Venture Arm of SCB Bank Taps New CEO to Lead Crypto Investments

The venture arm of one of Thailand’s largest banks by total assets has appointed a new CEO to lead its Web3, DeFi and blockchain investments, despite a gloomy market outlook and declining revenues.

SCB 10X, an arm of Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) and holding company of SCB Group, said Thursday it has tapped its chief venture and investment officer, Mukaya (Tai) Panich to succeed former CEO Arak Sutivong. Panich will retain her role as CIO on top of her new position, SCB 10X said.

SCB10X also said it has promoted its head of strategic planning, Pailin Vichakul, to chief operating officer.

The appointments are a “testament” to the way in which the investment arm has been conducting itself in the crypto industry, which has so far received “very good support” from the bank, Panich told Blockworks in an interview.

As of March 31, 2022 the Bank had Baht 3.3 trillion ($91.2 billion) in total assets, Bhat 2.5 trillion ($69.1 billion) in deposits and Baht 2.3 trillion ($63.5 billion) in loans on its books.

Investments in crypto have slowed following a market rout in April resulting from the fall out of Terra’s ecosystem and a liquidity crisis that caught many large lenders off-guard. 

“Even during the crypto winter, we continue to have conviction around this area that seems to be a game changer,” Panich said in relation to the arm’s investments in crypto’s growth areas.

When asked about considerable headwinds facing the industry as a whole, Panich likened the uptake in Web3, DeFi and blockchain technologies to that of the internet in the early 2000s.

“It takes a while for all these types of investments and technologies to come to fruition,” Panich said. “We are not a short-term investor, we are a long-term investor. It will take some time.”

Panich, whose background includes more than 20 years of technology investing across Silicon Valley, New York and Singapore, will lead SCB 10X’s initiatives to back and build ecosystems in what it sees as disruptive technologies across Southeast Asia.

Under her stewardship, SCB 10X will continue to grow its team to achieve its “moonshot mission,” the venture arm said.

That mission refers to long-term value creation through exponential technologies, innovations, and investment via venture capital and venture building, according to its website.

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