Carro taps first into US$1b HSBC ASEAN Growth Fund to finance fintech arm

Singapore – Southeast Asian online used car platform Carro has tapped into HSBC’s recently launched US$1 billion ASEAN Growth Fund, being the first of the bank’s clients to do so.

Going into detail, Carro signed a US$75m multi-currency loan to fund the growth of its fintech arm, Genie Financial Services.

This signifies Carro’s efforts to strengthen its presence within the fintech space, with its Genie Financial Services also receiving funding from DRB-HICOM to unlock valuable cross-selling opportunities for DRB-HICOM within Carro’s used car platform myTukar’s dealer network, comprising over 2,600 dealers nationwide.

Talking about the initiative, Aaron Tan, co-founder and CEO of Carro, said, “HSBC has been a very supportive partner and one of very few banks who recognise the need to support regional start-ups like us to achieve sustainable profitable growth.”

“Our fintech business, leveraging proprietary data-driven lending, has been growing prudently with a loan book exceeding US$500 million and NPL below 0.5%. Securing this landmark financing from HSBC is a huge validation of our digital ecosystem-led business model. This enables us to serve the underserved consumer segment even better,” he added.

Meanwhile, Amanda Murphy, head of commercial banking, South and Southeast Asia, HSBC, commented, “HSBC has a proud history and strong heritage in ASEAN of supporting entrepreneurs and scaling up businesses. We are delighted to arrange a multi-currency loan facility for Carro, through our unique US$1 billion ASEAN Growth Fund, as they grow their operations.”