KUALA LUMPUR (June 30): AEON Credit Service (M) Bhd and its parent company AEON Financial Service Co Ltd (AFS) have submitted a joint application to Bank Negara Malaysia for a digital bank licence.

AEON Credit said in a bourse filing, the company and AFS will cooperate with each other by combining their expertise and resources to establish in Malaysia a joint venture (JV) company to engage in the business of a digital bank upon obtaining a licence.

AEON Credit will hold a 40% stake in the JV, while AFS will own the remaining 60%.

According to AEON Credit, the JV was set up to establish a digital bank with a new business model in the market, adding dynamism to the banking landscape and contributing to the financial inclusion agenda in Malaysia.

The JV was also formed to collaborate with one or more technology partners of the bank to enable the adoption of transformative technologies in artificial intelligence, advanced analytics and machine learning models for delivery of solutions to target customer segments, it added.

It also said the investment by AEON Credit in the proposed JV will be fully funded from the company’s internally-generated funds.

In a separate statement, AEON Credit chairman Ng Eng Kiat said the group aimed to set up a digital bank with a new business model in the market to add dynamism to the banking landscape and contribute to the national financial inclusion agenda.

“AEON will leverage on its ecosystem to capitalise on our extensive access to customers, industries, talents and technologies,” he said, adding that it was a household brand in Malaysia’s retail and financial services areas.

Meanwhile, AEON Credit chief business officer Ajith Jayaram said the company has a deep understanding of all Malaysians, as it is actively engaging them to understand their needs.

“We are able to design hyper-personalised products and services, as well as improve their shopping experience. Hence, we believe that our business proposition will allow us to serve all our customers better,” he added.

According to the filing, AFS is a public company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange which is involved in financial services such as credit card issuance, banking, leasing, life insurance, distribution of insurance products, with operations in Japan and several other countries in Asia.

AFS is the major shareholder of AEON Credit and holds direct equity interest of 61.5% in the company.

AEON Credit fell 26 sen or 2.19% to close at RM11.62 today, valuing the group at RM2.97 billion.