Fintech firm AwanTunai gets Rs300 billion credit line from HSBC – Tech

SBC announced it has provided a 300 billion rupiah (about $18.5 million) credit line for Indonesian fintech firm AwanTunai. The deal is part of the London-based bank’s $1 billion ASEAN Growth Fund, a lending fund launched in March that targets companies expanding via digital platforms in Southeast Asia.

Amanda Murphy, head of commercial banking for Southeast Asia at HSBC, said the fund differs from traditional bank lending in that it focuses on the borrower’s business potential rather than its historical performance or availability of collateral.

On the other hand, it differed from venture debt in that HSBC did not seek a potential settlement in the form of an equity stake in the borrower.

“There is no warrant […] we will never influence what decisions are made and how companies are run. While I suspect that [that’s the type of] conversations companies are having [with venture capital firms]. So, it’s a different relationship,” Amanda told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday.

Prior to this deal, HSBC provided a $30 million loan to local aquatech firm eFishery and another $100 million line of credit for buy-now-pay-later platform Akulaku. The bank confirmed that both of these deals with Indonesian startups were also part of the ASEAN Growth Fund.

According to Amanda, the fund reflects a changing market landscape, which has prompted the bank to act differently.

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“As our clients move to new economies, we need to move and support them. We need to learn how to build different models, assess and manage risk, and be clear about what our risk tolerances are,” he explained.

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