Tencent invests $180m in Brazilian challenger Nubank
There are cents aplenty as Tencent has invested $180 million in Brazil’s Nubank – taking the challenger’s valuation to a healthy $4 billion.
News of the investment was first reported by The Information.
Tencent scents action
As FinTech Futures reported in June, Nubank has been making good progress. It got 1.5 million customers signed up for its digital savings account (“NuConta”) over the previous six months.
This followed on from April, when it received $150 million in new funding in a round led by DST Global Investment Partners.
In addition to its equity capital of $330 million, Nubank received a $137 million line of credit from Goldman Sachs last year.
The company won regulatory approval to operate as a bank in January. At present, Nubank has got five million credit card holders.
Having Tencent onboard is a welcome boost to Nubank’s new ambitions. The former, unsurprisingly, is usually up to something when it comes to investments.
Last week, Telco PLDT, investment firm KKR and Tencent were part of a $175 million investment in Philippine digital tech company Voyager Innovations.
Brazil has been getting some good attention when it comes to fintech matters. As reported in May, Morgan Stanley was following Goldman Sachs in lending to Brazil’s healthy fintech industry in search of higher yields.
We also have a handy overview of neobanks in Latin America here.
