Kuala Lumpur – On Monday 23rd of September the second of two launch ceremonies were held in Kuala Lumpur for Vilja Solutions and the company’s expansion in ASEAN.

Some 60 Malaysian industry leaders within digital banking gathered in mid-valley for the celebration together with both Swedish and Malaysian government representatives.

The Ambassador of Sweden to Malaysia H.E. Mr Niklas Wiberg held an opening speech congratulating the partnerships and expressing the Embassy’s support for the initiatives taken by Vilja and the local Malaysian partners, stressing the importance of promoting the adoption of new innovations that foster economic growth and financial inclusion. 

MDEC Director Fintech & Islamic Digital Economy Mdm. Ruslena Ramli applauded Vilja’s decision to establish it’s ASEAN HQ in Kuala Lumpur, stating that when a world leading technology such as Vilja chooses to invest in Malaysia it is a testimony to the country’s importance as a regional tech hub for ASEAN and APAC. She also stressed the importance for Malaysia to continue to attract and adopt the best global technologies to advance the digital economy and financial inclusion.

Fredrik Ulvenholm CEO of Vilja stated that: “We have come to Malaysia to stay and grow in ASEAN and beyond together with our Malaysian partners. We believe ASEAN is the next global growth guarantor and that Malaysia offers the best springboard to the region and wider APAC as Malaysia enjoys a unique cultural DNA, advanced economy and an international talent pool.”  

The event also saw a partnership ceremony announcing Vilja signing with 4 local Malaysian partners to jointly deliver Vilja’s solutions to existing and future local customers where government representatives also witnessed the ceremony with the following representatives: Kai Thim Ng CEO InsiteMY; Owen Chen CEO Neurogine, CEO Finology; Nicholas Somsak CEO RC Technology

“With our Malaysian partners we are already meeting with banks and financial institutions across ASEAN, this is a testimony to Malaysian prowess as a regional hub as well as for the clear market need for our solution. Working together with the best local partners will make our world leading technology available to further enable ASEAN banking industry to reach underserved segments of the economy.”  Vilja Managing Director APAC Juan Carlos Mauritz explained.

MDEC together with the Fintech Association of Malaysia (FAOM) also announced a joint initiative to increase fintech collaboration between Malaysia and the Nordics, lead by Vilja together with FAOM, MDEC, the Swedish and Finish Fintech Associations starting with a delegation of Malaysian industry leaders and tech startups traveling to Helsinki and Stockholm this November.