Kenanga Group Invests In Helicap To Accelerate Digital Transformation

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA - Media Outreach Newswire - 2 September 2024 - Malaysia's leading independent investment bank, Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad ("Kenanga Group" or the "Group") announced that it has partnered with leading Singaporean fintech firm Helicap Pte Ltd ("Helicap") in a move to further advance its digitalisation initiatives.

As part of this partnership, Kenanga Group, through a fund managed by its asset and wealth management arm, Kenanga Investors Berhad ("Kenanga Investors"), has collectively taken a stake of 8% ("the Investment") in Helicap. The Investment forms Helicap's Series B funding round, which sees Kenanga Group as lead investor alongside Saison Capital Pte Ltd, the corporate venture capital arm of Credit Saison, one of Japan's largest non-bank financial companies that is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Subsequently, Kenanga Group's stake will be further increased in the near future to approximately 10%, making Kenanga Group the largest institutional investor in Helicap.

Helicap, one of the first fintech private investment platforms specialising in the alternative lending space in Southeast Asia ("SEA"), has built its success on a foundation of innovation and technology. Central to its competitive edge is its proprietary credit analytics engine, which stands as the company's strongest asset.

According to Kenanga Group's Managing Director, Datuk Chay Wai Leong, the Group distinguishes itself from its peers by leveraging digital technology to elevate its service and solution offerings. "By focusing on digital innovation, we have provided multiple touchpoints to enable our clients to engage with our services more efficiently and effectively. Therefore, our investment into Helicap is a natural progression in our digitalisation journey, as Helicap's proprietary technology can potentially be embedded into Kenanga's own lending and investment banking business seamlessly to provide greater loan book transparency and analysis, portfolio and credit risk monitoring and granular-level data to identify nascent opportunities and obtain microeconomic insights", he explained.

This Investment builds upon Kenanga Group's broader digitalisation initiatives, following its successful investments into Rakuten, CapBay, Tokenize Malaysia and Merchantrade. These partnerships reflect the Group's commitment to collaborating with best-of-breed fintech companies that are pioneers in their fields. By deploying first-in-class digital technologies, it aims to continue to enhance its business activities, access new markets, and explore new segments.

The Investment follows the launch of Kenanga Investors' latest product suite, the Kenanga Alternative Series, which was marked by the introduction of the Kenanga Alternative Series: Income Opportunities Fund in July 2024. It feeds into the Helicap Income Opportunities Fund, an open-ended Asian private credit fund.

Kenanga Investors' Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Wira Ismitz Matthew De Alwis commented on the expanded relationship with Helicap, stating, "Our enhanced partnership with Helicap will enable us to tap into its global network as a source of offshore capital as well as to facilitate deal co-origination and syndication efforts in both Singapore and Malaysia. Ultimately, we believe this will provide a strategic base for Kenanga Group to build further cross-border collaborative partnerships and capitalise on the dynamic growth in the region, as well as the rising income and affluence among South-East Asian investors".

From the fintech firm's perspective, such a collaboration would seamlessly integrate Helicap's strengths in private credit with Kenanga Group's brand recognition and operational capabilities, creating a state-of-the-art private credit business. David Z Wang, Co-founder & CEO of Helicap Securities, stated, "We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Kenanga Group, a pivotal step in bringing Helicap's investment opportunities to the Malaysian market. This collaboration represents a significant milestone as we unite Kenanga's robust local market presence and billions in assets with an extensive client base with Helicap's powerful, sector-agnostic, data-driven platform and proprietary analytics technology. As a leader in Asia's private credit space, Helicap is poised to drive meaningful growth in Malaysia. Our commitment to financial inclusion and innovative investment solutions remains unwavering, as we continue to address the dynamic needs of investors and lenders alike."

Since its establishment in 2018, Helicap, through its regulated subsidiaries, has deployed almost S$500 million, offering investment opportunities in Southeast Asia to accredited and institutional investors. As a leading platform operator in Southeast Asia, it has strategically focused its investments primarily on financial companies, leveraging its unique credit screening system and enhanced loan structure to deliver stable and consistent returns.

For more information about Kenanga Group, please visit www.kenanga.com.my.

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The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad 197301002193 (15678-H)

Established for over 50 years, Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad ("The Group") is a financial group in Malaysia with extensive experience in equity broking, investment banking, treasury, Islamic banking, listed derivatives, investment management, wealth management, structured lending and trade financing. An innovative and established home-grown brand, the Group's digital ambition includes building a robust digital ecosystem that meets the needs of its clients and businesses. Some of its game-changing products include Malaysia's fully online digital stockbroking platform Rakuten Trade and a fully A.I. robo-advisor, Kenanga Digital Investing. The Group also launched Malaysia's first securities broking e-wallet, Kenanga Money, paved the way in AI-led Quan and algorithmic trading, kick-started a revolutionary supply chain financing solution for SMEs and made inroads into the digital assets space through its investment in Tokenize Technology (M) Sdn.Bhd. The Group has garnered a host of awards and accolades reflecting its strong market position. It was awarded Highest Returns to Shareholder Over Three Years, Highest Growth in Profit After Tax Over Three Years and Highest Return on Equity Over Three Years by The Edge Malaysia Centurion Club in the Financial Services Category, Best Overall Equities Participating Organisation (Champion), Best Retail Equities Participating Organisation (Champion), and Best Online Retail Participating Organisation (Champion), as well as Best Institutional Derivatives Trading Participant (Champion) and Best Overall Derivatives Trading Participant (1st Runner Up) in the Bursa Excellence Awards 2022. The Group was also accorded the title of Best House, South and Southeast Asia Award in the SRP Asia Pacific Awards 2022.

The Group continues to be a regular and repeat recipient of distinguished industry accolades, such as the Lipper, Fundsupermart and Morningstar awards. Rakuten Trade, Malaysia's first fully digital securities broker in 2017 via a joint venture with Japanese fintech giant Rakuten Securities Inc was also named Malaysia's Digital Experience of the Year – Brokerage at the Asian Experience Awards 2022. For its continued efforts towards community outreach and employee volunteerism, the Group was awarded the coveted Bank of the Year Award for Environmental, Social & Governance Excellence, as well as Long-Standing Excellence in Sustainability at Sustainability & CSR Malaysia Awards 2022. The Group is also a Participant of the United Nations Global Compact and adheres to its principle-based approach to responsible business. Today, Kenanga Investment Bank Berhad is an award-winning leading independent investment bank in the country with a continuous commitment towards driving collaboration, innovation, digitalisation and sustainability in the marketplace.