“Most of the time we will be visiting our clients at their respective office locations, therefore our current office space is very much underutilised. By giving up our office space, we will be able to save a lot in terms of operations costs. These savings can be translated into paying our staff better wages and also giving back some of these savings to our shareholders,” Mak says in an interview with The Edge Singapore.
This plan, he adds, is to reshape Intraco to be leaner, more adaptive and digitally connected. “We have adopted flexible work models and fractionalised hiring, allowing us to access top-tier expertise while keeping our cost base efficient,” he adds.
Such a change runs counter to the back-to-office trend that companies and organisations are increasingly adopting, with the Covid-19 pandemic becoming an increasingly distant memory. Meanwhile, Intraco remains a company that is constantly transforming as it works out how to tap into the ebb and flow of business trends and decide where it can best compete or step away from areas it cannot.
The most recent was the sale of its passive fire protection business for $6.9 million. Mak, who was appointed to this role in July 2022, admits that this particular business is not a proper fit for the company. “When we first came in, we realised that we are not the best owners of this business. Therefore, we decided to go ahead with the sale,” he says. The sale was completed on May 30, and Intraco shared the proceeds from the divestment in the form of a capital reduction of 6 cents per share.
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Even with the sale, Intraco still sits on a rather diverse mix of businesses. It trades and distributes plastic resin and liquors; it is also involved in trade financing and supply chain solutions, and provides corporate finance advisory on digital securities and asset securitisation through digital tokens.
Acquire controlling stake in SlideSG
On Oct 24, Intraco made significant moves into yet another new business area. Having first taken a 19.9% stake in SlideSG for $1 million in January 2024, Intraco is acquiring an additional 60.1% stake, which will bring its total interest to 80%. SlideSG holds a Major Payment Institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore, which allows it to offer six categories of regulated payment services, from domestic and cross-border transfers to merchant acquisition, e-money issuance and money changing — one of the handful of such license holders.
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Intraco is paying for this via a $3 million exchangeable loan facility extended to an entity called iAPPS, the current controlling shareholder of SlideSG. According to Mak, by securing a controlling stake, Intraco can better provide support and guidance for SlideSG’s next growth phase.
“Our relationship with SlideSG’s founders began as a partnership with the common belief that the future of payment would be shaped by trust, regulatory rigour, and technological accessibility. As SlideSG’s business evolved, it became clear that with the right capital support and strategic direction, the company could scale its operations meaningfully,” says Mak.
“This is a considered investment. It is an acquisition that reflects our confidence in the platform’s future relevance and to expand our position in a sector that continues to redefine the way global commerce operates,” says Mak. Subject to certain conditions and precedents being met, this transaction is expected to be completed by early January next year.
Mak brings a solid level of expertise and backing to the job. He is a veteran of the financial services industry, with stints at EY, OCBC and later GK Goh Securities. He was also CEO of CIMB Bank Singapore and at various points sat on the boards of Boardroom and Tat Hong Holdings, one of the largest crane rental companies in the region, which was later privatised from the Singapore Exchange (SGX).
In 2012, TH Investments, which is the private investment vehicle for the Ng family that controls Tat Hong, paid 65 cents per share or $19.2 million in total to buy over a 29.89% stake in Intraco, which was then held by consumer goods company Hanwell, now called PSC Corporation. TH Investments remains the single largest shareholder of Intraco, with 27.28% as of March 13. Prominent businessman Oei Hong Leong holds 3.93% and former GK Goh chairman Goh Geok Khim holds 0.58%. Mak himself holds 2.88%.
Scaling up the iChange platform
SlideSG is just one piece of the equation. Intraco announced the parallel acquisition of the multicurrency digital wallet and payments platform iChange Debit Card business from IBV. Already used by some 45,000 customers in Singapore, iChange is noted for its competitive exchange rates, convenience, and Mastercard-issued debit card offering.
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“Today, customers can already purchase foreign currency online at competitive rates, and we are now in the process of activating a feature that will allow physical cash collection via partner money changers before they travel. This hybrid model blends online efficiency with real-world utility — designed for customers and businesses that expect both convenience and choice, in a market full of digital-only players,” says Mak.
