The oldest bank in Thailand, Siam Commercial seems to have taken a step back from purchasing a majority stake in Bitkub.
The bank has announced that it will no longer proceed with the acquisition of a stake in Bitkub, a cryptocurrency exchange.
Siam Commercial Reverts from its November 2021 Statement
It was back in November 2021 when Siam Commercial announced that it would acquire a substantial stake in Bitkub.
According to the bank, it aimed to become the majority stakeholder in the cryptocurrency exchange.
SCB X Group Reverted on the Decision
Now it seems that Siam Commercial does not want to proceed with the idea of acquiring a stake in Bitkub.
On Thursday, the SCB X Group, which is part of Siam Commercial, announced that it was no longer going to proceed with the acquisition of a stake in the exchange.
SCB X Group was the subsidiary responsible for initiating a deal with the executives at Bitkub to acquire a stake in the exchange.
Payment for the Stake
The SCB X Group had confirmed that it had agreed to pay 17.50 billion Baht for the acquisition of the stake. When the announcement was made back in November 2021, the mentioned amount translated to $536 million.
At the time of writing, the amount translates to $497 million. By spending 17.85 billion baht, SCB X Group was going to acquire a 51% stake in the cryptocurrency exchanges.
Bitkub is a cryptocurrency exchange based in Thailand that was founded back in February of 2018. Ever since its launch, Bitkub has gained quite popularity and has built a strong client base in Thailand.
The exchange currently has a headcount of over 500 plus employees.
The reason behind the Withdrawal
While the SCB X Group has withdrawn from its decision, it has also provided a reason why it had to make such a call.
According to the Commercial Bank’s subsidiary, the exchange is facing multiple issues that it needs to resolve. These issues have been highlighted by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of Thailand.
No timeline has been provided by the Thai SEC over the matter and it is yet to be announced by the exchange what their next course of action would be.
Therefore, they have decided to completely withdraw from their decision of making an investment in the exchange by acquiring a majority stake.
What was Siam Commercial’s Interest?
The Siam Commercial revealed that it wanted to expand itself and its reach in the world of digital financing. For this purpose, it wanted to adopt the latest technology and what could be a better technology than blockchain.
Therefore, it was confident in the technological advancements and capabilities of the exchange. As the exchange is facing operational issues, the banking firm has terminated its deal and made an official announcement on Thursday.
