The Fatfish Group Ltd (ASX: FFG) share price is jumping out of the water today. At the time of writing, shares in the tech investment company are trading at 12 cents – up 4.35%. By comparison, the All Ordinaries Index (ASX: XAO) is currently just 0.35% higher.
Today's price gains come as the company announced an increased stake in a buy now, pay later (BNPL) provider.
Let's take a closer look at today's developments.
Fatfish gets fatter
In a statement to the ASX, Fatfish announced it was "raising its stake in the Singapore BNPL provider [Smartfunding] to 89.4% from 78.7% earlier." Fatfish Group will now own 39.95% of stock directly and its Swedish subsidiary, Abelco, owns a 49.4% stake. Fatfish bought the extra shares under a rights issue worth $300,000.
As Smartfunding is headquartered in Singapore, Fatfish needed to seek the permission of the Singapore Central Bank to increase its ownership of the company under Singaporean law. The Central Bank subsequently gave its approval for the purchase.
Smartfunding is a fintech platform licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. It recently launched a BNPL platform for small and medium enterprises throughout Southeast Asia.
The increased investment is going down well with investors, judging by today's Fatfish share price moves.
Speaking on the news, Fatfish CEO Kin W. Lau commented:
Smartfunding is pioneering the BNPL service for SMEs in Southeast Asia. By increasing our direct stake in Smartfunding, we will be in a stronger position to drive the business forward and to provide Smartfunding with all the support it needs to succeed.
This is not Fatfish's first foray into the BNPL industry. It recently announced the acquisition of Malaysian BNPL provider, Forever Pay.
Fatfish share price snapshot
Over the past 12 months, the Fatfish share price has increased by a massive 1,025%. It is, however, around 74% lower than its all-time high of 43 cents a share. The record was briefly achieved in intraday trading on 17 February this year, with the company's shares ending that day at just 18 cents. This also followed huge gains in the value of Fatfish shares during the prior day's trading session.
Fatfish has a current market capitalisation of around $108 million.