Touching on the overall expansion plan, Mak says Intraco’s focus now is to deepen the engagement with users and not chase the number of users. He adds: “That means improving customer experience, strengthening operations, and expanding the suite of services that customers actually use. Integrating SlideSG’s technical infrastructure with iChange’s established customer base gives us a strong foundation to grow sustainably.”
Mak sees potential for iChange to broaden its reach, from travel to e-commerce payments to remittance and small business transactions. Intraco has set an 18-month horizon to bring the iChange debit card business to breakeven, while exploring new revenue streams around the business. “iChange, in many ways, represents what the next generation of financial platforms can look like – technology meets real tangible value, and convenience coexists with trust,” says Mak.
He acknowledges that competition in the fintech space is inevitable. “Our approach aims to create meaningful value for our customers. This differentiation lies within the ecosystem that combines competitive pricing with reliability and an experience that fits naturally into everyday life,” he says. “Over time, we will see iChange evolving beyond payments into a broader financial platform that integrates seamlessly into customers’ lives and enriches their overall experience. Our goal isn’t just to move money faster — it is to build a platform that gives individuals and businesses greater flexibility and control in an increasingly connected world.”
Share buyback and placements
For the most recent 1HFY2025, revenue was down by almost 20% y-o-y to $73.8 million, mainly due to lower revenue from the trading and distribution business. On the other hand, earnings surged by more than 230% y-o-y to $870,000, due mainly to higher finance income and income tax credit.
The better showing has not quite excite the market in a big way. Intraco shares remain typically very thinly traded. However, if an investor were to sell their shares, quite likely, the counterparty is Intraco itself, with its active share buybacks, albeit at relatively very low volumes. As of Nov 13, Intraco has bought back around 240,000 shares this month, and all at 37 cents each. Mak says that the buybacks are a way for Intraco to provide trading liquidity to shareholders and narrow the gap between the market price and the company’s net asset value, which stood at 49.8 cents as of June 30. “Our current market valuation does not reflect the intrinsic value of our balance sheet or the progress that we are making in reshaping the business,” he adds.
Apart from the valuation gap, Mak says that trading liquidity can be limited due to the smaller market capitalisation of Intraco. The share buybacks serve the purpose of narrowing the valuation gap and providing liquidity. He adds: “It is both a disciplined use of capital and a clear statement of confidence in the fundamentals of our business and the path we are on. Valuation will always be determined by the market, but conviction is determined by leadership, and our buyback reflects that conviction. Hopefully, the rest of the investors will believe that we are doing the right thing.”
As Mak believes that Intraco’s current share price is below its intrinsic value, and given the low liquidity, he is reluctant to do placements, as that would ultimately destroy shareholder value, especially given how the company has excess cash on its balance sheet. “For a small-cap stock like Intraco, what we are trying to do here right now is to reinstate dividend payout to our shareholders, pivot the business to scale up and reduce our operating leverage. This will help create cash flow to pay dividends to our shareholders and create value,” adds Mak. In FY2024, Intraco declared a final dividend of 0.5 cents, which translates to a dividend yield of 1.4%. The company was also among the last few companies to exit the SGX Watch-list before this unpopular move was canned on Oct 29.
Intraco’s three years under Mak form just one step in its journey to future-proof the company. “We recognise that our legacy businesses need to evolve, and we are committed to building a more agile company, capable of scaling and diversifying through multiple business streams,” says Mak.
He notes that the company’s trade finance and supply-chain solutions have performed well and that Intraco is in the midst of establishing a trade fund with a licensed manager, and the company is helping clients raise funds through tokenised commercial papers listed on regulated digital exchanges.
“Each of these reflects our intent to blend our trading heritage with fintech innovation,” adds Mak. “Transformation isn’t only about what you do — it’s about how you think and work. We’re building a company that’s lighter on its feet, sharper in its focus and bolder in how it grows.”
