Digital full bank licence to 'accelerate growth' of SeaMoney: DBS Group Research

DBS Group Research analyst Sachin Mittal has maintained “buy” on Sea Limited as he believes its securing of a digital full bank (DFB) licence by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) could accelerate its growth in the greater Southeast Asia region.

“Its licence award seems ideal because Sea has a trio of digital services; Garena (digital entertainment), Shopee (ecommerce) and SeaMoney (digital financial services). Obtaining the licence to operate as a fully-fledged digital bank would allow them to cater to the users it acquired through its three core business segments while offering banking services to the underserved segments and small and medium businesses in Singapore,” he writes in a Dec 7 report.

As such, Mittal has upped Sea’s target price to US$228 ($304.41) from US$204 previously, mainly on higher valuation for digital financial services.