KUALA LUMPUR: Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd
has partnered with Singaporean fintech firm Helicap Pte Ltd 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 Bhd has acquired an 8% stake in Helicap, Kenanga said in a statement.
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.
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.
Kenanga group managing director Datuk Chay Wai Leong stated that by prioritising digital innovation, the group has created multiple touchpoints to allow clients to engage with its 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 said.
Helicap, one of the first fintech private investment platforms specialising in the alternative lending space, has built its success on a foundation of innovation and technology.
Since its establishment in 2018, Helicap, through its regulated subsidiaries, has deployed almost S$500mil, offering investment opportunities in Southeast Asia to accredited and institutional investors.
