Startup Ecosystem Development & Thailand’s “Seattle Problem”

A few days ago, my former employer and one of the largest banks in Thailand made an announcement that marked a seismic shift in the Southeast Asian banking landscape and the Thailand tech and startup ecosystem. Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), a Thai full service financial institution and growing corporate fintech powerhouse, <a href="https://www.thaienquirer.com/33079/thailands-oldest-bank-unveils-massive-reform-to-break-banking-norms/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">announced a massive restructuring</a> on the magnitude of Google & Alphabet: the publicly-listed bank would be taken private in a share-swap arrangement that would see <a href="https://www.scb.co.th/en/about-us/news/sep-2021/scbx-mothership.html?12=" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">SCBx</a>, a non-bank holding company, take its place on the Stock Exchange of Thailand, becoming the umbrella organization for both the original bank entity and SCB’s growing tech portfolio, which has come to include one of the world’s largest bank corporate VC funds and a number of corporate venture-built fintechs. SCB essentially signaled that it would no longer be a technologically-savvy bank, but rather that it would become a tech company that just happens to have a strength in financial services. Additionally, with the non-bank SCBx sitting atop the structure as the publicly-listed entity and the unlisted bank SCB as the subsidiary, the group retains access to capital markets while freeing up much of the group’s tech-oriented, non-bank subsidiaries from the scrutiny of financial regulators. While a long, challenging road of execution lies ahead for the folks at SCB and SCBx, it definitely marks the boldest move yet from what techies traditionally view as a stodgy, bureaucratic, corporatized banking industry. Succeed or fail, SCB has certainly signaled that it is prepared to take daring yet calculated risks normally reserved for tech companies¹. <a href="https://medium.com/@paulpolapatark/startup-ecosystem-development-and-thailands-seattle-problem-a564868f8f2a">Click Here</a>