The Hong-Kong based lottery hardware firm AGTech Holdings has confirmed the acquisition of the fintech payments company Macau Pass.
Marking its entry into the payments market, AGTech has acquired Macau Pass and all its subsidiaries, ensuring it becomes a wholly-owned, indirect subsidiary of the lottery firm.
Macau Pass first gained a financial licence in 2006 and since then has been promoting the use of electronic payments in the special administrative region of China. Furthermore, it was one of the first companies to offer contactless smart card payments in the region with the introduction of the MP Card.
Initially used for buses, the MP Card now covers an expanded function, including car-parks, government services, retail consumption, and food and beverage services.
“As a local business, Macau Pass’s years-long investment in the community and economy of Macau has borne fruitful results, and is fully recognized and highly appreciated by AGTech,” commented Mr. Sun Ho, Chairman and CEO of AGTech.
“Over the years, Macau Pass has been actively involved in the local fintech industry, expanding its e-payment applications to different levels of Macau people’s daily lives. AGTech shares Macau Pass’s ideology of livelihood services-oriented. While enabling a stable transition of Macau Pass, we will cooperate with the local government to turn Macau into a smart city of the 21st century.”
The mobile payments space is expanding readily in Macau, with the year-on-year rate increasing by 194%, up to MOP193m in 2021. Additionally, the amount of money spent via mobile payments has risen by 192% in the last year up to MOP18.5bn in 2021.
AGTech sees the acquisition as an ‘important milestone’ in its history and views its position in the local fintech industry as necessary for its other business interests including lotteries.
“It lays a solid foundation for the Group’s future strategic expansion into the payment business and financial services ecosystem,” Sun Ho added.
“Under the policy of ‘Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area’, we believe that Macau Pass will become the leader of local fintech innovation to propel the appropriate diversification of Macau’s economy and the growth of local fintech industry. At the same time, it can also deepen the interconnection of mobile financial infrastructure of Macau, Greater Bay Area, Guangdong-Macao In-Depth Cooperation Zone and Mainland China.”
This week, AGTech released its financial results for the Fiscal Year 2021, reporting a revenue increase of over 56.7% from the previous year.
