Silverlake Axis plans Thai digital banking growth while announcing leadership appointment

• Silverlake Axis looks to grow its footprint in Thailand, with the announcement of Ouracha Pongwattana, a 25-year industry veteran as the new Country Director for Thailand and Sri Lanka
• The company aims to grow its Thai headcount by 40 per cent by the end of 2023
• Silverlake Axis has also signed a strategic agreement with EXIM Thailand to develop its core banking system and drive its digital banking strategy
• Thailand can meet evolving needs and preferences by building future-ready capabilities to compete as a regional banking leader. This involves creating efficient business models, innovative customer experience and future-ready capabilities.

Singapore Exchange Mainboard Listed Silverlake Axis (SGX: 5CP) (SAL), Asia’s leading tech solutions provider focused on financial services and retail, has announced a series of growth milestones to its operations in Thailand. The company has announced the appointment of Ouracha Pongwattana as Country Director for Thailand and Sri Lanka, and plans to grow its human capital footprint by 40 per cent in 2023. Concurrently, the Company has also announced a strategic partnership with Thai state-owned EXIM Thailand to innovate its core banking system.

Thailand remains a priority growth market for SAL - As per McKinsey’s recent report, Thailand can meet evolving needs and preferences by building future-ready capabilities to compete as a regional banking leader. This involves creating efficient business models, innovative customer experience and future-ready capabilities. The overall ASEAN banking market-cap saw Thailand decline 5 per cent over the previous decade, causing Thai banks to be displaced by regional players as the most valuable banks. This also presents an opportunity for increased value creation - shifts in customer preferences and innovative technology demonstrate that consumers are looking for superior digital experiences. The Thai banking industry is accelerating the adoption of innovative technology to revamp business models, reduce costs and increase efficiency.

Furthermore, SMEs constitute 99.6 per cent of enterprises in the country and 70 per cent of the workforce, but only 30 per cent of them have access to financing. Banks need to rethink operating models and offerings to address underserved segments. With innovative service models and digital-led capabilities, Thai banks can prepare the economy for changes ahead. Consequently, they can capture the opportunity of the consumer finance segment.

Ouracha Pongwattana Takes The Reins

Ouracha joined SAL in 2018 as Director of Structured Services, overseeing steadfast growth during his tenure. His new role as Country Manager will oversee all operations in Thailand and Sri Lanka as well, looking to drive further growth and strengthen relationships in the two countries. Over his 25-year career, Ouracha has built a strong expertise and specialisation in retail banking and strategic design. He is a subject matter expert on lending businesses and digital solutions.

“Ouracha has helped SAL achieve its goals and go beyond what we expected in one of our priority growth markets, and has set his sights on increasing our headcount there by 40 per cent by the end of 2023”, said Andrew Tan Teik Wei, Group Managing Director, Silverlake Axis. “We are delighted and excited to welcome Ouracha in his new role and wish him all the best for this next chapter.”

Strategic Partnership with EXIM Thailand

In signing the EXIM Core Banking System Agreement, SAL and EXIM Thailand join into a strategic partnership that will see SAL aiding the development of EXIM Thailand’s core banking systems, and driving its business strategy towards digital banking. Additionally, SAL’s cutting-edge digital solutions will look to accelerate the bank’s transition towards cloud technology. 

This integration into EXIM Thailand’s core banking system will serve to increase capabilities, improve efficiency, optimise its business, and make the customer experience seamless. This will also be enhanced through a secure, multi-channel platform while rapidly developing innovative products and services. 

“We are always looking for new solutions to make digital banking transformation more affordable and commercially viable while maintaining scalability. We serve customers from all segments regardless of their size and business models. EXIM Thailand is our latest key partner whose operations and reach will join our 10+ million customers across 1,800 branches and over 50,000 customers using only digital offerings”, said Ouracha Pongwattana, Thailand and Sri Lanka Country Director, Silverlake Axis. “With our project management experience and proven methodology, we have been helping retail businesses, SMEs, payment solution providers, and commercial banks with our exceptional success track record - and we will continue to do so.”

SAL leads the industry in market share within Southeast Asia, with over 40 percent of the top 20 largest banks in the region running on its core banking platform, and over 30 years of successful implementation of enterprise core software applications. It is the preferred core system platform partner for 3 of 5 of the largest ASEAN financial institutions. FY2022 marked SAL’s strongest financial year, with total revenue recorded standing at RM736.5 million. Additionally, the company posted a 5 per cent increase in profit after tax for the six months that ended on Dec 31, 2022, to RM99.7 million, up from RM94.8 million the year before.