Malaysian investment banking firm Kenanga Investment Bank has joined forces with Singaporean fintech company Helicap to expedite its digitalisation initiatives.
As part of this partnership, Kenanga Investment Bank, through its asset and wealth management arm, Kenanga Investors, has acquired an 8% stake in Helicap.
The commitment is part of Helicap’s Series B funding round. Kenanga Investment Bank is the lead investor in the round, alongside Saison Capital, the corporate venture capital arm of non-bank financial institution Credit Saison.
Kenanga Investment Bank plans to increase its stake to about 10% in the near future, positioning itself as the largest institutional investor in Helicap.
Established in 2018, Helicap is a fintech private investment platform that specialises in the alternative lending space in Southeast Asia. The company has developed an advanced credit analytics technology to sift through millions of loan data points from origination platforms.
Furthermore, Helicap created a fully online deal platform that provides its exclusive investor base with access to unique co-investment opportunities.
Through its regulated subsidiaries, Helicap has deployed approximately S$500m ($382.9m) since its inception.
Helicap Securities co-founder and CEO David Wang said: “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.”
According to Kenanga Investment Bank, this investment aligns with its ongoing digitalisation strategy, following its successful investments in Rakuten, CapBay, Tokenize Malaysia, and Merchantrade.
By utilising advanced digital technologies, the bank aims to improve its business activities, access new markets, and explore new segments.
The investment also coincides with the launch of Kenanga Investors’ latest product suite, the Kenanga Alternative Series. The suite debuted with the Kenanga Alternative Series: Income Opportunities Fund in July 2024.
The fund feeds into the Helicap Income Opportunities Fund, an open-ended Asian private credit fund.
Kenanga Investment Bank managing director Datuk Chay Wai Leong said: “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.”
