain conditions.
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