Voyager Innovations, which is controlled by the Philippines Long Distance and Telephone Company (PLDT), recently raised a total of USD 215 million in equity from China’s Tencent Holdings; KKR, a US-based investment fund formerly known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts; and the World Bank Group’s International Finance Corporation (IFC). IFC pledged USD 40 million of the total with the other two investors investing the remainder in unspecified amounts. Voyager plans to use the funds to “accelerate financial inclusion in the Philippines and increase participation in the digital economy,” including by expanding its digital financial services to more areas in the Philippines.
Voyager Innovations, which was established in 2013, is a technology firm that provides digital services such as e-commerce, payments, remittances, lending and marketing. It is a subsidiary of wireless service provider Smart Communications, which was founded in 1991 and provides services including mobile phone service and Smart Money, which allows customers to pay bills, purchase goods and transfer funds by connecting their mobile phones to their debit cards. As of year-end 2017, Smart Communications serves 22 million customers. PLDT, which provides wireless, fixed and online services, acquired Smart Communications in 2000 for USD 983 million. PLDT was established in 1928 and has offices in the Philippines and Hong Kong. For 2017, PLDT reports total assets of PHP 459 billion (USD 9.19 billion) and pretax profits of PHP 14.6 billion (USD 291 million). As of year-end 2017, the firm serves 63 million subscribers.
Tencent Holdings, founded in 1998, is a Chinese company that offers internet services such as Epic Games and the messaging app WeChat. As of 2017, Tencent reports total revenue of USD 37 billion and operating profit of USD 14 billion on total assets of USD 81 billion.
KKR is a private-equity firm based in New York with offices in 15 countries. As of 2017, it reports USD 168 billion in assets under management.
IFC offers loans, equity investments, advisory services and technical assistance to private companies with the intent of alleviating poverty and promoting open and competitive markets in developing countries. As of 2017, IFC reports total assets of USD 92.3 billion, and it has 184 member countries.
By Michelle Fleming, Research Associate
Sources and Additional Resources
Business Insider article
https://business.inquirer.net/262032/ifc-invests-40m-in-pldt-unit
Mobile World Live article
https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/money-home-banner/pldt-vows-financial-inclusion-drive-after-175m-boost/
IFC homepage
https://www.ifc.org
KKR homepage
http://www.kkr.com
KKR annual report
https://ir.kkr.com/static-files/3fd800cd-b960-4b78-b6f8-c3b0d2f27845
PLDT homepage
https://pldthome.com
Tencent Holdings homepage
https://www.tencent.com/en-us/
Tencent financial report
https://www.tencent.com/en-us/articles/8003481521633431.pdf
Voyager Innovations homepage
https://www.voyagerinnovation.com
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Sa-Dhan, Accion’s Smart Campaign, IFC Launching Tool to Monitor Over-indebtedness Among Microfinance Borrowers in India
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-sa-dhan-accions-smart-campaign-ifc-launching-tool-to-monitor-over-indebtedness-among-microfinance-borrowers-in-india/
MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Local Governments in the Philippines Support Smart Communications’ Fintq in Rolling Out KasamaKA to Enable Sari-sari Stores to Act as Mobile-money Agents
https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-local-governments-in-the-philippines-support-smart-communications-fintq-in-rolling-out-kasamaka-to-enable-sari-sari-stores-to-act-as-mobile-money-agents/
Do you know that MicroCapital publishes the MicroCapital Monitor newspaper each month? Find out more at https://www.microcapital.org/products-page/.
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