Myanmar’s leading mobile wallet Wave Money grew its revenue 10.4% in Q4 2020, compared to the same period the year before, despite the ongoing pandemic. The announcement comes five days after Myanmar’s junta staged a coup in the capital Naypyitaw, seizing control of the government, and shutting down the internet.
As the country went dark, Wave Money was unable to operate its online service. Although connections have been restored since then, the firm told KrASIA last week that it expected further disruptions which could “slow down if not undo Myanmar’s significant efforts to build a flourishing digital economy.”
Singapore-listed Yoma Strategic Holdings (SGX: Z59), which currently holds a 44% stake in Wave Money said on Saturday that it will continue to monitor the situation and that it is “still too early” to assess the long-term impact on its businesses.
“The political developments in Myanmar this week have resulted in intermittent disruption in some of the group’s businesses, but many of our services, including Wave Money, KFC, and Kospa, have resumed operations,” said Yoma CEO Melvyn Pun in a statement. Its stock dropped almost 32% to SGD 0.19 per share last Monday.
Wave Money, which facilitates bill payments and local remittances on its mobile wallet Wave Pay, as well as over-the-counter services, saw its monthly active user base grow to over 3.9 million in December, up 5% year-on-year, while WavePay customers surged to 2.4 million in January.
The firm moved a total of MMK 12 trillion (USD 8.7 billion) in 2020, doubling last year’s MMK 6.4 trillion (USD 4.3 billion). As of September 2020, it had 27 million unique customers, up from 21 million in May 2019. The aggregate capital involved in Wave Money’s transactions is equivalent to more than 11.5% of the country’s estimated 2020 GDP of USD 75.5 billion, according to a company statement published on Sunday.