KKR and partners pledge $120m lifeline for Philippines' Voyager

Tencent-backed company in talks with new investors as pandemic boosts digital payments

Voyager's Paymaya mobile payment app competes against Alibaba-backed Mynt in the Philippines. (Photo by Ken Kobayashi)

CLIFF VENZON, Nikkei staff writer

April 6, 2020 20:46 JST

MANILA -- U.S. fund KKR, China's Tencent Holdings and other backers of Voyager Innovations have pledged $120 million of fresh capital for the Philippine mobile payment company, which is set to run out of cash by middle of the year.

The new capital will provide a lifeline for Voyager, whose talks with new investors have been hit by delays, and allow it compete with Alibaba-backed Mynt at a time when the coronavirus pandemic is giving a fresh boost to digital financial services.